Bare: On Women, Dancing, Sex, and Power, Elisabeth Eaves

ok, this will come as a shock to you, but try to retain your grip on reality. apparently working as a stripper isn't a great job! apparently being viewed as a sex object and only a sex object all the time affects the way in which you think about yourself. apparently it affects your body image. and --this was the real kicker -- it can even have an impact on your relationships with men! "bare" is a first-person account by elisabeth eaves of her adventues working as a peep-show dancer, and her two days as a club stripper. i read a review of this book that accused eaves of dallying with stripping as a passtime, and i think there is a certain amount of valid criticism in that. eaves' book tells her story, and those of a few other strippers (many of whom were much more heavily involved in the sex industry than eaves herself). she discusses her feelings about herself and her body, and reveals a well of ambivalence for men caused in part by her experiences. ultimately the book is unsatisfying and i found myself angry with eaves' distress over her experiences. i don't buy the argument that victims are in part responsible for what happens to them, but eaves put herself by choice into a damaging industry, and she had every opportunity not to.
Posted by supersusie at April 2, 2004 10:35 AM