So yesterday at work some fellow female co-workers and I were giving a male co-worker a hard time for going to a strip club the night before. We asked questions such as his intentions for wanting to go to a stip club. His reply was that he doesn't really enjoy strip clubs unless he is drunk. Us girls all ask him why he feels this way. He said he thinks it's degrading to watch women want to do that to themselves. As females we all replied by saying well it's great money. With this being true, one of my friends/co-workers who is female, replies, "Well I think too that women find stripping as empowerment." I asked her in what way she believed this. She goes well think about it, women can get up there and flaunt their assets, take advantage of men and receive their money in return. How is that not empowering to women? I go, that's a good point, and very true.
So, while most people see stripping as degrading to women and their bodies is there a some kind of "hidden" advantage for the female stripper? Do we see a mix of masculine and feminine roles being mixed in this occupation? So I was placed in a setting where I hear a man talk about going to a strip club as something he doesn't love to do but enjoys after a few drinks and out with a group of guys, and in return I hear a female reply back to seeing stripping as empowerment, I'm now intrested to know all of your thoughts on the situation. Do females have an advantage at the stripped pole with men?
14 comments:
I have mixed feelings on this topic. I do understand that some women feel that they hold the control in these situation. They can use their bodies to get exactly what they want from men. Strippers are known for being able to make very good money. On the other hand, some women turn to stripping or something related like prostitution because they think they have no other choice without an education or experience. In this case they use their bodies and disregard their emotions. Honestly they don't have the power as to what the drunk men are going to do. They give up their bodies and their self respect to try to get the men to throw them some money. In the end the men are holding the power.
Women flaunting their bodies and assets at a strip club and gaining money for it is the same thing as flashy and exposing pictures seen in a magazine (such as sports illustrated swim suit edition), and getting paid to not only do the modeling for it, but also mostly men buy magazines like that. It boils down to the same problem: women being portrayed as "sex icons". That's what women must look like to get the attention of society AND the male population.
I totally agree with the idea that women are taking advantage of the men... if women have the assets and feel comfortable flaunting them then they should take money from men. The men are there for enjoyment and entertainment and if they are willing to throw money out there then women should take advantage.. Some women enjoy that as a job and do make good money... so if that means these women are feeling powerful then its good for them!!;)
I personally do not enjoy going to strip clubs, it makes me somewhat uncomfortable to sit there and watch girls working using sexuality as a tool. I find it interesting the kind of people who do enjoy it. My closest friends would go on a daily basis if they had a chance, I asked them why, and they replied that it lets them see women in a sexual role without actaully having to talk to them, after the laughing subsided I started to think about how women must feel while working. Do they feel like they are in control because they have a bunch of horny drunk guys willing to spend an enormous amount of money just because they have a body and can flaunt it well? I feel at first those women do it for need of money, but once they realize they can command hordes of men at their fingertips they must find some sort of power derived from the fact that all they have to do is untie a top and men will start throwing money at you. If i could strip and not be self concious....why not.
This is a really interesting topic. A year or two ago there was a woman on Letterman who went "undercover" as a stripper. She became a stripper and wrote a book about her experience. When she was being interviewed on Lettermen she said that she would quit her job and continue stripping if she had the opportunity because she actually enjoyed the attention and the way it made her feel. The book is called "Candy Girl : A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper". She's college educated and has a great job but strips for awhile because she gets tired of the 9-to-5. I think that in the right context if you're clean (not doing it for drug money) and have a good amount of self confidence there is nothing wrong with stripping. I think it's very possible for it to be empowering. However, most women do it because they are poor, on drugs, or have no marketable job skills. In these cases usually (I'm assuming) the women don't have good self esteem and it's not empowering - it's more likely that it's degrading.
Tigerlily pretty much just summed up my thoughts in the situation. If the woman is in control and is not working because she needs drug money or because she is unemployed and not eligible for other kinds of work and she enjoys it, more power to her. However, a vast majority of girls who do this for a living are in it because they aren't able to work in 9-5 type jobs, either because they are under qualified or because they have kids to take care of and can't work the hours, etc etc. For the few women who really do it for their enjoyment that like the power and thrill, good for them. For the women who see it as a dead-end job but the only means of making ends meet, I think it's sad that there aren't more things available to them.
