Kicking off her book The Stripper Next Door with her days as a yoga instructor, it was hard to believe what the past would reveal for Emma Lea Corbett.
Corbett was seventeen when she answered an advertisement in the newspaper seeking dancers and hostesses offering “great $$$ potential“. Looking towards a future as a home owner, this ad was what she needed to hear – an opportunity to make money and own her own home. Corbett and her friend applied and they got the job. Corbett fitted straight into the “dancing” lifestyle. A night owl, and a teenager who felt happier with the outsider crowd, yet a girl oozing with confidence.
Corbett transformed herself into Suzie Q dancer extraordinaire and started to create her vision of something that was not just a casual job but as a career. Corbett took the pole by the horns and transcended up the ladder, from working in competitions to opening her own pole dancing studio, as well as delving into the BDSM world – winning Miss Nude Australia and taking part in reality TV shows. She also found herself entertaining celebrities such as Bono, and taking an active part in the gay and lesbian culture.
The Stripper Next Door is a daring insight into the glamorous, and not so glamorous scenes of strip clubs. The book will show how many of the girls are normal humans, but often treated less so, but also how a gem of a patron can be found amongst the coal. You’ll read this and feel exhausted yourself as Corbett seems to rarely stop working. There are moments of sheer exhaustion and you’ll certainly wonder why she didn’t slow her life down just a notch, but then sometimes all these amazing offers are hard to say no to.
I also found the book to be very humerous and that it offered a safe explanation for why girls might be wanting to get into the clubs. There was probably an over justification as to why she worked in the field, and how she felt represented but I feel that’s to be expected when reading a book about a still rather taboo subject – although thankfully growing less taboo over the years. At the end of the day, for Corbett, it was a job, and a means to save money to own her own. It was also a job she had to keep secret from family for a long time. She makes a true statement: “would the movie Magic Mike be so popular and accepted if a woman was in the role?”. I felt that getting her fathers approval was one of the hardest challenges Corbett faced, but she doesn’t want you to feel sorry for her. This is her story of pursuing a dream, albeit a different occupation than most woman, but it’s an entertaining story and inspiring.
Years of competing and never stopping was bound to wreck havoc on ones body and Corbett discovered this out for herself. But after discovering yoga and coming to new discoveries about her life and her body, she has taken her life on a different course. But at 33 years of age, Corbett still has a lifetime ahead of her to keep pursuing her dreams. I feel that we haven’t heard the end of Corbett yet. This book was a fantastic and compelling read, and I loved all the glossy photos too!
The Stripper Next Door is available now through New Holland Publishers.
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