Stripper Shoes [Paperback]

Cheryl Bartlett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2004

It's amazing how quickly fear andadrenaline can kill a buzz.¿ The first time, the trick is tobe just drunk enough to take your clothes off in public, but not quite so drunkas to fall off the stage, a complicated balance of blood volume to alcohol thatis no simple task for the uninitiated.My first time, dancing andcrawling around half-naked for the amusement of lonely software engineers andsalesmen, I came away with eight bucks, all ones. Still dazed and undecidedabout whether I should be humiliated or proud, I stepped off the stage tocongratulating pats and smiles. Since I can't take it back, I mayas well be proud. Without my glasses, faces aroundthe stage look blurry. It's just as well that I can't see. I've becomecompletely paranoid about being spotted by someone from my office. It's only amatter of time before some clandestine bachelor party comes up, and there I'llbe in all my glory.¿ I can just imaginemy boss dragged in by some client or company man to schmooze, lookingcompletely bored and embarrassed until he sees me here. 'Excuse me, Dr. Bartlett,don't I pay you enough?'¿

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CherylBartlett is the author of Matriphobia: The Fearof Becoming One's Mother, and FeministTheories: A Three Hour Tour.Sheearned her doctorate in Higher Education Policy from the University of Arizona.Cherylis the director of The Art of Science Research Support Services.Shelives in Tucson, Arizona, where she still has not completely unpacked.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (January 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414045050
• ISBN-13: 978-1414045054
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PH.D STRIPPERS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, February 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Stripper Shoes (Paperback)

Very well written account of a professional woman who embarks on a new and very unique part-time vocation. Ph.D researcher by day and a topless dancer by night. Author gives compelling insights into the life of a topless dancer, her co-workers, patrons and the "dark side" of that profession. As counter-point, she contrasts the differing pressures and tribulations of her day job and the precarious balancing act for her husband and family. An entertaining and thought-provoking book!

4.0 out of 5 stars Honest, Humorous, and most of all, Agenda-free, January 19, 2006

By 

Robin C. "perfectmotion" (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stripper Shoes (Paperback)

When a 32-year-old married mother of two, struggling with depression and a mid-life crisis, decides to step out and become a stripper, this nonfiction book chronicles her thoughts. Done as a series of vignettes, "Stipper Shoes" has neither axe to grind nor point to prove: instead it simply relates some of the author's experiences and observations from on and behind the stage in an interesting and funny way.

Despite the author's PhD, she approches the subject from a personal perspective rather than an academic one. She talks about applying for the job, the rules of the club, interactions between the strippers, her first experience with the stage, all in a very non-judgemental, anecdotal way. The book delivers plenty of humor, and, for a book about the sex industry, remains remarkably (and refreshingly) agenda-free. The second half drops off a bit, as the author starts comparing stripping to other aspects of her life, and realizing that despite her experience, she still doesn't have the answers. And the ones she does have are ultimately (and admittedly) rather neutral.

As a warning, there is a good deal of space spent on quoting. Songs, lyrics, and sayings by Thoreau and Neitzche, all make it into the book at the beginning of each "chapter"; and while some are relevant, some just take up space.

Overall, it's a short read, and an enjoyable one. Not without its faults, but those chapters are easy to skip. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to read about the industry without getting preached at.

13 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strippers 1: Corporate Harpies 0, March 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Stripper Shoes (Hardcover)

While this book could have been a cliched or snarky rambling observation more than an exposition, it is an honest, funny and frequently hot little read. The genuine straightforwardness, strength and humor it took for the author to not only do these things, but to later write about them in a way that did not require diminution of the strippers or herself is the nicest part of the whole book. Completely lacking an academic's "bug in the jar" approach within the book, the author's Ph.D. is just another fact in the mix. And she made me want to wear stripper shoes, too.