Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratisation of Desire

by Brian McNair

From advertising to health education campaigns, sex and sexual imagery now permeate every aspect of culture. Striptease Culture explores the 'sexualization' of contemporary life, relating it to wider changes in post-war society. Striptease Culture is divided in to three * Part one – traces the development of pornography, following its movement from elite to mass culture and the contemporary fascination with ‘porno-chic’
* Part two – considers popular cultural forms of sexual representation in the media, moving from backlash elements in straight male culture and changing images of women, to the representation of gays in contemporary film and television
* Part three – looks at the use of sexuality in contemporary art, examinging the artistic ‘striptease’ of Jeff Koons, and others who have used their own naked bodies in their work.

Also considering how feminist and gay artists have employed sexuality in the critique and transformation of patriarchy, the high profile of sexuality as a key contributor to public health education in the era of HIV and AIDS, and the implications of the rise of striptease culture for the future of sexual poltics, Brian McNair has produced an excellent book in the study of gender, sexuality and contemporary culture.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Sexuality, Politics, Feminism, Womens Studies

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Brian McNair was a Scottish journalist. He was a member of the Glasgow Media Group.

Reviews

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best thing about reading this incredibly boring book was, finally, turning the last page.

I have to admit that I did laugh out loud when I read that Larry Flynt & Hugh Hefner were "highly visible supporters of, and contributors to, the Democratic Party's 2000 Presidential campaign."
I also found out that the movie "Boogie Nights" is NOT about disco dancing.
Sad to say but not even the constant name dropping, from David Bowie to the Marquis de Sade to Andy Warhol, could breathe life into this book.

Highly recommended to insomniacs, after four pages your eyes will be so heavy that you'll need toothpicks to prop them open. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Savage Mind · Rating 2 out of 5]

lots of facts and examples accompanied by a rather superficial analysis that does not take into consideration, at least not sufficiently, gender and power imbalances

[mar · Rating 4 out of 5]

inch resting analysis of sex n culture. plus they referenced aphex twin :3

[Hubert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author provides a decent summary of what the author terms 'Striptease Culture' - frames objects of media within historical and sociological trends in media, feminism, gender studies. Explains clearly the role of cultural capitalism in providing a space through which sexually charged examples of media thrive, both critically and commercially. 1st half of the book in which the term 'striptease' culture is stronger than the 2nd half, which deals more with "Sexual representation" and "sexual transgression."

[Maxwell Foxman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a really positive version of what Striptease Culture and pornography can do, without really providing a lot of details about it. I guess all-in-all, I would suggest reading the middle of the book, starting with Striptease Culture and moving on to talk about gender identity in Part 2. Part 1 strikes me as unrealistic and Part 3 was interesting in terms of Queer Cultural Theory among other things.

[J C Mitchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative look at the sexualisation of culture.

Quite heavy going at times, recommended for academic readers in particular.

[Kamila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Putri Sayuti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking at the cover and title of the book, it's not hard to conclude that it's just a joke: THE DARK SIDE OF AN URBAN SEX RITE, OR UNDERSTANDING A LIMITED LIFE, hmm atau, MEMBONGKAR KEHIDUPAN MALAM KELAS ATAS... Oh. Bukan itu. Bukan buku Jakarta Undercover ya ini.... Well anyway, dense analysis and sociocultural approach to sex, make this book worth reading in a more mature way.

[Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much about dancers as it is about adult culture bleeding into mainstream culture as this mentions movies and television, B/W images. Occasional insight.

[Pavel Tugarinov · Rating 2 out of 5]

хроники больного мира