Fem Fest is coming up REAL SOON on May 18, and we’re getting all kinds of excited for this all-day, all ages, all genders festival. There will be art. There will be music. There will be women-owned food trucks. There will be a local vendors market. There will be workshops on therapeutic art, coding and crafting, pleasure and more. AND there will be comedy (that’ll for sure make you lol your cute face off).

We’re sure you’ve heard of Jacq the Stripper, and if you haven’t, you’re missing out on whip smart, empowering banter about her experience as a sex worker. Jacq dismantles preconceived ideas about strippers. She has created movements such as “Happy Sluts” and “Tip Her” and made waves in feminist discourse. Jacq truly creates new spaces for women to be liberated and confident in their bodies and identities.

We were lucky enough to chat with Jacq about her upcoming set at Fem Fest and get some insight into how she gets amped up for a set, what her personal feminism looks like, and what she says to the haters!

So we’re SUPER pumped to have you at Fem Fest this year. On a scale from one to out of your mind excited, how excited are you to perform at Fem Fest?

I would rate my excitement level at an 11.

What can we expect from your set at Fem Fest?

Well it depends on who you are, but I do my best to surprise, delight, inform and inspire anyone who's watching to go out and be the best slut they can be.

How do you get ready for a set? What’s your walk-up song/anthem?

Whenever I perform I get ready with an amp-up playlist, which ranges from Grease is the Word to Prince and Lizzo. Really, the most important thing for me is to NOT think about my set, so I try to just talk shit with whoever's around, usually while doing squats.

Fem Fest presents a multi-faceted event that elevates the discourse around women’s issues, creating a welcoming program for all. What does feminism mean to you personally?

Feminism has meant different things to me over the course of my life. At first I thought it meant rejecting patriarchy in its entirety, but now I feel like my job as a comedian, stripper, and artist is to fuck with patriarchy. I want to make patriarchy feel insecure and petty. I want to publicly shame it for the entertainment of the folks it's designed to oppress. So that's my feminism right now. And I'm having a lot of fun with it.

What’s one of your missions for your art and comedy?

My main mission that is at the core of all of my pursuits is to humanize sex work and spread the gospel of happy sluts. I want sex workers to be proud of who they are and the work that they do, and so I just try to celebrate that with levity and empowerment. In dark times we need the court jester to blow fistfuls of glitter on everyone, and that's what I'm here for.

What is all this Tip Her swag we see on your Instagram? When did you start designing these capsule collections and how did this idea come to fruition?

It all started a few years ago when I thought it would be fun to have an Off Duty Stripper t-shirt. I made 30, posted it on Instagram, saying "if anyone wants one of these DM me" and I think I sold, like 10, and gave the rest away for free. But I liked it making them and seeing people wear them with pride and humor. So I kept designing stuff (t-shirts, pins, patches and hats), and now I have Strippers Forever, which is soft clothes for sluts. TIP HER is really just the reminder that we all need: Tip your barista, tip your massage therapist, tip your server, and tip your stripper. Anyone in the service industry is usually vastly underpaid and dependent on tips to earn a living. So help a sister out and TIP HER. It'll feel good, I promise <3

What do you say to the haters?

Thank you for thinking of me :)
 

Click here to get your Fem Fest base ticket and tack on the comedy show (that you definitely don’t want to miss) where Jacq the Stripper will be headlining. ALSO get pumped for Miriam Moreno and Lily Ostberg who will also be performing. See you May 18 for Fem Fest!