So I am preparing to write my master's thesis, and frankly, the subject has become boring to me (body image of adolescent Latin American girls). I'm going back to dancing in a couple of weeks, when season begins, and that has been on my mind a lot lately. So the other day, I was at a coffee shop and decided to peak at what kind of social research has been done on strip clubs/strippers/power differentials/etc.
Needless to say, there is a lot of "feminist" lit out there that shuns exotic dance as degrading and exploitative, but all of the observer research (besides two or three instances) has been done by women who came into the club as customers (and therefore totally disrupted the environment by sheer fact that they were single women customers), or men. I actually got pretty pissed off by it all. I clearly remember the cons of dancing during my undergrad; but I very clearly remember the pros. One of the things that I loved the most about dancing was the self-confidence, assertiveness and power that it gave me. To say dancers are powerless and exploited - huh? Aren't there people in all low-skilled jobs that are exploited? IF there was ever a point where I felt exploited or powerless, at the end of the day, it was I who made the decision of whether or not to put up with that - there was always another club I could go to. I made myself an asset.
So, I was talking with my committee head about all this (a black feminist man - and AMAZING professor!), and I was explaining that feminine sexuality is a power. I mean, really, it's a power that men will never have (Well, most) - so why are we so ashamed by it, as women? If a woman uses her sexuality as a power, she is manipulative, a whore, "trying to take the easy road," etc. Don't women realize that these sentiments are put in place by patriarchy?
Then, my adviser looked at me and said, "bingo. If women used their sexuality as a power, they would rule the world."
I made a comment on this in a feminist ethnography class last week - everyone was having a bitchfest about how academia is male-dominated, blah blah blah. I got fed up and said, "ladies! when are we going to stop viewing having a vagina as a handicap???" I mean, jesus! Embrace it. I will be the first to admit that I know exactly how to tap into this feminine power, and I use it whenever necessary. That doesn't discount my intelligence - it just evens the male/female playing field a bit.
What do you all think?



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I think that you have a valid point. If you can get enough research to back up your thesis idea of "feminie sexuality is a power", you could definitely get a good Masters paper out of it. However, I wouldn't limit it to just strippers-I would use any female sexuality power figure/job. I know bartenders and waitresses use it sometimes, actresses, models, students, etc do as well. Teachers, business professionals-almost all women have used it at some point in order to get ahead. And it is empowering to do that.






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