LJWorld.com weblogs Anna Undercover
Posted
by Anna Undercover
February 24, 2010 at 3:36 a.m.
Anna Undercover: Private Eyes
Of all the things that drive men to the brink of their sanity, the most common disaster they seem to lament is women. But apparently anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love, and so for these reasons and others, oases of hyperfemininity lurk quietly and seductively in the shadowy corners to meet demand everywhere from Kansan cornfields to New York City.
I and my travel buddy, another stripper, went as customers to one such oasis near the giant, brightly lit billboards and marquees of Broadway.
We stumbled over the place, called Private Eyes, as we looked for a less scandalous end to our night. Since it was recommended to us as a place we might be able to work, we ventured inside.
The cover charge, $15, was hardly prohibitive. Ushered into a darkly lit club that seemed right out of a movie with a strip club scene, we took stage-side seats, looked at the girls on stage, and knew immediately that we could work here.
The girls were all between 5' and 5'6" with toned or 'naturally slim,' attractive bodies, and faces ranging from just qualifying as 'pretty' to gorgeous.
We looked at each other and smiled. We don't have to be 130 pound, 6' Amazons after all!
New York does want to see us naked! Hooray!
We decided that losing 10 or so pounds would help us manage the effects of the exceptionally bright stage lighting around dancers' legs and not make us look anorexic, but we are already the kind of girls they hire: pretty and petite.
Whew!
A chat with the house DJ and the manager confirmed our candidacy. They told us we would need to do a two-song audition: one in a short dress, one in a long dress; both with high heels, of course. "We'll be back!" We promised, happy and confident we would be hired.
For now, we enjoyed the customer experience.
The stage, with lighting emanating from the side of the bar enclosing it, highlighted the girls' exceptionally attractive bodies nearly as brightly as the All Stars stage in Lawrence, Kansas. The girls smiled, for the most part, and at least one of every four girls we saw on stage was an OK dancer. Each girl's actual dancing, however, was limited by the tiny, bracket-shaped stage and the presence of two other dancers up there with her.
We didn't see any impressive pole tricks, but the girls were friendly, and a couple dancers came over to talk to us during their stage sets. I gave a few different girls $5 tips.
(Tips! It's how to make friends as a customer at a strip club)!
The girls, who rotated and therefore kept us very occupied with new eye candy at each new song, danced in front of us in everything from stretchy cocktail dress-style outfits to simpler two-piece bikinis, and only stripped down to a thong. Full nudity, it appeared, was not an option.
They danced on the bar separating our seats from their stage, showed us their cute behinds and boobs (of course!), and talked to us a bit. The girls I saw seemed, based on genuine-looking smiles and friendly attitudes, to be enjoying both their jobs as strippers and that particular night at work.
We told the girls we were dancers from Kansas and received a warm reception from each of them.
"Do you like working here?" I asked a few of the girls. They each said they did.
"I've got three kids," one of the girls told us right after telling us her dancer name.
Oops! Not a detail you share with customers--off-duty dancers or not--right when you meet them. This kind of reality--whether you think of it as a positive or negative piece of information--interrupts the fantasy experience.
Rightly following up with customers who tipped her well on stage, another girl, Mila, wearing a sparkly pink outfit, came over to us after her stage set. She seemed open and eager to answer our questions.
"Yes, I love working here," she nodded. She said she had been dancing in New York City for five years, mostly for Private Eyes and other clubs owned by the same company.
"What's tipout here?" I asked, inquiring about the fee that dancers, as independent contractors (and not employees), are required to pay to 'rent the stage' each night we work.
"It's [I think she said $65 or $75?] at the beginning of the week, but it's $100 for the other days," she said.
"That seems high," I said.
At the Outhouse, it costs $30 to work Sunday through Wednesday, $60 on Thursday, and $100 on Fridays and Saturdays. There is a sign-up system you can take advantage of to reduce the tipout fee to zero on the cheaper nights or 50% on the weekends, as well.
