Full Review on NG ( )

Cat says: Take it Off! The Naked Truth About Male Strippers published by Ellora’s Cave and written by two of EC’s cavemen cover models about their real life careers as male strippers. Why this choice? I saw this title mentioned on Facebook by a blogger/reviewer I respect, but also, the voyeur in me wants to know what it’s really like behind the scenes at male strip clubs, the world that inspired the movie Magic Mike. Sometimes reality can be juicier than fiction. And there’s a rebate on all EC titles this month! Note: this title is listed on Omnilit in the biography/autobiography category, not on All Romance.

Cat's ARe Cafe staff pick for 4/7/13. ( )

Reviewed by:Marissa
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I should probably start by saying that I have not seen the movie Magic Mike, so I can make no comparisons between what is portrayed in the movie and what I’ve gleaned from this book. I have however *ahem* been to a few male strip shows. Unfortunately, I think this has jaded me.

I picked up this book thinking it would be amusing, that I might learn some behind-the-scenes tips on beauty and fitness (I mean, come on, strippers are gorgeous!), and that I would learn that everything I thought about this profession was dead wrong. Looks like I was the one who was dead wrong. This book reads less like a “naked truth” expose and more like a couple of frat boys getting their jollies. It’s full of the pranks pulled on one another and the pleasures taken with their “customers”, and the language used sounds like something high school kids would say.

The pranks they pulled make these strippers sound like they just never progressed past high school. I can understand switching out expensive cologne for the cheap, overpowering stuff to stop someone from constantly “borrowing”, but there are too many instances of rubbing Icy-Hot on the inside of a G-String, locking up new strippers in a locker, and writing obscenities with a Sharpie on one who had passed out in the back room.

I have been to a couple of the road shows that go to small towns and witnessed myself the men leaving the club with local women, only to return and leave again with someone else a few minutes later. I was really hoping “recreational” sex wasn’t as big a part of the stripper’s life as I had seen – that it was just these particular men that seemed so sleazy. According to this account *sigh* they’re all sleazy.

And the language took me right back to high school. (I’m 51! That puts high school in the 1970’s, before the authors were even born!) Yes, I do realize some terms are still being flung around these days, and while I have my own issues with the word “hot” or the term “into you”, it’s still quite a throwback to hear slang such as “chick” and “pad”:

If my chick weren’t so damned good to me…

He had already set up his pad for the party.

Before you think that this book is worthless, let me just say that there are amusing moments (like the EMTs that had to strut their way to a seizure patient in the middle of the club) and what looks like a good workout section in the back of the book. As someone who’s never known what to actually do at a gym, this section could come in handy. It’s also refreshing to know that they do not all burn out or continue to try and live the stripper lifestyle long past their prime. Many (according to this book) go on to own businesses and be successful in other careers. ( )