Mary Shearman is a PhD candidate in Women’s Studies.  Mary pursued her BA (honours) in Theatre at the University of Ottawa and completed her MA (thesis: Betty Lambert’s Plays for Children: A Feminist Approach to Theatre for Young Audiences) in Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University. Mary Shearman’s current research explores the history of The Penthouse Nightclub in Vancouver, Canada's longest standing exotic nightclub. Mary is approaching the Penthouse as a case study that illustrates the relationship between dancers, the law and the larger community over an extended period of time. The Penthouse has survived numerous waves of moral crackdown and aggressive development in the city. It is an extremely important venue in local sex history (and is thus a huge draw for a budding sex historian…) Mary has recently taught a class in Women’s Studies focusing on Showgirls: Performance, Embodiment and Sexuality. Mary volunteers with FIRST, a national group which advocates for the decriminalization of sex work in Canada.