2011
07.09

Funeral Strippers? Only If You’re a Lucky Stiff!

taiwanese-funeral-strippers

Some people believe that when they lose a loved one they should celebrate that person’s life rather than mourn their passing. That is why some memorial services may include parties, parades, and even live entertainment such as gospel singers.

That’s bullshit. When I die, I want to see tears. Lots of tears. I want to see my family and friends pulling their hair out as they drop to their knees in hysterics and curse the Gods in the sky. I’ll haunt any mofo that just stands around in the background grubbing on mini tacos, sharing embarrassing tales about me.

So imagine my outrage when I discovered that the folks in Taiwan actually hire strippers as a way of saying goodbye to their dead. The service is provided by something called the Electric Flower Car, a troupe of sexy female dancers who strip down to their unmentionables on a neon, mobile stage.

Marc L. Moskowitz, a University of South Carolina anthropologist, documents the EFC events in his new film Dancing for the Dead: Funeral Strippers in Taiwan, currently available for purchase on Amazon.

He tells Io9:

One of the things that I found to be really interesting about this practice was that people’s explanations for why people hired Electric Car Performers varied tremendously.

One person I interviewed told me that it was because a new ghost would get picked on by older ghosts so the performance was to distract the older ghosts to give the newer ghost time to get used to his environment without being harassed.

Other people told me that the lower gods liked this kind of entertainment so that it was for them. Yet others said that the deceased liked that kind of activity when living so they wanted to send him off in style.

OK, I gotta admit, this is actually pretty fucking awesome. I still want tears and agonizing grief at my funeral service. But, next time I find myself in Taiwan with friends, maybe I’ll accidentally push one of them into traffic. What … I’m broke. I can’t afford Cali strippers.

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