Stripper

Not to be confused withsex worker.

This article is about the striptease performer. For the race horse called Exotic Dancer, seeExotic Dancer (horse).For other uses, seeStripper (disambiguation).

Stripper

A stripper performing with tips she has received (Miami, 2009)
Occupation
Names	Exotic dancer,erotic dancer,dancer
Occupation type	Performing arts,sex industry
Activity sectors	Strip clubs,exhibitions,festivals,competitions,busking
Description
Competencies	Striptease,pole dancing,cage dancing,lap dancing
Fields of employment	Adult entertainment
Related jobs	Nude modeling,pornography

Astripperorexotic danceris a person whose occupation involves performingstripteasein a public adult entertainment venue such as astrip club.At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events.

Modern forms of stripping minimize the interaction of strippers with customers, reducing the importance of theteasein the performance in favor of speed of undress (thestrip).Not all strippers are comfortable dancing topless or fully nude,but in general, full nudity is common where notprohibited by law.The integration of theburlesque poleas a frequently usedprophas shifted the emphasis in the performance toward a more acrobatic,explicitform of expression compared to the slow-developing burlesque style. Most strippers work in strip clubs. Ahouse dancerworks for a particular club orfranchise,while afeature dancertypically has her owncelebrity,touring a club circuit and making appearances. Strippers are often not direct employees of clubs but instead perform asindependent contractors.

Before the 1970s, strippers in Western cultures were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences, usually in strip clubs. At the same time, strippers of all genders were dancing in underground clubs or as part of a theatre experience. Since the 1970s, mainstream stripping has adopted a greater gender diversity and male strippers have become an established form of entertainment for female audiences. Their performances are usually fully choreographed, involving dance routines and costumes. Certain male and female strippers also perform forLGBTaudiences as well as for all genders inbisexualcontexts.The term "male stripper" has decreased in use in books published in the 21st century.

Work environment

Strippers perform striptease for a number of reasons, predominantly to make money. Thephysical attractiveness,sex appealand techniques of the dancer determines the business the stripper tends to generate. In some localities, strippers are required to obtain permits to work in adult entertainment.Most of the time dancers have to audition to get the job.Once a dancer has secured the job the formal training is minimal, primarily on the job and provided by more senior dancers. Dancers learn a set of rules, such as never leave money unattended; never leave the club with a customer; and never refuse a table dance.

Touching strippers is not permitted in many localities; few dancers and clubs allow touching of dancers during private dances. If permitted, during a lap dance the dancer may dance sitting in the customer's lap, clothed or topless.In parts of the US, there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, which the dancers must cover withpasties.The common practice of hiring strippers as contractors rather than full-time employees often leads to job insecurity, unstable pay and a lack of health benefits. Strippers are also sometimes required to pay fees to the club for renting their stage. Strippers typically use make-up, costume, and perfume to enhance their performance.

In strip clubs

Strippers most commonly work as providers of live entertainment in strip clubs. House dancers work for a particular club orfranchise,while feature dancers usually havecelebritystatus, touring a club circuit and making live appearances.Porn starsoften become feature dancers to earn extra income and build their fan base. High-profile adult film performers such asJenna Hazeand Teagan Presley have participated in feature shows throughout the US, as did now-retired stars such asJenna Jameson.These dancers are not usually direct employees of the club but instead perform as independent contractors for a predetermined house fee.

Stage performance

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. More informal clubs will have dancers take turns when a stage becomes empty or have a free flow of entertainers, where they can wander off and on stage at their own will. Feature entertainers have set times for their performance, and are not usually part of the rotation. If aDJis present, they willemceethe rotation, advertise the feature entertainers performance and typically announce the current dancer(s) on stage and possibly whom to expect in future sets.

Tip collection

During each set of one or more songs, the current performer will dance on stage in exchange for tips. Dancers collecttipsfrom 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 dollarbillfolded lengthwise and placed in the dancer'sgarterfrom thetip rail.Other common tip methods are to insert the dollar into the stripper's cleavage from the hand or mouth, or to simply place it or toss it onto the stage. 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.

Private dance

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. This fee will typically include a set fee for the room, for a set amount of time. Private dances in the main club areas most often take the form oftable dances,lap and couch dances,and bed dances among others. Anair danceis a particular form of private dance where little to no contact between the dancer and customer occurs. This class of dance spans the different categories above, and some dancers can perform air dances when more contact-heavy forms of dance were expected and paid for.

