I am currently reading White Oleander, and it's really good. There is one character that caught my attention; that of Olivia Johnstone. In the book she is basically a high-end prostitute that the main character, Astrid, idolizes for her seemingly comfortable and privileged lifestyle. But you quickly realize that Olivia is not all what she seems. Her shiny exterior gloss covers up a hollow inside, where there is no Love, but only a means to an end. I was reminded of her because I also just found this blog, http://iamstrippergrrl.posterous.com/ which is filled with the ruminations of a woman who is a stripper, and that also has a small daughter. It piqued my interest because the blogger/stripper seems to love her job and revels in the attention she gets from the men at her work. I wish I could ask the stripper whether she thought of her job as demeaning, empowering, or neither. While I place no judgement on her, as it's really not my place...I can't help but wonder if she is being honest. The reason I would never choose to become a stripper is that I personally would feel demeaned for doing so. I hardly consider myself a feminist, but it's hard not to recognize what the dynamic is like in a profession like that. If I were a stripper, the attention I receive would be solely based on my attractiveness and my sexuality. The men that go to strip clubs are obviously not there to talk politics, they are there to look at my tits. I realize that women possess a unique type of sexual "Power" that men don't have, but there is more to me than my tits and ass. And how can it be called "Power" if it is contingent upon the approval of men? Power should be without condition. But, stripping is really no worse than every other entertainment based industry; strippers are just more honest about it. Sex sells, and we have used women's beauty to sell everything from burger king to furniture. Despite our best efforts, we still live in a Man's World.