In terms of "hidden advantage", Im not so sure about that, however, I do feel strip clubs hold some sort of a status symbol. In some of them you may see very wealthy businessmen along with other not so well off. However the media somewhat puts off this sort of slick rick image of a lot of wealthy men going there to put their real lives on hold and indulge in their fantasies. Being one of those girls you are the "fantasy", or the main attraction for these higher up wealthy good looking men.
That to me I guess is their empowerment.
I think is is a pretty simple analogy. We have mentioned how men make more than women in the workforce. Well women have found a way to take back some of that money they are not earning in the workforce by exploiting there bodies. I believe that stripping is a power game that men play with women. ie, the more I pay her the more I get to see and the more she will do! Pure exploitation!!!
The men have the money, hence they have the power. Women wouldn't be dancing if there wasn't money being transfered. If they had suffecient funds, I doubt they would be doing stripping at all.
I also have mixed feelings on strippers and are they really empowered by what they do. Sure some women can and do make a lot of money stripping, but obviously it is not a longlasting career. I think it can be justified that they are in control if they make other career plans with the money that they make while they are stripping (like paying for college or investing it) so that they have something to fall back on when they do not have the assets, so to speak, later in life.
I can't see the women that strip at "low class" bars and clubs as really feeling that they are all that empowered, while on the other hand, someone who strips in a larger city and has access to high end clubs, and really does make a lot of money, I can see why they would feel more empowered. So does this mean that the sense of empowerment is directly correlated to the amount of money that you can make off of the men that come to see you strip? I think maybe if that income gives you the freedom to pay your own bills, and not rely on someone else, then at any level it could be empowering.
At first, I had mixed feelings on this topic, as did most of the respondents. However, I agree with classblogger. Women may think that they are holding the power and getting the money from men. But at the end of the day, men are holding the power.
The object for the women to attain: money. In my opinion, women are not gaining power by taking off their clothes and letting the men lust at them like objects. Money is the goal. Which then reflects, in my opinion, the icon of all Americans: money = power.
I used to think that stripping was gross and only trashy women did it because they couldn't get another job. However, after reflecting on the topic for awhile, I can understand why women do it. It's easy money, it's easy to do, and you get to show your stuff (if that's your thing). Not to mention that you get hoots and hollars because obviously, people like what they're seeing. That could produce a high for strippers which is probably why they continue to do it! Now, I could never be a stripper because I definnitely don't have the bod, but if that's how a woman wants to earn a dollar, then be my guest! I don't think it's degrading and if you're doing it for the right reasons (not for drugs etc) then I'm totally fine with it.
But, men are not the only people who go to strip clubs/shows. I recently was in Vegas and paid money to see "The Thunder from Down Under." Why did I do it? Because it sounded fun. Now I will admit that I probably wouldn't have gone unless I had a few drinks in me, but I had a blast. I would do it again. It's fun! When I think about it, those men have been stripping for years! Why would they keep doing it unless they really liked doing it?
So, to get back to the question at hand, yes. I do think stripping can empower an individual, male or female.
well i definitely see and agree with both sides of this topic. I see how it can be empowering for the striper..male or female...but the ultimate reason for why it is empowering is because "sex sells"...the attention that the striper receives has to feel good and its obviously what they are looking for...but how much greater would if feel for that person if they where getting those "hoots and hollers" for something else. For something that was deeper than the skin....I think the high or power that is felt after stripping won't and can't last long and really mean much after a few years. After that perfect body is gone, that person feels as nothing...that was their worth and power...but now its gone. ..it would be great if our society would put less worth on sexuality.
Wow! I don't know if women stripping gives them power. I think it show women doing what they think men want out of them and in return they make a great deal of money. Whether the man was drunk or not, by getting money this let's the women know that what they are doing is pleasing and they should continue doing it. Most of us want to please others so we continue to do the things that we are getting positive feedback from. Once we start to get negative feedback we discontinue the action. So by getting paid the women are recieving positive feedback making them want to do it over and over again. I personal can't see this as a good thing...being seen as a sex object isn't exactly something I would want on a resume or have my family know about whether it's me or my significant other.
I think this raises an interesting point, but I feel that if women wnat to stop being seen as sex objects then they need to stop portraying themselves as ones.
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