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 physically 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 arebachelor partiesand 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, these are a more expensive option than a lap dance because of the novelty and increased level of contact between customer and service provider.

Achampagne room(also called achampagne loungeorchampagne 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 sellchampagneby the glass or by the bottle for both the dancer and the customer.

Other locations

Strippers can be contracted for performances outside the strip club environment. Some strippers will only strip for private engagements and do not have a regular affiliation with a strip club.

Adult industry trade shows often have strippers working, though many of them are affiliated with individual companies and not necessarilyfreelancers.There are also exhibitions, festivals, and competitions where independent strippers perform.Nudes-A-Poppin'was a popular festival scheduled annually which features both female and male dancers competing in erotic dance.

Bachelor and bachelorette parties

Main articles:Bachelor partyandBachelorette party

Abachelor partymay involve activities beyond the usual party and social-gathering ingredients, 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, there arehazing-like tests and pranks at the future groom's expense. These pranks can involve a stripper if the entertainer is willing. Some women also participate in a similar party to be held for the bride-to-be. This is known as abachelorette partyor Hen party.

Private parties

Private parties are popular events for which to hire strippers. There are manyentertainmentbusinesses that have strippers contracted for private performances. Some of these companies have a national presence, with strippers contracted in multiple states and some who work regionally over a multi-state area. Strippers will also do side work and handle their ownagreementsandpaymentarrangements. Written agreements are atypical in this type of transaction unless a formal, registered business is involved. They could also travel over significant (i.e. flight required) distances for private events and appointments, most of the time passing the cost of travel andaccommodationsonto the customer. Patrons at the clubs in which the strippers work are a primary source ofcustomersfor their work outside the club. Much like activities inside the club, different dancers have different comfort levels for services they will provide during a private party.

Performance

Strippers at a strip club inZona Rosa, Mexico City(2011)

While working, a stripper is not necessarily required to remove all of their clothing. Regardless of size, name, or location in the world, strip clubs can be full nude, topless or bikini.For any type of strip club there are exceptions based on the individual dancer and management, and clubs are classified based on typical performances, zoning, and advertised services.

Style of dress

During a performance, both the breasts and the genitals typically remain covered by revealing clothes, while dancers provide services and entertainment. A female stripper whoseupper bodyis exposed, but whose genitals remain covered during a performance, is said to betopless.Strippers who uncover the genital areas while removing the rest of their clothing during a performance are said to be dancing fully nude. The fully nude practice is banned in many jurisdictions,but many dancers work around theseconstraintsby selective uncovering of thevulva,anus,or both, for short periods of time, followed by immediate replacement of the clothing.

In many clubs, entertainers will walk the floor in their revealing clothing. When a stripper performs personal services (such as lap orbed dances) they come into contact with a customer, and are required to remain in their revealing clothing in more restrictive club environments. Private dances in particular are scrutinized to ensure that no club policies orlocal ordinancesare beingviolatedduring the performance. The additional clothing also acts as a deterrent to prevent a customer from exceeding theboundariesset by a particular dancer. On 19 June 1964,Carol Dodabegango-go dancingtoplessat theCondor Clubon Broadway and Columbus in theNorth Beachneighborhood of San Francisco.She became the world's most famous go-go dancer, and a prototype for the modern stripper, while dancing at the Condor for 22 years.

Topless

Main article:Toplessness

Women are at times employed in adult-only venues to perform or pose topless in forms of commercial erotic entertainment. Such venues can range fromdownmarketstrip clubs to upmarketcabarets,such as theMoulin Rouge.Topless entertainment may also include competitions such aswet T-shirt contestsin which women display their breasts through translucent wet fabric—and may end up removing their T-shirts before the audience. Strippers can engage in these alternate topless activities at sanctioned times inside the club or as independent contractors at outside venues. Not all strippers are comfortable dancingtopless.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.

Even the dancers that will go topless have been known to stay covered during a dance during slow periods in the club with few customers. This is particularly true if the customers do not appear to be engaged or actively tipping because they are not beingcompensatedfor their time on stage. The practice of topless dancing is banned in many jurisdictions, but strippers have been known to work around the constraints by selectively uncovering her breasts "peek-a-boo" style for short periods of time then replacing the clothing. For amale dancer,abare chestis not considered in the same light and does not face the samelegalrestrictions.During a show where customer tipping is permitted, most strip clubs limit contact with a dancer's breasts to one way—from dancer to customer. Many clubs do not allow any breast contact, and some go so far as to place markers on stage that a dancer is not permitted to cross while nude. This physical separation enforcescompliancewith the no-touch policy.

