When did I last read a novel about gay male escorts that didn’t make me want to set the world on fire with rage? It was probably Rupert Everett’s Hello, Darling, Are You Working?, one of the sex workers’ rights advocate/actor’s less well-known works. But also I read that book years ago, so long ago… Continue reading The Lengths (2013)
Category: Reviews
Girl, Undressed (2008)
by Caty and Red 12/9/2013 update: Yesterday, several commenters pointed out that speculating on the author’s trauma history was inappropriate of us. Upon reflection, we agree that this was specious and unnecessary, and apologize deeply for doing so. Red: I love stripper memoirs; I buy them all indiscriminately and hope for the best. Strippers are… Continue reading Girl, Undressed (2008)
Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
I’ll confess that Dancing at the Blue Iguana is a special film to me. Over ten years ago, I naively watched this film as research before I finally decided to join the ranks as a card carrying exotic dancer. “Oh God,” I remember thinking after watching it. “Can I really do this?” Dancing at the… Continue reading Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
Neon Wasteland: On Love, Motherhood, and Sex Work In A Rust Belt Town (2011)
Susan Dewey conducted fieldwork for her academic study at a strip club she calls “Vixens” in a town she calls “Sparksburgh” in the post-industrial economy in upstate New York. She describes interacting with approximately 50 dancers but focuses on a few: Angel, Chantelle, Cinnamon, Diamond, and Star. Some names were changed, but these pseudonyms will… Continue reading Neon Wasteland: On Love, Motherhood, and Sex Work In A Rust Belt Town (2011)
Don Jon (2013)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s much anticipated writing and directorial debut, Don Jon, is a romantic comedy about the shared struggle for intimacy between two shallow New Jerseyites, one with a propensity for porn and the other for Hollywood fairytales. Unfortunately, the film’s “satire” is so uncritical it mirrors the very problems it claims to critique. For starters,… Continue reading Don Jon (2013)