Section 1, Part 11 Summary and Analysis

"Striptease" The author begins this essay by clarifying that the style of striptease to which he is referring is French, and specifically Parisian, striptease. Later in the essay, he draws a clear distinction with American striptease, suggesting that in France striptease is, in essence, making the private public. The implication is that in America, the opposite is taking place - that public sexuality (striptease) is, in fact, a manifestation and a redirection of private desire. The body of the essay is focused on the way French striptease essentially separates who the women are from what they do, detailing near-ritualistic use of costume, music and dancing to create a mythic presentation of the female anatomy that, in fact, de-sexualizes them. In other words, the author is suggesting that in French striptease, a woman's removal of her clothing is a mythic...