Full nudity

Strippers are banned from dancingfully nudein many jurisdictions, but many dancers will work around the regulations by selectively uncovering theirvulva,anus,or both for short periods of time then replacing the clothing. For a male dancer, exposing thepenisor anus is equivalent.

Not all strippers are comfortable dancing fully nude. If viewed as a continuum, fewer dancers will dance topless than go-go and fewer still would dance fully nude. It has been reported when in direct competition with more conservative offerings, fully nude formats are seen by customers as a superior enough substitute for them to switch clubs.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 toprofit.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.

Customer interaction

Strippers are focused on making money from customers. Strippers are employed as independent contractors and expected to generate income themselves making the profession similar to a sales job. How dancers go about maximizing revenue varies. For customers they do not already know, dancers use factors such as clothing, shoes, age, and race to determine whom they wish to interact with. Dancers are the primary enablers to encourage potential patrons to spend time in strip clubs. The dancers continually interact with the customers in the club by walking around and attempting to solicit drinks and lap dances, usually scanning the floor of a club to find the most lucrative customer to target.

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 their appearance and personal characteristics. Once the dancer identifies her mark, she approaches and attempts to create social relationship with her customer using tactical interactions and manipulations. Alternatively, customers can make the first move and engage the dancer directly. Strippers appeal tomasculinedesires, but they can adapt to fit the needs of female patrons to view them as customers. Adapting the experience to thecustomeris an integral part of exotic dancing.

Mainstreaming

In the 21st century, as adult themes and work are becoming more commonplace, more of the population is attracted to this type of work.For example, aUniversity of Leedsstudy, published by theBritish Journal of Sociology of Education,revealed that as many as one third of "strip club dancers are students, with many using the cash earned to support themselves throughout their studies" and likely to come frommiddle classbackgrounds.The study also stated that "students were now a 'core supply group into the sex industries', with clubs even targetingfreshers' weekevents with recruitment leaflets. "This is supported by a 2014 story in theNew York Daily Newsregarding San Francisco strip clubs taking out recruitment ads in the university newspaper for theUniversity of California at Berkeley,The Daily Californian.One distinction made is that many view working as a strip club dancer as a short-term means to address financial needs, while others view it as a profession and go on to other types ofsex worksuch as performing inadult films.

Gender roles

Male stripper performing in San Francisco in 2009

Male strippers

Until the 1970s, strippers in Western cultures were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences. Male and female strippers also perform for all types of adult audiences.

The modern male stripper show usually involvesfull nudity,although sometimes they may retain underwear, especially g-strings, bikini briefs or thongs throughout the show, or only remove all clothing for a brief time. Performances are usually fully choreographed, involve dance routines and a costume of some sort.Prominent male strip groups include theDreamboysin the UK &Chippendalesin the US.

A male stripper will likely perform at club, bar, workplace or private home with private advanced bookings or ladies nights being prevalent over strip clubs which is the norm for female strippers.This is different from theChippendalesscene that emerged to prominence in the 1980s with today's norm being one sole performer, or a series of individual performers rather than a group of strippers.

The social psychologist Richard Tewksbury says that male strippers 'masculinise' the role; thus are not disempowered in the way that, he asserts, female strippers are.

Sexuality and gender bias

Ethnographicresearch has observed that strippers, regardless ofsexual orientation,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 orientation. In order to become approached, men must indicate financial potential through their appearance. Women must 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 popular culture

Historical marker at the originalCondor Clubsite. Full text: "The Condor; Where it all began; The birthplace of the world's first topless & bottomless entertainment; Topless – June 19, 1964 Bottomless – September 3, 1969 Starring Ms. Carol Doda; San Francisco, California"

The image of strippers has evolved through the late1960s and 1970sin the U.S. and international cultures which embraced Americanized striptease. By the 1980s pole dancing had become popular in America, and the highly sexual imagery associated with the period's performers was widely accepted and frequently portrayed in film, television, and theater.

1980s–1990s

In addition to lesser-known videos, the 1980s also featured mainstream films involving strippers and their work as part of the central narrative. These includedFlashdance(1983), which told the story of blue-collar worker Alexandra "Alex" Owens (Jennifer Beals), who works as an exotic dancer in aPittsburghbar at night and at a steel mill as a welder during the day.Blaze(1989) featuresLolita Davidovitchas notorious stripperBlaze Starr.Starr herself appears in the film in a cameo role.Exotica(1994), directed byAtom 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 byPaul Verhoevenand starredElizabeth BerkleyandGina Gershon.Striptease(1996), was an adaptation of the novel starringDemi Moore.The Players Club(1998) starredLisaRaye McCoyas a girl who becomes a stripper to earn enough money to enter college and study journalism.

