As a burlesque performer with a substantial history as a strip joint stripper, I'm frequently asked what the difference is between burlesque and strip joint stripping, and my favorite difference to cite is that nobody ever asks strip joints strippers what the difference is between burlesque and stripping.
Burlesque performers do need to differentiate their style for professional purposes, in order to help the venues and produers who book them choose the right kind of performance for their intentions. Some also prefer not to be conflated with the sex-industry-immediacy of strip joints, while others actually also work as strippers and want to differentiate for professional reasons alone. Many burlesque performers are perfectly comfortable being called strippers and don't care if their moral turpitude is aligned with strip joints.
Of course, it rarely occurs to anyone to consider whether or not strip joint strippers would want to be conflated with burlesque. There is sometimes a touch of condescending magnaminity, or a sense that some burlesque performers are almost disturbingly eager to show that they're capable of appreciating strippers, if the strippers are doing some really cool moves that they can imagine have street cred. Many strip joint strippers are pretty aware that they're bad-ass and that their booty-clap, pole trick, or slow burn is worthy of approbation, and don't care if people think they've ever taken a ballet, theater, or circus class. If they are particularly aware of burlesque, they tend to enjoy it but would rather not spend $1000 on a costume to make $100 a night.
For the most part, however, burlesque performers are a rowdy bunch who aren't at all worried about being perceived as strippers, seeing as how they take off their clothes in public and all.
When I was a busy anti-censorship activist, I spent a lot of time studying ways that the First Amendment applied to adult entertainment, and one of my favorite fellow activists was Judith Lynne Hanna. Even when I didn't see things exactly the same way, I appreciated her thoroughness and perspective. Following is the table of contents for her 2012 book Naked Truth. Almost all of these things are discussed in an informal way by strip joint strippers, amongst themselves, and with clientele and management, but Dr. Hanna has a gift for presenting her research and observations in a way that strikes a note of reason from the bar room to the class room to the court room. It's amazing to me how many aspects there are to the topic of exotic dancing, and I've never grown tired of thinking about it.
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Naked Truth
Strip Clubs, Democracy
and a Christian Right
by Judith Lynne Hanna
Across America, strip clubs have come under attack by a politically aggressive segment of the Christian Right. Using plausible-sounding but factually untrue arguments about the harmful effects of strip clubs on their communities, the Christian Right has stoked public outrage and incited local and state governments to impose onerous restrictions on the clubs with the intent of dismantling the exotic dance industry. But an even larger agenda is at work, according to Judith Lynne Hanna. In Naked Truth, she builds a convincing case that the attack on exotic dance is part of the activist Christian Right’s “grand design” to supplant constitutional democracy in America with a Bible-based theocracy.
Hanna takes readers onstage, backstage, and into the community and courts to reveal the conflicts, charges, and realities that are playing out at the intersection of erotic fantasy, religion, politics, and law. She explains why exotic dance is a legitimate form of artistic communication and debunks the many myths and untruths that the Christian Right uses to fight strip clubs. Hanna also demonstrates that while the fight happens at the local level, it is part of a national campaign to regulate sexuality and punish those who do not adhere to Scripture-based moral values. Ultimately, she argues, the naked truth is that the separation of church and state is under siege and our civil liberties—free speech, women’s rights, and free enterprise—are at stake.
A leading dance scholar and critic who has served as an expert court witness in more than one hundred exotic dance cases nationwide, JUDITH LYNNE HANNA is Affiliate Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. She has written hundreds of articles and numerous books, including To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication; The Performer—Audience Connection; Dance, Sex and Gender; Dancing for Health: Conquering and Preventing Stress; and Partnering Dance and Education.
