Stripper fees and the idiot premium
David9999
Someone brought this up on the other thread, that dancers by having to constantly deal with idiots, weidos, jerks, social misfits, and other rude customers, by that alone, it to a large degree justifies their often relatively high pay. There is some truth to that.
Look at is this way: in upscale clubs at least these clubs are (nearly) always stocked with a nice collection of attractive dancers 7 days a week and generally 13 plus hours a day -meaning they are offering private dance services to practically anyone who walks in off the street and has the requisite (lets say) 25 dollars
As normal customers its not our fault that these customers behave or were born that way, but we do benefit from the go-anytime-dance-anytime nature of strip clubs. So this idiot premium is like a tax that normal customers must pay, however in turn we are given access and convenience and this comes at an added price
Most normal people consciously or subconsciously filter out people from their lives not meeting certain minimally accepted standards of behavior or sanity, however public jobs by definition often require dealing with many many odd people. Anyone that for example that has directly sold their own house or particularly self owned investor type properties will understand this concept
Stripper jobs unlike nearly any other public job require both a high volume of customers along with often a level of intimacy w/o the ability to screen potential customers to any high degree
The bottom line is while I still believe strippers are overpaid relative to ongoing and upcoming trends occuring in the marketplace and the economy, I will admit that some part of the premium we presently pay them is simply compensation for them having to deal with either weirdos, idiots, or other undesireables of various types
Look at is this way: in upscale clubs at least these clubs are (nearly) always stocked with a nice collection of attractive dancers 7 days a week and generally 13 plus hours a day -meaning they are offering private dance services to practically anyone who walks in off the street and has the requisite (lets say) 25 dollars
As normal customers its not our fault that these customers behave or were born that way, but we do benefit from the go-anytime-dance-anytime nature of strip clubs. So this idiot premium is like a tax that normal customers must pay, however in turn we are given access and convenience and this comes at an added price
Most normal people consciously or subconsciously filter out people from their lives not meeting certain minimally accepted standards of behavior or sanity, however public jobs by definition often require dealing with many many odd people. Anyone that for example that has directly sold their own house or particularly self owned investor type properties will understand this concept
Stripper jobs unlike nearly any other public job require both a high volume of customers along with often a level of intimacy w/o the ability to screen potential customers to any high degree
The bottom line is while I still believe strippers are overpaid relative to ongoing and upcoming trends occuring in the marketplace and the economy, I will admit that some part of the premium we presently pay them is simply compensation for them having to deal with either weirdos, idiots, or other undesireables of various types
12 comments
It is funny, but I think sometimes the dancers would rather have 100% jerks and weirdos.
There are so few dancers that I've met who have excess "love" available to share. That can actually give themselves emotionally without apparently a high cost to themselves. It is like OK, Mr. Stranger, you want to have a fantastic time tonight? I'm 100% real and love to have a fantastic time. I can deal with numerous emotional demands from nice guys and can have a wonderful time sharing the moment. If you decide to vanish, then I will just remember the fun and not think what could have been.
I'd rather deal with weirdos and jerks, then find 100s of women customers who could be Ms. Right only to see them disappear without explanation. Especially, if those 100s of women were regulars. That, at least for me, would be way too much emotional overload assuming I was feeling genuine emotions. It would also be extremely draining.
The solution seems to be to build an emotional wall even for those customers who click. I believe this emotional wall is sort of like a scar or in some cases it is just a toughening. This isn't "free" or "easy" money generally speaking from what I can see.
Now, the game wasn't always like that at least here in Miami. More small clubs and open discrimination for any reason use to be in play. It makes a difference. More small clubs equalled lower fees and fines hence less stress to shake booty for $$$. Also, it equalled different club cultures so that a dancer could probably easily find a club that was more like a fun hangout or a hell zone depending on her personality. A fantastic example was the old The Trap. Those dancers were having a good time. It was a friendly party atmosphere and you could see it in the dancers. I've talked with dancers long retired and they still feel very positive about The Trap and wish the good old days could return. Those good old days were definitely known to be good old days at the time, which also made it special. :)
And, customers hung around just like the dancers. It was fun, but a little upscale for me i.e. middle class.
I think it is also "Stripper fees and the emotional premium." Eliminate the emotions and I think the work becomes very easy even if there are jerks and weirdos. BTW, when I was in retail the jerks and weirdos really didn't bother me that much at all. Heck, I'm considered a jerk and weirdo by some people. :) It was being in tune with nice customers that was more draining. Little old lady loses her grandson, who was a piece of shit, and for me it would hurt. I'd feel for the little old lady because she was a sweet customer. Multiply that by a lot of sweet customers and it is like OK please show me some garbage customers so I can relax and be what I'm supposed to be. :)
That "pretty simple" conclusion is very Yoda-like, however stripper jobs (like all sex worker jobs including streetwalking, MPs, escorts) are very different than typical interactions with the drycleaning lady, dental hygenist, or lady at the bank
The idiot premium I refer to is in the context of having to perform relatively (by female standards) intimate acts with random walk-in customers- this is not happening at Walmart or nearly any other business outside the sex worker business
Except for maybe streetwalkers, strippers have to also deal with (effectively) unscreened high volume - this is different with most escorts, many of whom only have 1 or 2 clients a day plus the upscales (at least) usually screen - now MPs and AMPS often while open (e.g walk-ins) to the public still have limited volume relative to typical strippers
Volume + Idiots = higher price
Of course the normal problem is when the customer likes the dancer, but yes dancers do sometimes like customers (at least as people) and very very rarely something beyond that - however I doubt most women can successfully build such an emotional wall, possible in theory but unlikely in practice
I'm not even going to take into account the 7 years it takes to be a lawyer and the bar exam or 10 to 14 years with internships and residencies for medical doctors, or 8 or 10 for dentists - or the cost of that education -lets just assume the girl will work almost as hard
By that comparison she's double-shifting 2 or 3 times a week, she's using some variation of the "wanna dance", she's improving her "art" all the time, working to improve all the time - now with all that she's has a great shot of making MORE than most starting out professionals, particuarly when you take out the tax hit, plus many are working 20 years or more if they take care of themselves
Actually many have made more JUST working 5 shifts a week, and I know of cases with girls definitely hitting in the 100k to 130k range
The question then becomes why dancers are paid so much when they do relatively little compared to other even more intimate sex worker positions such as AMPs and escorts
To explain this "premium" or extra amount of what should be a more normal rate, one has to ask what type of things does the job require, and I've noticed that dealing with the public to the extent they do and offering relatively intimate services w/o or hardly any screening at all - that has to be factored into the price for dancers
Otherwise you'd have a huge flood of girls into the profession which would lower prices, but most cannot stand dealing with the type of patrons strippers (very often) have to deal with on a day-to-day basis
Of couse going nude is expensive to the buying party, however it still seems to be currently priced excessively relative to other comparable professions
Why don't you bring this topic up in the club on your next visit. I'm sure the ladies would be up for a spirited debate on subject. Just don't plan on getting any decent dances after you tell them that they charge too much.
As Yoda stated on the blue side of the pink site, dancers have to deal with anything from "raincoats to romeos.". Its that large range of effectively unscreened men, some Ok but some very odd, a group probably considerably larger than any other group of sex workers (except maybe streetwalkers) that has a direct impact on turnover and women's willingness to stay in the profession - and all of that impacts the final price to the normal every-day patron