From the Publisher

Bawdy Language reveals temptations of the forbidden in a series of images of exotic dance. The business and culture of stripping to tease in Toronto's world of adult entertainment is complex and mysterious, differing among the sexes when women dance for men, men for women, men for men and women for women. This gritty, naughty, marginalized culture that bares all creates tension of raw seduction and sexuality where enigmatic messages are conveyed between performer and observer.

From the Jacket

Bawdy Language reveals temptations of the forbidden in a series of images of exotic dance. The business and culture of stripping to tease in Toronto's world of adult entertainment is complex and mysterious, differing among the sexes when women dance for men, men for women, men for men and women for women. This gritty, naughty, marginalized culture that bares all creates tension of raw seduction and sexuality where enigmatic messages are conveyed between performer and observer.

From the Author

Entering Toronto’s world of adult entertainment to photograph exotic dance, I discover an unknown culture.

Navigating through one of the many barely lit nightclubs, I am enveloped by the closeness of smoke, beer, and loud music. My eyes are drawn to a stage where flickering lights create a patchwork of black and white stripes and dots. Elevated above the audience, a dancer writhes intimately around a brass pole, moving sensually with the rhythm of the song, wrapped in nothing but patterned light.

The business and culture of stripping to tease is mysterious and complex, differing when women dance for men, men for women and men for men. A gritty, naughty and marginalized world of exotic dancers who bare all creates a tension of raw seduction and sexuality that conveys enigmatic messages between performer and observer.

Though challenged by restricted access, unpredictable stage lighting, and the psychological constraints in an environment that guards and respects privacy, I strive

to translate the language of exotic dance through my imagery.

This portfolio is a work in progress – one of several on the language of the body.

My fascination with interpreting movement began while making photographs of performing artists in the cabarets of Cuba and now proceeds further with the investigation of the intimacies and nuances associated with other forms of dance.

— Beverley Abramson

From the Critics

"She has so much motion in her silver-gelatin print images in Bawdy Language that her strippers seemed made of Jell-O... The entire book — limited edition in a hot pink clam shell box can be found in some bookshops — really boogies. This is not a study of the sex worker as victim. It's a book of performers who happen to be in the sex business, and enjoying it."

— Peter Goddard, visual arts critic, The Toronto Star

"Toronto photographer Beverley Abramson's inaugural book, Bawdy Language, Exotic Dance, is a window into the gritty world of exotic dance in Toronto's adult entertainment sector."

— P.J. Harston, Editor, Metro Toronto

"Abramson's photography humanizes and demystifies the moment of strip. It's definitely an interesting show to attend — that is, for adults only."

— Jennifer Febbraro, Tandem