Bare: On Women, Dancing, Sex, and Power

After reading her opinion piece in the NY Times I decided to read the book (fortunately my suite-mate had a copy, thank you Clara!!) I am more than halfway through the book right now and find that it is enlightening. What I've learned is something that I think we tend to deny when we think about the stripping business-- that it is a business. It is not about sex, it is about selling sex, or selling the idea of sex and all that is wrapped up with it (power, attractiveness, etc.) I think that this might bother men who want to feel like the women in these clubs truly fawn over them (see below). I found that Eaves is not full of herself at all in the book-- she just trats it like a business-- if anything she intellectualizes it (perhaps too much at times, I wish she would talk more about her and other dancers feelings). She writes about her own experience but also follows other dancers around-- in these sections she doesn't talk about herself at all, she is more like a reporter. Nevertheless, the book has been a fascinating read thus far.

To be honest I picked up this book because I was titillated by the subject. But I kept reading because it was an eye opener about sexuality and relationships between men and women. (I'm a guy.) The overlapping stories of the characters are great, with each one revealing something different. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed reading about the author's experiences in the adult nude dancer industry (Seattle's Lusty Lady). The author writes about early feelings and interest over her sexuality and how it affected men. She flirted with the power she felt over men. I was so much fascinated by the details of what the women did on stage or men did in the booths. Especially with regards as to what the dancers really thought about their customers. Another fascination lies in how Elisabeth Eaves used men to get what she wanted and needed. Its an interesting idea whether she was changed to think that way by nude dancing, or not. I enjoyed this book because it gave me insight into how women view men in regards to sex and power.

Excellent story that reads half like a page-turning novel and half like an interesting academic investigation. Eaves is able to examine her motives impartially, which is an almost impossible task, up until right before the end. The reader feels the same mix of intrigue, temptation, and disgust that stripping and sex-for-money is all about.Are strippers powerful because they extract money from weak men or are they contributing to societal stereotypes that have always placed women well below men? The answer, confusingly, is YES.

This book gives the reader a peek into the world of stripping, bachelor parties and peep-shows (there is a difference between the three). I felt that it broke away from the stereotypes and offered a fresh look at the temptations and pitfalls of this industry. Especially interesting is the examination of the consequences this job has on personal relationships and the tensions between wanting to keep this job in order to be free (financially, more free-time) and ceasing to be free by virtue of the job (it seems to `trap' some and tempt others to push their boundaries and make more money in prostitution, pornography, etc). The book is well written and impossible to put down.