This was an interesting book, written by a woman that gives insight into working as a stripper while pursuing an education. The author tells a great story; I enjoyed this book.

I tried. And then I tried again. And then I tried a third time, in hopes I would make it through this book.
I made it to 25% before giving up entirely.
First, there's the overall feel of the book. Memoir with a great collection of stories, and then suddenly a thesis style facts section thrown in, I think meant to explain her growth but instead felt like a forced justification.
Second, there was Catlyn herself. I feel hypocritical, but as you bang on about the freedoms of feminism and the choice to strip, how dare you question someone else's freedom to choose to let other's pay for their choices. There's a story about another stripper letting a customer pay for a boob job where she condemns the other woman for giving up ownership of her body. It was just too painfully hypocritical to me.

Strip by Catlyn Ladd outlines the author's experiences of being a stripper. It looks at her reasons for her choice of occupation and the positive benefits she gained from her choice, saying that it made her more positive about her body and sexuality. In addition, it looks at the abuses faced by the author and her colleagues. She compares her experiences with the narratives of her colleagues, before contrasting them with the myths surrounding, both; sex work, and the people who work in that sector.

There's no real structure to this book. It flits between two different ideas, an academic paper and a diary entry about the inner workings of a strip club. There's no journey. There's not even really that much about being a feminist. For a book even this short, it feels like it's too long. It's alright, but not as insightful as I thought it was going to be.

Catlyn Ladd is an academic who worked as an exotic dancer/stripper (both terms are used in the book) while in college. Strip offers us an insight into what that was like and how Ladd’s feminism was impacted by, and in turn impacted on, her time as a sex worker.

A thoroughly enjoyable book, the author is a college student putting herself through university grad school by stripping. She has a healthy self-esteem, is very clearheaded and is no one’s victim in any sense of the word. Indeed she is an intellectual and a feminist so spends part of the book discussing the industry by way of research and academic theory. That is not to say, the book is boring. Indeed, I found it quite fascinating. Well-written and very interesting.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

From the title I wasn't to sure I had a feeling that this book was going to be a bit preachy however I was pleasently surprised. The book is all about a woman who tells us about her life as a stripper. She talks about the good having lots of money to do what she wants but she also talks about the bad, not having a say in what is happening, fighting with the other girls. I really liked her as a main character, while I couldn't relate to her situation personally it had a lot of relate ability and I could see how a lot of people could relate to it. The kinds of people she met were interesting and they weren't all the same some were creepy and slimy while others just wanted someone to get in and get out. The writer tells about everything that happened and all of the different people she met along the way in her short run as a stripper from college, to quitting five years later. She talked about her clients and how some were decent well rounded men not all creepers, even though there were a few of those as well. I found some of the stories interesting and its crazy to believe that would happen. I enjoyed the story and I liked all the little anecdotes. Really good book. Really funny read and I'm glad I got the chance to read this.

Strip: The Making of a Feminist by Caitlyn Ladd was received direct from the publisher. The title alone made me think this may not be the book for me. My experiences with strippers, and the profession, to keep the term simple, are some in the job are working their way through college, some are moms trying to earn a living, and some are drug addled and enjoy what they do. Anyway back to the book review. This author, at times made me feel for her and at other times made me annoyed with what she was saying as she made the choice to be there, don't blame others for what happens.

The Dictionary.com definition of feminism is:

fem·i·nism: noun: noun: feminism

the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.

Equality of the sexes seems the main point. However when I read this book, some things that stuck out at me are quotes that tend to be NOT even trying to equal the sexes, such as:

“Find sports to be a boorish manifestation of hypermasculinity.” “He takes up space, talks words, and pays.”

Overall I gave the book a 3 Stars and will not be sharing my review anywhere expect Netgalley.

A particular guilty pleasure of mine is to read the memoirs of sex industry workers. This work, Strip, fits in comfortably to the existing body of works. It's not going to blow the roof off anything, but it's not as atrociously written as Diablo Cody's infamously bad work. It's honest, but it does feel like the language has been touched up quite a bit, since the writer seems a little too composed in some situations to be speaking in the manner she does, although, I could be wrong on that point. I think it's more likely that we all would like to remember ourselves as constantly being very eloquent, and that's the place she's coming from.

Ladd's book is interesting in that the academic herself was a stripper, not an outsider, but she is more conversational in her tone. While she does digress into theory, it's more a memoir of her time in the business, from creep customer to how she met her husband. In that sense, I can't treat it as academic. In terms of a memoir, it's interesting, but it's not anything new to me. It would a good introductory text to give to someone who is looking to read a book like this, but if you're looking for scandal or titillation, this isn't for you.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this book but, on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised.

The writer tells us about her career as an exotic dancer, from when she started as a junior in college to her retirement 5 years later. She tells us about all the people she met along the way: other dancers, customers, bouncers and other staff in the clubs. She also gives us some insight into her personal life when relevant.

I was surprised by many of the accounts of the customers, some of whom would become her regulars. I was expecting unsavoury sleazes, and there are a couple, but they are very much in the minority. Most of the men she describes are well turned out, respectful and intelligent. Some are lonely and mistake the business relationship with a dancer as a true friendship, many fall in love and have to be let down gently. Some men are single, some not and some like to bring their wives with them, who enjoy the experience just as much as they do.

This book has a middle section where the author talks about feminism and how it relates to the world of stripping. She quotes former research that has been carried out and discusses where this has fallen short. Whilst I enjoyed this section a great deal I feel that it was perhaps a little long and might have been better if it had been split into two chapters, separated by a narrative chapter to break things up a little.

I found it very easy to get engrossed in this book and found it to be a real (virtual) page turner. It was a really enjoyable read.

