Burlesque West: Showgirls, Sex, and Sin in Postwar Vancouver

by Becki Ross

After the Second World War, Vancouver emerged as a hotbed of striptease talent. In Burlesque West ,the first critical history of this notorious striptease scene, Becki Ross delves into the erotic entertainment industry at the northern end of the dancers' west coast tour - the North-South route from Los Angeles to Vancouver that provided rotating work for dancers and variety for club clientele. Drawing on extensive archival materials and fifty first-person accounts of former dancers, strip-club owners, booking agents, choreographers, and musicians, Ross reveals stories that are deeply flavoured with an era before "striptease fell from grace because the world stopped dreaming," in the words of ex-dancer Lindalee Tracey. Though jobs in this particular industry are often perceived as having little in common with other sorts of work, retired dancers' accounts resonate surprisingly with those of contemporary service workers, including perceptions of unionization and workplace benefits and hazards. Ross also traces the sanitization and subsequent integration of striptease style and neo-burlesque trends into mass culture, examining continuity and change to ultimately demonstrate that Vancouver's glitzy nightclub scene, often condemned as a quasi-legal strain of urban blight, in fact greased the economic engine of the post-war city. Provocative and challenging, Burlesque West combines the economic, the social, the sexual, and the personal, and is sure to intellectually tantalize.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Burlesque West: Showgirls, Sex, and Sin in Postwar Vancouver (2009) Ross traces the experiences of dancers, club owners, and promoters navigated the profitable, empowering, and popular, yet, ultimately, stigmatized, world of striptease and dance performances between the 1940s and 1980s. Despite such difficult contradictions, that became further complicated by gender, race, and sexuality, Ross argues that the industry provided “grease” to Vancouver’s economy which has been overlooked in favour of histories of sawmills and railways, reflecting the bias against vaudeville performers and organizers at the academic level (p. 21).
Ross’s greatest strength is demonstrating the arbitrary stigmatization of performers, based on class, race, and gendered ideas that were constructed in the post-war period. Indeed, her emphasis that these performers engaged in labour is critical in moving away from the devaluation or victimization of groups, mainstream society or sex-work, exclusionary feminists, place onto dancers. Most clearly this is demonstrated in her final chapter where Ross notes that figure skaters, just as striptease dancers, spend thousands on the perfect outfits and makeup and spend countless hours rehearsing performances. Yet, only one of these careers is heralded as a contribution to society and a reflection of nationhood. I also thoroughly enjoyed the attention paid to Princess Lillian, a Deaf performer.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are thinking this book is going to be an interesting read about the world of burlesque be warned. This book was written around the end of the 1990s and the author has a definite political and sexual agenda here that really has nothing to do with burlesque except as it relates to her personal beliefs. I found it very annoying to have to wade through her rantings on her hobby horses to get any meat out of the so called actual subject.

[Michelle Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burlesque West: Showgirls, Sex, and Sin in Postwar Vancouver is a richly layered and compelling study that illuminates a fascinating chapter of urban cultural history. The book situates burlesque within the shifting social and moral landscapes of postwar Vancouver, offering readers both an entertaining narrative and a serious analysis of performance, gender, and modernity. Written with clarity and scholarly precision, it balances a rigorous historical framework with the vibrancy of lived experience, making it accessible to both academic and general audiences.
One of the book’s most impressive qualities is its ability to humanize the performers at the heart of this story. Rather than treating burlesque merely as spectacle or scandal, the author foregrounds the agency, artistry, and resilience of the women who worked in this industry. Their lives and performances are contextualized within broader debates over sexuality, respectability, and cultural change, revealing the tensions between public condemnation and private fascination. This dual perspective allows the reader to appreciate burlesque not only as entertainment but also as a form of cultural expression that both challenged and reinforced dominant norms.
Equally noteworthy is the book’s vivid sense of place. The Vancouver of the mid-twentieth century emerges not just as a backdrop, but as an active participant in the story of burlesque. The author’s evocation of neon-lit theatres, bustling nightclubs, and the moral guardians of the city underscores how local politics, urban development, and community values shaped the reception of these performances. In this way, the book contributes significantly to urban history while simultaneously highlighting the intersections of gender, performance, and power.
Ultimately, Burlesque West succeeds in reframing a form of popular entertainment that has often been dismissed or trivialized. It recasts burlesque as a window into postwar anxieties, aspirations, and contradictions, while celebrating the creativity and courage of its performers. The result is a study that is as engaging as it is insightful, leaving the reader with a deeper appreciation of both the performers who animated the stages of Vancouver and the broader cultural dynamics that surrounded them. It is a groundbreaking book and I am proud to have been a researcher for it.

[Morgan M. Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

A definitive history of peelers in Vancouver from WWII through present. Ross examines every aspect of the industry and lives of strippers - from burlesque queens of the 1950s to pole dancers of the 1980s - and provides a fascinating level of historical detail. A must read.