Pole Dancing is not the same as Stripping

(But not in a whorephobic way!)

“It’s the fact that pole and dancing has so little to do with what makes us money. Even worse, seeing some polers glamourising the element of our job that is an exploitative tool strippers have no choice but to abide by”

Those who don't know the realities of what it's like to work as a stripper have the misconception that it's an easy job and easy money. Some pole dancers can be even more guilty of the above to a heightened level, because they think having pole skills would automatically make them a skillful stripper.

I was a poler before I was a stripper. Even though I didn't know what to expect when entering the stripping industry, I did think that being a stripper meant being a 'professional pole dancer'. I thought I would have clients pay for stage shows and have money thrown on me like you see in films and TV. I couldn't have been further from the truth. This is the trap that so many baby strippers fall into as well. It's a fantasy that lures an ever growing number of uninformed, potential dancers into the industry. This heightened fallacy is exacerbated in much of the pole community, as our work is hugely glamourised by many civilian polers. All the while, strippers with lived experience in the sex industry aren't heard or are left out of the conversations.

In truth, in the UK, pole skills are nothing short of worthless. Having been a stripper for 5 years and working in over 20 different UK clubs, I can count on one hand how many times I've had any kind of compensation from stage shows. Different workers have varying experiences, but this is a common thread between most of us. Not only do we rarely get paid for pole dancing, technically, we have to pay for the privilege (in order to work as a stripper, you are usually subject to pay the club a house fee and commission). It is in many UK club's rules that you must perform X number of stage shows a night, despite clubs insisting that we are 'self-employed'. Missing a stage show or refusing to go topless could result in fines or even being fired.

I know quite a few strippers who enjoy stage shows. But I hate them. I love performing, but I loathe being forced to perform free labour under the exploitative club system. Clubs justify their rules as a beneficial way to advertise ourselves to clients, all the while pocketing the entry fee punters pay in promise of free shows and free tits. It's rare shows have created custom for me once departing the stage. It's only given customers what they wanted to see, but for free, and are actually dissuaded to purchase lap dances from me.

'But even if you don't get tips from pole shows, you get paid for lap dances! Surely our dance skills are useful here?!' Sorry, but still no! Stripping is mostly a sales job. You sell your services to someone based on conversation, connection and cleverly camouflaging and moulding yourself to your client's personal fantasy. Clients don't buy dances from strippers because they can dance or are good dancers. Clients also don't stay in VIP for hours because someone's a good dancer. Yes, we do dance, but not always and it's low on the list of what makes someone a 'successful stripper'.

This is part of why pole dancers thinking they could easily do our jobs is so agregious to me. Other than the stigma and marginalisation we face. Other than the often abusive clientele we have to deal with nightly. It's the fact that pole and dancing has so little to do with what makes us money. Even worse, seeing some polers glamourising the element of our job that is an exploitative tool strippers have no choice but to abide by.

I prefer working at clubs that don't have stage shows- whether that be purely lap dancing clubs or clubs where shows aren't heavily enforced.

It is a crying shame that people's assumptions aren't correct. I do believe we should be tipped on stage and our labour compensated for. In other parts of the world and in certain types of clubs, tips are more abundant for stage shows. There is more of an emphasis on making money from pole skills in some places. When working in one club in America, to actually be tipped on stage was so alien but made me feel so appreciated. I was living my best life then. But we don't have tipping culture in the UK like the states. Even in cases where pole skills are useful, there is so much more to making money as a stripper and coping with the lifestyle behind the perceived glamour.