Strip by Catlyn Ladd was a very interesting read. While I have never stripped for a living myself I am no stranger to the world of the night having been a bartender in NYC, and I have friends who have worked as strippers in several different locations and clubs. It was really interesting to read how Catlyn started stripping and what her experiences were.

I really appreciated the fact that her personal stories are interlaced with studies and facts on the profession in general, and of her view on how stripping and feminism intersect. I am personally of the same viewpoint as Catlyn: if it’s consensual, no one is getting hurt or uncomfortable, and there is no trafficking involved, then why should a women not do what she wants to do? Why should a woman not enjoy stripping? So it was interesting to read about the positive experience that Catlyn had.

However. Catlyn talks about the fact that most studies on exotic dancers are one-sided or just too general, but hers is too. She only worked in high-end, “clean” clubs (which she doesn’t hide), and therefore cannot speak to those who work in the less “clean” ones. My eyes also started the glaze over after I read the word “academic” a few times - there is honestly no need to say it over and over again, we know she is a professor, and we know she knows she’s smart. There is a part in the last chapter where Catlyn explains that she tried to keep the narrative as true to herself as possible, including her vanity and maybe snobby attitude at times - I think this sentence would have done well in the first chapter to help provide more context. There were honestly times when I winced...

For example, the chapter dealing with the stripper who is obviously in an abusive relationship was problematic for me. It’s just black and white for Catlyn, and it hovers over being slightly judgmental, somewhat victim blaming. Yes, she states that she is lucky to never have been molested, abused, hit, but the part where she tries to hammer home that she is a fighter, strong, and was taught to “make good choices” is a naive and off-putting. There is no element of choice in being a victim. There was another spot where she talks about “manly men” who don’t dance. So only unmanly men dance?! A little weird!

Also, the timeline is a little wonky, which sometimes makes it a little tough to read. We learn about how she meets her husband in detail, and then in the next chapter she talks about telling a customer that she is going to be married and refers to her husband Gabe as “her spouse”. It just sounded a bit strange because as the reader we know his name is Gabe! I’m being slightly nitpicky here, but it just stood out to me.

All in all Strip is a good read, an interesting study of how one woman sees how feminism and stripping can coincide with each other. It would have been interesting to see Catlyn compare her personal experience to other women she worked with, or possibly to other women whose experience was starkly different. Maybe for the next book!

Strip will be published by John Hunt Publishing Ltd on June 29th, 2018. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

I came to this book with fairly high expectations; I felt sure that an ex-stripper turned academic would share some great insights and have a unique perspective on the feminist movement.

The book is divided into three sections. Each contains a number of autobiographical accounts and a final chapter of ‘academic’ analysis.
Many of the accounts are interesting and enlightening, there are some interesting characters and the author’s voice comes through very clearly. Sadly, that’s the rub.
I’ve never read an academic book that contains the words ‘Now I’m an academic’, ‘Now I’m in academia’, and similar, as much as this one. Constant references to her extreme intelligence, being the cleverest person in the room, people being intimidated by her intelligence, became tiresome and alienating.
Show, don’t tell. Stephen Hawking didn’t use several chapters in each of his books to describe his own genius.
Despite the author’s attempts to discredit anyone else writing in the subject, I’d recommend ‘Strip City’ by Lily Burana, published by Virago. It’s far superior in every way.

Strip is the memoir of Ladd’s time working in strip bars, bars that are at the forefront of the male gaze and her perspective in this book makes for food for thought throughout.

How Catlyn delivers this book is brilliant. Her voice is distinctive and makes this book, even in uncomfortable situations, such an easy and incredible read from the start.. How she talks about the people she works with and meets, challenges what you anticipate might be the situation and challenges the stereotypes that are perpetuated by media on who these women are and the men who visit them.

The frankness of the writing and the delivery of this book is incredible and it makes me want to read so much more of her work, Ladd’s way with words shines in this short but honest book.

Interesting topic but the style of writing didn't appeal to me. The time frame bounced around which made it challenging to know where in her journey the author was.

This book was honest and unapologetic. The author has given a different perspective to consider and it was a very enjoyable read. The book did not go down the path I expected and I enjoyed it much more because of that.

Strip provides readers with a fascinating insight into the mind of an exotic dancer from a performer turned academic and through its depiction, the story realises strong feminist and liberal ideologies. Highly recommended!

From the outset, I found the author’s insight into her experiences very surprising. I expected sleazy men and drunk bachelors and what we find within the pages of this book are the complete opposite. In some cases, we’re introduced to intelligent men seeking the company of equally intelligent women and lonely men trying to find their way in life and turning to the dancers as a form of therapy. Each chapter introduces readers to a new patron and you start to see the types of men who frequent these clubs. I found the way the author broke her story down enlightening as each chapter challenged my perceptions and expectations.

The dancers we meet were a mixed bag of personalities and each evidently performed for different reasons. There is clearly a calling to be looked upon as an idol and this in some cases leads to a desperate search to find create the perfect body. With rich patrons willingly offering up cash for these girls to further improve their looks, you can’t help but wonder if these men are feeding off the dancers’ insecurities by funding their desires or if the women have the upper hand and use the men for their own purposes.

Despite the competitive nature of this job, the women clearly share a bond. Referred to a “fresh meat” when starting out, most women would start waving the feminist flag aloft at the perceived slight to their gender and yet these dancers took the term in their stride. It is clear from the outset that these women either simply discount the opinions of men or are happy to simply play their part as a means to an end, as was clearly the case with the author who simply danced for enjoyment and to fund her academic studies never questioning her looks or actions.

At the end of the book, the author sets out a series of questions designed to further challenge our opinions on the empowerment of women, gender equality and class economics. Although written in part as a biography, this story also delves into current research on exotic dancing and the author uses critical commentary in order to challenge the preconceptions of readers by presenting the facts in a way to allow readers to form their own opinions.