The Ethical Stripper: Sex, Work, and Labour Rights in the Night-time Economy

by Stacey Clare

‘As educational as it is enlightening … Read this’ SARA PASCOE

‘Passionately argued, meticulously researched and angry as hell ... leads the reader beyond the strip club and on to the battlefield where sex workers fight for their rights’ KATE LISTER

‘Deeply impressive ... An important book, sorely needed’ CAROL LEIGH

'An unflinching takedown of inadequate working conditions … A must read’ JUNO MAC, co-author of Revolting Prostitutes
Forget everything you think you know about strippers

In this powerful book, Stacey Clare, a stripper with over a decade of experience, takes a detailed look at the sex industry – the reality of the work as well as the history of licensing and regulation, feminist themes surrounding sex work, and stigma. Bringing her personal knowledge of the industry to bear, she offers an unapologetic critique and searing indictment of exploitation, and raises the rights of sex workers to the top of the agenda.

The Ethical Stripper rejects notions of victimhood, challenges stigma and shame, and unpacks decades of confusion and contradictions. It’s about the sex-work community’s fight for safety and self-determination, and it challenges you to think twice about every newspaper article, documentary and film you have seen about stripping and sex work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sex Work, Audiobook, Politics, Feminism, Autobiography

12 pages, Audiobook

Published March 15, 2022

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've noticed that more and more sex worked popping up on social media, discussing their work and so on. I thought this non fiction sounded interesting as I don't know much about that line of work and wanted to learn more about it. Definitely an interesting book that clear up a lot and explain and talks about important stuff. Jobs in that category is still heavily stigmatized and it was interesting learning the reality from someone who really knows her stuff

[Zachary Littrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is definitely eye-opening. I didn't recognize the number of labor-issues and economic factors that are involved in sex work. All the warts of the gig economy and contract work combined, and yet one of the oldest professions. And if there's anything that can be taken away, it's Clare's point that decision making in the houses of law about sex work rarely -- if ever -- involve the vulnerable workers who are its lifeblood. And there's few allies to be found in either the religious finger-waggers or radical feminists focused on the inherent misogyny.

I wish though its arguments were a little better organized and refined. You are dumped with info and anecdotes, overwhelmingly so, that it can feel like a tide of well-justified rage washing over you. Clare brings up very cogent points, but it can feel repetitive, over-the-head, or a little scattershot. Sometimes she's discussing the entrepreneurial spirit of strippers, and other times the positive and negative effects of cultural appropriation like the movie Hustlers, and both the comradery in the sex work community, and it's own circular firing squads. It's hard to identify the call-to-action more than "Well something has to be done, right?" Though to Clare's credit, she ends the book by encouraging reaching out to local communities, as she acknowledges the sex work community is so varied and widespread that she can't address all of their needs and problems.

Sometimes I did feel she didn't really address the opposition's arguments more than mentioning them and making it clear they are observably wrong. Which, y'know, true. Communities worried that strip clubs will make men so horny that they will go home and beat up their wives have MUCH BIGGER problems than pole dancers eking out a living. It's also not the point of this book to give voice to those who have already had their say ad infinitum, but to sex workers who almost never get theirs. But I do think it'd be more effective to maybe explore where these oppositions are coming from, and how to address these anxieties. I think one of those most powerful scenes is talking about the life-drawing class and how it introduced potential allies to the sex work culture.

Clare is extremely knowledgeable and went to great lengths to present how marginalized and vulnerable the people involved in the sex industry are. Heck, I came in with a certain prejudice assuming the book would be filled with anecdotes and stripping war stories, and instead got a thorough explanation of economic realities and the stacked deck against strippers. Lots of people, rightly, are behind Amazon workers and other laborers getting their fair shake, but few seem to have the same zeal for sex workers. I think, or at least hope, this book might help put some more allies on Clare's side.

[Zara Chauvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! Truly terribly structuring and rather annoying author. My ongoing draft of a review changed about 1000 times as I was reading, swinging from love to hate and back with this book.

It reads like a smart, well read, and opinionated woman with lived experience sat down and started writing in flow and produced a whole book. It does not read like she planned it first, with one clear contention or a plan for the structure of arguments and information to logically flow. She constantly contradicts herself throughout it, which makes sense in a really complex topic when you have to meld practical reality with utopic ideology, but it wasn’t held together by a really clear and well demonstrated main point, so it just ends up a bit messy and confusing.

