Undressed for Success

Using the tools of performance studies, gender theory, and cultural history, Brenda Foley explores the striking similarities between beauty pageantry and striptease. For example, women in both project a ‘normal’ femininity and adhere to a strict hierarchy (Miss America contestants look down upon Miss Universe contestants, while theatrical ‘burlesque artists’ saw themselves as far above mere carnival strippers). Undressed for Success collects extensive primary source research – newspapers, journals, trade publications, photography collections, press releases, memoirs, and interviews with both strippers and pageant contestants – and employs a wide array of gender, feminist, and performance theory to analyze them.

Author Biography

BRENDA FOLEY has taught at a number of universities, including Brown University, the University of New Hampshire, and St. Thomas University in Canada, where she is at present an Assistant Professor of English. She has published articles in journals such as Nordic Theatre Studies, Theatre InSight, and the journal of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA). In addition to her academic work, Brenda is a veteran Equity actress of twenty years with theatre credits including the La Jolla Playhouse, Roundabout, Studio Arena, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Rep, and Vienna’s English Theatre, in Austria, as well as numerous Public Radio appearances.