I quit stripping before I started showing but it didn't change the fact that I was a ball of raging hormones.
Rude comments are a nightly occurrence when your stripping so you eventually let them roll off your back. Be the ducky. Right?
Not so easy when your hormones are making you crazy. I never went running to the dressing room crying over something a nasty customer said. I...got...mean. Really. After becoming pregnant I told a customer he should consider himself lucky to see my face for a dollar, threw a hundred in a Spanish speaking mans face after he tried to act like he didn't know the dance was actually one hundred and fifty, knocked a drunk man on his bum, and so on, and so on.
Mean I say.
I would have loved to danced through my pregnancy. But it's honestly just too dangerous. I would have liked to dance until I paid for my education and quit before my Daughter started school. But my twelve year old stepdaughter is coming to live with me and the Hubby soon and me and the Hubby talked and decided that we didn't want her to have to be ridiculed at school if her classmates found out her Stepmother is a stripper.
She knew what I did and she probably could have handled it better than we think she could but still. There's no reason for that. Though it rubs me the wrong way that nobody will say anything about Hubby being a bouncer in a strip club. But others opinions about stripping is best left for another post.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I've known a lot of ex- strippers. They rarely recover from the programming they get that makes it possible for them to meke money in the clubs. They can start out as the sweetest of girls, and leave the most phony, dishonest, manipulative creeps you've ever met. Like alchoholism, you have to know and admit you are having problems with being stuck in whet people call "the life" even after you've left working in the clubs. Virtually no one ever does this. They go through their lives believing that nothing is wrong with them, and they leave a trail of disasters and carnage behind. They try jobs, school, marriage, boyfriends, and fuck them all up, and still they have no idea what is wrong with them. Stripping is commercial sexual exploitition. Girls are taught to lie, cheat, be phony and play up to sugar daddies for hours a day and years, and it becomes part of them. They become loser grifters with no personal dignity and the problems this causes them are exactly the same as girls leaving prostitution, indeed the folks who counsel girls for these problem sdont even find it useful to differentiate between ex strippers and ex prostitutes, regardless of how much strippers might jealously guard that distinction. There is help for sex industry survivors, but there is more bullshit propagated by the industry to lead girls to believe that this does no damage, so they live their ruined lives thinking that that is all there is for them. Fuck the industry....get help and get out for real!! I wish you well...never go back!!!
ReplyDeleteI am 6 weeks preg. Been workin for 2 years and I've had no issues til the last few weeks. I've cried on stage. Had issues with other girls, quit my job 3 times etc all due to ragin hormones!!!!
ReplyDeleteLuckily I'm havin an abortion( I know this sounds messed) but I would hate to bring a child into this world without a stable career.
I feel like stripping has taken control of me, and as much I am grounded(double my masters in computer science, received a job offer from one of the big four accounting firms as a graduate consultant next year), I hate myself and what I've turned into, I never have succesful relationships!
And I have no self worth. I work in a touching club and I need to get out really fast. I just wonder how I will pay for my degree.... :-(
Wow! Do you really feel that way about dancing? Yes, stripping requires being a phony, lying, suggestive bitch. However, it's a JOB. Many jobs require us to do things we normally wouldn't do. I have been dancing for over four years and yes iv had my low points. But it is important to seperate the person you are at work from the real you. The majority of dancers start to crack after spending an extended period of time in that environment. But it is possible to start a sizeable savings while mainraining your dignity. And if you're not earning enough to do so you're either at the wrong club (or city) or need to find a new job. Whoever wrote the first comment should ask themselves how many dancers they know and reconsider what they wrote
ReplyDeleteI've been a dancer for five years and recently walked away from it. I've never felt more relieved in my life. Now i just want to find a regular job and have a regular life. I think being a dancer will always be a part of me, however i'll never rely on it again because it does damage you a bit wether you like to admit or not. Personally i got tired of people acting phony and lying, girls and the customers. It's not a job that should be glamourized or made excuses for. It is not a career, and I am mentally free now. And I would wish any veteran dancer to just walk away, leave it behind, and start anew it feels great.
ReplyDeleteI have danced for 7 years.I quit 3 years ago.Call me sick,but not one day goes by when I don't miss making a $1000 USD pd.I miss being the femme fatal,lying and talking rubbish.Im lucky that I invested in property and don't need to work again.Stripping bought me my independence.My deepest sympathy for my girlfriends in their corporate jobs where they have to ask for holiday months in advance,where they get a one hour lunch break a day,that has to be nice to a boss they hate(in stripper world when you don't like someone you tell them to p****off).Oh wait and the worse about a so-called normal job,is their s*** pay,like $5000pm,if they very,very lucky(working their asses off).Let's also not forget our tax benefits in stripping moonlight world---hehehehe.The only thing that made me quit is my age.Theres something not cool about clear heels once you at the 32 mark.LONG LIVE STRIPPING!!
ReplyDeleteThe boy I've been in love with for two years recently started stripping at a gay bar in Toronto in order to help out with his families financial situation. I'm personally uncomfortable with the situation, considering that the place has a very sleazy rep, and that from what I've read, the clients get to do anything the want to you, all it takes is $20 a song.
ReplyDeleteI really want to trust him when he says he's just talking his clothes off, that he doesn't touch men, let men touch him or even kiss them.
I'm not a part of this world.
Can someone outside the situation please explain the pros and cons?
Thanks.
