Striptease

{{short description|Erotic dance}}

{{short description|Erotic dance}}

{{about|the type of dance|the race horse "Exotic Dancer"|Exotic Dancer (horse)|other uses}}

{{about|the type of dance|the race horse "Exotic Dancer"|Exotic Dancer (horse)|other uses}}

[[Image:Striptease.jpg|thumb|right|225px|[[American burlesque]] dancer Lola Bel Aire performing a traditional striptease, 2008]]A '''striptease''' is an [[erotic dance|erotic]] or exotic [[dance]]{{efn|The term ''exotic dancing'' has been a synonym for striptease since the 1950s. Prior to that the term was used more widely, and most commonly referred to [[belly dancing]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Tits Up: The Top Half of Women's Liberation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JivXEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT37|first=Sarah|last=Thornton|author-link=Sarah Thornton|publisher=W. W. Norton|date=2024|isbn= 9780393881035|page=37}}</ref>}} in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or [[Nudity|completely]], in a [[seduction|seductive]] and [[Sexual suggestiveness|sexually suggestive]] manner.<ref>Richard Wortley (1976) ''A Pictorial History of Striptease'': 11.</ref> The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "[[stripper]]", "exotic dancer", or "[[American burlesque|burlesque]] dancer".

[[Image:Striptease.jpg|thumb|right|225px|[[American burlesque]] dancer Lola Bel Aire performing a traditional[[File:Jenna_Ivory_at_the_2014_AVN_Adult_Entertainment_Expo_(12181781116).jpg|thumb|alt=z|h]]

striptease, 2008]]A '''striptease''' is[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_120.webm|thumb|alt=z|z]][[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_131.webm|thumb|alt=5|t]][[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_185.webm|thumb|alt=h|h]][[File:Venus_Berlin_2019_507.webm|thumb|alt=t|5]]

an[[File:Venus_Berlin_2019_102.webm|thumb|alt=z|i]]

[[erotic dance|erotic]] or exotic [[dance]]{{efn|The term ''exotic dancing'' has been a synonym for striptease since[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_176.webm|thumb|alt=h|j]][[File:Venus_Berlin_2019_102.webm|thumb|alt=h|h]]

[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_138.webm|thumb|alt=h|j]][[File:Venus_Berlin_2019_291.webm|thumb|alt=uu|jh]]

t[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_116.webm|thumb|alt=j|k]]

he 1950s. Prior to that the term[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_118.webm|thumb|alt=h|j]]

w[[File:Venus_Berlin_2023_138.webm|thumb|alt=h|v]][[File:SororityPaddlingFinalexam280.jpg|thumb|alt=u|h]]

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as used more widely, and most commonly referred to [[belly dancing]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Tits Up: The Top Half of Women's Liberation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JivXEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT37|first=Sarah|last=Thornton|author-link=Sarah Thornton|publisher=W. W. Norton|date=2024|isbn= 9780393881035|page=37}}</ref>}} in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or [[Nudity|completely]], in a [[seduction|seductive]] and [[Sexual suggestiveness|sexually suggestive]] manner.<ref>Richard Wortley (1976) ''A Pictorial History of[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_185.webm|thumb|alt=t|g]]

Striptease'': 11.</ref> The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "[[stripper]]", "exotic dancer", or "[[American burlesque|burlesque]] dancer".

The origins of striptease as a performance art are disputed, and various dates and occasions have been given from ancient [[Babylonia]] to 20th-century America. The term "striptease" was first recorded in 1932. In Western countries, venues where stripteases are performed on a regular basis are now usually called [[strip club]]s, but striptease may also be performed in venues such as [[pub]]s (especially in the United Kingdom), theaters and [[music hall]]s. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a [[bachelor party|bachelor]] or [[bachelorette party]]. In addition to providing [[adult entertainment]], stripping can be a form of [[Foreplay|sexual play]] between partners. This can be done as an impromptu event or&nbsp;– perhaps for a special occasion&nbsp;– with elaborate planning involving [[fantasy wear]], music, special lighting, and dance moves (whether practiced or unrehearsed).

The origins of striptease as a performance art are disputed, and various dates and occasions have been given from ancient [[Babylonia]] to 20th-century America. The term "striptease" was first recorded in 1932. In Western countries, venues where stripteases are performed on a regular basis are now usually called [[strip club]]s, but striptease may also be performed in venues such as [[pub]]s (especially in the United Kingdom), theaters and [[music hall]]s. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a [[bachelor party|bachelor]] or [[bachelorette party]]. In addition to providing [[adult entertainment]], stripping can be a form of [[Foreplay|sexual play]] between partners. This can be done as an impromptu event or&nbsp;– perhaps for a special occasion&nbsp;– with elaborate planning involving [[fantasy wear]], music, special lighting, and dance moves (whether practiced or unrehearsed).