"At the place we work, there's a sign-up system you can use to reduce your tipout," I said. "Do you have something like that here, or does it always cost you $100 for a good night to work?"
She looked confused that such a thing would even exist.
"We don't have anything like that," Mila said.
For comparison purposes: at at least one place in Chicago, called the Pink Monkey, tipout is $40 for a night of work.
"How much do you typically take home after tipout?" I asked.
"Well, it depends on the dancer," she said.
Some people are better at sales than others.
"How about you?" I asked. "What's a typical night?"
"Around $600 to $800," she said. She said the biggest night she's had at Private Eyes and their associated clubs is $2,000.
"How much are dances here?" I asked.
"$20," she said.
"Can I get a dance?" I asked, smiling.
"Sure!" She said.
She led me over to a somewhat crowded bench on another side of the stage. Guys on either side of me got dance after dance from their girls.
I paid her in advance and sat on the bench. I copied the men sitting next to me and put my hands at my sides. It appeared that no touching was allowed.
We were 25% of the way through the song that was playing, but Mila immediately started dancing on me. I didn't stop her.
She smiled and moved around my lap in a sexy way.
Based on how she was moving around on my body, her dance seemed more intended for a male customer than a female. Either way, I can appreciate a good lap dance, and she gave an OK one. She wasn't rough, but I like them a little softer, slower, and more seductive than what she gave me. I also like them a little more intimate. When I give a dance, I get close to a customer and make sure they know, based on my expression and my proximity to them, that it's an intimate act and my focus is 100% on them.
If I planned to return to the club, I would make her aware of how I like my dances, and give her another chance to dance for me. But I knew I wouldn't be back as a customer, so I didn't say anything. Moreover, she didn't ask me how she was doing, and requesting a specific move during a lap dance without being prompted to do so strikes me as a little creepy, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
While she danced, I made conversation.
Explaining that I was interested in working at Private Eyes and potentially owning a place in Manhattan, I asked her if she owned her current apartment.
"No," she said. "I don't do that kind of weird stuff."
I made sure she understood my question, and she clarified that she just thought home ownership wasn't for her.
Well, to each their own.
The song ended.
"Thank you," I said, smiling, and started to get up.
"Oh, we started our dance part of the way into the song, so I'll dance a bit more for you," she said, her hands on my shoulders. "Everyone gets a full song for their dance," she said, nodding.
I smiled and decided she was a good businesswoman.
When she finished, I thanked her and headed to my seat. She followed me back and asked my friend if she wanted a dance.
My friend politely declined. Like a good salesperson, Mila tried once more before politely thanking her anyway and moving on.
I looked around at the customers. They looked like tourists, and since we weren't far from Times Square, I thought that might be the case, but you never know.
The men seemed to be dressed casually, for the most part. I only noticed a handful wearing suits. My friend and I were two of perhaps three or four female customers in the club.
We politely ordered bottled water when the waitress, wearing a see-through outfit and a black thong, informed us that there was a one-drink minimum.
$9 for a small container of Voss water. Alrightythen. It is a strip club, after all. :)
We watched a bit longer, and took in the physical setting and surroundings a bit more: small, as dark as the Outhouse except for the stage, the room appeared similar in size and set-up to North Lawrence's Paradise Saloon, a small strip club two miles past the Lawrence Airport on Highway 40.
Private Eyes also has a Champagne room, which Mila told me costs $595 to take a dancer into for one hour.
"How much of that does the dancer get to keep?" I asked her.
"$200," Mila said.
Wow. It struck me as kind of a gamble to head to the Champagne room as a dancer who likes to make as much money as possible.
It's not unheard of to make over $200 in one hour on the regular floor at the Outhouse (and, perhaps, at Private Eyes as well), so if someone's going to take a dancer in there, I'd hope he'd tip her on top of that $595 fee.
Reviews of the Private Eyes on Yelp.com stated that the $595 did not include Champagne, which I thought made sense from the perspective of someone who wants to make a lot of money, but perhaps prohibitive to some clientele in an economy like the one we're stuck with for now.
