{"title":"Chris Belcher","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"pretty-baby-book-chris-belcher-9781804440643","title":"Pretty Baby","description":"FINALIST FOR THE 2022 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR LESBIAN MEMOIR  'A muscular, canny memoir . . . I couldn't put it down. What a fucking gorgeous book' CARMEN MARIA MACHADO 'Entertaining' New York Times 'Absolutely not to be missed' Vogue 'A gripping story' Esquire  Chris Belcher appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest - a minor glory that followed her around her small, working-class town in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her.  A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat during a PhD program, Belcher plunges into a double life as both student and sex worker, branding herself as L.A.'s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix. As she moves between the embodied world of the pro-domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom can apply to the dungeon and vice versa.  In this searingly funny and perceptive memoir, we see through eyes of a dominatrix-turned-academic how power, shame and desire can be explored and subverted.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49572165812497,"sku":"GOR013469172","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49753261146385,"sku":"NGR9781804440643","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50428261105937,"sku":"GOR013258929","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53683644629265,"sku":"GOR015000745","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1804440647.jpg?v=1759225952"},{"product_id":"pretty-baby-book-chris-belcher-9781982175825","title":"Pretty Baby","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebsolutely not to be missed.\" --\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA queer teen rebel escapes small-town Appalachia and becomes Los Angeles's Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix in this searing and darkly funny memoir that upends our ideas about desire, class, and power.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe dominatrix is the id of American femininity. She says the words that we all wish we could say when we find ourselves frozen in the presence of men.\u003c\/i\u003e No \u003ci\u003eis principal among them.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So writes Chris Belcher, who appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest--a minor glory that followed her around a working-class town of 1,600 people in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat in the early years of a PhD program, Belcher plunges into the work of a pro domme. Branding herself as Los Angeles's Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, she specializes in male clients who want a domme to make them feel worthless, shameful, and weak--all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. A queer woman whom men can trust with the unorthodox sides of their sexualities, Belcher is paid to be the keeper of the fantasies that they can't enact in their everyday relationships. But moonlighting as a sex worker also carries risks, like the not-so-submissive who tries to turn the tables and the jealous client out for revenge.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As Belcher moves between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon, and vice versa. Still, fear that her doctoral program won't approve burdens her with a double life. \u003ci\u003ePretty Baby\u003c\/i\u003e is her second coming out.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In this sharp and discerning memoir, we see through Belcher's eyes how power and desire can be renegotiated--or reinforced.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49797619056913,"sku":"CIN1982175826VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49797619155217,"sku":"CIN1982175826G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50519035248913,"sku":"GOR013484264","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1982175826.jpg?v=1750966258"},{"product_id":"pretty-baby-book-chris-belcher-9781982175832","title":"Pretty Baby","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebsolutely not to be missed.\" --\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA queer teen rebel escapes small-town Appalachia and becomes Los Angeles's Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix in this searing and darkly funny memoir that upends our ideas about desire, class, and power.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe dominatrix is the id of American femininity. She says the words that we all wish we could say when we find ourselves frozen in the presence of men.\u003c\/i\u003e No \u003ci\u003eis principal among them.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e So writes Chris Belcher, who appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest--a minor glory that followed her around a working-class town of 1,600 people in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat in the early years of a PhD program, Belcher plunges into the work of a pro domme. Branding herself as Los Angeles's Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, she specializes in male clients who want a domme to make them feel worthless, shameful, and weak--all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. A queer woman whom men can trust with the unorthodox sides of their sexualities, Belcher is paid to be the keeper of the fantasies that they can't enact in their everyday relationships. But moonlighting as a sex worker also carries risks, like the not-so-submissive who tries to turn the tables and the jealous client out for revenge.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As Belcher moves between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon, and vice versa. Still, fear that her doctoral program won't approve burdens her with a double life. \u003ci\u003ePretty Baby\u003c\/i\u003e is her second coming out.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In this sharp and discerning memoir, we see through Belcher's eyes how power and desire can be renegotiated--or reinforced.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50404936941841,"sku":"CIN1982175834G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50994292064529,"sku":"NIN9781982175832","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53256417771793,"sku":"CIN1982175834VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1982175834.jpg?v=1751252355"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-chris-belcher.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}