If the burlesque stripper, with her bawdy spirit and unruly insubordination, has emerged for many as a new ‘empowering’ model for the sexually aware woman, then she also strikes horror in
the heard of second wave feminism. Embodied by high profile artists such as Dita von Teese and Catherine d’Lish, the explosive revival of striptease, burlesque and overt female sexual
performance has proved no less alluring to a new generation women artists familiar with the provocative work of 70’s performance artists such as Hannah Wikle and Carolee Schneeman. Eloquent
on ‘prettiness’ and power, desire and ‘knowingness’, money, sex and class, and with an extensive knowledge of burlesque’s rich tradition, Wilson raises long overdue questions about women’s
erotic expression within a ‘postfeminist’ condition. The ‘new burlesque’ demands about all a response—this fresh, brazen, provocative book at last provides it.
