Stripped: Inside the Lives of Exotic Dancers [Paperback]

Bernadette C. Barton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0814799337 | ISBN-13: 978-0814799338

What kind of woman dances naked for money? Bernadette Barton takes us inside countless strip bars and clubs, from upscale to back road as well as those that specialize in lapdancing, table dancing, topless only, or peep shows, to reveal the startling lives of exotic dancers.

Based on over five years of research and from visiting clubs around the country, particularly in San Francisco, Hawaii, and Kentucky, Stripped offers a rare portrait of not just how dancers get into the business but what it's like for those who choose to strip year after year. Through captivating interviews and first-hand observation, Barton recounts why these women began stripping, the initial excitement and financial rewards from the work, the dangers of the life—namely, drugs and prostitution—and, inevitably, the difficulties in staying in the business over time, especially for their sexuality and self-esteem.

Stripped provides fresh insight into the complex work and personal experiences of exotic dancers, one that goes beyond the “sex wars” debate to offer an important new understanding of sex work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Makes an impressive contribution to the sociology of work and its intersection with sex and gender studies at the theoretical and applied levels. It is an excellent examples of the rich data and critical methodological insights that can emerge in the course of engaged field research.”
-American Journal of Sociology

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“The thrust of stripper scholarship is that both dancers and customers are more like your next-door neighbors. Some are your next-door neighbors.”
-Philadelphia Inquirer

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“Stripped is a revealing book about a revealing (and controversial) trade that focuses on a philosophical clash between old—and new—school feminism.”
-Courier-Journal

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“Compelling. . . . This accessibly written, matter-of-fact book makes important contributions to what is known about the lives and experiences of the growing number of women who 'dance' naked for money. . . . Throughout, the author listens attentively to the shifting, insightful, diverse voices of women with whom she has a palpably respectful connection. Barton uses the complex picture that emerges to engage longstanding debates over the meanings of commodified femininity and sexuality.”
-Choice

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“Fascinating, insightful, and surprisingly balanced. This book will take you way beyond Hollywood's clichés and into the realities of stripping, and you'll emerge with a deeper understanding of the pleasures and the costs of being the object of male fantasies.”
-Susan Bordo,author of Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body

About the Author

Bernadette C. Barton is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814799337
• ISBN-13: 978-0814799338
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bernadette Barton (Ph.D. University of Kentucky 2000) is a member of the Sociology, Social Work and Criminology Department at Morehead State University. Her research and teaching interests include sexuality, gender, popular culture, religion, qualitative methods and the sex industry.

Bernadette's scholarship explores the experiences of members of marginalized groups. She is most fascinated by issues of transformation and social justice, such as: what makes someone conscious of social inequality? What causes people to change oppressive attitudes and behaviors? How can we really see one another across vast differences of geography, gender, race, class and sexual identity? Over the past fourteen years, Bernadette has worked on two major research projects, each exploring issues of inequality, gender, identity and sexuality. The first is a study of exotic dancers, published by New York University Press titled, Stripped: Inside the Lives of Exotic Dancers, and the second a study on religion and homosexuality in the Bible Belt, forthcoming from NYU Press titled, Pray the Gay Away: Religion and Homosexuality in the Bible Belt.