Award Date

1-1-1998

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Anthropology

First Committee Member

William Jankowiak

Number of Pages

68

Abstract

This following study serves as an attempt to apply theoretical questions to the phenomenon of striptease. I argue that striptease can be more fully understood as an act guided by the rules of performance. Strippers, and to a lesser extent the audience, can then be seen as actors employing a fantasy phase to sustain their respective roles within the charade of performance sex. Strippers and audiences are also players within the concept of performance itself, meaning they are simultaneously subject to and authors of the phenomenon. Using a biosocial approach, I explore the psychological, cultural, and physiological, etc., cues that may influence and/or motivate the characters involved in the performance of striptease. The formulations presented here are based on in-depth interviews with actual strippers and observations gathered during long-term strip club attendance.

Keywords

Anthropological; Striptease; Strippers; Sex workers

Controlled Subject

Ethnology; Recreation; Theater

File Format

pdf

File Size

1812.48 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Permissions

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this dissertation or thesis and wish to have the full text removed from Digital Scholarship@UNLV, please submit a request to digitalscholarship@unlv.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Download


COinS