I got a tweet from a dancer regarding my last post. She pointed out an issue that I had forgotten about: tip outs. Dancers have to pay (tip out) the bouncers, the DJs and sometimes the bar staff depending on the club they work at every night. There is a minimum amount (usually $10 but it varies widely) but there is an expectation that the dance will pay more if she has a good night.
Required tip outs is a method the clubs use to defer the payroll costs from themselves to the dancers. They simply pay the club employee’s minimum wage and tell them to go get the money from the dancers. They’ll make the “real” money from tips. This is all to the clubs advantage. They minimize payroll costs and put the responsibility of getting paid on the employee. If a dancer doesn’t tip out enough she might find herself on her own with a jerk customer or find herself getting skipped for stage sets. Both of these directly affect her personal safety and her money.
If I compare this to the hair stylist model, it doesn’t have a direct comparison. The stylist doesn’t have to tip out the janitor or the cashier. Yet there are expenses a stylist has a dancer doesn’t. Most stylists are required to carry insurance or even a bond to work at a salon. So who should carry the insurance the salon or the stylists? Without the stylist the salon cannot make any money and in theory since they can bring multiple people to the policy they should get a better rate but its still money out of the salon’s pocket, not the stylist.
The major factor here is supply and demand. If there are more stylists than chairs the salons can make the rules. If a particular stylist doesn’t like paying her own insurance the salon can simply lease her chair to somebody else who is willing to carry insurance. At what point do you need to intervene with legislation? Do salons have such a grip on the industry that they can extort the insurance cost out of the stylist? I really don’t know. One thing that prevents any real change to the dancer industry is the seemly inexhaustible supply of girls who will dance.
This is not like a company store at a coal mine where it was they only employer in town. In those days you worked at the mine or you starved. If the cost is too high to be a dancer is it time to get another job? It’s a hard question, is the current tip out business model completely unfair? From a dancers point of view who is watching 30% or more of her nightly income disappear in tips its probably yes. For somebody flipping burgers at McDonalds who’s take after eight hours is still less than a dancer who works six hours it's probably no.
In my opinion instituting a minimum wage for dancers would alter the industry completely and probably not for the better. The cost to a club to pay dancers minimum wage would force a lot of clubs out of business. I was able to figure out the number of employee man hours a club would have to pay in wages. I went to the Sassy’s web site since they both post the number of dancers working a shift for a week and the length of each shift. Dancers work 502 hours a week. At the Oregon minimum wage a club would have to pay an additional $4216.80 every week. There is 52 weeks in a year so that would be a additional cost of $219,273.60 year in payroll expense. I don’t think clubs operate at that level of profit that they could absorb that much expense. If a minimum wage was implemented the major result would be a bunch of unemployed dancers. To control expenses clubs would vastly restrict the number of dancers per shift. They simply couldn’t afford to pay shifts with large number of dancers. They would become much more militant about attendance since the pool of dancers (who would basically have to be employees) would be reduced.
Using the Sassy’s schedule as a typical model there are 12 dancers working daily on weekdays and 15 dancers working on weekends. Assuming the minimum tip out of $20 per dancer that’s $1800 a week in tip outs the DJ and Bouncers get. That’s $93,000 additional payroll cost yearly for a club if they were to wave the tip out fees and pay the DJ and bouncers an equivalent amount.
The biggest difference is that the tip out cost is distributed over many dancers over a single entity (the club). Should the club have to shoulder 100% of all the operating costs if a major percentage of the revenue that walks in the front door goes to the dancers? One thing the club owner has assumed that the dancer has not is risk. If nobody comes in the owner is stuck with a bunch of liquor and furniture he can sell at a loss. While he may have a bunch of booze to drown his sorrows in he is faced with a failed business. Financially the dancer risks a nights work, if the club fails she can move on to another location. While this isn’t a trivial thing it’s not like closing down a business.
The stripping industry is built around the concept that dancers will make enough in tips to support the rest of the workers in tip out. Once the tip money falls away the compensation structure fails. From a libertarian point of view, if a girl doesn’t can't enough money dancing, she shouldn't dance. Its harsh point of view but most industries face these same questions. I used to be a design engineer, but all those jobs were getting sent off shore. About ten years ago I was faced with either becoming unemployed or switching careers. At age 40 I went into sales and marketing. That was a seriously scary point in my life.
