A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic" or "burlesque" dancer.
Bondage pornography is the depiction of sexual bondage or other BDSM activities using photographs, stories, films or drawings. Though often described as pornography, the genre involves the presentation of bondage fetishism or BDSM scenarios and does not necessarily involve the commonly understood pornographic styles. In fact, the genre is primarily interested with the presentation of a bondage scene and less with depictions of sexuality, such as nudity or sex scenes, which may be viewed as a distraction from the aesthetics and eroticism of the sex scenario itself.
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper, actress, author, playwright and vedette famous for her striptease act. Her 1957 memoir was adapted into the 1959 stage musical Gypsy.
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. She was often referred to as the "Queen of Pinups": her long jet-black hair, blue eyes, and trademark bangs have influenced artists for generations. After her death, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner called her "a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society".
A fetish magazine is a type of magazine originating in the late 1940s which is devoted to sexual fetishism. The content is generally aimed at being erotic rather than pornographic. Fetish magazines are usually devoted to a specific fetish, such as leather fetishism, rubber and PVC fetishism, cross-dressing, bondage, sadomasochism, female domination, sexual roleplay, corporal punishment, etc. Much of the content in fetish magazines is baffling to people who do not share the particular fetishes discussed and depicted.
Irving Klaw, self-named the "Pin-up King", was an influential American merchant of sexploitation, fetish, and Hollywood glamour pin-up photographs and films. Like his predecessor, Charles Guyette, who was also a merchant of fetish-themed photographs, Klaw was not a photographer, but a merchandiser of fetish art imagery and films. His great contribution to the world was to commission fetish art and sponsor illustrative artists, and to indirectly promote the legacy of Charles Guyette and John Willie. Irving Klaw is a central figure in what fetish art historian Richard Pérez Seves has designated as the "Bizarre Underground," the pre-1970 fetish art years.
Heather Renée Sweet, known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Queen of Burlesque".
Marie Frances Van Schaack, known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper.
Eugene "Gene" Bilbrew was an American vocal group singer, cartoonist, and "bizarre art" pioneer. As noted in the biography, GENE BILBREW REVEALED: The Unsung Legacy of a Fetish Art Pioneer, he was "the first black career fetish artist in history." Starting in the mid-1950s, he was among the most prolific illustrators of fetish-oriented pulp book covers. In addition to signing his work under his own name, he produced art under a range of pseudonyms, including ENEG, Van Rod, and Bondy.
Exotique was a specialized fetish magazine published by Leonard Burtman under his Burmel Publishing Company imprint in New York City between 1955 and 1959. The magazine's femdom theme, photos, and artwork mark it as a direct descendant of the first major fetish magazine Bizarre (1946–1959), produced by John Willie.
Blaze Starr was an American stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She was also known for her affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. Based on her memoir Blaze Starr! My Life as Told to Huey Perry, the 1989 film Blaze told the story of that affair starring Paul Newman as Long and Lolita Davidovich as Starr, with Starr herself acting in a cameo role and as a consultant.
Tempest Storm, also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand, and Blaze Starr, she was one of the best-known burlesque performers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Her career as an exotic dancer spanned more than 60 years, and she was still performing in the early 21st century.
Mara Gaye, born Marjorie Helen Ginsberg in The Bronx, New York, was a professional showgirl, dancer with the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes (1938–1943), and exotic burlesque striptease dancer of the 1940s through the 1960s. She also performed under the name Marjorie Gaye.
Hinda Wausau (1906–1980) aka Hinda Wassau, Hinda Wasau, or Hindu Wausau, was a star stripteaser in burlesque. She claimed, and has been credited with, inadvertently inventing the striptease around 1928 at either the Haymarket or State-Congress Theater in Chicago when her costume started coming off during a shimmy dance.
Gale Robbins was an American actress and singer.
Satan in High Heels is a 1962 American sexploitation film directed by Jerald Intrator and starring Meg Myles and Grayson Hall.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By the late 1920s, the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost popularity beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.
Jennie Lee was an American stripper, burlesque entertainer, pin-up model, union activist, and a minor role movie actress, who performed several striptease acts in nightclubs during the 1950s and 1960s. She was also known as "the Bazoom Girl", "the Burlesque Version of Jayne Mansfield", and "Miss 44 and Plenty More".
Charles Guyette was a pioneer of fetish style, the first person in the United States to produce and distribute fetish art, and regarded as the mail-order predecessor of Irving Klaw. Later known as the "G-String King," he is best remembered for his bizarre photographs, some of which featured sadomasochistic content.
Kim Christy was a female impersonator of the 1960s and 1970s, magazine editor and publisher, book author, screenwriter, adult film producer, and first genderfluid person to be inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.
