Dancing for Dollars and Paying for Love: The Relationships between Exotic Dancers and their Regulars

188 Pages·2006·0.583 MB·English

by  R. Danielle Egan (auth.)

DANCING FOR DOLLARS
AND PAYING FOR LOVE
THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EXOTIC
DANCERS AND THEIR REGULARS
R. Danielle Egan
Dancing for Dollars and
Paying for Love
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Dancing for Dollars and
Paying for Love
The Relationships between Exotic
Dancers and Their Regulars
R. Danielle Egan
DANCINGFORDOLLARSANDPAYINGFORLOVE
© R.Danielle Egan,2006.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7044-2
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2006 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the
Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave
Macmillan Ltd.Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United
States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered
trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-4039-7045-9 ISBN 978-1-4039-8335-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781403983350
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Egan,Danielle.
Dancing for dollars and paying for love :the relationships between
exotic dancers and their regulars / by Danielle Egan.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.Stripteasers.2.Desire.3.Sex.4.Man–woman relationships.
I.Title.
PN1949.S7E33 2005
305.3—dc22 2005045945
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:January 2006
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to the two women I most admire.
My mom, Debra McEwan, for her deep, generous and
unconditional love. And to Fran Ingram, my grandmother,
for her belief in me.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Introduction Dancing for Dollars and Paying for Love 1
Chapter One Mapping the Architecture of Exotic Dance 23
Chapter Two Subjectivity Under the Black Light 47
Chapter Three “Bad Nights,” “Good Nights,” and Feminist
Possibilities 75
Chapter Four Money Men and Fantasy Girls 95
Chapter Five Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places 123
Conclusion Lessons Learned Under the Black Light 143
Notes 149
References 161
Index 171
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Acknowledgments
The pages that follow are marked by family, friends and colleagues
who, over the years, generously offered their time, feedback and
insights. Throughout this journey my family has shown love and
tremendous patience. My mother, Debra McEwan, has been my very
own cheerleader. Cyndi Ingram, Fran Ingram, Gilbert Ingram, Scott
McEwan, Erin O’Flaherty, Laura Daniels, and Julia Hill have been
important touchstones and wonderful supporters.
Stephen Pfohl’s comments were invaluable during the formative
stages of my research and writing. Eve Spangler, Sy Leventman,
Brinton Lykes, and Patricia Clough provided powerful feedback and
direction. While mired in reams of interview transcripts, Julie
Childers, Julie Manga, and Steve Farough (a.k.a. the Q-tips group)
were my sounding boards, tough critics, sympathetic ears, and great
friends. Ross Glover’s eye for inconsistencies, challenging questions,
and knowledge of the finer points of Lacanian psychoanalysis aided
this work in numerous ways. The dissertation fellowship provided by
the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences afforded
me the luxury of uninterrupted writing time.
Christine Warner deserves special mention. Her intelligence,
sense of humor and editorial brilliance are found throughout this
entire book.
I would also like to thank Patricia Arend, Greg Dimitradis,
Katherine Frank, Lisa Johnson, Denise Leckenby, Sarah Liebman,
Julie Schor, Allen Shelton, Kristin Sutton, Micheal Uebel, Amy
VanWagenen, and Elizabeth Wood for their helpful comments.
I have been blessed with amazing colleagues at St. Lawrence
University. Abye Assefa, Margaret Bass, Robert Cowser, Ken
Church, Judith DeGroat, Ron Flores, Traci Fordham Hernandez,