Packed with incredible depth and breadth of consideration of sex work, centred around stripping primarily. Well researched and comprehensive look at socio-political, public and media trends and perceptions and narratives of sex work and stripping, laws, strip club economics, surrounding social contexts to sex work, mainstream feminist perspectives and sex worker perspectives, and so on.

First review draft, for the first half of reading it: Super white capitalist feminist politics, she’s practically writing on behalf of Hugh Hefner. Really annoying author, and vocally, explicitly anti-feminist. I had a LOT more to say on this, but have backspaced many harsh words as she explained herself and added nuance later through the book.

I think it’s very poor writing style for her to be leading a strongly opinionated informatively persuasive book, and put the opinions at the front and give no hint of good argument or compelling research or nuance until after 150 or so pages. I very much almost gave up before getting to anything I respected and I’m sure many people would. The second half however, completely turned me around and I now respect the author much more and kinda fuck with the book, which is well researched and very eye-opening. She addresses in the end a lot of things like societal context of poverty and other intersectional social and economic vulnerabilities around sex work, which I had noted at first as a critique that she didn’t talk about them. Really she puts almost everything good about the book in the second half. It gets better and better.

I still think she’s too much of an apologist for the objectification of women, and I still think her proposed solutions are very white-woman centric and uncritical of the extended outcomes if sex work was 100% decriminalised and less regulated with less licensing requirements, etc.; and I suspect it would not be so useful for more vulnerable people than herself. Nonetheless, she’s given me lots to think about and has definitely added less security and more depth to my consideration of sex work and laws surrounding it.

I’ve probably been way too harsh in my review because the author annoyed me. The book taught me a lot. I highly highly recommend this book, but to be read critically.

[bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A passionate, thoroughly researched deep dive into the economics and labour rights of strippers, with a focus on stripping in the UK. I'd say this book is required reading for pole dancers and sex worker (SWer) allies who want to understand the history, rights and laws around all forms of sex work, and in particular stripping and strip clubs.

Positives:
- I can't emphasise enough how incredibly researched this was! I was blown away by the sheer amount of facts in this book around sex work, I can't imagine how hard it was to find a lot of this especially considering the stigma and marginalisation SWers face.
- I really enjoyed Clare's writing style, particularly in the personal anecdotes. Although the passion in her writing voice could sometimes overshadow the facts in more informational sections, overall I really liked her dry wit and sarcasm/humour and would definitely read more non-fiction from her.
- I feel infinitely more well read into the laws around full service sex work (FSSW), stripping and sex work overall (in particular the UK). As a recreational poler this is important to me to be able to support SWers from which pole originated from, and ensure I am not misappropriating their culture wrongly.
- I loved how intersectional this book was, referencing accounts from strippers across a range of identities. The author was very respectful and identified her own relative privilege within the space, which was really nice to read.
- Loved the amount of charities, locations and places that were mentioned for the reader to DTOR further! And further donate/support charities and causes etc.

Negatives:
- not really a negative because of the INCREDIBLE amount of information about sex work this book contains, but this book is t h i c c
- the book could sometimes feel repetitive in the content and arguments, even though they were well evidenced and researched
- sometimes the flow/core point of each section was lost and the arguments fell into the trap of being scattershot. Whilst interesting, I think the book would have been an easier read for me with a more linear flow within each section. Overall however, I think the book had good flow, and I loved the personal anecdotes sprinkled in throughout the factual sections.
- despite fully agreeing and empathising with the passion and anger the author has towards some topics, sometimes this made statements hard to engage with/treat objectively.

Tldr; this book is c h o n k y and definitely a longer read. However if you are a pole dancer and/or want to learn more about how strip clubs operate and the challenges strippers face, read this book!

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sex workers from all over the world are going through a tremendous crisis those days. Although the roots of the crisis could be found in the serial waves of economic crisis from the last decade, the Covid 19 reshaped completely the map of adult entertainment. And by map I meant both the geographical references and the repertoire of clubs and institutions offering this kind of entertainment.

Mixing personal stories and an extensive sociological and cultural bibliography of studies, The Ethical Stripper by Stacey Clare not only outlines the phenomenon as such, but also gives personal insights into the background and general condition of people working in this industry.

The book is a well documented collection of essays on topics pertaining to the industry, such as labour rights, legal aspects affecting them, history of sexual entertainment etc. In a world where the erotic capital is so widespread at so many society levels, calling strippers by their name is not a depreciative attitude, but a way to offer recognition and understanding of those involved in it. Sexuality had a social exchange value long before the creation of clubs and it will over be like this. The society approach to it and the various definitions and economic attributions may change from a historical period to another. Nowadays, our society has all the instruments and went through a mentality makeover allowing such a change to occur. Works like The Ethical Stripper create not only awareness but also assign a role within the everyday social network. Although most of the examples do belong to the English-speaking (particularly British) realm it offers a serious inspiration and empowerment to sex workers from all over the world.

