Herding Cats

Someone recently asked if I thought strippers should unionize and traditionalize (is that a word? dunno, don't care, haha).

I don’t think that strippers should unionize, etc. I do think it would be appropriate for large chains to offer hourly pay and insurance. But I can also see where that would cut into the freedom we have in this job. I could get on board with having as a choice, but I do not support the idea of it on a widespread level. And frankly, getting strippers to unionize would be like herding cats.

Being an independent contractor has it’s pros and cons. When done properly, it gives us the freedom to work when we want, keep our finances to ourselves, and pay (or not pay) our taxes on our own as we see fit. But if a club is going to treat its girls like employees anyway, with schedules and rules and constant bs, they should do the right thing and pay us hourly and offer benefits like any other job would do.

Instead, clubs do what they want anyway, whether they are a corporate chain or a hole in the wall. The arbitrary way they go about things is unlike any other industry I know.

Ideally, my preference is a club where they check your ID to prove you are of legal age and then leave you alone to make your money. This, to me, is the ultimate definition of “independent contractor.” Obviously, there should be basic rules and regulations, but the scheduling, fees, micromanaging, etc. is bullshit because they are calling us independent contractors so they don’t have to put us on a payroll, but want to treat us like employees in every other way. I recently left a club like that. They had us paying out roughly 1/4 of what we’d make in a night. And for their part of things they could barely keep toilet paper in the bathroom. It certainly wasn’t a fair give and take scenario.

Now I work at club where I have a lot more freedom. No house fees, no schedule, just normal tipouts to dj, bar, and house mom, and basic, reasonable rules.

I fully support the freewheelin' way of doing things. I love the idea of packing a bag and getting in the car and driving and driving and driving, and then working wherever I land. If we unionized and everyone had to be employees of their clubs, it would make that lovely fantasy impossible. And I have friends who really do work as travelling strippers and it would be the end of them showing up out of the blue and going to work that night, which would take away the very freedom that I love about stripping. It’s worth putting up with bizarre rules and nuttiness to have that kind of autonomy.

Yes, despite the way stripping has shown up in pop culture in recent years, I still want us to be outside of society, doing it our way. There's nothing quite like walking into a strange bar and being the exotic new girl for a few nights. It takes you out of yourself and puts you on a stage where you can be anyone you'd like, take on a new persona, and be as free as a bird..........