Name | Stripper |
---|---|
Caption | Stripper performing an erotic dance for tips |
Official names | stripper, exotic dancer, erotic dancer, go-go dancer, dancer, peeler, ripper |
Type | performing arts |
Activity sector | strip clubs, exhibitions, festivals, competitions, busking |
Competencies | striptease, pole dancing, cage dancing, lap dancing |
Formation | none |
Employment field | adult entertainment |
Related occupation | nude modeling, pornography, escorting, prostitution |
Average salary | US$47,000 per year |
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer, reducing the importance of tease in the performance in favor of speed to undress. Not every stripper will end her performance completely nude, though full nudity is common where not prohibited by law. The integration of the stripper pole as a nearly ubiquitous prop has also shifted the emphasis in the performance toward a more acrobatic, explicit expression versus the slow-developing burlesque. Stripping is typically associated with female performers; male strippers make up less than a third of the professional community. Strippers, when working, are typically found at strip clubs. House dancers work for a particular club or franchise. Feature dancers tend to have their own celebrity, touring a club circuit making appearances. Entertainers (dancers) are often not actual employees of the club itself but allowed to perform as independent contractors.
Most clubs have a dancer rotation where each dancer in turn will perform for one or more songs in a fixed sequence which repeats during a shift. During each set of one or more songs, the current performer will dance on stage in exchange for tips. Where legal (or legal restrictions are ignored), dancers may offer additional services such as lap dances or a trip to the champagne room for a set fee rather than a tip. Strippers can be contracted for performances outside of the strip club environment. Some strippers will only strip for private engagements and do not have a regular affiliation with a strip club. Much like activities inside the club, different dancers have different comfort levels for services they will provide during a private party. Aside from advertising for striptease services outside of the club, an unknown percentage of strippers also work in other aspects of the sex industry. This can include erotic and nude modeling, pornography, escorting, and in some cases prostitution. Outside of the U.S. the use of strip clubs to facilitate sex for hire is much more common, and stripping is viewed in those settings as advertising for sexually-oriented services performed in private areas of the club or off premises.
The image of strippers as known today evolved through the late 1960's and 1970's in the U.S. and international cultures which embraced Americanized striptease, introduced into popular culture by the genre-defining performances of Carol Doda. By the 1980s, the pole dancing and highly explicit imagery associated with today's performers was widely accepted and frequently portrayed in film, television, and theater. In a bikini performance, both breasts and genital areas typically remain covered by revealing attire while dancers provide services and entertainment. Go-go dancers will retain their tops and bottoms for the duration of their performance. A stripper whose upper body is exposed but the genital areas remain obscured during a performance is said to be topless. Not all strippers are comfortable dancing topless. Strippers who uncover the genital areas along with other clothing during a performance are said to be dancing full nude. The practice is banned in many jurisdictions, but many dancers will work around the constraints but selectively uncovering her vulva, anus, or both for short periods of time then replacing the clothing. As with topless dancing, not all strippers are comfortable dancing full nude.
Touching of strippers is not permitted in many localities. However, some dancers and clubs allow touching of dancers during private dances. If permitted, during a lap dance the dancer grinds against the customer's crotch while he or she (typically he) remains clothed in an attempt to arouse or bring the recipient to climax. In parts of the USA, there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, which have to be covered by pasties by the dancer. to the stripper. The reason for this is because of the negative stigma associated with exotic dancing. Dancers use props such as make-up, clothing, costumes, and appealing fragrances to complete their character and maintain their "front". Research on linkages between lesbianism and stripping, still classified as deviant behavior in conservative social climates, has asserted that "some exotic dancers become lesbians because of their isolation from effective social relationships and their overall dissatisfaction with males". Though the experience as a stripper has been documented in journalistic and academic research to have lasting negative impacts on practitioners, being a stripper does not preclude a balanced life while in the business or a personally satisfying future.
