The League of Exotic Dancers: Legends from American Burlesque by Regehr Kaitlyn & Temperley Matilda

Author:Regehr, Kaitlyn & Temperley, Matilda [Regehr, Kaitlyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780190457587
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

This sits in sharp contrast to nude go-go, which as its name suggests, required no temporal waiting period for live nudity. The presumption that audiences could and would be engaged by a forty-five-minute striptease implies a sense of stardom or special quality that is not afforded to go-go girls. In addition, the highly energized and often sporadic movements associated with go-go, as well as the spirit and impetus behind go-go, was rarely thought to be as sensual as burlesque. Rather, go-go focused on a free, party atmosphere likely fueled by the presence of pornography, which would have pushed consumer expectation for greater nudity and immediacy.

San Francisco not only introduced nude go-go to the nation but also was the location of the Mitchell brothers’ O’Farrell Theater, which pioneered more personal striptease performances known as lap dancing in 1980. Lap dancing not only increased that amount of nudity but also necessarily increased its availability. Interacting with patrons, both on a personal and more physical level, has now become an expected and essential element of the striptease industry. Here in this space, a more intimate and often more complex relationship between dancer and audience is a standard element of striptease performance. The strip club floor, with its booths and laps, presents a constant tension, where the audience is in very close proximity to dancers’ real, naked bodies, who must nonetheless maintain a negotiated distance.

When Kitten found nudie cuties had come to an end with the close of the decade, lap dancing was an established tradition. I asked Kitten to describe the origin of lap dancing as she perceived it and questioned what it was like, after enjoying the stardom granted by the nudie cuties, to leave the film frame and move into the laps of patrons:

Pretty soon all the nightclubs were hiring that kind of entertainment. … They wanted just to get down and dirty and do the lap dances and all that. So, I moved on to movies … because you’ve got to get so close to the guys. Who the fuck wants to do that naked, almost do a dry fuck? And, then I started drinking to cope with it. … I don’t put anything down, and I’ve done it all, baby, porn, everything.

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