Jean Harlot, she/her. The background image is a close-up of Jean's chest and torso wearing a bright fluoro pink bra, holding a bouquet of red roses to the side of her body.

 In conversation with Maya Hart | Images by Sky Sirens’ Creative Team

Jean is sitting in a white lyra wearing a fluoro pink bodysuit and chrome stilettos. She has a fluffy red tulle boa wrapped around her shoulders. She is looking down and to the side, with her legs crossed. She has permed dark brown hair.

Introduce yourself!

My name is Jean Harlot and my pronouns are she/her. I’ve been coming to Sky Sirens  since 2018 or 2019. I have tried pretty much everything - but my favourite apparatus is Lyra. I originally started out with Pole, and tried Lyra just to improve my grip for Pole. I ended up liking Lyra a lot more!

I performed a bit before COVID hit. I had done a year of Burlesque classes before performing. It was awesome.

It felt very liberating as a plus-size person to be in a room and engage with people on my own terms.

As a plus-size person, you get fetishised a lot because of your size rather than feeling sexy in your own way. Burlesque let me take that back. Recently, I’ve been trying to build the courage to get back on stage again.

How do you identify?

I use the terms ‘plus-size’ or ‘fat’. I reclaimed the word ‘fat’  last year, as a descriptor, rather than something with negative connotations. Just as a neutral description of myself. 

How has your experience been as a Plus Size student at Sky Sirens?

I’ve always found the students and Siren team to be welcoming and encouraging. I’ve never been made to feel like I can’t do something because of my size, even if it is difficult for me to achieve.

There’s been a lot of positive and encouragement, which is one of the reasons I am still coming here!

I’ve bought clothing a few times here, and its nice and stress-free. Usually, lingerie shopping stresses me out. But at the parlour, the stress gets taken away, and I can see everything, try it on, and feel it in my hands.

Jean is posing with a white lyra, bending over and pushing it to the side. She is wearing a fluoro pink two-piece lingerie set with a garter wrap attachement. She is looking into the camera and smiling.
Jean is standing in a fluoro pink two-piece set, holding a bouquet of red roses in her hand and smiling. Her bra has triangular cups, and her briefs are high waisted with a garter attachement.
Jean is posing in a leg hang position in a white lyra, holding on to the top bar with one hand. In her other hand, she is holding a large red feather, tracing her body with it. She has her feet crossed and pointed, wearing chrome stilettos.