InJekyll and Hyde(1997), the character of Lucy Harris (originally portrayed byLinda 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" ). InNeighbours(1985), the character ofDaphneis originally a stripper at Des's bucks party, and eventually goes on to marry him.Married... with Children(1987–97) often featuredAl Bundy,Jefferson D'Arcy,and the NO MA'AM crew spending a night at the Nudie Bar. InThe Sopranos(1999–2007) business was often conducted at theBada Bingstrip club.

2000s–present

Dancing at the Blue Iguana(2000) is a feature film starringSandra OhandDaryl 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.Stripsearch(2001–), an ongoing Australianreality televisionshow which centers around the training of male strippers.The Hot Chick(2002) starsRachel McAdams,in her film debut, as a high school cheerleader who, after switching bodies with a small time criminal (Rob Schneider), starts working at a strip club called Pole Cat.The Raymond Revuebar: The Art of Striptease(2002) is a documentary, directed by Simon Weitzman.Los Debutantes(2003) is aChileanfilm set in a strip club inSantiago.InCloser(2004),Natalie Portmanplays Alice Ayres aka Jane Jones, a young American stripper who arrives in London, England. Portman won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picturefor her performance.Rob Zombie's 2007Halloweenremake featuresMichael Myers' mother Deborah (played by Zombie's wifeSheri Moon Zombie), dancing to "Love Hurts"byNazareth.

I Know Who Killed Me(2007) starsLindsay Lohanas Dakota Moss, an alluring stripper involved in the machinations of a serial killer, and features a long striptease sequence at a strip club.InPlanet Terror(2007),Rose McGowanplays go-go dancer Cherry Darling who, after having her leg eaten by a zombie, uses an assault rifle as a prosthetic leg.In the two-part season 6 finale ofDegrassi: The Next Generation,Alex Nunezresorts to stripping after she and her mother do not have enough money to pay the rent on their apartment.Darren Aronofsky's 2008 drama filmThe WrestlerfeaturesMarisa Tomeiplaying a stripper and single mother who is romantically pursued by professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke). Tomei received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actressfor her performance.Zombie Strippers(2008) chronicles a zombie virus that makes its way to a strip club.Barely Phyllisis a play onPhyllis Dixeywhich was first staged at the Pomegranate Theatre,Chesterfieldin 2009.The Hangover(2009) featuresHeather Grahamas aLas Vegasstripper andescortwho marries Stu (Ed Helms) despite his plan to propose to his controlling girlfriend (Rachael Harris).She reprised her role in the sequelThe Hangover III.

The seventh episode of season 6 of theCBScrime dramaCriminal Mindsfocuses on the BAU team tracking down a trio of young men, one of whom is revealed to be the son of the sheriff leading the investigation, who kidnap, rape, and murder several exotic dancers inIndiana.The 2012 filmMagic Mikeand 2015 sequelMagic Mike XXLare fictionalized stories of the lives of several male performers.InWe're the Millers(2013),Jennifer Anistonplays a stripper who is hired by her drug dealer neighbor to pose as his wife in order to smuggle marijuana from Mexico into America.Lap Dance(2014), which starsBriana EviganandCarmen Electra,focuses on an aspiring actress who makes a pact with her husband to take a job as an exotic dancer so she can make money to care for her cancer-stricken father. It is based on the true story of the film's director Greg Carter.Dixieland(2015) involvesRiley Keoughas a stripper making money to support her sick mother and is also being abused by her manager.In the TV seriesLa que se avecina,Lola Reynolds (played byMacarena Gómez), changes her job and works as a stripper after know she will earn more money.

Music and spoken word

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 aNo. 1 hiton the U.S. pop singles charts forDavid Rose and His Orchestrain 1962. That song pre-dated the opening of what is considered to be the first modern strip club,Condor ClubonBroadwayin the U.S. city of San Francisco,California."Private Dancer"byTina Turnerwas an international hit and her second highest-charting single reaching No. 7 on the U.S.BillboardHot 100chart. "Girls, Girls, Girls"byMötley Crüewas also a Top 20 hit on the U.S. charts.

T-Painhad a No. 5 hit on the Billboard chats with "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)"in 2006. Hip hop artistFlo Ridahad 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 "byThe Faintis 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.

