All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. [Paperback]

Craig Seymour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Now in paperback, the frank, funny, explicit, and inspiring memoir about how dancing naked in gay clubs in the nation’s capital helped a college professor discover his true self.

All I Could Bare is the story of a mild-mannered graduate student who “took the road less clothed,” a decision that would change his life forever. In the 1990s, when Washington, D.C.’s gay club scene was notoriously no-holds-barred, Craig Seymour embarked on his incredible journey, all the while trying to keep his newfound vocation a secret from his parents and maintain a relationship with his boyfriend, Seth. Along the way he met some unforgettable characters: the fifty-year-old divorced man who’s obsessed with a twenty-one-year-old dancer; the celebrated drag diva who hailed from a small town in rural Virginia; and the many straight guys who were “gay for pay.” Seymour gives readers both the highs (money, adoration, camaraderie) and the lows (an ill-fated attempt at prostitution, a humiliating porn audition). Ultimately coming clean about his secret identity, Seymour breaks through taboos and makes his way from booty-baring stripper to Ph.D.-bearing academic, taking a detour into celebrity journalism and memorably crossing paths with Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige along the way. Hilarious, insightful, and touching, All I Could Bare proves that sometimes the “wrong decision” can lead to the right place.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If an account of one's tour of duty as a stripper and sometimes prostitute in seedy downtown Washington, D.C. gay clubs could ever be called "breezy," Seymour's achieved it. Sure to please the hedonistic gay man in (almost) all of us, Seymour is frank and entirely explicit as he chronicles his journey from diligent Masters' candidate (developing a thesis on gay strip clubs) to onstage talent working every night to make a living. Unafraid to bare it all, in person and in prose, Seymour details his brief foray into prostitution as well as the (very) personal stories of his fellow dancers. Seymour can dissemble, first pinning his stripping career on low self-esteem, but later admitting to some early success with more traditional dancing and acting; it becomes clear that the author is a bit of a narcissist, but a charming one. The last fifty pages, accounting for his subsequent work as a celebrity interviewer, are pure filler; when he sticks to the clubs, though, readers will feel they're in the hands of an expert.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Part sexy parable, part witty reminiscence, part informative history lesson, All I Could Bare is a captivating introspective into a world we all have pondered. Unflinchingly honest, Seymour shows that there's far more to being naked than taking off one's clothes." -- Josh Kilmer-Purcell, author of the New York Times bestseller I Am Not Myself These Days and Candy Everybody Wants

"A clever and candid look into the world of gay male stripping that is infectious, irreverent, and ultimately inspiring." -- Stewart Lewis, author of Rockstarlet

"Witty, humorous, and filled with the guilty indulgence of an unadulterated insider's view...a cunning memoir of what most gay men search for -- to be desired, and hot boys." -- Terrance Dean, author of Hiding in Hip Hop

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; Reprint edition (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141654206X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416542063
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Check out my main website (www.craigseymour.com) or my photography website (www.craig-foto.com). Follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/craigspoplife) and PLEASE email me (craigspoplife-AT-gmail-dot-com); I LOVE hearing from readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive, insightful and witty look into lives of DC's gay strippers and their followers, June 8, 2008

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. (Hardcover)

In this unique and engaging memoir, Craig Seymour attributes his childhood fascination with street hookers, glimpsed as his parents drove through his native D.C. at night, as the likely motivation to do his master's thesis on the social interaction of male strippers and their customers in the "hands on" D.C. gay clubs of the late '80's and early '90's. When one of his interviewees at the clubs suggested he'd get a much better perspective by actually working as a stripper, he agreed, with much trepidation yet excitement at no longer being an "outsider" in that world. For a period of years that reached through his doctoral studies, Seymour became a regular performer at several of these clubs located in the seedy S.E. section of downtown, ironically a short distance from the White House and Pentagon. Throughout these years, he returned home each night to his longtime (and first) lover, Seth, who didn't really understand his need to dance naked in front of strangers instead of teaching (as he did) to finance his graduate studies, but nevertheless tolerated it as something Craig needed to do.

The "memoir" section of most gay book stores has no shortage of books by former strippers, escorts or porn stars, doing a "tell-all" about their exploits for a willing audience of readers. Seymour's book is refreshingly different from this crowd, not just because he "drew the line" at stripping, but because he recognizes and reflects on the reasons why he needed to do it, and how it has helped and shaped his personality and future career aspirations, which included a stint as a music critic, celebrity journalist/photographer, and now as a professor of English. It's a witty and positive message of being open to live one's dreams, regardless of any possible consequences, and being honest and open-minded in dealings with people you meet at any stage in your life. The book also gives considerable insight into the mindset of other strippers, including "gay for pay" straight boys there (supposedly) just for the money, as well as the lives of some of the regular (but occasionally racist) customers, who craved the forced intimacy and fantasy "connection" made with these boys. Last but not least, it gives a historical and political perspective on gay nightlife in Seymour's beloved home town, which razed all of these clubs about ten years ago to make room for the new baseball stadium for the Washington Nationals. Much recommended, five dancing stars out of five.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, raunchy and inspirational, June 3, 2008

By 

VJBoyd - See all my reviews

This review is from: All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. (Hardcover)

When this book first came across my desk, I wondered if I'd be able to relate to some gay guy who fantasizes about stripping, and then makes that fantasy come true. But this book is about more than that. Sure, that's Craig Seymour's story, and he's sticking to it, but he also makes the book about so much more: about following your dreams and passions, about facing down your fears, about being who you really are. And to top it all off, Seymour accomplishes all this with a page-turning narrative that somehow manages to be raunchy, inspirational and hilarious, all at the same time. If you can only read one book this summer, this one is it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writer, juicy story and a great read, June 26, 2008

By 

Rich Merritt (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All I Could Bare: My Life in the Strip Clubs of Gay Washington, D.C. (Hardcover)

LOVED THIS BOOK! It's easy to read and entertaining and deep all at the same time. Seymour goes from being a guy who wanted his epitaph to say "He Never Embarrassed His Parents" to a stripper who takes all his clothes off so men could fondle him for money. Craig comes across as a guy you'd hope to meet and not just for his body. As only someone who's participated in the system can describe, he grasps the nuances and complexities of sex work.

He seems to have a great spirit with observations like the following:

"It was easy to think of the customers as just dirty old men, but many, like Dave, had led lives that had been full of secrets and compromise. That made their time at the clubs seem less like a hedonistic indulgence and more like a taste of hard-worn freedom."

He also pays tribute to Frank Kameny, an often-overlooked brave pioneer in the days of pre-Stonewall gay equality and exposes the hypocritical Matt Drudge.

Thanks for baring your soul, Craig!

Rich Merritt, author of Code of Conductand Secrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star