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For Bay Area performer Sgt. Die Wies, whose given name is Latashia Govan, burlesque is about more than taking off her clothes for an audience.

“It’s so much more than taking off your clothes and a lot of people don’t know that. They think that you’re just up there to be a sexual object,” says Govan. “They don’t think that you’re up there trying to break body stereotypes or typecasts and all the different constraints that society tries to put on us.”

When Govan discovered burlesque she was not seeing performers who looked like her. Now Govan, who describes herself as full-figured, uses her time on stage to address body-image stereotypes.

“There are things bigger than having a little extra fluff on you,” says Govan. “It’s all beautiful. The perfect package doesn’t come in a perfect package. Imperfection is perfection, that’s the point.”

In addition to providing her with a platform, burlesque also gave Govan, a sexual assault survivor, access to a supportive community which taught her how to be a survivor instead of a victim.

“I never talked about it, actually,” Govan says, “before burlesque I never addressed it.”

“I talked to my therapist about it, but it never really sank in until I started learning how to take my clothes off onstage. It’s weird, I know, but it’s very cathartic for me.”

Back to Gallery The Regulars: Burlesque performer aims to bust body... 6 1 of 6 Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle 2 of 6 Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle 3 of 6 Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle 4 of 6 Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle 5 of 6 Photo: Guy Wathen, The Chronicle 6 of 6 Photo: Submitted











Govan was in need of that support after her father, U.S. Army veteran Sgt. Nelson Govan, a big supporter of her burlesque community, died on New Year’s Day 2013. She keeps his memory alive through her performances and by being who she is.

“He wanted me to be the best human I could be,” she says. “He’d be blown away that I’d done all the things I do, but I’m betting you anything he’d want me to start upping my ante and going bigger.”

Govan credits the burlesque community with getting her through everything from losing her father to her divorce.

“Those are my people, and they embrace all of my imperfections,” Govan says. “I still go out there and I do my thing, because I’m proud of myself and I’ve learned to love myself through burlesque.”

Watch an accompanying video at www.sfchronicle.com/theregulars. The Regulars is a photo and video column that offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in the Bay Area, caught in routine activities of modern urban life.