Stacey Clare started stripping at 22, shortly after becoming a Buddhist. She is a stripper, performance artist, writer and activist, among other co-founding member of the East London Stripper Collective.
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of a book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

[Gina Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly SO GOOD! Must read.
Half autobiographical, half non-fiction - legislation and statistics but such a good read and really accessible language. We muuuust fully decriminalise sex work but she can explain why way better than me :p

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Figured I'd pick up a non fiction for a change and this was a subject I was interested in learning more about. I found the way the author chose to write the book extremely interesting. With her research persona in normal script and with her lived experiences as a stripper in italics. It helped break up a book that's a pretty solid 400 pages of information. The content is definitely well researched and she's clearly very knowledgeable on the subject matter, in part due to being a stripper herself. Even though it's quite long and dense I did enjoy reading it and found it quite interesting. I will say it probably could have done with a bit of editing. There are some bits that could have been clearly and people were sometimes introduced multiple times. Points were at times repeated and I think if it was condensed slightly it may be a bit more approachable. But that being said I can only imagine how tough it would be to get a book like this published, a factual and sex worker positive book about the stripper industry that's not a juicy tell all. Overall I definitely recommend it.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book. As strippers in the U.K. we needed this book.

[Abi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening and well written. Learned a lot and became angrier at the system. Decriminalisation is the way forward

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

stacey clare delivers a detailed and extensively history of stripping in the uk, and makes an impassioned argument advocating for the humanisation of sex workers in the legal and social sense.

this is such a must read for pretty much everyone, but specifically for anyone who thinks they know what sex work entails. it's a great place to start learning about the precarity of sex gig work, and how the distinction between different factions of sw can often do more to create division than unity towards the same goal of decriminalisation. clare collates arguments of SWERFs and strippers, and carefully picks apart the conservative attitudes and misogyny behind many anti-sex work narratives. she treats each topic with the appropriate nuance and weight, and works so hard to highlight the humanity of each individual sex worker.

this is such an impressively researched account of the economy of sex work and stripping, and clare's personal experiences are woven into the mountains of data on sex work in a very accessible way. this doesn't glamourise the lifestyle nor does it dramatise for the sake of shock factor; there's nothing salacious about the way this narrative is constructed, just calls for sex workers to have the agency to advocate for themselves in the work place. she covers ethical debates, the history of uk law surrounding solicitation and stripping, and genuinely
makes talking about the intricacies of bar licensing sound interesting. clare freely cites many of the advocates and academics who inspired her work, and now i have a longer tbr.

clare couches all of her arguments in breaking down the stigma, the precarity, and sometimes the economic landscapes that facilitate sex work. all the while, she approaches this book through the framework of harm reduction, and draws from the diverse experiences of sex workers who she has interviewed to argue for strippers to be involved in the governmental process of passing whorephobic policies. what i think really the main takeaway here is the desperate need for the education around sex work, the cultural invisibility from being dismissed, and the critical importance of community support networks within sex worker spaces for safety and solidarity. this is a brilliant call to arms and hopefully will continue to be eye opening for many many people. having been written pre-2020, i'm curious how the author would write in depth about the devastating effects that lockdown had on various elements of strip culture and irl sex work. the overview in the epilogue had me eager to hear many more of her thoughts.

[Arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This and Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith and Juno Mac are absolutely 10/10 informative and fascinating reads on sex work and its relation to labour rights, feminism and the law.

Great to read this from a stripper’s perspective, as opposed to Smith & Mac’s book surrounding full-service sex work, as although there is a lot of legal overlap there are a lot of vastly different issues too.

Really recommend!

[Paradise · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Stigma has a cyclical set of consequences for a person’s life."

The sex industry is one that many of us think we know about. We see so much on television, or mentioned in books that we’ve built up an image of what we think it’s like. No doubt it’s a mix of the glamorous life of Belle du Jour, with hardened criminals and danger thrown in. Yet why is it that something like sex, which is a normal part of life, can be so vilified and misunderstood as soon as money changes hands?

