Synopses & Reviews
Her curiosity began as a teenager, with an awareness of her body and the reaction other people had to it. It continued with the realization that women's bodies often gave them a strange power over men. As an adult, it became a fascination with professional sex workers, leading to a plunge into their world. Bare follows the authora young feminist journalism majorand her fellow dancers through Seattle strip clubs and bachelor parties, exploring in riveting detail Eaves' own motivations and behavior, as well as those of her coworkers, as they make their way through the sometimes exhilarating, often disturbing world of stripping. This compelling, revealing memoir exposes the reader to that world behind the flashing lights, and offers illuminating insights into the reasons women take up this work-and how it affects their identities and lives off the job. In its unstinting honesty, Bare demands that we take a closer look at the way sexuality is viewed in our culture; what, if anything, constitutes "normal" desire; the ethics of swapping moneyor anything elsefor sex; and how women and men navigate the perilous contradictions and double standards that make up today's socio-sexual conversation.
Review
"[A]bsorbing....Eaves displays both a level of candid introspection rarely seen and a curiosity that she goes to great lengths to quench, leading to an utterly engrossing, accessible, and informative study." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Well-rendered portrait of a specific milieu, with a dash of politics thrown in to hold it all together." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Eaves manages to avoid moralizing in favor of reportage, and despite the title's ominous promise, keeps the philosophizing to a minimum." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
In this candid, insightful book, Eaves gives both her firsthand experience of stripping and a new understanding of the role of women's sexuality in contemporary sexual mores. The stories Eaves relates provide an engrossing look at the lives of the workers in one of America's largest industries.
About the Author
Elisabeth Eaves was born and raised in Vancouver. She has a masters degree in international affairs from Columbia University and has worked as a journalist for Reuters. She lives in New York City.