Striptease involves a slow, sensuous undressing. The stripper may prolong the undressing with delaying tactics such as wearing additional items of clothing (thus having more to remove) or putting clothes or hands in front of just-undressed body parts such as the [[breast]]s or [[genitalia]]. The emphasis is on the act of undressing along with sexually suggestive movement, rather than the state of being undressed. In the past, the performance often finished as soon as the undressing was finished, though more recently strippers may continue dancing in the nude.<ref name="Richard Wortley 1976">Richard Wortley (1976) ''A Pictorial History of Striptease''.</ref><ref name=Clifton>{{cite book|title=Baby Oil and Ice: Striptease in East London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgCfPQAACAAJ|first1=Lara|last1=Clifton|first2=Sarah|last2=Ainslie|first3=Julie|last3=Cook|publisher=Do-Not Press|year=2002|isbn=9781899344857}}</ref> The costume the stripper wears before disrobing can form part of the act. In some cases, audience interaction can form part of the act, with the audience urging the stripper to remove more clothing, or the stripper approaching the audience to interact with them.

Striptease involves a slow, sensuous[[File:Venus_Berlin_2018_132.webm|thumb|alt=6|r]]

undressing. The stripper may prolong the undressing with delaying tactics such as wearing additional items of clothing (thus having more to remove) or putting clothes or hands in front of just-undressed body parts such as the [[breast]]s or [[genitalia]]. The emphasis is on the act of undressing along with sexually suggestive movement, rather than the state of being undressed. In the past, the performance often finished as soon as the undressing was finished, though more recently strippers may continue dancing in the nude.<ref name="Richard Wortley 1976">Richard Wortley (1976) ''A Pictorial History of Striptease''.</ref><ref name=Clifton>{{cite book|title=Baby Oil and Ice: Striptease in East London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgCfPQAACAAJ|first1=Lara|last1=Clifton|first2=Sarah|last2=Ainslie|first3=Julie|last3=Cook|publisher=Do-Not Press|year=2002|isbn=9781899344857}}</ref> The costume the stripper wears before disrobing can form part of the act. In some cases, audience interaction can form part of the act, with the audience urging the stripper to remove more clothing, or the stripper approaching the audience to interact with them.

Striptease and public nudity have been subject to legal and cultural prohibitions and other aesthetic considerations and [[taboo]]s. Restrictions on venues may be through venue licensing requirements and constraints and a wide variety of national and local laws. These laws vary considerably around the world, and even between different parts of the same country. [[H. L. Mencken]] is credited with coining the word ''ecdysiast''&nbsp;– from "[[ecdysis]]", meaning "to molt"&nbsp;– in response to a request from striptease artist [[Georgia Sothern]], for a "more dignified" way to refer to her profession. [[Gypsy Rose Lee]], one of the most famous striptease artists of all time, approved of the term.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adamapubs.com/Self_Help/Father_s_I_Have_Known/Microsoft_Word_-_mencken-f.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213064549/http://adamapubs.com/Self_Help/Father_s_I_Have_Known/Microsoft_Word_-_mencken-f.pdf |archive-date=2004-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Fathers I Have Known&nbsp;– H.L. Mencken, H. Allen Smith}}</ref><ref name="Mencken1923">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Lbl5AAAAIAAJ|last1 = Mencken|first1 = Henry Louis|author-link1 = H. L. Mencken|year = 1923|publisher = A. A. Knopf|edition = 3|title = The American language: an inquiry into the development of English in the United States}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/gypsy-and-the-ecdysiasts-2|title=Gypsy and the Ecdysiasts|date=May 21, 2010|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185331/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/gypsy-and-the-ecdysiasts-2|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Striptease and public nudity have been subject to legal and cultural prohibitions and other aesthetic considerations and [[taboo]]s. Restrictions on venues may be through venue licensing requirements and constraints and a wide variety of national and local laws. These laws vary considerably around the world, and even between different parts of the same country. [[H. L. Mencken]] is credited with coining the word ''ecdysiast''&nbsp;– from "[[ecdysis]]", meaning "to molt"&nbsp;– in response to a request from striptease artist [[Georgia Sothern]], for a "more dignified" way to refer to her profession. [[Gypsy Rose Lee]], one of the most famous striptease artists of all time, approved of the term.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adamapubs.com/Self_Help/Father_s_I_Have_Known/Microsoft_Word_-_mencken-f.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213064549/http://adamapubs.com/Self_Help/Father_s_I_Have_Known/Microsoft_Word_-_mencken-f.pdf |archive-date=2004-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Fathers I Have Known&nbsp;– H.L. Mencken, H. Allen Smith}}</ref><ref name="Mencken1923">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Lbl5AAAAIAAJ|last1 = Mencken|first1 = Henry Louis|author-link1 = H. L. Mencken|year = 1923|publisher = A. A. Knopf|edition = 3|title = The American language: an inquiry into the development of English in the United States}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/gypsy-and-the-ecdysiasts-2|title=Gypsy and the Ecdysiasts|date=May 21, 2010|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185331/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/gypsy-and-the-ecdysiasts-2|url-status=dead}}</ref>