I would say that overall, I had a fun experience at Private Eyes as a customer, and recommend it to anyone interested in seeing some cute, almost-naked girls on their next visit to New York City. Good times. :)
What do you think?
Based on what Mila shared with me, should I apply to work at Private Eyes when I come back to the City in June?
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Comments
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AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@BorderRuffian
Re: the 'undercurrent' among performers here: I will be able to speak more to that after an additional experience at a club tonight. I'm hoping to go to Lace if I can convince a guy-friend of mine with a bigger budget that I have to pay for our entrance/drinks/dances/conversations with the girls there. :)
@jrswift
I'll speak more about my lasting friendship with the girl I came to New York with in entries coming up when I cover competition amongst girls. I'll be able to speak with more authority after another strip club visit here. I'll talk about my friendship/competitive relationship with my friend as a part of it.
@deec
Re: the accuracy or inaccuracy of strip clubs portrayed in movies: I haven't ever seen a movie with a strip club or stripper featured in it, so maybe I'll have a marathon with my boyfriend some night soon and we'll review them all for ya. :) He's way over-excited about this new Netflix online viewing, special-contraption thingy he's got all set up now, so he'll probably be on board with that when I get back next week. :)
@parrothead8
I'll speak more about the difference between customers in Lawrence versus New York when I get a chance to talk to more dancers. I don't want to make too many declarative statements with research that's limited to a single experience as a customer in the City.
@Vic
The customer encyclopedia continues to expand. :) Fear not. I'm getting there. Will start posting some entries as mini-blogs after the next full-length blog. If I don't, yell at me. :)
P.S. Everyone who commented on "Next Stop, New York City" will be getting a t-shirt. :D Make sure you private message me your address (if you didn't do so for the Paris post cards) so you get your t-shirt.
Soap (anonymous) says…
If you decide to apply to work at Private Eyes, turn to page 4.
If you decide to start back home, turn to page 5.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@Soap
Lol!
"Choose Your Own Adventure" books: coming to a strip club near you. (Or at least one in New York).
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
Sigh. This is where I'd tell people I went to bed, but I consumed an absurd about of Starbucks last night, so, here we are. :)
At least I'm awake enough to do my hair all cute for the three (platonic, duh) friend-dates I have today.
Will answer questions, etc. as I'm able to get online, which should be every couple hours in the middle of the day. Am going to a strip club tonight if it's the last thing I do (friend who's supposed to come with is trying to get out of it, saying he outgrew them---puh-lease!), so I won't be as available then.
kiklu (anonymous) says…
Zoinks! Anna, you have to get rest... wear yourself down too much and risk the sickies again? Ugh!
It does sound like you're having a wonderful trip, though. Yay!
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@kiklu
Even if I didn't stay up all night I run the same risk. I am always sick.
Yeah, the trip is pretty awesome. My friend is going home today, though. Wah.
But now I have more time to see old friends, who are kind of mad I haven't been available. I'm going to tell them I'm a stripper. I'm nervous. But frankly, if someone isn't going to be supportive, maybe they weren't a good friend in the first place. I feel pretty confident that everyone will be cool about it though.
Vic (anonymous) says…
The place seems alright. I have to say, the price tag on the Champagne Room visit is startling. I would be wary of the CR room, even though you can make a pretty penny there. It's one thing to understand what you are going to get from a $20 lap dance, but dropping nearly $600 on the CR, some customers may think they are entitled to more, which would be more than you would be willing to do.
It's also interesting getting your perspective on going to a "foreign" club. The things you see, the things you take from it. Very interesting.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@Vic
Yay! Glad you like it. Looking forward to posting pieces of the customer encyclopedia. :D
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…
interesting. your dancer sounds like a bit of an airhead tho.
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…
anna, didn't you say before that you also have a regular 9 to 5? how do you get so much time off from that job to travel so often?
