Take it off, Take it off
by Norman A. Rubin

"The heavy beat of a drum tatoos the shimmery erotic movement of the semi-dressed dancer as she slides in a seductive slow motion dance. At the beat of the snares she removes an article of clothing - first a decorative flimsy coat, then her diaphanous dress. The wolves cry 'take it off, take it off!" The audience breathes in excited ecstasy as the stripper's fingers fondled her cunnus within the strip of cloth barely covering the legality. Then her slim hands caress her delectable body and the boyos groan in delight. The stripper turns with her naked back to the boundry of her ‘cheeks' in show; with a slow tempting movement her flimsy bra is removed and discarded. As she slowly turns to the panting faces the teaser deftly covers her 'twin orbs' with her slim hands, allowing a peek of her pointed 'rosebuds'. As she slides across the stage she cups and fondles her 'didies' as an offering to her delighted audience. Then at a signal beat of a cymbal she quickly leaves for the cover of the stage curtain returning momentarily to reveal her ample and inviting boobs. Hooting catcalls are her applause as the lights dim."

(In the book 'Hot Strip Tease' (1937) a passage is cited from the James T. Farrel's 'Studs Lonigan' where the hero has an orgasm while watching a shimmy dancer in a cheap American burlesque theater.)

Burlesque (Burla-mockery, Italian) from it early beginnings in the 1860s was a 'honky-tonk' type of variety acts and bits, or comic sketches, mingled with musical numbers, featuring beautiful women and bawdy humour. A favourite comic sketch of that period was the clown and the pickpocket.

'A lovely pickpocket accosted the clown, dressed in baggy clothes. The delectable creature in an enticing costume came close to him in a provocative manner. Then one of her slim hands slipped into his pocket and wiggled about in search. Suddenly the lovely pulled back her hand, and let out a delightful scream, and fled from the stage. Then the jester faced the audience with a wide grin, shrugged his shoulders and laughingly called out, "Pockets, shmockets, who has pockets!"'. The comic retained his position in the burlesque until the introduction of striptease in the early 1930's.

Actually the first famous strip-tease dancer was Salome where she pranced in the 'dance of the seven veils' around the head of John the Baptist, served on silver platter. Legend never tells of the ogling eyes of King Herod and the elders when Salome dropped the seventh veil and bumped and ground her pelvic muscles with its temping offer of her vulva.

Even Lady Hamilton, the mistress of Lord Nelson, posed shamlessly in the alltogether (with a light covering over her delicate parts) as Hygeia at the 'Temple of Hymen' on Pall Mall, a theater where the owner and gentile ladies would watch perfomances in the nude. (There was some clubs in Jolly England where gentlemen disrobed together with their female companions and took an orgiastic part in the perfomances.) The 1841 edition of 'The Swell's Night Guide through the Metropolis (London)' directed the admirers to such artistic perfomances (and of other entertainment where 'bubbies' twirled and the 'Venus Font' thrust in tempting erotic pleasure to the sight.) It continued till 1959 when London became to be known as the Mecca of strip tease... until the Public Morality Council stepped in, which saw the closure of clubs featuring the art 'where a tempting brunette or blond, thrusting her hands in her strip of panties, kneading her ample bare bubbies, and prancing about in bumps and grinds, all to the delight of gentlemen...'

Scandals galore followed the steps of striptease history. In 1908 the American dancer Isadora Duncan shocked the British public. Her costume, in her classical dances at the Duke of York theater, was a flowing tunic that left bare her unshaven auxillary hair. Her partial emulation of Salome on the stage with the display of her ample buds of beauty caused consternation. Maud Allen, was another shocking American dancer whose costume was a wisp of chiffon on her satin smooth skin. And in America, Sally Rand, the queen of burlesque, didn't require strips of costume for her seductive acts; a coloured balloon, that burst at the correct time served. Other members of royalty appeared with large peacock feathers, wide spread fans, etc...

The bluenoses in one American city were not titillated by the tempting offer of delectable flesh on the stage. The Boston police under their instruction in the late 1960's closed the Globe and Old Howard burlesque theaters. During the proceeding for the closure order, the investigating police detectives were asked by the judge why they had to visit the theaters many times. Their answer was that they were obliged to make quite certain the disrobing during the dancing was obscene as it was done, 'in an artistic way'.

Well, in this day and age, with shows like 'Oh Calcutta', one does not have to be tempted by the offering of delectable flesh by strip dancers. As on critic put it, "Excellent naked performance, delighful songs, but with one minor disturbing element, The privates, privities and titties did not keep in step with the beat of the music."

Norman A. Rubin of Afula, Israel is a former correspondent for the Continental News Service, USA. He's written on Near East culture and crafts, archaeology, history and politics; religious history and rites, etc. He's been featured in publications world wide - Jerusalem Post, Israel - Coin News, Minerva, Oriental Arts, etc. England - Ararat, Letter Arts Review, Archaeology, etc. USA - Spotlight, Japan - International B, Hong Kong. He's been a freelance writer for the past sixteen years of short stories of all genres - mystery, horror, humour, sexual customs, etc.