I think what needs to be prevented is dancers getting gouged because they don’t know any better. I think a standardized pay scale for fees should be set. Another thing I think would be fair is a tip out vs number of dancers per shift adjustment. If the club allows thirty girls on a shift then the amount they tip out should be less. The club doesn’t bring in more bouncers and DJs if there are more dancers, they just collect more tip fees. This isn’t fair. If their are more girls to defer the cost of the staff, they should have to pay less. The clubs operating cost does not go up with the number of dancers. More dancers means more competition for the dollar that are available. Girls get less time on stage and have to compete with more dancers for specialty dances. I don’t know how to enforce this but this is definitely on area dancers get taken advantage of.
I think the dancers can do is to setup a system where they can compare costs, earnings, and treatment. If the top dancers start switching to clubs where they get treated better it might force a change. Dancers are simply not making as much as what they used to, the smart clubs will acknowlege this and work with the dancer to help them out. After re-reading this post all I can really conclude is this is a complex problem I don't have any good answers to.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
So sue me
I just read an interesting article in the Willamette Week about a dancer (http://wweek.com/editorial/3602/13360/) suing a club for lost wages. I tend to be pretty sympathetic to the dancers, but this is one situation I don’t completely agree with. She’s trying to get compensated for minimum wage for days she worked.
Ultimately you get paid for doing a job because if they didn’t pay you, you wouldn’t do it. You trade your skills and labor for either money or item of equal worth. At first glance this would seem to back up the dancer’s law suit, why should she have to show up and work with no compensation. Worse yet, she has to pay to work there. The difference is the potential for making money. Dancer’s have the opportunity to make money from the job of dancing. The potential for money is great enough that it’s worth her while to pay the money. That’s the major difference between myself and a dancer. There is no realistic way I can directly sell my services and make money. I have to be associated with a larger group of people manufacturing a product. Because I can’t make money I magically have to be compensated? No, if they didn’t compensate me I wouldn’t do it. I love my job, but not enough to do it for free. Nobody would.
How is the dancer’s job different that a hair stylist? Depending on the salon the stylist has to rent a chair, provide her own tools and supplies, and does not draw a wage from the salon. She makes her money from her customer base that comes in. The salon provides a set of services and large capital equipment for rent. To some extent she has to reply on the salon to promote itself, but much like a dancer she can use social networking to promote herself as well. If the stylist doesn’t make any money should the salon pay her a minimum wage? What about real estate agent?
In many ways if she wins the case it would be landmark ruling. I don’t think she stands much of chance of getting any money, provided that club didn’t do anything shady. Unfortunately that’s a big if. If there is one area that needs legislation is protection for the dancer against unfair treatment. I never seen the contract a dancer has to sign when she works at a club. My guess is basically contains a list of costs she has to pay to work, a code of conduct, and tax information. I’d be curious if there are any clauses that guarantee a minimum number of stage sets, a dressing room chair, or even indoor plumbing. She probably has probably paid for the opportunity to get naked.
I would estimate most dancers are in their early twenties. That’s not age when most people are willing to negotiate for a job. They’ll pretty much take what ever get offered to them. That’s a recipe for abuse. I think a dancer should be guaranteed a certain amount of time on stage for fees. That would at least prevent owners from overloading the rotation for a given shift. I know some clubs limit the number of girls that can work a shift, but a lot don’t. There should also be basic safety requirements. The dancer should not have to worry about falling through a ancient stage fixed with duck tape.
I doubt they’ll ever be any legislation for this. To sponsor something like this would be to endorse stripping. Most politicians wouldn’t go near this. Never mind that a lot of dancers are single moms. God forbid you do anything to help them. If owner is being a sleazeball I hope she wins the case.
Ultimately you get paid for doing a job because if they didn’t pay you, you wouldn’t do it. You trade your skills and labor for either money or item of equal worth. At first glance this would seem to back up the dancer’s law suit, why should she have to show up and work with no compensation. Worse yet, she has to pay to work there. The difference is the potential for making money. Dancer’s have the opportunity to make money from the job of dancing. The potential for money is great enough that it’s worth her while to pay the money. That’s the major difference between myself and a dancer. There is no realistic way I can directly sell my services and make money. I have to be associated with a larger group of people manufacturing a product. Because I can’t make money I magically have to be compensated? No, if they didn’t compensate me I wouldn’t do it. I love my job, but not enough to do it for free. Nobody would.
