KOCHI: Born to a Singapore-based Keralite dad and a British mother, Sukki Menon aka Sukki Singapora campaigns for representation and women empowerment through the performative art of Burlesque. She is also a Netflix star.
Nearly all her life, Sukki Menon felt like the oddball. Born to a Singapore-based Keralite dad and a British mother, her ‘identity spanned the triangular geography of India, Singapore and the UK’. If she was too brown’ to be British, she was labelled ‘pale’ by the Indian community, which implied that she wasn’t brown enough to be fully desi.
However, growing up as a third culture kid with a medley of identities also granted her the exposure to distinct customs. From discovering burlesque to express her sensuality to starring on the 2019 Netflix show ‘Singapore Social’, Sukki has embraced activism that fights tooth and nail for representation and women empowerment. Defying odds, the global icon made burlesque, a taboo performing art, into Asia’s subject matter -- all to change the status quo.
“Owing to my traditionalist upbringing and multiple identities, I discovered the vintage fashion scene. It was all about the pinup look, and through the scene, I heard about burlesque. That’s when the transformation began. Burlesque was a light that I couldn’t help but be drawn to; it celebrated everything that had been a taboo when I was younger - female sensuality. It also appealed to my childhood desire to be an artist, which was strongly discouraged when I was growing up. Through burlesque, I started to become the person I’d always felt like I was inside,” explains Sukki.
Riddled with misconceptions, the performing art that seeks to ridicule or mock through comic imitation finds fewer audiences in the state or community. Despite the prejudice attributed to burlesque, Sukki challenged her community to pursue the same. “Many people still think that it’s some kind of seedy performance in a shady small club with only male audience, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Burlesque is an empowering art form which originates from old Italian theatre.
It is all about the tease and none of the reveal. There’s no nudity. Almost 80 per cent of my audience are women; by women for women. Once you understand burlesque, you acknowledge its huge potential to both empower women and allow them to reclaim their bodies and build confidence. Convincing my parents was a struggle, but since Netflix, they’ve come round. My mum found out about burlesque by googling me. I’d told them I was working in IT, which I had been previously. They weren’t impressed, but luckily time is a great healer,” she elaborates.
Becoming ‘Sukki Singapora’
Shouting from rooftops and traversing a different path soon got her noticed. “I’d campaigned for burlesque to be seen as a legitimate art form, and Netflix was drawn to that. It was quite a meaningful moment when the producers approached me because finally Hollywood wasn’t just telling the story of one type of Asian, they were giving brown desi Asians like me a long-overdue voice. That’s what makes Singapore Social so special, it shows the lives of more than one colour of Asian, and it gave a voice to desi Asians who might not follow a traditional path,” says Sukki.
Finding her way back home
When asked about Kerala, the icon stressed that she could name factors aplenty about being in the state. “The last time I was with my family in Kerala was just before the TV show came out and the pandemic hit. The biggest things I love being back are being reunited with family who has come to love and accept me and being so close to home-made jalebis,” she quips.