"Strip or Starve"
 

Lawyer turns topless dancer to pay the bills.

By Bob Sullivan

When Carla graduated 10 years ago, she thought her law degree would be a permanent ticket to a high-paying job. But instead of selling her mind, Carla is selling her body. After student loans, debt, a layoff and unemployment battered her bank account, she now finds herself in an almost unbelievable position – dancing in a topless bar.

"Did I ever think I’d be taking my top off for rent money? No. I was in my mid-30s and had never danced before," said Carla, who asked that we use her stage name and withhold her identity and some personal details. "As a little girl, I never thought to myself, 'I just want to grow up and be a stripper,’ or, ‘All I ever wanted to do in life is climb in the lap of sweaty stranger and take my top off.'

http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...ills?GT1=43001

What say you, GCers?

I read the article in entirety and well, I hope and pray that I never find myself in such a desperate predicament.

As for this: "Despite these precautions, Carla said she has had her share of ugly moments. Not all men follow the rules; some have tried to overpower her and “grab her, bite her, kiss her, or get their hands under the bottoms (I) wear.” Bouncers come to her aid, but they can't be everywhere all the time.", shame on the men who would act like such despicable beasts.

Hm. Interesting.

But...I wouldn't consider her experience "typical." Most clubs are more like snake pits- it can be cut-throat and competetive. Drug use abounds. And most club owners would fire a girl on the spot for refusing to do private rooms- they are all about the money. In this economy the clubs around here are not nice environments. Girls do what they have to do to earn the little bit of money coming through the door.

I worked as a bartender in a topless bar about 8 years ago and it was very tame. Bikini dancers, absolutely no contact, everyone was more interested in BSing and doing shots than some big show.

Now all the bars are all nude...no more PG! I spent about a week at one such place earlier this year as a bartender. Didn't work out at alll...the girls were so-so...I didn't have problems, but they would certainly fight amongst each other! Drugs were a huge problem. Expectations were also a problem- if people were spending money, they expected to be able to push the rules. The owner didn't care. Not at all- in fact, his friends were all VIPs that got the best girls in rooms with no cameras where God only knew what went down (probably a poor choice of words!)

He actually fired me because I took time off when my dad was in cardiac ICU. It's just NOT a nice industry. I'm just sayin' in case some 22 year old girl with a slew of student loans is reading this thinking "hm, maybe I should try that?" Think of it this way- how many jobs do you know of where it actually benefits the employee to use drugs and alcohol while they are working?!

Plus...since illegal activities and drug use are so common in these places, they are frequently under investigation. So...what happens if law enforcement kicks in the door the night you're working?

When I was younger, I wanted to strip. Since I've gotten older and I understand what that really means, there's just no way. There's always another strategy to keep afloat.

Did she ever think that maybe going back to school right now isn't the best option? I'll defer to the lawyers on here, but I'm guessing there are LOTS of people out there who already have their masters and a lot more experience and connections who are also looking for work.

From what I get, this isn't to pay off her old debt, it's to pay off her current debt for school that she's currently enrolled in.

There are always different ways of getting yourself out of debt. But I think in her case, she chose stripping because it just happened to be what was available at the time to get her out of debt. Are there other ways? Yes, but how quickly are those ways going to become available. I think it's about having the right connections. I met a girl at a strip club in Las Vegas at my frat brother's bachelor party, and she said she was stripping to pay her way through law school. At the time she said she was bringing home about $1,500 a night. I don't have a problem with what she is doing. It's her business and her bills. How she chooses to pay those bills is on her.

In depth lap dance conversation?

I find it interesting when strippers (regardless of gender) share their life stories while on the job. Some feel the need to offer disclaimers so that they won't be labeled as "just like the others." I tell ya, if I had a Snickers bar for every exotic dancer who is doing it to support children, pay for school, or blahzey blah. I'd be one happy dentist's nightmare.

Strip Club Patron: "Hey! Just swing from the damn pole and shut up with the life story. I don't care what you're doing with the money I give you. Pop your ass just like the rest of them ass poppers."

Some folks go to strip clubs like others go to bars. They like the atmosphere and will sometimes initiate the "tell me about your life" conversations.

Of course, this is what I've heard. I would never DREAM of going to a strip club...*cough*...

I don't think I've ever met a stripper who WASN'T dancing to put herself through school, even the ones that were clearly wasted and tweaking on something. It reminds me of how every waiter in L.A. is also an actor...

Some things are better left unsaid.

I was a banquet captain for three years in one of the most upscale restaurants in town and I guarantee you I made more than any stripper in town, and I got to wear black pants a button up and a tie. Now I'm not one to judge, just as long as she doesn't get into the drugs and bad habits. It's quick easy money but not everyone's morals are built the same way.

Being a banquet captain at an upscale restaurant is not an option for everyone.

I don't think there's a restaurant in my city that has a banquet captain. And I'd tentatively guess that if there's one in the city next door there are still probably more strippers there than there are banquet captains.

Some hotels also have banquet captains. I actually had to google banquet captains to remember what they do.

I can see why there would be more strippers than banquet captains in every city that has strippers.

Indeed, I was just expanding on the 'not everyone can do X' point.

So maybe my city has two or three, assuming the hotels I think might have one actually um, have one.

Surely to be a banquet captain you would need a couple of years experience in the hospitality industry? And I'm thinking the 2 years you spend working in the local diner one night a week, seven years ago, probably isn't going to cut it.

You can't just wake up one day and say, "My grad school scholarship doesn't pay as much as I thought it would. Now, hire me as a banquet captain."