Thinking Critically about Strip Club Research

Abstract

This article explores two interrelated issues in the exotic dance literature: (1) claims that research on strip clubs is virgin, unstudied territory, and not taken seriously, and (2) the unrelenting focus on negotiations of power between men and women in the clubs. It argues that the study of commercial sexand here specifically of exotic dance -is itself culturally informed. Thus, there has been a great deal of studying in strip clubs, but less exploration of the ways that these venues, and those of us who study them, are implicated in larger social, cultural, political, economic, and intimate relationships, processes, and patterns of meaning. A cultural approach to the study of strip clubs (Agustín, 2005) opens our investigation of these important sites of sexual-economic exchange in theoretically innovative and timely ways.

Dance and Sexuality: Many Moves

“…These kinds of narratives about dance and sexuality are often written by college-educated women (e.g., Angier, 1976;Bruce, with Benenson, 1976;Burana, 2001;Cody, 2005;Dragu & Harrison, 1988;Eaves, 2002;Futterman, 1992;Schweitzer, 2001;Seymour, 1994). Some dancers have earned doctorates drawing upon their performing experiences (e.g., Brooks, 1997;Claid, 2006;Eaves, 2002;Egan, 2006aEgan, , 2006bFrank, 2002Frank, , 2007Johnson, 2006;Lewis, 1998aLewis, , 1998bLewis, , 2000. Feindel (1988) was a former dancer with the National Ballet.…”

“…Liepe-Levinson (1998 referred to male degradation; when women take control of their sexuality, males need fantasy to maintain their dominance (Wood, 2000). Frank (2007) argued that contradictions about power are contested and negotiated. Dancers negotiate gender relations as women do in other service occupations (Ronai & Ellis, 1989).…”

Views, events, and debates

“…Space to negotiate a sense of personal power appears to be limited to the sexualisation of self and capitalising on femininity in the context of ongoing inequality in employment markets (Wesley 2002). Yet, considerable emotional work is demanded of women, to form bonds with regulars that ensure their continuing consumption, recognise and embody men's fantasies, and bolster their masculinity through performance (Wood 2000;Frank 2003Frank , 2007.…”

Multi - Girl - Culture : An Ethnography of Doing Identity

“…problems make for better news). The discourse about girls at risk continues well into the current decade, and recent media panics about girls include the 'mean girl', following the movie Mean Girls (see Gonick, 2004;Ringrose, 2006), and the 'bimbo culture' discussed in chapter 1 (see Frank, 2007;Pitcher, 2006). …”