By Catherine Peridis 

Stripping: the act of taking off your clothes, when done in a sexual manner, in front of another person.  

Stripping can be a profession, a sexual act or merely the ritual of de-robbing. Allow me to discard the later example however, as that really is non-sexual and therefore of no real interest within this column. I recently went on a trip to England to visit a few friends. Interestingly for this column, some happen to be female strippers. So I agreed to visit them one night at work. While I have been to a few strip clubs in my time, this particular trip gave me the chance to witness the inner workings of at least this one strip club. So there I went, ready to be initiated, for one night only, into the world of a lap-dancer.

Let me start with this: ALL STRIPPERS ARE NOT DRUG ADDICTS OR SINGLE MOTHERS! Most of the women I met were college students working this job to pay through school. So let’s get that negative stereotype out of this column. Secondly, while there are always the ubiquitous frat boy type or sketchy older man, many of the individuals frequenting these clubs are couples or co-ed groups. Sound a little better to you? I hope so.

It’s an interesting idea really, going to a strip club as a couple. All the people at the club I talked to had different viewpoints on the subject and different reasons for attending. One woman told me, while her boyfriend was in the washroom, that she comes to these sorts of places because she wanted to expand her horizons. Another woman told me she came here because it made it acceptable for her boyfriend to attend. A couple said it was like foreplay, so that when they left they could go back home and have crazy passionate sex. Which made me think. Foreplay for the mind huh? Wasn’t this situation really like watching porn with your mate? Even better really, because it’s live, but forces you to wait until you get home thereby allowing the sexual tension to build. Many agreed with me. It wasn’t about being attracted to the female in front of you necessarily; instead, it was about the idea of a sensual dance being played out. This heightened sense of sexual awareness just made it all that much better, these couples proudly proclaimed. In talking to the manager of the club, she emphatically agreed. “While it does happen, most of the people who come in aren’t looking to objectify the women. They want a tease, slow and sensual, to remind them of a past fling or girlfriend, which they can take home and keep in their mind. Or for the older men, all they really want is company.” So I say go off dear readers; try it with a mate.

Now for those who may be a little inhibited or scared to do that, I understand; it’s not like I have tried it. But there are things you and I, and anyone else can do to spice up our sex lives with stripping. Do it ourselves! Just in front of our partner of course. The art of stripping is that it is a game of tease. The first mistake people make is to go fast. SLOW is key. The idea is to show what you have but know when to pull back. Show a flash of skin then cover it again. Tease them slowly, sensually. Approach them, move around a bit, then walk off. It is this back and forth that tantalizes. As well, eye contact is important! You portray countless things through your eyes. You can show passion, lust, hunger, or a coy shyness. Play with it all! As the girls told me, it’s not about the nudity, though it obviously plays a part, it is instead about the game or dance as they say. Show them you are there, but just out of reach. Stripping for your partner is just about playing. So go have fun!