Patriarchy objectifies and sexualizes female bodies and it has led to the victimization and subordination of women in various ways and as Chinua Achebe says “Since men have learned to shoot without missing, he (Eneke the bird) has learned to fly without perching†(6), women have developed various ways of achieving autonomy and escaping the pangs of patriarchy. Using liberal feministic eyes, this article explores Grizelda Grootboom’s Exit (2017) from the angle of women’s self emancipation through striptease and prostitution. Both striptease and prostitution have been looked at as the least degraded forms through which women are sexually objectified. Against this background, I argue that the autobiography depicts Grootboom as a strong woman with integrity who exercises agency by taking well calculated decisions of engaging in striptease and prostitution as professions that economically empowers her.
Keywords: Self Emancipation, Striptease, Autonomy, Sexuality, Prostitution