"To me the customers are not men; they are this whole other species. All the men I know in my real life would never go to these places and just have nothing to do with that whole culture. And so, to me, I don't really count them as real people. They aren't people I would interact with for free in real life. They are people I only see as part of a business transaction."

---Rachel, stripper, as quoted in Stripped: Inside the Lives of Exotic Dancers

Comments like that seem awfully condescending for someone who grinds their cooch against a pole for dollar bills. Forgive me if i don't empathize with the plight of strippers. Ugly people manage to make a living without being objectified, so why not leave the stripper game and go join them?

As soon as you mention the word "dancer" or "stripper" or "exotic daner" people automatically have this thought in their mind that "she's a prostitute, and she sells her body for money." It's not even like that. I look at it as there are girls that go to these nightclubs, and they are dancing on the dance floor practically half naked, and they are bumping and grinding with guys they just met. I look at it as if girls are doing it every night, and doing it for free. What is so bad about me getting up onstage and taking my top off and getting paid for it? People don't look at it that way, they think because you take your clothes off for a living you are a bad person. Some of the best people I have ever met are or were dancers, and a lot of them go into dancing for good reasons--like they are trying to put themselves through college or they are raising a family becuse they are single mothers. I know girls that are dancers that were going to school to become doctors and lawyers. Not all of them are bad people."
--Tara, single mother and former dancer

People don't look at it that way, they think because you take your clothes off for a living you are a bad person.

and a lot of them go into dancing for good reasons--like they are trying to put themselves through college

and the woman in the original quote was not complaining about her job, rather making the distinction between the men she sees in the clubs and the men she socializes with.

but isnt she guilty too of may a generalization, big deal, a guy throws 5 at her to show her tits and grind her twat on him...doesnt neccissarily make him a bad guy either

Do you think there is a distinction between the "regulars"...the guys who are always there buying lap dances and generally treating the stippers like pieces of meat night after night, and people who go there socially with a group of friends? Or is it a general condemnation of any male who walks through the door?

they dont allow men to contact, women are, hence the term lapdance

usually the regulars are the ones who treat the women the best, and the women compete fiercely for the attention of the regualrs. it is the men who go once or once in a while with a group of drunk buddies who try to show off by treating the girls like shit that the women really hate.

it is not getting treated like meat that is the problem here, it is being yelled at, called names, groped and pinched that is the problem. the women understand the flesh component of it and work that as bes tthey can. that is their job. but it is not their job to get harrassed and insulted.

Isn't it the bouncers job to prevent that sort of behavior though? Obviously nobody should have to put up with that kind of treatment. I will say that from my limited strip club experience, i've never seen anything of that nature happen. Everybody in the club was generally well behaved....maybe that's just Montreal, the french are known for their politeness

But the customers ARE the job. Without them she would be taking her clothes off for bouncers, bartenders and a mirror. Without them she has no job, so if she has a problem with them she has a problem with the job.

well, being called names? big whoop, no different than fans yelling at barry bonds or TO. you pay money to see something, and if you dont like it, you can voice your opinion


both cases, they are entertainers

my sister did not research other countries, just US strip clubs. but i tend to think that canadians are more civilized.

in terms of the bouncers, their jobs are to protect the girls, not to police them. so they will throw you out if the girls comlpain about your actions, or if you are really obnoxious, but not if the girls choose to break the rules during a couch dance.

there would not be a job like that if it were not for men's sexual appetites. it is supply and demand.

they dont allow men to contact, women are, hence the term lapdance

That's exactly my point. So if the bouncer is doing his job, then the girl should have nothing to complain about behaviour-wise. It is the bouncers job to eject people for yelling at, grabbing or otherwise harassing the stippers, so if that sort of thing is happening then the bouncer isn't doing his job. I wasn't really talking about policing the girl's personal "behind closed doors" policy.

Again, that's exactly what i was saying. I'm not sure if you're trying to make a counterpoint or agreeing with me. But basically she's complaining about the very thing that is keeping her bank account full? Like i said, if she doesn't like the job there are other things she can do that don't require her to take her clothes off. Obviously she has chosen THIS job because it allows her to make more money than say, working at McDonalds.

Not if you go to the right club.