Contents:
Prelude: Sparks Fly: Church-State Conflict 1
An Awakening
From Strip Club to Religion
Aftershock of Secularism and Sexual Revolution
More Surprises
Why Christian Right Activists Attack Exotic Dance
Full Disclosure
Itinerary
Chapter 1: Scripture and Hostility to Exotic Dance
Reasons for Christian Right Opposition
Dominionism
Soldiers of the Cross
Money and Influence
Challengers in Christian Right
The Body and Dance
The Uncovered Body and Lust
Patriarchy Challenged
The Nature of Men
Expectations
Deceit
The First Amendment Umbrella
Chapter 2: Fighting Exotic Dance: Call to War 32
The Attack
General Political Strategy
Adverse Secondary Effects Campaign
Allegations Challenged
Criteria for Evidence
Disregard of Evidence
Indecent, Lewd, and Obscene
Government Regulation under a Mythical Pretext
Other Government Actions
Psychological and Physical Attack
An Illustrative Case: Phil Burress and the Citizens for Community Values
Chapter 3: Target of Attack: Striptease 101 or Seduction by the Devil 71
Roots
Who’s Onstage
Getting There
Serious “Speech”
Exotic Dance Dialect
Components of Exotic Dance
Showcase
Private Dance
The Art of It
Pecking Order and Social Class
Artistic Value
Dance “Class”
Adult Play for Pay
“Satan’s” Ploys
Turning On
Reading for the Connection
Parody
Moving It
Close Up and Touching
Music and Setting
Socially Redeeming Values
Chapter 4: Nudity Touch, and Sex: Marginal or Mainstream 127
“Sinful Nudity” Is American
Simulated Nudity
Self-Touch
Dancer-Patron Touch
Simulated Sex
Chapter 5: “Rottweilers” Lock Their Jaws: Bench Trials 140
Arrests in a Family Business
Why Raid Showcase Theater?
Club Fights and Wins First Round
Round Two: The 2003 Attack
Public Hearing on Proposed Exotic Dance Regulations
Regulations (CB-86-2003) Passed
Legal Challenge
The Battle Continues: Round Three
Commissioned Report
Raids on Club Exstasy
Harassment of Showcase Theater
More Laws
“New” Regulations (CB-61-2006)
Another Lawsuit against Prince George’s County
Denouement
Chapter 6: Shooting Nude Crotches: Jury Trials 165
Class Act in Cannon Falls
Destiny’s Case
Paris’s Case
Sugar Daddy’s in Benton County
Amy’s Case
Community Positive Feedback on Exotic Dance
About the Economy
Secondary Effects
Trampling Rights
Misplaced Morality
Respect for Women
Artistic Value
Community Negative Feedback on Exotic Dance
Serious Artistic Merit
Brandy’s Case
Community Talk-Back
Coda
Chapter 7: Exotic Dancers and Labor: Need to be Saved? 184
Kinds of Clubs
Good Bosses
Bad Patrons and Bosses
Pluses and Minuses
Financial Disputes
Truth Be Told
Chapter 8: Christian Right Claims Club Crime: Where Are the Bodies? 210
Murder: Boyfriends, Husbands, Police, Mafia, and Others
Different Violence
Dancer Aggression
Attacks on Property
Prostitution
Drugs
Bribery
Violations of Laws Specifically Regulating Clubs
Questionable Police Tactics
Stigmatization of Exotic Dance
Hypocrisy
So, Where Are the Bodies? Evidence?
Chapter 9: Stripping Your First Amendment and More 241
The Defense of Exotic Dance
Duel in the Desert and Moral Scold
Reactive and Proactive Club Resources
Indirect Support
The Constitution
The Courts Speak and Misspeak
Evidence of Adverse Secondary Effects
Economic Impact
Time, Place, and Manner Considerations
Zoning and Alternative Locations
Governmental Interest
Overbreadth
Alcoholic Beverage Control
Obscenity
Prostitution
Licensing
Artistic Choice
Dogma v. Pluralism
Perils of Disregarding the Naked Truth
Appendices 261
1 Exotic Dance 262
2 Comparison 263
3 Exotic Dance Criteria for Serious Artistic Merit
4 Nudity in Exotic Dance 264
5 Messages of Physical Distance 265
6 Expressive Contact in Exotic Dance 266
7 Contact in Social Dance: Lap Dance Heritage 267
8 Exotic Dance Patrons 268
9 Judith Lynne Hanna's Exotic Dance Expert Witness Court Testimony 270
10 Jurisdictions that Attack Exotic Dance 273
11 Key Christian Right Political Activists and Revenue in the News, 1995–2010 270
12 Arsenal of a Segment of the Politically Active Christian Right 282
13 Reality and Myth: What Neighbors Say about Exotic Dance Clubs 283
14 Protection under the Constitution of the United States of America 287
Notes
289
References 297
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To Contact Author: jlhanna@hotmail.com (www.judithhanna.com)
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