average stripper retirement age
docsavage
Indiana
Among the girls you've known in strip clubs, what was the average age that they decided to quit stripping? Did you think they left at about the right time, should have stayed in it longer, or stayed a little too long? For me, most of my regulars left around thirty. Their strip club income slowly dropped as they got older and when it got to about the same level they could make in other jobs very few stayed after that point.
39 comments
But I've seen dancers way into their 60s
I met one at 19 and the other at 20.
Two favorites I guess since they are retired.
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/exotic-dancer…
I *assume* the following types of dancers:
+ those that try it out and it's just not for them from the get-go
+ those that don't like it but stick w/ it b/c of the $$$ but they never truly come to grips with it and quit when they just can't take it anymore even though they can still make $$$
+ those that just wanna start a new phase in life even if they are doing well dancing (relationship/marriage/forming-a-family; wanna have a fully civilian life including working a civilian job; etc)
+ those that that can still make $$$ but are past their peak and it's not as easy as it used to be to make $$$; they may get a lot more rejections than they used to; may not be hired for the best shifts or the best clubs, etc; and thus probably feel it's time to make a transition but would o/w keep going if she was near the top of her game
+ the ones that have decided to make it a career and they've taken the steps to somewhat ensure they can still make good $$$ (find a good fit for a club; have accumulated, or are good at accumulating, regulars; work hard at taking care of themselves; etc)
In my mind I sometimes make the analogy b/w dancers and NFL players - a few actually quit from the get-go b/c it's not for them (can't take the demands); the avg one that sticks it out lasts about 4-years; a few make a good career of it (more than 4 years) but at some point burn-out even if they can still play (again b/c of the demands); and some play a long time.
Another thing that makes it screwy is that it seems as the years go by, the plans to quit either get delayed or reversed. I remember when I was going to quit sometime May 2019 at the age 25. But here I am.
I've had two experiences with 19 year olds, but neither of them could hold a candle to those older women.
Used to be 65, but now a sliding scale between 66 and 67 based on date of birth. (or 62 with 30% reduction in benefit.)
I feel like when you’re younger(18-20 range), you get the attention for being an adorable ingenue fer sure but also prone to more bull shit thrown your way.
Even when a younger dancer *can* hold a conversation, it’s tougher to filter through the more predatory types like to specifically target younger dancers. (Not saying all customers who prefer the very young dancer are predatory but that correlation exists for a reason, and not just because jealous older women say so 😝)
It seems the clubs that specifically hire the young dancers are structured in a way to kind of filter that by making it more about dances than really spending time together. At the Golden Dragon for example, there’s no option for rooms past a half hour.
It keeps interactions with customers lower stress when you don’t have to deal with as much with people’s emotions. But with emotions comes higher income potential. So there is that and it’s a trade off.
I don't get this weirdness about age honestly lol. I find Portland weird also because a lot of these clubs seem to wanna know your age if you contact them over the phone or something. I never had that kind of bullshit in other cities. Just seems odd to me. But then Portland is weird and low class in general.
Think Portland clubs ask for age on the phone is because they want you 21+? (To be able to legally sell dances and not just do stage if selling liquor)
The next largest group seems to be dancers who relied on looks and not dance quality, and those seem to retire around 35 or so.
Then there are the rest, veteran dancers who keep up their bodies and looks, and give great dances. Many of these can dance well into their early 40's. One of the oldest I recall was around 46 when she retired while still on top and hotter than most of the dancers there.
I have also seen a few dancers that danced well past their prime, including a few who were favorites of mine when they started.
It would be nice if there was actual data on this but sadly I doubt it exists, even from the corporate chain clubs.
@heaving yeah, I feel like strippers as a group tend to be an outlier group of women in general...on both ends of the bell curve.
But then again I remember back to the first time I worked at a club. And there was a friend group I was kinda in and that gave me the “encouragement” to even start dancing. I remember there was about seven of us. (With a lot of fall outs end ended friendships because it was a catty group). Our age ranges were 19-23 at the time. And I think 4.5 years later only 3 of us are still dancing?