Ivy League Stripper by Heidi Matson

Ivy League Stripper by Heidi Matson. 288 page hardcover book with dust jacket both in very good condition. Published by Arcade Publishing, New York, 1995.

From a working-class family, Heidi Mattson accumulated a lot of debt after two years at Brown University, where she wanted to remain to achieve her dream. Having tried her hand at a series of jobs that still left her unable to make ends meet, she took a shot at stripping, which, she quickly discovered, generated enough income to finance her education and then some. Moreover, she asserts, this career, which she embarked on with some trepidation, proved to be immensely empowering. 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.