Burlesque helps former Playboy Bunny empower Kansas City women to ‘embrace themselves’

Editor's Note: This interview is part of an ongoing Star series highlighting Kansas Citians from historically under-represented communities and their impact on our region. The series builds on The Star's efforts to improve coverage of local communities. Do you know someone we should interview? Share ideas with our reporter J.M. Banks.

Lacey Knight began her career as a photographer who preferred to stay behind the camera and out of the spotlight. Before she became a Playboy Bunny, model and the artistic director for burlesque shows in the metro, she was a shy girl from Ottawa, Kansas.

The 30-year-old used modeling and burlesque to find her inner strength and to help women of all sizes find their courage and power through embracing their bodies.

When she isn’t coordinating a show or at a photo shoot, the married mother of three spends her days cooking, cleaning and taking care of other household tasks. Recently, Knight took a moment out of her busy day to talk about body positivity, sexual empowerment, and the history of burlesque with The Star’s culture and identity reporter, J.M. Banks.

Banks: How would you describe your work and position?

Knight: I view myself as a creative director who models. I am a business owner who advocates for the community but I am also a mom. I spent a lot of time doing product shots and did a lot of photography in the past. It made me really have a big appreciation for the community. Homegrown KC is my main business that I initially started as a freelance modeling company to provide essential skills and knowledge to models in the city. I realized that wasn’t my real passion and I rebranded and made it more of a production company so I can do more of whatever I want with different types of creators. Now I am producing shows that have more of a fashion forward twist or a historical twist to add aspects of what happened in the past.

What started your interest in burlesque shows?

Burlesque is a passion I have had since I was a child. I got a lot of influence from watching how entertainers used the craft to push themselves. My 25th birthday is when I started this. Before this, I was a photographer and wanted to do a photo shoot for myself. I thought maybe if I could muster enough courage to take a picture and share it, maybe it will encourage other people to be more comfortable. I have been able to build a platform for women in the community who we haven’t really been seeing, and making a space to showcase these women.

Does KC have any interesting history with burlesque?

I didn’t realize the city had such a long history until I started to research. Black performers and artists weren’t really allowed to come and hang out in the Plaza or downtown or any of these areas they might be hired to perform. They would get paid a lower rate and then they would have to go back to 18th and Vine if they wanted to enjoy themselves after they performed. The burlesque culture in KC came from those underground areas in the West Bottoms and 18th and Vine where people had to kind of make their own entertainment and clubs because they weren’t really accepted in the classy places in the city.

What is your favorite part about putting on burlesques shows?

The smiles on people’s faces. Honestly, I really started doing any type of modeling or producing or anything because I felt like I wanted to create a normalcy with women so that they would feel special in their own day-to-day life and feel like they are able to do things. I have found that the more I put myself out there, creatively, the more women participating put into the shows.

How do your burlesque shows impact the community?

I love to see women, who a few years ago were afraid to be in front of the camera to take a picture, now dancing and performing in front of crowds. Women are able to challenge themselves and find the inspiration to get up there and find their confidence no matter what body size or if they are the traditional beauty standard. I feel like burlesque liberates people and lets women be free and embrace themselves.

What is the most challenging part of your work?

Working with a lot of different types of people and organizing things with people with such bold personalities in one space. Because Kansas City is so small, you have some people who don’t want to work with other people. I don’t really like having to navigate around that. There are times when I hit a lot of walls because people are waiting for these shows. I have my other work and family stuff, but still want to advocate for people who want and need these shows.

Are there any misconceptions that people have about burlesque?

That it is stripping. That for me is disheartening because they don’t know the history of this community and how burlesque started in the underground places because these girls were not allowed to go and perform on these stages next to these cabaret dancers. They didn’t fit the traditional body type of the slim, skinny, glitzy type. These women were full-figured and shows were based more on talent, singing, and dancing than looks. There is so much more to burlesque and there isn’t actual stripping when it comes to the shows. There is using objects to obscure your body and kind of a variety and comedy act.

Can you tell me about your work as a Playboy Bunny?

I am actually the first Black woman in Playboy pregnant, like ever in history. It’s never happened before. There was a white woman who posed in the magazine, I believe the year before they stopped printing it in 2017. It has changed since they stopped printing the magazine and Hugh Hefner’s daughter took over. Now it is a fully digital platform centered on women’s empowerment. There are women of all shapes and sizes, women who do cosplay, even comedians are on there. People can subscribe to see more of my modeling. I go live and do classes on womb work and kind of changed it from a sexual nature and made it into something where people can have an intimate connection to learn about themselves and their body. Most of my subscribers are women who watch my classes on prenatal massage or relax in the bedroom. It could be awkward because they are not comfortable with themselves. With it being a digital platform it does kind of give a lot of freedom to women to post their sexy pictures but they can also show different sides of themselves and it is not just about the physical aspect of it all.

Do people have any preconceived notions when they hear you work with Playboy?

Because people have this outdated view of Playboy, of course there are the people who assume I am a sex worker. That is a huge misconception. I will have people who have sent me weird messages or subscribe and they are upset that I am just cooking, or talking about pregnancy, or body positivity, and they feel cheated. I use the platform to talk about things that people don’t normally feel comfortable talking about.

Does being a wife and mother ever conflict with your career?

I have taken my kids to burlesque shows before. I am open to people experiencing life at all ages if it is in a respectable manner. At my shows you won’t find anyone stripping or being overly sexual. My 9-year-old daughter is a woman who has these body parts and she needs to know she is in control of her body. I want my daughter to know what makes her uncomfortable so she feels confident speaking up and saying that she doesn’t want to do this or that or go somewhere with someone because she knew herself and her boundaries. I didn’t know how to do that as a child because I didn’t really feel in control of my body. So, I think it is important for my daughters to see women who are empowered by their bodies.

How do you dispel the negative connotations about sexy being synonymous with promiscuous?

I think we as women get treated differently from such an early age even with things like masturbation and hitting puberty. We make human experiences some sort of taboo early on and I think most women have this shameful self-view when it comes to their bodies. I think that would be the first step because a girl learns what the word “whore” means at a young age. I don’t think that women are necessarily more promiscuous. It’s not that they don’t care about the names they are being called; it’s that those words don’t hold as much power as they used to. When a woman knows her power and respects herself, you can’t tell her who she is — she knows who she is.

Do you have a motto or philosophy you live by?

Do it anyways. Even if I am scared and don’t want to do it, I tell myself to do it anyway.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to go down a similar path?

Be yourself and don’t be afraid to have a good time. People are so afraid to be themselves. When you are embracing your flaws, you end up loving yourself more. And the more love you feel for yourself, the better you are to love those around you.