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@honeychild
The way the scheduling works at the Outhouse I'm able to pick up and travel whenever I like. :) It's exceptionally flexible. There's no regular schedule. You can technically show up and work (at specific times) any day you want. As it says in the entry above, there's a sign-up system you can opt to use, which is meant to guarantee that a certain number of girls will be on on a given day. For this reason, it's also really easy for girls traveling across the country to drop in and work for a night or for a few days.
It's pretty awesome.
Customers get a variety of girls, and we get all the time in the world with our families and to accomplish our other goals besides earning income. :)
Of course, you can work at other clubs while you travel, so that's a bonus, too.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
"What do you think?"
Sad, that is what I think. Sad, and pathetic.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@nurnberg
No international income here. In recent years I've filed in a couple states and it hasn't been bad.
@beatrice
What is sad and pathetic?
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@beatrice
Please use specific examples to get your ideas and opinions across.
By being specific and using examples, other people will know what part of the conversation you're referring to when you write things here.
Remember, if this material makes you uncomfortable, there are other articles and blogs for you to check out on LJWorld.com.
Succotash (anonymous) says…
http://www.aolnews.com/sports/article...
Hey Anna Ever think of the olympics? More travel you could get in. Just thought the idea of Pole dancing being an Olympic event was worth your notice. Maybe it will give you something to train for. :)
tubs_of_love (anonymous) says…
@Anna - Doesn't telling everyone about you're boyfriend go against the politics of stripping. Does it not also scramble the fantasy?
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Anna, if you don't care for my responses, feel free to send private messages to your friends or write personal letters with all the sorted details of who you rubbed up against and how much they paid you to do so. However, if you blog on the LJWorld site about how wonderful being a stripper is, well, sometimes you will receive responses you don't care for.
It is not that your material makes me uncomfortable, it is that I find your attempts to sell others on just how wonderfully wonderful your being a stripper really is to be both sad and pathetic. (As someone else pointed out recently, you haven’t told your parents what it is you do. Why not, I wonder? I mean, you are setting such a terrific example for any young woman reading here, so why not tell the folks about your career choice?) Now, you are writing about how, just like a hooker, you can ply your body in any port you land, which I find to be both sad and pathetic. It is sad to read of an apparently intelligent young woman who feels that stripping and grinding on the laps of strangers is what she must do to make it in this world, and pathetic because you do so even when on vacation.
I could go on, but I figure you are getting the point. It is sad that women are sometimes valued for nothing more than what they have between their legs, and pathetic when a woman accepts this ridiculous premise and offers up her body as masturbation fodder for drunks in order to make a few bucks.
So I find your blog sad and pathetic in every detail. Deal with it, or don't blog on the LJWorld.com site. There are plenty of other ways to tell people what a great thing it is that you do ... like on craigslist, under "adult services."
Vic (anonymous) says…
@beatrice
How many times are you going to bang your head up against this wall until you realize you are not going to take it down? The point Anna is making about suggesting you read other blogs is that you seem to have nothing better to do than to bad-mouth Anna. She has bared herself to us, pun intended. And what do we know about you? Nothing. And I'm sure you'd prefer it that way so some random detractor can't pick apart your life and decisions, telling you what you are doing wrong and just generally being a sour puss.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Vic, while you might see it as my just being a "sour puss," I actually feel it important to voice the concern that most have that stripping isn't, you know, a great job for young women. This is why Anna will never be invited to the high school on career day. Some of us like to encourage women to do a bit more with and for themselves. Also, if this were the Dan Savage site, fine, but it isn't. It is a community newspaper's website in a college town. The headline is there, and, well, I comment. Such is the nature of blogs.
I ask you, however, if I were on here telling everyone about how wonderful I think my meth addiction is, or my preference to be anorexic, wouldn't you feel some would choose to come on and voice an opposing viewpoint? Wouldn't they be doing the right thing in doing so? Sorry, but just bearring your soul doesn't mean everyone should praise your decisions if they are, in fact, not great decisions.
