Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Olga and the Chippendales


I've been trying to take a picture of Olga beneath the big Ceanothus, or California lilac, that grows on the housing estate where we often walk. This was the first attempt, which is pretty good.

But then we walked by later and the bush seemed to be blooming even more:


Unfortunately Olga herself looks a little wide-bodied in this shot. (And she really isn't.) I just can't win!

Dave and I just finished a four-part documentary on Amazon about the Chippendales, the legendary troupe of male "exotic dancers" from the '80s. I remember them from their heyday but I forgot that the whole enterprise flamed out in the early '90s amid charges of murder and arson. (I think I was overseas at the time and didn't keep up with all that news.) The documentary tells the whole dramatic story as well as the personal journeys of some of the dancers and managerial staff, and it was pretty darn entertaining.

What the documentary didn't do was even utter the word "gay," which I found interesting. The Chippendales only danced for women; men were expressly barred from the clubs until the performances were over. But I'm sure they had a huge gay following, especially for their merchandise like calendars and posters, and it would have been reasonable to acknowledge that.

Maybe I feel this way because of my own Chippendales story, which I blogged way back in 2008. Here's what I wrote then, so you don't have to follow the link:

When I was a high school senior, my girlfriend went to Spencer Gifts at University Square Mall and bought a deck of cards showing the Chippendales in various states of undress. I remember thinking they weren’t that attractive, all oiled and kind of greasy-looking, but I still wanted a deck of those cards myself. (I’m not sure what was going on in my tangled-up psyche at the time -- girlfriend, Chippendales cards -- but whatever.)

I went in to Spencer’s, picked up the cards and bravely approached the cashier, a woman. “I think these are the cards my girlfriend wants,” I said, uncertainly.

The cashier gave me a knowing look (her brain was saying, “Gay!”) and rang them up.

I kept those cards for a year or two, but like I said, I didn’t really think any of the guys were all that great. Oily men in bow ties and thongs just don’t do it for me. Call me crazy.

I got to wondering whether I could find that deck of cards online. I hadn't seen it in almost 40 years, and I was curious whether I'd recognize any of the images. It turns out there were several different decks of Chippendales cards over the years, but I discovered the one I owned was the 1982 deck. The minute I saw this picture from an old eBay listing, I knew it was the one:


And yes, I do clearly remember all those images, even though -- as I wrote above -- the guys weren't quite my ideal. (I was into nerdier types, being a nerdier type myself.) I seem to remember liking Mr. Ace of Clubs and Three of Clubs at top left, as well as Mr. Shirt-and-Tie, who made a career on the Chippendales stage as "The Perfect Man."

It strikes me now that all those cards depict white men. There were a few black Chippendales dancers but overall it was a very caucasian enterprise, despite the fact that the owner was an Indian immigrant named Banerjee. In fact there were lawsuits not only for gender discrimination but also racial discrimination by men who weren't allowed into the clubs.

Obviously I never saw the Chippendales live. There was a similar male dance troupe in Florida called the Hollandales, though, and they did perform at the gay clubs in Tampa. I saw them a couple of times and even had a harmless infatuation with one of their dancers, who I never so much as spoke to but once tipped $5, which seemed wildly extravagant at the time.

Anyway, yes, there's the entirety of my sordid history involving male burlesque. Aren't you glad you asked?

24 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

I don‘t know how I missed the Chippendales scandals. I, too, was never a fan of oiled, waxed, and polished bodies.

Anonymous said...

Likewise I am not a fan of over muscled and oiled bodies, but your title did grab my attention. I'm sure they used to perform here, although we had our similar strippers called Manpower.

I prefer the second photo of Olga and the blooming tree. Olga seems to be smiling.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I think you are underselling yourself when you explain that you were one of the "nerdier types" Steve. Without doubt you would have made it into The Chippendales if you had applied. How cool you would have looked in your bowtie and leather posing pouch - your muscular physique glistening with coconut oil. Ceacanthus makes a delightful blue doesn't it?

River said...

I love that tree! We have a few here in Adelaide, but none in my suburb. I'd completely forgotten about The Chippendales, I remember now that I wasn't all that keen on them, far too muscly for my liking.

Boud said...

I remember a then middle aged woman friend saying she'd been to a Chippendale show, noticed that the audience was largely middle aged women screaming with excitement! I was baffled by the whole thing.

Pixie said...

I've never really like male strippers. No offense Steve but I don't find men's junk all that appealing, unless it's one on one, so to speak:)

I had no idea though that Chippendales had an owner or that he hired killers. Wow, what people won't do for money.

The tress is amazing!

Debby said...

I was surprised to see that there was a very marked difference between the two lilac trees and their blooms. The pictures were taken on the same day?

I went to see the Chippendales with a bunch of girls at work back in the day. I remember that every one around me was screaming, and the guys were gyrating and one gyrated right over to our table and everyone was wildly stuffing money down his g-string.

I didn't get what all the excitement was about. I was quite worried about my response or lack thereof.

All these years later, I think that it is more an issue of all the preening and strutting and 'aren't I beautiful?' It reminded me of the mean girls in high school.

Not sure what that says about me.

Ms. Moon said...

I saw the Chippendales once and I also went to a club in Houston where all the dancers were men. I will admit that I have also been to "traditional" strip clubs where the dancers were women. What struck me about the men dancing is the whole atmosphere was completely different. Can I say "more wholesome"? There was a feeling of raucous humor to it all whereas when women dance it's so shady and sad-feeling.
I'm not explaining it very well but trust me- it was very real.

