Burlesque West: Showgirls, Sex, and Sin in Postwar Vancouver

As a burlesque enthusiast frustrated by the censorious feminism, problematic methodology and factual errors rife in Rachel Shteir's "Striptease," Ross's book is refreshing and rewarding. The merits of a more narrow scope of study (akin to Allen's study of the British Blonds) are evident in Burlesque West. Ross built her study upon archival records, ephemera (such as scrapbooks) and copious oral histories. Ross methodically acknowledges the influences of her own identify locations within the study and the ethical negotiations inherent in conducting oral histories. Her purpose is not a definitive, wide-spectrum survey (a la Shteir) but a close examination of Vancouver through the compilation of often competing perspectives. A complex portrait of Vancouver burlesque performance emerges from Ross's ability to navigate both contradictory and complimentary testimonies, using performance and gender theory as her compass through contested historical terrain. By focusing on the clubs, managers, agents, performers and working conditions of Vancouver clubs after WWII, Ross creates a descriptive microcosm which identifies the male agents who were the controlling financial partners and creative collaborators to striptease dancers; profiles the racial divisions manifest in Vancouver clubs; investigates the hazardous working conditions of striptease; and documents the creative innovations of Vancouver dancers. These features are uniquely specific to Vancouver and provide a striking contrast to both the aesthetic promoted by American dancers and the dominant periodization of American burlesque. While touring American burlesque queens endorsed a highly-accessorized, parade-and-pose style of striptease, Ross records a more athletic, yoga-and-jazz-influenced choreography among Vancouver dancers, many of whom identified with an unembellished "hippie" feminine style (rejecting heels in favor of barefoot dance). Ross's account also locates the shift from theatrical burlesque to solo, nude pole-and-lap dancing in the 1970s, twenty years after the costumes, choreography and live music began to evaporate from burlesque clubs in the United States. Both Ralph Allen's and Becki Ross's monographs demonstrate the usefulness and specificity of burlesque histories which are circumscribed by a focus on individual companies, geographic zones and delineated epochs.