During each set of one or more songs, the current performer will dance on stage in exchange for tips. Dancers collect tips from customers either while on stage or after the dancer has finished a stage show and is mingling with the audience. A customary tip (where customers can do so at the stage) is a dollar bill folded lengthwise and placed in the dancer's garter from the tip rail. Other common tip methods are to insert the dollar into the stripper's cleavage from the hand or mouth, to simply place it or toss it on stage, or more directly to crumple bills into a ball shape and throw them in the direction of the entertainer. Tipping during a stage performance is prohibited by some clubs due to restrictions in local ordinance or past incidents on the premises. Each club and dancer will have individual tolerance levels for customer interaction including tipping. Some clubs will have multiple stages on the premises that dancers will move between, but typically the dancer would collect for her time on the main stage during a rotation. Tips can also be collected during private dances.
Table dances are distinguished from other forms of dances in that they can be performed where the customer is seated on the main floor. Table dances also refer to a form of minimal touch private dance where the performer is physical located on a small table in front of the customer(s). Table dances should not be confused with table stages, where the stripper is at or above eye level on a platform surrounded by chairs and usually enough table surface for customers to place drinks and tip money. These stages are configured for close viewing of the striptease and are known for dancers lowering themselves from the stage onto customers during their set.
Lap dances can be (and are) performed in all manner of seating, ranging from plain stools and kitchen-grade chairs to plush leather armchairs. They can also be performed with the customer standing in these designated areas. A service provided by many clubs is for a customer to be placed on stage with one or more dancers for a public lap dance. Occasions for this type of performance are bachelor parties and birthdays in the club among others. Bed dances are designed for the customer to be lying down with the entertainer(s) positioned on top of them. Bed dances are the least common of the three, and in many clubs are a more expensive option than a lap dance because of the novelty and increased level of contact between customer and service provider.
A champagne room (also called a champagne lounge, or champagne court) is a specialized VIP Room service offered by gentleman's clubs where a customer can purchase time (usually in half-hour increments) with an exotic dancer in a private room on the premises. Depending on the quality of the club, the room, which is away from the hustle and bustle of the main club, is well decorated and usually has its own bar. Clubs sell champagne by the glass or by the bottle for both the dancer and the customer. Strippers who have multiple trips to VIP in a given shift will often give their portion of the alcohol to other dancers or customers to reduce the amount they are drinking themselves.
A bachelor party may involve activities beyond the usual party and social gathering ingredients (often drinking alcohol and gambling), such as going to a strip club or hiring a stripper to perform in a private setting like a home or hotel. In some traditions more hazing-like tests and pranks at the future groom's expense, which shows the whole thing is also a rite of passage from bachelorhood (associated with an adolescent lifestyle, often in the common past of most participants, e.g. in their student years) to "more responsible" marital life. These pranks can involve a stripper if the entertainer is willing. Increasingly, bachelor parties have come to symbolize the last time when the groom is free of the influence of his new wife. It has also become common for a similar party to be held for the bride-to-be. This is known as a bachelorette party or Hen party. Some also chose instead to hold a so-called Stag and Doe party in the US or a hag party or hag do in the UK ("hag" being a combination of the words "hen" and "stag"), in which both the bride and groom attend. The female equivalent of a stag party in Canada is often known as a "stagette", "doe" or "bachelorette".
Adult industry trade shows often have strippers working, though many of them are affiliated with individual companies and not necessarily freelancers. More traditional industries have made use of go-go dancers to provide entertainment and act as hostesses. The lack of explicit nudity makes go-go dancers more socially acceptable than topless and nude performers in public areas.
There are also exhibitions, festivals, and competitions where independent strippers are more likely to be performing. Nudes-A-Poppin is a popular festival scheduled annually which features both female and male dancers competing in erotic dance. Outside of the U.S. the use of strip clubs to facilitate sex for hire is much more common, and stripping is viewed in those settings as advertising for sexually-oriented services performed in private areas of the club or off premises.
