SW & LOVE

This season on A Stripper’s Guide Podcast, my amazing lineup of guests and I will come from many different angles to present, examine, and attack the foundation of one complex problem: within patriarchy, femininity is expected to reduce itself into an impossibly simple shape. Femmes are expected to be either one thing or another; either smart or pretty, either a wife or a lost cause, either a good girl or a bad bitch, etc. When we present as fully nuanced, complicated humans, we are met with chronic pushback from individuals and institutions alike. Far too many femmes spend our lives in pursuit and defense of our right to be loved, either bending over backwards to fit others’ expectations, or shutting ourselves off from intimacy and relationships because we have experiences that teach us to fear that we’ll never be truly seen, trusted, or understood. 

Wanna get involved with A Stripper's Guide? Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah/Penelope

Conspiracy theories are inundating our society, scooping up people from all angles of the ideological spectrum, from right-wing QAnon Karens to crunchy-earthy, anti-mask "yoga mommas". And one of the largest group of people caught in the crosshairs are sex workers (not to be confused with sex trafficking victims!). Dive in with me and my guest, Annie McCasland-Pexton, host of The Baby in the Bathwater Podcast, as we walk you to the core of this issue.

Wanna get involved with A Stripper's Guide? Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah/Penelope

As a thin person, I recognize that I must actively and publicly speak out against fat-shaming. This episode explores how becoming a stripper led me out of the woods of body dysmorphia, and how that brought me into an embodied understanding that all bodies are perfect and beautiful (and also an understanding that I'm gay as heq).
For bonus episodes & other exclusive perks, support A Stripper's Guide Podcast on Patreon here :)

Resources mentioned this episode:

• Click here for Aubrey Gordon's essay, "I'm a Fat Activist. I Don't Use the Word 'Fatphobia'. Here's Why."
• "What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat", a book by Aubrey Gordon
• The Maintenance Phase, a podcast by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

Let's stay connected!
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

Leilah
Founder of A Stripper's Guide

 Is "femme" a queer term? Yes. But what makes a person queer? This patriarchal culture puts immense pressure on femininity to "prove" its identity through sex. Speaking from my personal experience as someone who was "presumed" by others to be straight for most of my life, my queerness was (and still is) frequently doubted, and often erased, by both straight people and queer people alike. 

Wanna get involved with A Stripper's Guide? Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah/Penelope

In this episode:
If you frequently find yourself in relationships that feel messy, dramatic, or dangerous, I encourage you to give this episode a listen. Me and my good friend Cera Byer talk about identifying and breaking the underlying factors that keep leading you into toxic relationships.

To connect with Cera Byer:
Check out www.intuitiveedgecoaching.com or click here for her Instagram.

To connect with me:
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

In this episode, examine queer misogyny and the epidemic of abuse-enabling within communities that claim to hold sacred the values of social justice. The text version of this episode first appeared in the online publication, Boston Hassle, on January 5th, 2021. In that version, there are resources linked throughout, all of which are accessible through a growing YouTube playlist I’ve created, “Ending Abuse Cycles”. This playlist contains resources for understanding abuser psychology, as well as strategies for dismantling interpersonal and epidemic abuse.

Let's stay connected!
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah
Founder of A Stripper's Guide

Stripper dance, just like the strip club industry, is rife with cultural appropriation. Because we live in a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, the appropriation of BIPOC dances, specifically within the strip club industry, which actively disenfranchises BIPOC strippers (particularly & especially Black strippers), is nothing short of an act of cultural and interpersonal violence.

This panel discussion includes four guests: Joy, a black stripper/pole dancer; dancehall queen Hershey (also searchable: bliss_movements617); Jamaican dancer, author, and DJ Bianca Rose [aka Bianca Star]; and Moroccan dancer/Raqs Sharqi dancer Soumaya MaRose.

Let's stay connected!
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah
Founder of A Stripper's Guide

In this episode, musician/visual artist/retired stripper/babe extraordinaire, Valley Latini, chats with me about her music, her years as a stripper, her experience navigating her identities with U.S. immigration, and her dedication to the SW community at large.

Find Valley Latini on Instagram here and follow her on Spotify here.

Let's stay connected!
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.

xo,
Leilah
Founder of A Stripper's Guide

I'm a white stripper. On 7/22/20, I held a discussion panel with V, Tiffany, Chenelle, and Joy (click for her IG), four of my Black/Afro Latinx colleagues, about the rampant and insidious racism in the strip club industry. We break down the unique structure of the strip club industry that protects and proliferates racism. Listen to my colleagues' first-hand experiences, and learn from all of us about what we need from you, whether you're a stripper or civilian. In this critical & historic moment, help us swing the tide of power in our favor. Together, we can dismantle the harmful system as it is, and restore the sex industry to the rightful hands of whores, with Black sex workers front & center.

xo,
Leilah (aka Penelope)
Founder of A Stripper's Guide

Let's stay connected!
Join my free newsletter, follow me on Instagram, and visit astrippersguide.com for resources & offerings.