Viewing the local antiquities

6 Comments:

Maybe. Most strippers I know (in NYC) take home 200-300 a night after tip outs - most strip clubs charge a stage fee (yes, you have to pay to dance there) and its good to tip the DJ and often the bouncers as well. In many ways, being a stripper is harder than being a hooker - and its especially hard on your feet.

By  Audacia Ray, at May 02, 2005 6:50 AM  

Well, I don't know that stripping is (was) 'harder' than being a hooker. I've never been a stripper, but I've had friends who were. They had agents who set up their club jobs - Kathy - a particular friend at this time, could make up to 200.00 per night depending on the club. And sex was not on the menu. She was happily married with a new baby at this time. She never found the work hard, she enjoyed her job, didn't much like the travel involved though, or the hours, but she said the money was easy. Her biggest compaint was always the rivalry between the girls. Some could be downright vicious.

By  cj goad ~ photography, at May 02, 2005 7:48 AM  

Dacia:

Do you know how much they have to declare?

Lili:

How about the demographics and body types? All kinds, all ages?

By  Anonymous, at May 02, 2005 6:29 PM  

Rivalry is certainly a factor here in the "wild, wild west".

Here, the "entertainers" work as contract labor so they have to pay the house (distributed amongst the bouncers, bartenders, waitresses, et al) to work there. But the taxes are up to them. Since it's a cash income there's not a lot of honesty involved there.

They still seem to walk away with a few good dollars. A lot more than I, as a gas station clerk, at the time when I had a lot of interaction with them, would've had made.

Where the money goes is a different story, for some.

I'm over-simplifying it. It's a rather complex issue, here, and would require an entire essay - - from a customer's, boyfriend's and
bar owner's point of view.

To sum it up, breifly, "entertainers" make pretty good money from my point of view.

By  Whirlbrain, at May 02, 2005 7:12 PM  

Well, often its an all cash income, so the taxes issue is really up to the individual dancer. Some clubs do hire dancers as independent contractors and they are issued checks, but like in waitressing the hourly rate is meager compared to the actual take home money.

As far as demographics go - this varies widely, though probably not as widely as in the escorting world. It's extremely rare to find a BBW dancer, while BBW escorts all everywhere. Of course this is all highly subjective, depends on the caliber and location of the club. For instance, here in New York the big clubs in Manhattan like Scores and Tens hire almost exclusively tall, thin white women with long hair and no tattoos. In the outer burroughs you're more likely to spot tattooed girls with rounder assets.

By  Audacia Ray, at May 03, 2005 12:51 AM  

'All kinds? All ages?'

I only knew a few, and only went to see one dance. Most were early twenties, white, clean, though some had tattoos. But not dirty looking tattoos.
I think the quality of the places they worked depended much on the agencies. As in anything else, there are good and bad agents - the better a dancer's agent, the better a dancer's placement.
I was never too interested in the finacial aspects of a friend's job, all I know is they never complained about the money.

'Body type?'

You know, it takes all kinds in any business. Kathy, though, was particularly tiny - "not much white meat" she'd say, "not much brown meat either, but it's all juicy" - she was popular,requested to return more often than not.And she was a barefoot dancer which appealed to many people as just a bit different.

By  cj goad ~ photography, at May 03, 2005 7:38 AM  

Post a Comment