While clubs can generate revenue through means such as cover charges and drink fees, dancers make most of their profit from giving lap dances or VIP dances where regulations allow. Otherwise customer tips to dancers from a stage set are their primary form of payment per shift. The dancer qualifies a customer by sizing up his appearance and personal characteristics. Once the dancer identifies her mark, she approaches and attempts to create a false social relationship with her customer using tactical interactions and manipulations toward a result of monetary gain. Customers can make the first move and engage the dancer directly, but more experienced dancers will have seen most of their tactics already. Published research indicates that dancers generally avoid interaction with female patrons by passing them over or possibly confiding in them rather than recognizing them as viable lap dance customers. Strippers appeal to masculine desires, and need to feel comfortable they can adapt to fit the needs of female patron to view them as a customer by default. Adapting the experience to the customer is an integral part of exotic dancing. In areas where choice in formats exist, exotic dancers express concern that the more they offer in their performance (nudity included) the more they stand to profit. Still, strippers have been known to dance only at topless clubs because of their desire not to strip completely nude. Some clubs permit both nude stage dancing and fully nude lap dances. Where nude private dances are allowed with contact, some dancers choose to place some type of barrier (cloth or occasionally plastic) over the customer's lap as a precautionary measure.
The image of strippers as known today evolved through the late 1960's and 1970's in the U.S. and international cultures which embraced Americanized striptease, introduced into popular culture by the genre-defining performances of Carol Doda at the Condor Club on Broadway in San Francisco, California.
;1980s-1990s In addition to lesser-known videos such as A Night at the Revuebar (1983), the 1980s also featured mainstream films involving strippers and their work as part of the central narrative. These included Flashdance (1983), which told the story of blue-collar worker Alexandra (Alex) Owens (Jennifer Beals), who works as an exotic dancer in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bar at night and at a steel mill as a welder during the day. Blaze (1989) features Lolita Davidovitch as notorious stripper Blaze Starr. Starr herself appears in the film in a cameo role. Exotica (1994), directed by Atom Egoyan, is set in a Canadian lap-dance club, and portrays a man's (Bruce Greenwood) obsession with a schoolgirl stripper named Christina (Mia Kirshner). Showgirls (1995) was directed by Paul Verhoeven and starred Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon. Striptease (1996), was an adaptation of the novel starring Demi Moore. The Players Club (1998) starred LisaRaye as a girl who becomes a stripper to earn enough money to enter college and study journalism.
In Jekyll and Hyde (1997), the character of Lucy Harris (originally portrayed by Linda Eder) works as a prostitute and stripper in a small London club called The Red Rat, where she meets a multi-dimension man named Doctor Henry Jekyll, who turns into his evil persona Mr. Edward Hyde. Lucy performs the song ‘Bring on the Men’ during a show at the Red Rat (which was later replaced with ‘Good ‘n’ Evil’ in the Broadway production, some claiming ‘Bring on the Men’ was too ‘risqué’.). In Neighbours (1985), the character of Daphne is originally a stripper at Des's bucks party, and eventually goes on to marry him.Married... with Children (1987–97) often featured Al Bundy, Jefferson D'Arcy, and the NO MA'AM crew spending a night at the Nudie Bar. The Sopranos (1999–2007). Business was often conducted at the Bada Bing strip club.
;2000s-present Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000) is a feature film starring Daryl Hannah. The female cast of the film researched the film by dancing at strip clubs and created their parts and their storylines to be as realistic as possible. The Raymond Revuebar the Art of Striptease (2002) is a documentary, directed by Simon Weitzman. Los Debutantes (2003) is a Chilean film set in a strip-club in Santiago. Portraits of a Naked Lady Dancer (2004) is a documentary, directed by Deborah Rowe. In Closer (2004), Natalie Portman plays Alice, a young stripper just arrived in London from America. Crazy Horse Le Show (2004) features dance routines from the Crazy Horse, Paris. I Know Who Killed Me (2007) stars Lindsay Lohan as Dakota Moss, an alluring stripper involved in the machinations of a serial killer, and features a long striptease sequence at a strip club. In 2009 a DVD called, "Crazy Horse Paris" featuring Dita Von Teese was released. Barely Phyllis is a play on Phyllis Dixey which was first staged at the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield in 2009. Stripsearch (2001-), an ongoing Australian reality television show which centers around the training of male strippers. (2007), In the two part season 6 finale titled Don't You Want Me, Alex Nunez resorts to stripping after her mother and herself don't have enough money to pay the rent on their apartment.