Achille LaurorepresentedSan Marinoin theEurovision Song Contest 2022with the song "Stripper".

Video games

Duke Nukem 3D,released in 1996, became the original pioneer video game for the inclusion of strippers.TheGrand Theft Autoseries has strippers and strip clubs in many of its games, starting withGrand Theft Auto: Vice City(2002).

Legal issues

Main article:Legal status of striptease

Laws and court cases

Many U.S. jurisdictions have specific laws on the books related to striptease, with more being added increasing both complexity of enforcement and impact. For example, the classification of dancers as independent contractors has been challenged in court, successfully in Massachusetts in 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 officialswhich 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.

There are a limited amount of dancers and clubs that condone touching of dancers during private dances, and it is illegal in many U.S. states. In some locales, dancers may give a customer a "lap dance", whereby the dancer grinds against the customer's crotch while they are fully clothed. Other rules forbid "full nudity". In some parts of the US, 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 pastiesbut kept other restrictions. Both municipalities were reputed to have rampant occurrences of illicit activity including prostitution linked to its striptease establishmentswithin their city limits.

In 1930 theWindmill Theatre,opened in London, and 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 stationarytableaux vivants.To keep within the law, sometimes devices were used which rotated the models without them moving themselves.Fan danceswere 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 outlawedstriptease.Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir,Iceland's prime minister, 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."

Collective bargaining

As the sex industry has grown and become a more established sector of national economies, sex workers—strippers included—have mobilized to negotiate or demandworkplace rights.One means of collectivization pursued by strippers is the formation of labor unions, which involves formal membership. These strippers' unions have tended to focus on economic and workers' rights rather than civil rights, which constitutes a significant departure from the advocacy groups for prostitutes' rights that began in the 1970s and 1980s.The stigma attached to sex work also creates another obstacle to organization because many strippers and other types of sex workers are uncomfortable with declaring their profession publicly, even in a movement to improve their work environment and benefits.

One potential critique of the organization of strippers and sex workers of other types is that people in management positions in these industries, who are in a position to perpetuate the exploitation that sex workers face, can infiltrate these labor organizations and lobby for the maintenance of a status quo.

Australia

The Striptease Artists of Australia formed in 2002. The SAA successfully negotiated anindustrial awardwith theAIRCin 2006. Despite this establishment of an industry-wide minimum standard for labor rights, changes to employment legislature under a Conservative government enabled employers to utilize loopholes such as employing strippers as sub-contractors.

Another group, theScarlet Alliance,has been involved in advocacy and projects geared towards improving the standing of sex workers since its inception in 1989. While labor rights are an important part of this group's agenda, it is not a labor union.

Britain

TheInternational Union of Sex Workersis a branch of theGMB,a majorgeneral unionin Great Britain.

Canada

In the 1980s, the Vancouver Exotic Dancers Alliance formed and was active for about a decade.The Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour was established in 2004.

United States

TheLusty Ladyof San Francisco is a notable example of collectivization of strippers in the U.S. When the strippers of the establishment successfully unionized in 1996 through the Erotic Dancers' Alliance, the owners of the club closed it. In response, the strippers formed acooperativein 2003 to run the club themselves, renamed the Looking Glass Collective.The Lusty Lady closed in 2013.

In 2023, strippers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar inNorth Hollywood, Californiavoted to unionize and join theActors' Equity Association,which made them the only group of unionized strippers in the United States.

See also

• Bikini barista
• Bubble dance
• Burlesque
  • Neo-Burlesque
• Exhibitionism
• Feminist stripper
• Gown-and-glove striptease
• Hunk-O-Mania
• List of strip clubs
• List of strippers
• Pole dance
• Sex workers' rights
• Sex show
• Pornography

Further reading

• Egan, Danielle; Frank, Katherine; Johnson, Merri, eds. (2006).Flesh for fantasy: producing and consuming exotic dance.New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. Distributed by Publishers Group West.ISBN9781560257219.OCLC62901866.
• Frank, Katherine, ed. (2002).G-strings and sympathy: strip club regulars and male desire.Durham, North Carolina; London: Duke University Press.ISBN9780822329725.OCLC260110589.Details.
• Trautner, Mary Nell (December 2005). "Doing gender, doing class: the performance of sexuality in exotic dance clubs".Gender & Society.19(6): 771–788.doi:10.1177/0891243205277253.JSTOR27640850.S2CID17217211.

External links

• Media related toStrippersat Wikimedia Commons