As far as how many times I'll come back on here and bang my head? Not sure, but probably at least a few more times.
deec (anonymous) says…
Whether this blog is fact or fiction, I find it well-written. I currently work as a phone drone in a call center; Anna's job sounds a lot more interesting than mine. It takes me a week working full time to earn what she makes in a night, and I have a degree from KU. I don't believe she is recruiting. She is following the basic tenet of being a writer: write about what you know.
Further, there are mixed views on the sex industries within feminism. http://www.feminist.com/resources/our...
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@deec
At some point, I feel I must either write some enormous treatise on feminism and stripping, or the blog post to end all blog posts on the subject.
I was an uber feminist in college. If it was some kind of drug, I would have OD-ed on it. Lol.
And it's fact, gosh darn it. :) I need to invite everyone to coffee or something.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@beatrice
Thank you for explaining your opinions.
I would like to point out that though you are so committed to stating over and over that it's a terrible 'career choice' and I must be doing something awful to myself by doing this, I'm having a great time. See almost any post for examples.
Don't you think another person's actual experience is worth considering against all these ideas you have about how you think stripping might be?
Especially since I'm here doing it, and you have only what you can invent using rumors and stereotypes?
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@tubs_of_love
Are you a customer?
@Succotash
The entry was taken down, but I did at one point see a video of Miss Pole Dance Australia 2008 and 2009 video (something like that!) and I was really impressed. I would need a teacher of some kind, though, and I've been slow to look for such a person.
I don't think I would win, but with some training, I could become competitive. :) I'll look into it. It would be fun to write about. :)
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Anna, you have stated that others don't "respect" you when you are at work -- why do you think that is? Hedonists often have a "great time," but are they contributing anything to society? On this lastest trip of yours, how much in taxes are you paying? If you aren't paying taxes, then you are a leech on the rest of society.
Further, have you ever been a meth addict? Have you ever broken into homes to steal things, or killed a man just to watch him die? No. Then I guess you could never ever say anything derogatory about those who do, correct? Sorry, but to claim one must be part of a group on the fringe of society in order to say anything against that group is just incorrect logic. Also, shouldn't that apply to those who say nice things too?
Vic (anonymous) says…
@beatrice
I think comparing stripping to being a meth addict is an unfair comparison. It's like comparing driving over the speed limit to first degree murder. There is an aspect to the former that is a little fun, a little dangerous, but is frowned upon and not everyone does it while the latter is just wrong. Apples and grenades. Way too different.
Your second point, do you have to be in the industry to be able to comment on it? I comment on what Anna does and I am not "in the industry." I haven't even met her in person nor have I ever been a "customer" at the Outhouse while she worked there. I jump to her defense merely as your average guy who sees someone getting treated unfairly.
Thirdly, your recent claim that she is a leach as she isn't paying taxes. I can't speak to that. I choose to assume the best out of people, yourself and Anna included, and she takes care of her business the right way and pays her taxes as an upstanding American citizen. If you prefer to assume that she doesn't handle her taxes properly, remember, in this country, we are innocent until proven guilty. Besides, from what she said in her blogs, she only worked once, and that was the private dance for the banker. Otherwise, I'm quite certain she paid on all the sales taxes on any purchases, like any other visitor would.
tubs_of_love (anonymous) says…
@ Anna - No, not a customer, I just assume that some of these posters are. Also, I used to know a guy that dated a stripper and they had some trust issues, she would not mention him to her customers because of strip club politics and money. Their relationship didn't last very long, but that might actually be because she became friends with a customer and hung out with that customer outside of work. What about you, is that something you would consider to be ok?
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@beatrice
I'll respond to one thing you wrote: You stated that I have reported that people don't respect me at work. When I posted the statement (which was roughly) "people disrespect me," what I failed to do was indicate that this statement was meant to be what someone assumes to happen all the time in a strip club. I obviously didn't do a good job of this, and screwed up that whole paragraph, actually, so, here I am, stuck with you thinking that. That sucks.
But, onward and upward.
That's the last thing I'm going to respond to that you wrote in that comment, because it is rife with bad argument/logical fallacies. Please don't get mad that I'm saying that. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to help the way we interact on here by suggesting that you familiarize yourself with this resource:
http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallaci...