NewRobin13 said...

Love seeing Olga and that tree. I think she looks great in both photos.
I don't know how I missed the whole Chippendale thing in the 1980s. Probably because I was working part-time, going to college full-time as a 30-year old re-entry student,, and trying to maintain a marriage which eventually failed. So, reading this was an interesting introduction to a card-deck full of naked men. LOL.

Red said...

As with Michael I not only missed the scandals, I missed the Chippendales.

Ellen D. said...

That's a lot of info about the Chippendales. I wonder where they all are now and what they ended up doing with their lives. Did your documentary get into that?
I think Olga looks great in both photos and the tree is fabulous!

Wilma said...

I love the image of Olga under the lilac with her tennis ball. She does look like she is smiling. The Chippendales have no appeal to me.

Sharon said...

I remember when the Chippendales were popular but I never saw them in person. And, I had no idea there was any scandal around them. I was never a big fan of what you might call hunks. I much preferred guys with brains and a sense of humor. It's fun looking at the photo of the cards and thinking that most of those guys are my age now and unlikely to be posing for glamour shots.
I love that tree and Olga looks sweet, as usual.

The Bug said...

Oh I remember those guys! And they weren't my type either. I wasn't really into slippery men. Ha!

Margaret said...

I think Olga looks trim! I remember the Chippendales too but never knew what happened to them. They faded away and I didn't even realize that they didn't exist anymore.

Allison said...

It's interesting how they Chippendales were here, and then they weren't. That fad dropped like a rock out of the social zeitgeist. It always seemed kind of weird, the who thing about the men and putting money in peoples' clothing.

Bob said...

Chippendales were always a bit shiny.

John Going Gently said...

I’ve never been attracted to buff men
Give me a short stocky one with a sweet smile anyday

Kelly said...

I remember the Chippendales (I was kinda hoping your post was going to feature furniture), but don't remember the scandal. I'm not attracted to oily bodies in thongs, either - men or women.

I prefer the second photo: the flowers are prettier, Olga looks wonderful, and it includes her tennis ball!

Catalyst said...

I missed the Chippendales scandal too. As well as the dancers. I remember going to a female strip club once with a friend years ago, sitting far from the stage and being somewhat embarrassed at being there. I think I was a slow learner.

Jeanie said...

That lilac tree is to die for. Just fabulous. (So is Olga!) I never was into the Chippendales, probably for the same reasons you mentioned. They're awfully oily and I'm more of a nerd girl. I used to have pictures of Woody Allen (before the scandals) and Dick Cavett on my bulletin board. Oh, and Robin Ellis of Poldark (the original) fame -- who's still pretty darned cute and now owns a cooking school in the South of France, should I ever with the lotto.

Steve Reed said...

Mitchell: I mean, grooming is nice, but people can go too far!

Andrew: When the Chippendales became so successful I think copycat troupes sprang up all over the world.

YP: Hot librarians DO seem to regularly turn up in some people's fantasies, though I think they're usually women.

River: I would think those trees would flourish in a climate like Australia's.

Boud: That is definitely what the audiences were like, according to the documentary!

Pixie: Well, they never stripped ALL the way. The "junk" remained concealed!

Debby: No, the second picture was taken several days later. There is a sort of off-putting egotism to the whole Chippendales phenomenon.

Ms Moon: That's an interesting observation. I have never been to a female strip club, but I'm guessing there's a greater sense of exploitation. Even when the women are "exploiting" the men, like at a Chippendales show, the men seem to be somehow in on it, and even enjoying it. I'm not sure that's the feeling with women dancers.

Robin: Well, it sounds like the '80s was a busy decade for you! Yeah, you never know what you'll find here at the ol' blog. LOL

Red: I imagine they passed a lot of people by!

Ellen D: The documentary followed a couple of them, but didn't talk too much about what they wound up doing later.

Wilma: Olga is a very smiley dog. She always has that expression!

Sharon: I may be going out on a limb here, but I think while women loved the "party" atmosphere of Chippendales, they generally tend to look for other attributes in men than just muscles and a pretty face.

Bug: "Slippery" -- LOL! They WERE slippery! What was that about?!

Margaret: Apparently they do still have a show in Las Vegas. It's the last remaining bastion of Chippendales. I have no idea who owns the brand now.

Allison: Yeah, it was HUGE for a while and then it vanished. I suppose the murder cooled everyone's enthusiasm pretty quickly.

Bob: Very shiny! Hair, skin, teeth, costumes -- all shiny!

John: I like natural buffness, but it can't go too far.

Kelly: Apparently they were named after the furniture! The owner thought the name said something about quality and class. Thongs are not a good look on anyone.

Catalyst: I tried to get into a female strip club with my college roommate when we were both underage and they wouldn't let us in. That was my first and last attempt!

Jeanie: I had to look up Robin Ellis! The first "Poldark" passed me by, though I think it used to be on PBS in the states, if I remember right.

Edna B said...

That tree with its blue blossoms is beautiful. As for the Chippendales dancers, I remember going to a club to see some men performers do their act. I'm not sure what the group's name was. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

37paddington said...

I did go to a Chippendale's show with some girlfriends back in the 80s in NYC, and as I recall, the dancers didn't do it for me either. It all felt a bit too overt. I am pretty sure I was very aware that most of the men dancing were likely gay, and were just pretending to be into the women. It was the pretense of it all that felt unsexy to me. But my girlfriends had a blast.