Take a Peek into the Private World of Male Strippers

Jan Rattia’s portrait series “Tease” shows quiet moments with male erotic dancers.

May 1, 2016, 8:00pm

Bravo, 2012. © Jan Rattia. Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City

Strippers sell fantasy, but in capturing them in his project Tease, photographer Jan Rattia wanted to show the reality underneath the glossy surface. "It would have been much easier to exploit that fantasy and give into their visual allure because of who the subjects were,” Rattia tell The Creators Project. "I was drawn to the more relatable and in-between moments, when the guards were down, which the guys generously shared with me because of the trust we had established.” The portraits of male strippers that make up Tease, which is now exhibited at New York’s ClampArt gallery, aren’t Magic Mike-esque fantasies of excess, but somber, thoroughly un-glitzy behind-the-scenes images of dancers dressing, shaving, rehearsing, and pumping up pre-show. Check out some images from the series below.