I, too, am learning--from this very page. :) And as you will read re: how to build a good argument, you most certainly do not have to be 'in the business' to comment on what I do.
I really do want to hear from you, but in a way that's more organized and challenging than the way you are currently commenting. I want to respond, too. I really do. And I'm OK that you have a different opinion. Truly.
:) Basically, I'm asking you to kick my ass. I love it! I've implied that I enjoy a good (mental) ass-kicking in the past. I know you can do better! Because comparing dancing naked to having an addiction just isn't good argument. There simply aren't any parallels.
Consider a shot fired across the bow! Now come get me. :)
@tubs_of_love
Hm. That's a good question. Some girls do meet customers for lunch or dinner on a regular basis. I'll think about your question and get back to you. I have essentially just done it, though, and he didn't have a problem with it.
Re: telling customers I have a boyfriend: I'm a terrible liar, so if pressed, I will likely tell the truth. People only ask about that when they're trying to pick me up though, so at that point, it's a good way to save myself. I've said it before. I think the guy I danced for at his hotel knew I had a boyfriend. The man was also wearing a wedding ring, as some of my customers are, of course. So, there's that to think about.
Getting a professional lap dance means about as much as giving one, in my book.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@tubs_of_love
More on relationships/working at a strip club:
Not mentioning a significant other has less to do with politics and more to do with customer service. My customers usually don't want to hear about my life; they want to talk about theirs. When they ask, I answer as much as I'm comfortable divulging.
If a relationship has trust issues, then it should end. Just like I would tell a female to break up with someone she thinks is trying to have a romantic relationship with other people, I would advise a male to break things off with a significant other if he thinks that significant other is trying to have a romantic relationship with their customers, regardless of the industry.
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…
i was confused. i thought in your first blog you said you have a 9 to 5, an administrative type of job, and the outhouse is your side gig.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@honeychild
I submitted my resignation at my day job at a local nonprofit because it was too hard to have two full-time jobs at once.
http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/anna-...
I ended up with a severe respiratory infection because I worked so hard and so much for eight months straight. I have been sick frequently since I was a child (nothing I can do about it), so taking two jobs was a recipe for disaster. Moreover, it's impossible to do well no matter *what* you're trying to do if you're exhausted and coughing all the time from smoke inhalation and lack of sleep.
I had to make a choice between them, so I picked the one the market told me it wanted me to do.
I guess I was felt up by Adam Smith's invisible hand.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Anna, now you are just making me laugh, and it isn't with you.
As far as your current claim: "When I posted the statement (which was roughly) 'people disrespect me,' what I failed to do was indicate that this statement was meant to be what someone assumes to happen all the time in a strip club."
Oh really? This is just what people like me think happens there all the time. Okay.
Well, lets just go look at what it is you wrote: "If your job includes a roaring crowd, free-flowing alcohol, and drunk people three times your size grabbing at you possessively when security is 20 yards away, I certainly hope you can.
Ever since it was a punk rock Mecca, the Outhouse has never been a place for the faint of heart. At a place like this, there is plenty that could qualify as a downside.
To start with, for a sales job, it is incredibly physical. I have to walk around half-naked in 6-inch platform heels. I deal with insensitive jerks every day. And I have to dance naked on a stage in front of those insensitive jerks. The same group thinks it's OK to throw crumpled up dollars at me, rather than tip me like I'm a human being. They treat me with disrespect." http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/anna-...
Yep, I can see how it was all how I read it and what I assume happens in your entry titled "Downside of Stripping." Why, this wasn't about your experiences, but about what I think your experiences are -- got it. This isn't about you at all, but about me and how I somehow misunderstood the words "grabbing at you possessively ... insensitive jerks ... throw crumpled dollars at me ... they treat me with disrespect." I can see the holes in my logic now. Thanks for that swell link.
So by the way, are you paying your full share of taxes with those crumpled dollars? Pretty simple question, really.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
"Based on what Mila shared with me, should I apply to work at Private Eyes when I come back to the City in June?"
