Ivy League Stripper: a Memoir

“The saga of a girl who discovered the naked truth about financing an education.” —People Heidi Mattson successfully united sex and scholarship to realize a ’90s version of the American Dream by becoming a smart, sassy, self-confident stripper while attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Intelligent and ambitious, she grew up in a working-class family, but having been accepted into prestigious Brown University, she found herself in debt. Having tried her hand at a series of jobs that still left her unable to pay her bills, she made a choice that many might find shocking. She became a stripper. She quickly discovered that work as an erotic dancer generated enough income to finance her education and more. Surprisingly, because she began her new career with some fear, she found her new work immensely empowering. Drawing on the work of Camille Paglia, Mattson argues that men’s desire for the female body empowers women. Her work paid her way through college. Many will find her story amusing, challenging, and even inspirational. “An honest and thoughtful look at the business of sexual fantasy.” —Playboy “While not all readers may agree with her version of gender politics, Mattson’s account of how she negotiated an often bizarrely disjunctive double life during her remaining time at Brown is interesting and inspirational, and her commentary on the worlds between which she moved is clear-eyed and astute.” —Publishers Weekly