Stripping

Although many things have become mainstream over the years and taboos have been removed from a number of different thing, one thing that many don’t like to talk about or acknowledge is the world of stripping. The world of stripping is surrounded by myths, assumptions and shame but have you ever wondered what it is really like for this women (or men) to take their clothes off in front of strangers? Or have you ever wondered what motivates them to do this? Some do it in order to support their families, others do it in order to pay their school tuition and some just like it.

After looking at the stats its not hard to figure out why women chose to do this. Strippers typically make $74,000 a year! Also strippers usually report high job satisfaction and after many studies there appears to be no difference in self-esteem between strippers and non-strippers. One in three women who strip are doing it to put themselves through college so don’t be surprised in a few years when you recognize your new CEO from the club. These women have found a market where they can have fun and express themselves while also making more money then most middle-aged business men so who are we to judge. Strip clubs are big business and bring in over six million dollars annually to the United States. I don’t think that it is fair to judge a person just because their career choice makes you feel uncomfortable or goes against your personal beliefs.

However the shame that has followed strippers since the dawn of time has not faded in the recent years, no matter how progressive people like to claim they are most have no problem calling a women a “slut” or a “whore” once they find out the truth behind their employment. This is why the top thing that strippers have claimed to dislike about their job is having to lie about it to the people that they care about the most.

One women who asked to remain anonymous said that she stripped throughout her daughters childhood in order to provide her with everything that her friends had. He daughters father left soon after her birth and she felt that this was her only option. Although she doesn’t regret it and would not change her past when asked about her time as a dancer she simply said “It is not a time that I want to relive or talk about. It is in the past for a reason and thats where I would like to keep it.”

Another women who also wished to remain anonymous said that clubs are not as bad as they make you think in movies and TV shows, “On TV and in the movies they make you think that these clubs are filled with married men cheating on their wives with women who have no morals but the truth is in most of these clubs the dancers don’t leave the stage and the men are only allowed about six feet from the stage. It is a lot more controlled and clean then one may think.”  This is not surprising when you hear that one in nine strippers would recommend dancing to a friend. Most women would not recommend a job to a friend if it was terrible, I know that I have deterred friends from applying at my past employers.

After everything, what these women to chose with their bodies is their personal business. By judging women for their job choice we are taking a huge step back in the recent progress we have made as a society to lift women up. So if you want to dance then dance! If you want to be a teacher then teach! Do what makes you happy and don’t let anyone else’s opinions make your decisions for you.

By Kristen Catalano