How is the dancer’s job different that a hair stylist? Depending on the salon the stylist has to rent a chair, provide her own tools and supplies, and does not draw a wage from the salon. She makes her money from her customer base that comes in. The salon provides a set of services and large capital equipment for rent. To some extent she has to reply on the salon to promote itself, but much like a dancer she can use social networking to promote herself as well. If the stylist doesn’t make any money should the salon pay her a minimum wage? What about real estate agent?
In many ways if she wins the case it would be landmark ruling. I don’t think she stands much of chance of getting any money, provided that club didn’t do anything shady. Unfortunately that’s a big if. If there is one area that needs legislation is protection for the dancer against unfair treatment. I never seen the contract a dancer has to sign when she works at a club. My guess is basically contains a list of costs she has to pay to work, a code of conduct, and tax information. I’d be curious if there are any clauses that guarantee a minimum number of stage sets, a dressing room chair, or even indoor plumbing. She probably has probably paid for the opportunity to get naked.
I would estimate most dancers are in their early twenties. That’s not age when most people are willing to negotiate for a job. They’ll pretty much take what ever get offered to them. That’s a recipe for abuse. I think a dancer should be guaranteed a certain amount of time on stage for fees. That would at least prevent owners from overloading the rotation for a given shift. I know some clubs limit the number of girls that can work a shift, but a lot don’t. There should also be basic safety requirements. The dancer should not have to worry about falling through a ancient stage fixed with duck tape.
I doubt they’ll ever be any legislation for this. To sponsor something like this would be to endorse stripping. Most politicians wouldn’t go near this. Never mind that a lot of dancers are single moms. God forbid you do anything to help them. If owner is being a sleazeball I hope she wins the case.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Skeptical Stripping
The subject of flu shots and the H1N1 virus came up at both work and the club recently. Most dancers I know are getting the seasonal flu shot. Most the people I work with aren’t and even a few think the H1N1 vaccine is either too new or just a scam to make money. Dancers have a much more practical approach to virus than my co-workers.
Since dancers don’t get paid if the don’t work they have to be more practical. The seasonal flu will knock you out for a week at least, probably more. I suppose your attitude toward the flu shot depends greatly on depends on how much you think you are at risk to get the flu. Most of my co-workers have a relatively limited exposure to people. Except for the ones with kids and those who travel they only see basic set of people.
The dancers work environment seems tailor made for transmitting the flu. A dancer has to meet and greet anybody who walks in of the street. She may have drinks with customer. For both sales and practical reasons she need to get close to the customer, much closer than a normal social situation. If she’s trying to sell a lap dance she’ll probably press up against the customer. Even if she’s isn’t trying to sell a dance, she’ll probably get close just because that’s the only way you can be heard when the music is loud. Dancers get handed dollar bills that have been drooled on, breathed on, and stuck in some unpleasant places. Short of vaccination, the most effective way avoid the flu is to avoid exposure. If you are a dancer you have to put yourself in harms way to make money.
The fact that travelers often visit strip clubs make things worse. Traveling is also a terrific way to catch something. You get to spend time crammed into confined spaces with people who were just recently crammed in to confined space with another set of people. At least when you travel you can take some precautions. I’m hardly a neat freak but I carry hand sanitizer with me now when I travel.
Dancers don’t get sick time or workman’s compensation either. If they don’t show up, they don’t get paid period. Getting put flat on your back with the flu will definitely make a dent in a budget. A flip side to this is getting a dancer’s regulars sick will also cost her money. If a customer gets sick with the flu he’s not going to come in either. While the H1N1 seems to affect younger people worse than older, in general the older you are the less effective your immune system is, and the longer it takes to recover. Vaccination protects her customers.
I’m not sure where all the fear about vaccines comes from. I suppose it ultimately is a result people make of risk versus reward for any medical decision. You are getting a steel tube stuck through skin, and something you may or may not need injected in to you. I don’t like shots, never will. I think the perceived risk from the infectious disease has decreased dramatically. There is a H1N1 pandemic going on as I write this blog post. Except for the media reports I wouldn’t have any idea.
My idea of a pandemic is something out of horror movie. People dying in the streets, cars abandoned on the freeway. As far as I can tell this isn’t happening. Dying of a disease just really isn’t a threat I think about on a daily basis. I remember when I was young I had to go to see the doctor to get my vaccinations updated so I could go to school. We moved around a lot when I was young and I had slipped through the cracks for keeping up with my shots. The last thing I wanted to do on a nice summer day was go get a shot, especially if the only reason I needed it was so I could go to school. That was stupidity squared. On top of that doctors used inoculation guns at the time. These things hurt like hell. The used air pressure to force a stream of fluid through the skin, no needles.
