Erotic Performance and Spectatorship

This book presents a unique investigation into the experiences of women and men erotic dancers who dance for women customers. It offers a fresh theoretical perspective, combining queer theory with feminist insights to trouble the assumption that only women perform erotic dance, and only men watch.

Katy Pilcher is a Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University. Katy has completed research projects relating to erotic dance, sex work, and ageing and everyday life. Katy has served as an executive committee member of the Feminist and Women's Studies Association UK and Ireland for six years and is an editorial board member of Sociological Research Online. Katy has published within International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Sexualities, Sociological Research Online, Leisure Studies, Journal of International Women's Studies, and she recently co-edited Queer Sex Work (2015, Routledge).

Preface: The London journey of a 'Sex Work Researcher' 1. Introduction: Stripping Bodies 2. Queer Studies, Feminist Theory and Erotic Dance: Connections, Tensions and Possibilities 3. Researching Sexual Spaces: A Creative Approach 4. Drinking, Bonding and Watching a Male Strip Show 5. A Lesbian Erotic Dance Venue: Politics and Pleasures 6. The Aesthetic, Emotional and Embodied Work Practices of Erotic Dance 7. Conclusion: To Strip or Not To Strip? Reframing the Debate on Erotic Dance