Ivy League Stripper

for scott...

You need to get a grip on yourself. I don't care how many 'strippers' you know or have dated..I am one. I'm 22 and yes, I dance for 'one dollar.' Oh...too bad I leave with about a grand a night..and O wait..I own property at the age of 22..and yes, I AM putting myself through college. I've never been raped, don't do drugs, nor do I have children. Why should I go at the same speed as other people my age and wait for a career..and have student loans out..and not have that much money saved..and have to wait to get married to buy a house with TWO incomes..when I can be ahead of the game? Don't judge the life I live...you know nothing about it. Thanks :)

4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Not reality

I am also a stripper. I have worked in many different establishments, some very upscale. The author portrays strip clubs to be country clubs. In all strip clubs that I have worked, there is a large problem with prostitution, sex, drugs, alcohol, and the inevetable-affairs with clients. I too have a sob story and I got into stripping to fund my Medical school tuition. The bottom line, is women like us do it for nothing else but the easy and fast money. There is nothing glamorous about stripping, it's degrading, if men stayed home and paid attention to their wives, they wouldn't be out there giving their hard earned cash to women like me. Believe this book if you want, but in my professional opinion, Heidi is sugarcoating the reality of working in a strip club.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

great book ...very realistic...a must read

This was a book worth reading if you are interested in the subject of exotic dancers, which I am. Another excellent read that is new...Dance to Despair (Memoirs of an Exotic Dancer) written by Rebeckka Sathen Black was fabulous..although very different from Ivy league stripper...I could not put that book down...my advice...read both of them and see for yourself.....

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

'Ivy League Stripper' as an Undergraduate Teaching Tool

One of the challenges for college faculty who strive to teach their undergraduate students in the area of social deviance is to find material that combines seemingly esoteric theory with real-life issues. Recently, I began combining sections of John Curra's text entitled 'The Relativity of Deviance' (Sage Publications, 1999) with Heidi Mattson's book 'Ivy League Stripper' (Arcade, 1995; St. Martin's 1996) in my 300-level Social Deviance courses. I have found Ms. Mattson's work to be quite helpful in fostering class discussion pertaining to concepts such as ethnocentricity, overidentification, stigma symbols, and relativitstic thinking. Perhaps my only criticism of Ms. Mattson's work would be that she presents a very limited (but well intentioned) discussion of feministic theory on pp. 239-240 of the paperback edition; although I can understand why she would employ brevity since she is writing for a mass market. In summary, when combined with chapters 2 and 3 of Curra's text, and chapter 14 of Theoretical Criminology (4th Edition - Vold, Bernard, & Snipes, Oxford University Press, 1998), I believe that Ms. Mattson's text serves an an excellent vehicle for sparking discussion in social deviance courses.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

stripper reads stripper's story

I thought this was a great book. Being a topless dancer myself for 5 years I had to read it. I recommend this book to all those out there who do not understand why someone would want to dance or what the business is all about. I also recommend it to other dancers or wannabe dancers. Heidi does her best to stomp on the stereotypes of topless dancers. BRavo to Heidi! I feel like a friend of hers after reading her story!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hmmm

Very abrupt end otherwise not a bad read

to mr.strip club

Mr. strip club seems to have an issue with women in general. If you think you are better than strippers and they are all so messed up one would that think you would have figured that out after dating the first 20 of the 30 you claimed to have dated. Ladies and gentlemen, the more likely scenario is this sack of feces was rejected by strippers every time he tried to get their numbers at the club. I have seen pathetic woman haters like this before. Mr. Strip club, by some rogaine and maybe you will feel better about yourself and not need to lash out. I am a strong, smart and sassy woman who happens to be a stripper it does not define me.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Mr. Strip Club

After dating nothing but strippers over the last 8 years I decided I would read this book and drop a few words about it. I agree with the other comment about how she 'sugarcoats' the image of strip clubs and strippers.The comment about 'fast and easy money' is way more accurate. Most, but NOT ALL the girls are simply prostitutes masked with the title of 'Exotic Dancer'. I have dated probably 30 strippers and they all pretty much have the same sob story.They were abused,molested,raped,beat on by their boy-friends,oh and my favorite one is, I'm in nursing school.9 outta 10 girls in a strip club cant spell their name but will tell you their in some sorta medical related school. Lets face it, these girls degrade themselves because they want to not because the have to.Most of these girls got pregnant in their teens, dropped outta high school, or were always in some sort of trouble.They work in stip clubs because its an easy environment to find drugs, make decent money, and run away from your problems. Honestly, what type of person do you have to be to get completly naked in front of 50 strangers for a ONE DOLLAR! To be honest about myself I date them because they are easy,simple minded,and sexually free people.Oh and by the way. Stay away from Stippers!! They're Crazy!!

0 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Pro-Feministic

This book has given me a whole new out look on the power of being a woman. I think its gives a very strong perspective of a woman's sexuality. 'women are the more dominant sex'