A French photographer offers an unexpected view of the United States – through its many strip clubs

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Some people travel the world in search of adventure, while others seek out natural wonders, cultural sites or culinary experiences. But French photographer François Prost was looking for something different during his recent road trip across America: strip clubs.

From Miami to Los Angeles, Probst’s latest book “Gentlemen’s Clubs” traces his path across America through nearly 150 strip clubs with names like Pleasure, Temptations and Cookies N’ Cream. However, not a single naked woman could be seen there, as Proust’s camera was trained exclusively on the buildings themselves – and especially on their often colorful facades.

They traveled more than 6,000 miles over the course of five weeks in 2019, resulting in photographs that captured everything from the pastel colors of Florida’s club Pink Pussycat to places hidden in plain sight in the country’s more religious states.

“I would divide these places into two types: one very integrated into the public landscape, and one a little more hidden and questionable,” Probst said, speaking to CNN over a video call and email.

The first type can be found in “very American” settings, he said, like “around amusement parks and fast foods and malls.” However, the latter locations will sometimes look indistinguishable from any store in a strip mall. Probst said he found many such establishments along the Bible Belt, a socially conservative area in the south of the country. He was particularly keen to explore the area because of the apparent contrast between the prevalence of strip clubs and what he described in his book as “conservatism and extreme puritanism”.

Probst insisted that he had little interest in the interiors or services of the strip clubs he always visited during the day. Instead, they hoped to learn more about American culture by creating objective, documentary-style photographs of establishments sitting at the intersection of sex, gender, and commerce. Documenting changing attitudes towards sex through the lens of architecture, he said the series was primarily a landscape photography project.

“The prism of this theme of aspects of the strip club became a way of studying and trying to understand the country,” he wrote in “Gentlemen’s Club,” photos of which will be shown in an exhibition in Tokyo in March.

“(‘Gentleman’s Club’) is an objective panorama of dominant ideas and the sexualization of gender and female image.”

Proust’s project originated from his 2018 series, “After Party”, which focused on the luxurious aspects of French nightclubs. He said that people often comment that the exteriors of the buildings look as if they were plucked straight from American cities, which led to the idea that he should visit the US and expand the project.

As they carefully planned their trip, they were impressed not only by the sheer number of strip clubs in America, but – unlike in Europe – they often demanded to be seen. The hot pink walls, towering nude silhouettes and even the candy-cane-striped storefronts can’t hide the type of entertainment provided inside.

“A good example would be Las Vegas, where strip clubs are everywhere and their signs are just as bright as fast food (restaurant) or casino signs,” Probst said.

Miami’s clubs were often painted in bright colors like Wes Anderson’s. Other photos show places covered in bright colors contrasting with their sparse desert surroundings.

If the establishments were open during the day, Probst would enter and ask permission to take photographs so as to “not look suspicious… and explain what my intentions were,” he said. The interiors rarely lived up to the tantalizing promises made on the signs outside, but the photographer met many characters during his five-week visit, from indifferent bouncers to managers who were thrilled about the project.

“Most of the time, people were OK – 99% of them would say yes to a mask photo,” he said, adding that generally they wouldn’t mind their presence, as long as they didn’t take photos of patrons or dancers. .

“Some people will think it’s a little weird, some will be really excited about it and give me their business card to send a picture,” he said.

However, Probst said that his biggest surprise was how “normalized” strip clubs looked in everyday life. As he reflects in his book, “The relationship that Americans seem to have with strip clubs is quite different from what you see in Europe. Going to a strip club seems to be a lot more normal… you go as a couple or with friends to have fun at night.’

For example, he was struck by the fact that many of Las Vegas’ strip clubs doubled as restaurants—many of which boasted happy hour deals, buffets, and special discounts for truck drivers or construction workers.

“I saw some strip clubs that advertised being strip clubs and steakhouses, so you could eat a big piece of meat while watching the strippers. It’s also something that feels very American to me,” he said, adding, “I’ve heard from some people I’ve met in Portland that there are even strip clubs (that offer vegan food).

The frontispiece is filled with puns such as “My sex life is like the Sahara, 2 palms, no dates” and pun-based names like Booby Trap and Bottoms Up. Probst’s documentary approach enhances the surreal comedy of the allusions. But it also serves as a neutral lens through which viewers can make up their own minds about the objectification of women.

Respecting the faceless dancing bodies of female figures and the quintessential “girls, girls, girls” signs, “Gentleman’s Club” explores the objectification of women, which is, in fact, completely absent in Proust’s works ( An observation reflected in the book’s title, a phrase that crops up several times on signs in his photographs). The strip clubs he visited presented women as objects of consumption, with everything from various food-themed names to an advertisement that read, “1,000 beautiful girls and three ugly ones.”

For his next project, Probst plans to go to Japan to document the country’s love hotels, which play a similar role to strip clubs in parts of the US: open secrets in a conservative society. But the photographer believes the American establishments he visited say something unique about the country – something that’s less about sexuality and more about the American dream.

Her project, she said, has shown her: “As long as you’re successful in terms of business, (it doesn’t matter) whether your activity is sex-related or not.”

“Gentleman’s Club” will be performed at the Agnes B. Gallery Boutique in Tokyo, Japan between March 17 and April 15, 2023. BookPublished by Fisheye Editions, available now.