Partial list of contemporary books on strippers:
Strippers have been the inspiration for a number of musical artists, with several of the songs resulting in hit singles. An instrumental, "The Stripper", was a No. 1 hit on the U.S. pop singles charts for David Rose and His Orchestra in 1962. That song pre-dated the opening of what is considered to be the first modern strip club, Condor Club on Broadway in the U.S. city of San Francisco, California. "Private Dancer" by Tina Turner was an international hit and her second highest charting single reaching No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue and "Panama" by Van Halen were also Top 20 hits for their respective groups on the U.S. charts. As with many entertainment genres, as the years have progressed references to strippers and stripping themes have become more explicit in lyrics.
T-Pain had a No. 5 hit on the Billboard chats with "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" in 2006. Hip hop artist Flo-Rida had two No. 1 hits in the U.S. in the 2000s with "Right Round" and "Low". For both hip-hop artists, the depictions of strippers and expressions of lust are far more explicit than in songs released in earlier music eras. This is not limited to hip-hop, with contemporary songs in other styles of music sharing similar traits. "Worked Up So Sexual" by The Faint is graphic in its depiction of dancer rivalry (older dancers gag at what new talent seems to mean, smaller tits and younger limbs) and customers longing to bed them. Public acceptance of the music has not faltered, and many dancers perform to these and other songs depicting women in subjectively negative ways while on stage.
Major strip club directories and portals online also have forums features built in for individual clubs and general discussion. Since strippers are the primary draw to strip clubs, the majority of the conversations gravitate toward dancers and dancer-related issues. The Ultimate Strip Club List is the most comprehensive independent strip club directory, and has individual strip club forums and general forums for discussions about and with dancers. Strip Club List is the largest industry-affiliated site, with club specific forums open to the public as part of its Strip Club Network. It also has a separate site for general forums. Both of these customer-oriented sites have entertainer participation in the forums. Strippers with ready access to the Internet away from work have also adopted social media and networks as a less intrusive way of maintaining connections with customers directly. Others have used the Internet to generate revenue by performing via web cam, recording premium content, or running their own subscriber-based web site. Online erotic content is generally classified as pornography, whether or not sex act is portrayed.
, former stripper and CEO]]
Distinguished among Web entrepreneurs is Danni Ashe, former stripper and CEO of Danni's Hard Drive, a pioneering adult web site which generated millions of U.S. dollars in the early days of online pornography. By 2001, the website had made a profit of $6.5 million the previous year and was estimated to be worth 30 million dollars. Ashe was considered the most downloaded woman on the internet with her image being downloaded a billion times. She is the only woman in the world who appeared on the cover of both the Wall Street Journal and Juggs magazine.
