Flesh for Fantasy: Producing and Consuming Exotic Dance Book

I'm so impressed with this book. It's a relief to read women acknowledge the joys of stripping without insisting that sex work is what any self-respecting sex positivist should be doing. The writers draw heavily on their own narratives as strippers or strip club customers. Perhaps because this collection is so grounded in lived, marginalized experiences (as opposed to privileged, liberal bubbles or pure intellectual musing), it avoids a lot of the inward-spiraling theorizing so frequent in similar work. It's a very easy and sometimes fascinating read.

Two things that I responded strongly to: 1) the inclusion of men's perspectives as regular customers, more complicated and touching than I ever would have expected; and 2) the general concession that sexual/economic dynamics are really, really complicated. No simple "sex work is degrading" or "sex work is empowering" outlook will ever be adequate. I realize that this idea is not new, but somehow Flesh for Fantasy drives the point home better than others I have read. Instead of dizzying ourselves trying to unravel the strange realities of eroticism, feminists are best served by fighting stigmatization around alternative sexualities (sex workers and their customers included), and letting individuals navigate their way without pressure to adhere to (or deviate from) culturally accepted norms.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in sex. And who isn't interested in sex?