Neo-Burlesque: Striptease as Transformation

Sally (burlesque and performance studies, New York Univ.; Fighting the Flames: The Spectacular Performance of Fire at Coney Island) provides thought-provoking scholarly analysis of the neo-burlesque movement (an updated take on the burlesque scene of the 19th and early to mid-20th century), examining the work of performers such as Dita Von Teese, Dirty Martini, and Bambi the Mermaid. Having worked in the neo-burlesque scene as “a performer, producer, host, and teacher,” Sally writes as a “vulnerable observer,” compiling research, interviews with artists such as MsTickle and Julie Atlas Muz, and strenuous academic critique. Sally’s argument offers some theoretical frameworks for understanding neo-burlesque as a medium of performing art, participatory culture, and new sexual revolution. Striptease, once seen broadly as a symbol of women’s oppression, becomes in Sally's book a tool of empowerment, and she shows how different artists choose to wield it. Peppered with photographs and film stills from a vast array of performances, the book opens up a vibrant, engaging dialogue.