There is no one "stripper lifestyle" where all striptease practitioners fit neatly into a single stereotype. There is, however, an archetypal commonality in their presentation and the experience performers face on the job. The impact of these experiences are far reaching, and can continue to affect how the stripper approaches aspects of her life long after her days of actively stripping have concluded. Research on strippers has examined erotic dancing as a type of sex work in larger sociocultural context, gender, sex roles, and perceived appropriateness of behavior. Findings include that while both men and women prefer sex in a relationship, men are more accepting of casual intimacy and sex than women. The male sexual desire being more likely to allow for causal sex makes men more susceptible to the fantasy intimacy that exotic dancers sell than a female audience. Women tend to fantasize about partners and relationships, while men are more commonly contented through lust and physical gratification that strippers can offer through personal attention or possibly private dances. Dancers manage this stigma by “divid[ing] the social world” by only revealing part of their identity. By revealing only a part of their identity, strippers attempt to avoid being characterized by the stigmatizing attributes associated with exotic dancing. Dancers are aware of this customer desire for increased confidence, and a dancer therefore will give off the impression that a customer is seeing her true self, when in reality it is just part of her act. Inside the club personal boundaries are frequently crossed between strippers, customers, and other club staff. Research indicates that at some point a dancer has felt exploited by customers, management, or other dancers. The most common complaint from dancers is being portrayed as an object or instrument rather than a person. The dancers are using the customers for money, employing all of the resources at their disposal to do so. They sell the fantasy of sex but do not typically follow through with the act. Interviews with strippers have reveled that the customers are generally viewed as “suckers” for giving the dancers money just for their physical attraction. This stage persona is different than who they are backstage, even if it incorporates aspects which mirror their true personality. Female exotic dancers are continually exploited in the club, if not outside as well by men. As a result they may develop hostile and frigid attitudes towards men, potentially finding greater sexual fulfillment in lesbian relationships.
Ethnographic research has observed that strippers, regardless of sexual preference, have a tendency to treat female customers differently than males. Because of the non-physical motivations ascribed to female intimacy, dancers select women to approach who are smiling and sitting comfortably with open body language such as uncrossed arms, actively participating with the crowd, laughing and engaging with fellow customers, and applauding for dancers at the main stage also increase the likelihood they will be approached. Dancers tend to avoid women with unfriendly facial expressions or visibly hostile body language, again regardless of sexual preference. In order to become approached, men must indicate financial potential through their appearance. Women must actively demonstrate their good attitude and willingness to participate in club activities. At that point, a woman's perceived profitability is also a factor in a dancer's decision to approach a female patron. The presence of male companionship has been cited in research as an indicator used by dancers to gauge the profitability of a female once she is perceived to be a customer. in July 2009. One of the more notorious local ordinances is San Diego Municipal Code 33.3610, specific and strict in response to allegations of corruption among local officials which included contacts in the nude entertainment industry. Among its provisions is the "six foot rule", copied by other municipalities in requiring that dancers maintain a six foot distance while performing.
Touching of strippers is illegal in many U.S. states. However, some dancers and some clubs condone touching of dancers during private dances. This touching often includes the fondling of breasts, buttocks, and in rare cases the vaginal region. In some locales, dancers may give a customer a "lap dance", whereby the dancer grinds against the customer's crotch while he is fully clothed in an attempt to arouse him or bring him to climax. Other rules forbid "full nudity". In some parts of the USA, there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, which have thus to be covered by pasties by the dancer (though not applied to the exposure of male nipples). In early 2010, the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan banned fully exposed breasts in its strip clubs, following the example of Houston, Texas who began enforcing a similar ordinance in 2008. The Detroit city council has since softened the rules eliminating the requirement for pasties but kept other restrictions. Both municipalities were reputed to have rampant occurrences of illicit activity including prostitution linked to its striptease establishments within their city limits.
In Britain in the 1930s, when the Windmill Theatre, London, began to present nude shows, British law prohibited performers moving whilst in a state of nudity. To get around that rule, models appeared naked in stationary tableaux vivants. To keep within the law, sometimes devices were used which rotated the models without them moving themselves. Fan dances were another device used to keep performances within the law. These allowed a naked dancer's body to be concealed by her fans or those of her attendants, until the end of an act, when she posed naked for a brief interval whilst standing stock still, and the lights went out or the curtain dropped to allow her to leave the stage. In 2010, Iceland outlawed striptease. Johanna Sigurðardottir, Iceland's prime minister, who is an open lesbian, said: "The Nordic countries are leading the way on women's equality, recognizing women as equal citizens rather than commodities for sale." The politician behind the bill, Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir, said: "It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold."
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