I find the topic fascinating and I’m glad I had the opportunity to discover more. This book has a lot of information. It’s well-researched and thorough, combining facts, legal precedent and history, with personal examples of working in the industry. While it’s interesting, the sheer amount of information makes it quite a slow read. It’s more like a textbook to be digested in small doses, rather than a delight to be devoured quickly.

Although the hard facts do provide additional impact, the personal anecdotes are what makes it credible and raw. This is where readers will feel empathy; this is when they will understand what it’s really like.

At times the author comes across as very angry – rightly so perhaps, due to the nature of the material – but this does make the book less readable and may deter many readers. That said, I was united in my outrage for the workers in the industry, what they have to deal with and what they are still facing. Considering it’s a topic more people should read about, it’s sadly not as accessible as it could be, which is a shame. For those that persevere, there is much to be learned and more still to be fought for.

Passionate, thought-provoking and enlightening, it will sell well. However, it may spend more time sat on bookshelves than being read.

I was provided with a copy by Random Things Tours and Unbound Books. Opinions my own.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished an internship in anti-human trafficking and one issue that repeatedly came up was the clash between sex work and human trafficking. The sex trade consists of choice (people who choose the profession with their own free-will), circumstance (individuals who use the profession as means of survival- often called survival sex), and coercion (agency removed with individuals forced into the work).

The anti-human trafficking efforts in my job were hindered and stalled by the laws against sex work. Meaning, we were bound by law to not take tips, intel, and information from legitimate sex workers to find, take down, and stop trafficking rings. The legit sex workers (meaning: Choice) were punished as much as or more than the buyers of sex, and the traffickers. In fact, every year in my city, more choice sex workers are punished than actual traffickers.

My capstone project for the internship was a community wide trafficking awareness Q&A with a panel of experts (including lived experience). In that panel I learned that 3 unnamed police officers were still on the force and engaging in sex in exchange of not being arrested - which means - law enforcement engaging in human trafficking.

There are dangers in pushing sex work underground. Criminalization of “Biblical sin” does not work. I don’t know what the answer is, but I love that this book challenges my perspective (a Christian woman who has only known sex within the bounds of matrimony) and makes me question blanket bans when it comes to human desire.

Whatever the answer is, consent and choice must be a part of the decision making process.

[Caitlin Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ethical Stripper is an engaging, well-researched text that considers a wide range of issues concerning labour rights for sex workers, whilst also explaining this area of work for those who may be unfamiliar.What this book highlights is the fundamental error in the debate around sex work. There’s one key voice that is drowned out or completely excluded: the actual voice of the sex worker. Clare highlights from personal experience and from anecdotes in the industry how this in turn fails sex workers. Be it in a council meeting, a courtroom or in an activist space, sex work is likely to be debated without even considering these experiences and perspectives. What is most shocking is the chapter exploring undercover police and activist operations, and how they ironically objectify sex workers through the publication of their findings through language and images.

Whatever your own opinion may be regarding sex work, The Ethical Stripper certainly argues for the need to listen to sex workers, to understand their stories, rather than objectify and abuse them, as is often the case. A must read, especially during women’s history month!

Thank you to @randomttours and @unbounded for my review copy.

[Hannah Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an incredibly well-researched and evidence based assessment of stripping and the sex work industry. Stacey Clare is a fantastic writer and centres sex workers voices throughout the book, including her own and I thought this was what made it a real stand out. I felt the nuance and complexity of the issues were captured well. Yes it stands for decriminalising and does not go into a lot of detail about opposing arguments but, as explained in depth by the author, those arguments are always the central narrative which neglect opinions of actual sex workers. There was a clear thread of argument from start to finish with tangible recommendations for change. I found the Hustlers chapter particularly interesting and eye opening. I would have liked a few more *definitions of terms as those were helpful, however it equally encouraged me to do some research of my own which I think is always a good sign of the book sparking curiosity. Overall I would highly recommend and I hope Stacey writes more, she has clearly taken on a lot to be an activist in this field and this is certainly a book to be proud of.

[Joy Corkery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published here: https://joyfulantidotes.com/2022/03/0...

I’m not going to pretend that I’ve never had any biases against strippers. Unless someone has worked the job themselves, we all have. This book has wiped away any negativity I’ve ever had towards the profession. Personal and well-researched, I’ve had so much education in the hours spent reading The Ethical Stripper.

While of course it plays a part, The Ethical Stripper is not just a book arguing for and against feminism in this area. It is a book which opens our eyes to the awful labour conditions and employment rights of strippers. It is a book that shows us just how little the voices of the most important people in the industry – the strippers – are heard. It is a book that is creating awareness around an area that really needs it, showing those that are “helping” (activists, police, etc.), how they are actually playing a big role in objectifying the people who choose to work in this industry.