IT IS FILTH
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of stripping. I want to quit so bad i don't even make enough money to pay my bills but cannot get a regular job b/c i have wage garnishment issues. Stripping has mad me a drug addict and since i have no choice seriously but to strip or be homeless and i can't find another off the books job i have become an evil person and drugs made me lose my looks to get hired at good clubs, i have gotten in fights with other dancers and even though i don't want to drink and use drugs i cannot be sober when i go work at a strip club. I am self destructive i am a cutter and i am anorexic and anybody that can quit stripping and has family or somebody to help them is lucky. Why would somebody want to strip when they don't have to? But i have to or i will be homeless or have to prostitute. All's i want is a normal life and i can't have it because of the cards that were dealt to me. I have been doing it over four years and i want to stop. Why can't the bills get paid w/o me stripping??? And i can't get a regular job b/c of wage garnishment issues and most ppl pay on the books and the ones that don't aren't hiring. I don't know what to do.
ReplyDeleteAww, I really feel for your situation. I want to quit stripping too. It is good when you need extra money, but stripping is relative to the club and area you are working in. It sounds like you work at a bad club and are further exploited. (What job doesn't exploit you?) I have stripped for three years adn have had enough. It was fun at first but it is a job where you need to quit while you are ahead. Stipping at a bad club versus a good club can mean all the difference bteween a drug addict and a glamour girl.
ReplyDeleteI don't recommend stripping, but I do have recommendations for surviving stripping if you choose it. I am so srry to read your situation. There are times where I have felt the way you do. Then again, there are times where I have been so happy to have discovered this little niche.
There should be support groups for people who want to quit stripping. Stripping can be very dangerous. I hope that you don't get into drugs any further, and try to hold back on the drinking. You will end up drinking a litlte but a lot less than you would had you not made any effort. It will be hard but don't give up. I'm working on creating a website to support girls who want to quit.
I am not saying that stripping is a nasty habit, but it can be very dangerous if you are already in a bad situation. Girls who are in good situations and do it tend to make tons of money because there is no pressure on them. I also think stripping need to be unionized.
Thanks for starting this blog, "stripper retiree".
It all depends on the person. Some strippers take their job too far, and completely forget who they are, but not every dancer/stripper is a hateful, lying c**t. Most of them are mothers--single, divorced, and trying to make a living to support their child when the world has screwed them over. I've met more fake and backstabbing people in the so called "real world" than in the stripping industry. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteIts truly heartbreaking to read some of the desperation in some of these comments. I have danced for over 10 years by choice( I began at 18) and, although there are some great points to it, it can also be very destructive to many aspects of ones life. I am fortunate enough to work in cleaner/ well managed clubs and I have never been addicted to drugs. Though I must admit, alcohol, for me was a weakness. It helped me loose my inhibitions in the club, but when I would finish for the night, was where it got dangerous. It affected my love life and personal credibility. I drove home drunk once, thankfully didnt hurt anyone, but I was arrested and charged with a DUI. After a long journey, I have come to the conculsion, that sometimes its not the destination, it is the journey and the $1000 per night was not worth my quality of life. So I've given up less than a year ago, I have a successful career and I am making more in a day now than I ever would have stripping. I still have my amazing boyfriend who supports me and has travelled my journey with me. There were times where he had nightmares and haunting thoughts when I was away at night. That alone should make any girl think twice about the value of money over relationships. I agree with the above post to get out before you become jaded or get into serious trouble, because it will happen. Within my "stripping" career, I have bought a beautiful home, a few cars, put myself through school and travelled the world. I would recommend exotic dancing to ladies to have a goal,but it is not meant to be a lifelong career or bread and butter. Once you allow yourself and acknowledge your self worth in the "real world" you will see that the skills and lessons you learned in the club are useful and most likely make you a cut above most women. And if a gross club offers "touching", you do not have to partake, you will be well respected by most gentlemen for sticking up for yourself, and for the dirtballs who object f*** 'em! Thoughts and prayers go out to the women struggling with substance abuse, relationship problems or self esteem issues. You must cut out the desrtuctive source before you can be who you are really meant to be.
ReplyDeleteI am pregnant with my 4th child and stripping. Dancing changed me FOR THE BETTER! I had 3 kids when i started years ago. I have since bought a house, properties, cars cash, bettered my childrens lives, and went back to college and a senior right now getting a bsn. Stripping does not make you an alcoholic! Weak people who lack self control or education make themselves into alcoholics. I know many girls who do not drink/drugs. Obviously i passed a hair follicle test for nursing school and never in my life have i done a drug. Stripping does not ruin lives, those girls had no direction when they got in. I am proud of dancing, proud of my beauty, body, intelligence, and mannerisms which has paid for my education and life style which is separate from the JOB i do at work. Flirting is an art, making people feel wanted/sexy/good about themselves is an art, a job... One that i am good at that does not include sex favors as people think strippers should do. Be proud fellow intelligent dancers of your art whether its pole tricks and seductive dancing, or munipulating people into feeling like they are interesting and enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteOh btw, I AM MARRIED and yes relationships can be a challenge if the man does not understand what dancing really entails. To do that he must first work in the club. My husband had accepted it after i stood my ground that dancing is what i want to do.
DeleteI have done this off and on for the last 15 years. You must set the path to a future while you are in your prime earning period. Don't think that tomorrow will be a great day again and you will make another thousand dollar. I rarely work maybe two days a week at most. I pay my bills, take great care of my kids and working on a BSN in nursing. This can be a great way to earn a living while you focuse on building a life in the real world that society sees fit( and most society does not see us as fit citizens) Don't get caught up in the drama, drugs and alcohol will be your worst enemy if you allow them in. I have always stuck to my rule of not dating customers. I don't think that my first encounter with a potential mate should be grinding him almost naked. After that most guys will have little respect for you.
ReplyDelete