No. and not just based on Mila.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@beatrice
The jig is up! My job is always awful, all the time! I resign and throw myself at your mercy!
::throws self on floor::
This will be my last post because you have shown me that all the wonderful nights I've had, and the majority of time that I thought I enjoyed, was all imagined!
::throws ashes in hair::
I plead mental inferiority and beg that you pass me a US-issued burkha so that I may spend the rest of my days a sad, anonymous secretary to satisfy my expected social behavior and prescribed gender role.
I guess this is the last time we'll encounter each other since you'll never click on my blog again.
Your work here is clearly done.
Farewell!
@alm77
Aw. :(
I think I'm going to, but there are other clubs I've heard since that encounter that would also hire me.
Succotash (anonymous) says…
@Anna
Well at least she read your blog...
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@Succotash
Lol. Yeah.
I think some people will lead *much* happier lives without reading this blog, though. And I do wish them well. :)
When I read comments like hers, though, that make ridiculous comparisons that really make zero sense and they can't/won't see that unless I make a project out of responding to them, it just frustrates me that I was held to such a high standard in elementary, middle, high school, and college. Why couldn't I turn in crap like that and at least get a B? Grr.
jrswift (anonymous) says…
Interesting to me how similar people are, wherever they are. Just got back from Vegas and hit a couple of clubs. It was early evening, it was slow and the ladies were not much different than you would encounter here on the Great Plains. Did get some get celebrity stories though which was kind of fun.
Soap (anonymous) says…
beatrice (anonymous) says...
I am not hot enough to be a stripper..
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Anna, wow, so you really think the choices for women are: A) stripper; or B) secretary in a burkha? Well, I see why you picked stripper then. Others of us realize there are a many more choices for women today. In fact, choosing A or B means you have quit trying and taken the easy way out. Life offers much more.
By the way, it would appear you really didn't mean it when you wrote, "Basically, I'm asking you to kick my ass. I love it!" You seem to be taking it all too personally.
However, it isn't about you personally, but about the glorification of your profession that is the cause of my responses. Thought you might like to know. It is the system that makes young women think their choices are limited to stripper or secretary that you have bought into that makes me want to comment. I don't believe I have written that you personally are a rotten person, just that you have made some rotten choices by being part of a rotten profession.
AnnaUndercover (Anna Undercover) says…
@beatrice
You know, I used to be on the board at a local chapter of a feminist organization and I swear this conversation is starting to sound like the ones we had where it seemed us third wave feminists were at odds with everyone older than us.
A couple things:
We're in a recession, and when I lost my job in December 2008, it took me five months to find a *non-paying* job in my field that I chose to supplement with a higher-paying night job. Two jobs at once ended up being particularly bad for my health (I ended up with a severe respiratory infection and missed three weeks at both jobs in September/October 2009), so I had to lose one, and I stuck with the one that paid.
It's going really well because I'm a natural sales person and have a background in other kinds of dance. The attention I've gotten, both positive and negative, from both genders (in person at work), has really only helped and not hurt me.
It's not that I'm *trying* to glorify stripping. You really can think whatever you want, and maybe I should back off a bit when you express your opinion about the industry. I'm just a person who loves their job, and does well at it. I've also happily discovered that 85% of what I was told it would be like is just wildly out of touch with reality.
If this is the truth, 'young women,' and whomever else are interested in reading this diary of my experiences, deserve to know it. Maybe what the media and what stereotypes tell them is inaccurate. That's what I've discovered.
Does this help?
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Yes, different generations do see things differently, I'll grant you that.
Remember, it is the truth for you, not for all. While you might be able to bounce off a lap without effort, for others it may have a lingering effect on their personal psyche. I'm not basing this opinion on stereotypes or the media, but on people I personally know. Their truth is far different from your own. Young women deserve to hear this as well.
Sorry if the heat of the argument gets too personal sometimes. Not meaning to, but am sure it has come across that way. bea