Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper

So many pictures, yay! First and foremost, let me preface this post by saying "Gypsy" as written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim is pretty much my favorite musical of all time. I recently saw it (twice) in New York with Patti Lupone starring as Mama Rose, and let me tell you, that was a sight to be seen. As Seth Rudetsky was say, "it was a-MAH-zing." I have seen a lot of musical theater in my life, but I have never seen an audience give a performer a standing ovation in the middle of a number that quite literally stopped the show. Anyway, the book. So this book is the memoir of Gypsy Rose Lee, who during her time, was the most famous stripper in burlesque. She was known for not only being sexy and highly skilled in the art of the strip tease, but she was also hilarious. Unlike other women who just took of all there clothes and ran the stage shaking their junk, she actually put on a show. Her memoir, accordingly, is hilarious and was the basis for the musical. It has been said that a lot of what she says isn't necessarily one hundred percent "true," but who cares! Most of it probably is, and the most interesting aspect of her life (her relationship with her mother) was what the entire musical was formed around. Interesting fact: late in life, Gypsy's mother opened a lesbian boarding house where she shot and killed her lover (who was apparantly making a pass at Gypsy) and got off because it was ruled a suicide. hmmm. HERE SHE IS BOYS!

Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer

Just like my Buffy phase, I also recently went through a phase where I read a multitude of books and memoirs about life as a Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint (FLDS) you know, a polygamist Mormon, like the kind on Big Love. Now, if you know me, you know that the one "religion" that I truly hate is scientology, but I also think FLDS' are pretty crazy. I can't imagine being married off to an eighty year old man who already has six wives, but reading these books help me do that a little! Shattered Dreams tells the tale of Irene Spencer who was:

raised strictly in the Principle as it was lived secretly and illegally by fringe communities of Mormon Fundamentalists- groups that split off from the LDS Church when it abandoned polygamy more than a century ago. In spite of her mother's warnings and the devotion of a boyfriend with monogamist intentions, Spencer followed her religious convictions-that living in polygamy was essential for eternal salvation-and became a second wife herself at the age of 16 in 1953. It's hard to tell which is more devasting in this memoir: the strains of husband sharing with - ultimately- nine other wives, or the unremitting poverty that came with maintaining so many households and 56 children. - Amazon.com

This whole thing is so messed up to me. Far be for me to judge someone based on their religious beliefs, but this doesn't seem like that to me. What is seems like is a way for a few select older men to completely dominate everyone in their lives, treat their families like dirt, and rape innocent little girls. Also, I feel awful for the young boys who get thrown out into the street, because the older men want to keep all the young girls for themselves. Disgusting. I was so happy when the government raided that compound and took out all of those children, but I wasn't surprised when they wanted to go back. It's hard to compete with years of torture and brainwashing. Other really great books that deal with this topic are "Stolen Innocence" by Lisa Pulitzer, "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop and "The 19th Wife" (which is fiction and has an awesome history of how the LDS church came to be) by David Ebershoff. I really urge people to read more about this topic and educate themselves about the horrors that are going on in this country, pretty much right next door.