[Becca Scammell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her work, Stacey provides her readers with an excellently researched, informative and well balanced insight into every imaginable facet of sex work.

By mixing her extensive personal experiences, that of others and her educated knowledge of the much debated and often misconstrued, misunderstood and misrepresented world of sex work. The Ethical Stripper is and engaging and eye opening read.

Stacey brilliantly and starkly highlights the massively fundamental issues, that need to be seen, explored, listened to, heard and then actioned, in order to be effective for the very people that work within the industry. The voices of the sex workers themselves.

A rightly confronting, but hugely informative and emotional read, that should be used as an education tool for council leaders, police, lawmakers, teachers, students, media, health professionals and more the world over!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and Random Things Tours for a gifted copy of this book and for a place on the recent book tour.

I found this non-fiction read very interesting, eye opening and informative. This focuses on the working rights (or rather lack of) for those who chose to work in the sex industry.

This opens up the debate of whether to legalize sex work and give them the same employment status as everyone else making a career in other industries. It would make a great book club read as this would allow for a lot of different perspectives and reasonings. I will definitely be discussing this book within my social circle.

If you are interested in non fiction and/or learning more about this secret part of society then I highly recommend this.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a meticulously researched book. It's truly factual. You can learn a lot about the employment and human rights legislation in the UK. The book's best two chapters are Objectification and The Victimhood Industry. If you ever wanted to comprehend some of the radical left's paranoiac self-wounding check the feminist frontier. Stacey's text is in many aspects universal. Have you heard before about a suppressed minority, denied its own voice, and its own representation, and that sits between a rock of abuse and a hard place of total misunderstatement? Well, this is the situation described in the book. Personal passages are rare but perfectly relevant to the main argument. It's a good read. I skipped the Afterword though.

[Emma Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember a few years ago when I went to Burlesque classes I got lots of comments on how slutty that was and why would I want to take my clothes off. I could only imagine that for stripping the stigma and perception must be x100 which is what drew me to this book.

This a read that isn't afraid to tell you how it is. Its detailed, its surprising, its packed with lived experiences and reactions to the industry.

This seems to be a complicated world and with the women's interviews featured, it achieves building a picture. There is a lot packed into this read and I recommend reading it in small chunks as there is a lot to absorb and take in,

Brave, bold, brilliant.

[Jaye Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapter on the whorearchy is sooo good, I want everyone to read it. Disquieting and heartbreaking anecdotes and case studies punctuated with fierce success stories and calls to action. I struggle with the political advocacy around strippers as club employees based on the feedback of workers in California since that switch but interested in visioning a world where all employees are owners and the power of coop models and base pay. After this and Radical Intimacy, I’ve learned a lot about gender and labor in the UK this year.

[Mel Craftandbookjunkieni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating! In the book Stacey explains what it's like to work in a strip club, the problems, the lack of employee rights and the law relating to this.
Stacey explains the law and policies in an easy to understand way and adds in a little of her own experiences in each chapter.
This book is great to understand how it actually is in clubs etc rather than to just go by what is in the media and TV shows.
I very educating read!

[Molly Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really good on the granular detail of strip clubs as workplaces, how they are currently so exploitative and how they could be made better. There are also some arguments in this book that I disagree with, but over-all a very worthwhile book. I’m glad it exists! I’m hopefully writing a longer review elsewhere.

[LeaVixx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book and so educational! I'm in the industry but not as a stripper so learnt so much about all the issues strippers are facing on a daily basis! Genuinely believe that 90% of customers in strip clubs don't even know that something like house fee exists. Definitely a must read!

[E S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into the experiences & struggles some UK sw'ers face. Interesting insight into legislation and licensing restrictions for SEVs Anecdotes were a little repetitive in places, and pov limited by authors experience however its acknowledged early on that's the case😊

[Wearsteel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend reading this book in chunks so that you can better assimilate the information and better enjoy the depth to the context.

[Catherine Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently researched and well written , passionate and thought provoking, go read!

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant for learning about the reality of sex workers in the UK, with loads of important facts but also some autobiographical elements which made it such an interesting read!

[Georgia Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great blend of statistics and legislations and memoir/anecdote. Brought up a lot of interesting points

[Rusty Ray Guns · Rating 5 out of 5]

So we'll done a entire history of stripping how it's viewed how the work conditions the politics the corruption and injustices.
Informative and deeply interesting.
Sex work is work