History In Stripping

Male Stripper Birmingham gives you a brief history of Male and Female Stripping

Although the idea of stripping or striptease was not a new one (The Moulin Rouge and The Folies Bergères had been showing such acts for years. I did not really take off in the UK until the 1930s. Part of the problem was that English law prohibited nudes from actually moving. The manager of the Whitehall theatre, Vivian Van Damm, decided that incorporating nude females in his shows could turn around the theatre’s losses he persuaded Lord Cromer, the Lord Chancellor, that provided the girls did not move this could not be construed as offensive and so the tableaux vivants (French for ‘living pictures’) were born.

The girls would also tour other theatres, in and out of London, and would sometimes use other ingenious methods of enhancing the nude performance while still adhering to the law. Props such as rotating ropes were used. This would allow the girls to move their bodies around, while not moving of their own volition, thus keeping to the exact letter of the law. The Fan Dance was another popular ruse. The nude dancer with two attendants would cover her body with fans until the end of the performance when the fans would be removed. She remained motionless for about ten seconds.

In 1942 the first female striptease show, the Whitehall Follies, started regularly appearing at the Whitehall theatre. The Whitehall Follies had been created by the British stage actress and impresario Phyllis Dixey, known as the ‘Queen of Striptease’. She remained at the Whitehall for the next five years producing her Peek-a-boo shows. Phyllis always considered her shows a true artistic expression, much like acting or dancing, and at the time many people agreed with her. However, for the predominantly male audience, one would assume they were not so focused on the artistic merits of the shows!

The 1950s variety shows, with very few exceptions, were failing to attract audiences. Phyllis Dixey had pushed the boundaries of acceptability and these were to be pushed further by another impresario, Paul Raymond. In 1951 Paul Raymond, produced a touring show with nude models displayed on moving stages then, to get around the law he decided to open a private members striptease club in the UK, the Raymond Revue bar in 1958. Far from the seedy image it might have engendered it became very popular with the rich and famous and, at its peak had over 45,000 members. Needless to say he had several runs in with the authorities but eventually things changed.

In the 1960s, it was clear that changes were needed to the outdated law. Striptease was here to stay. These changes allowed for full nudity shows without the motion restrictions. Soho saw a boom in the opening many new of strip clubs with 'fully nude' dancing and even audience participation. Cries from men employed to attract customers into these new clubs of “they are lovely and they move” became commonplace. Pubs also became a popular venue for these new shows particularly in the east end of London with its proximity to the City of London.
Although not universally accepted, especially by some local authorities, the strip club/pub continues to exist to this day, often with the strippers walking around the pub collecting money in a beer jug from the audience prior to each performance (again, inspired by the go-go dancers of the 70s).

Clubs specializing in various forms of striptease arose in the 80s and 90s. These “Gentlemen’s Clubs” became very popular for men wishing to enjoy female strippers, where the individual strippers perform private strips for their clients. Pole dancing also came to the fore through such clubs and has now that it has reached its zenith, with many strippers enjoying successful careers as pole dancers in specialist clubs.


The advent of male strippers had to wait until the 1970s before it took off in the UK. Male strippers had become part of the gay scene in America, growing out of the go go tradition and the advent of gay clubs and pubs saw a rise in the number of strippers performing for same sex audiences. Male strippers for female audiences now has a very high profile thanks in part to acts like the Chippendales and the film “The Full Monty” which has now entered common parlance as a description of a full strip. Add the advent of “Girl Power” in the 90s and male strippers are now as
common place as their female counterparts.

The idea of sending a message to someone which was delivered with a kiss by an attractive woman or man led to the advent of another form of striptease which is became known as the “strippergram”. Agencies who have Independent strippers on their books arrange for acts to go to location, usually for a special occasion. These “strippergrams” generally perform a short striptease act for an individual or group frequently arriving in suitable fancy dress costumes.


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