Since dancers don’t get paid if the don’t work they have to be more practical. The seasonal flu will knock you out for a week at least, probably more. I suppose your attitude toward the flu shot depends greatly on depends on how much you think you are at risk to get the flu. Most of my co-workers have a relatively limited exposure to people. Except for the ones with kids and those who travel they only see basic set of people.
The dancers work environment seems tailor made for transmitting the flu. A dancer has to meet and greet anybody who walks in of the street. She may have drinks with customer. For both sales and practical reasons she need to get close to the customer, much closer than a normal social situation. If she’s trying to sell a lap dance she’ll probably press up against the customer. Even if she’s isn’t trying to sell a dance, she’ll probably get close just because that’s the only way you can be heard when the music is loud. Dancers get handed dollar bills that have been drooled on, breathed on, and stuck in some unpleasant places. Short of vaccination, the most effective way avoid the flu is to avoid exposure. If you are a dancer you have to put yourself in harms way to make money.
The fact that travelers often visit strip clubs make things worse. Traveling is also a terrific way to catch something. You get to spend time crammed into confined spaces with people who were just recently crammed in to confined space with another set of people. At least when you travel you can take some precautions. I’m hardly a neat freak but I carry hand sanitizer with me now when I travel.
Dancers don’t get sick time or workman’s compensation either. If they don’t show up, they don’t get paid period. Getting put flat on your back with the flu will definitely make a dent in a budget. A flip side to this is getting a dancer’s regulars sick will also cost her money. If a customer gets sick with the flu he’s not going to come in either. While the H1N1 seems to affect younger people worse than older, in general the older you are the less effective your immune system is, and the longer it takes to recover. Vaccination protects her customers.
I’m not sure where all the fear about vaccines comes from. I suppose it ultimately is a result people make of risk versus reward for any medical decision. You are getting a steel tube stuck through skin, and something you may or may not need injected in to you. I don’t like shots, never will. I think the perceived risk from the infectious disease has decreased dramatically. There is a H1N1 pandemic going on as I write this blog post. Except for the media reports I wouldn’t have any idea.
My idea of a pandemic is something out of horror movie. People dying in the streets, cars abandoned on the freeway. As far as I can tell this isn’t happening. Dying of a disease just really isn’t a threat I think about on a daily basis. I remember when I was young I had to go to see the doctor to get my vaccinations updated so I could go to school. We moved around a lot when I was young and I had slipped through the cracks for keeping up with my shots. The last thing I wanted to do on a nice summer day was go get a shot, especially if the only reason I needed it was so I could go to school. That was stupidity squared. On top of that doctors used inoculation guns at the time. These things hurt like hell. The used air pressure to force a stream of fluid through the skin, no needles.
When my mother told me to go get in the car, I objected of course, and kept objecting despite the threats from my mother. My grandmother, who was visiting us at the time, got up, grabbed my ear and physically dragged me to the car and threw me in.
Much to the endless delight of my brothers I had just gotten by ass kicked by my grandmother. My grandmother was born in 1897. She had lived through the Spanish flu, Polio, and other disease outbreaks that resulted in very real suffering. To her vaccines were one of the great things in the world. I was going to get a shot, even if it meant pulling one of my ears off. Death or permanent disfigurement from disease was a very real thing to her. When I was in grade school it was fairly common thing to see somebody who has lost the use of an arm or walked with a limp from Polio. I cannot honestly remember the last time I saw somebody like that since graduating from high school.
I asked a friend of mine, who a vascular surgeon, what the difference is between was the H1N1 and the seasonal flu. He said the only difference is the “deactivated” virus that’s in it. Everything else is the same. Vaccines work by introducing a dead virus into the body. The immune system will create memory cells for the virus. Since its “deactivated” (ie dead) it doesn’t do anything like try to reproduce. Death tends to suppress the sex drive. Next time your immune system sees the virus, like when somebody sneezes on you at the airport, your immune system can react immediately and fight it off. When they created the seasonal vaccine they didn’t think the H1N1 was going to break out. The H1N1 is just another influenza virus.
I’ve gotten the seasonal vaccine, and will get the H1N1 when the lines die down. I’ve gotten the seasonal flu once. It pretty much kicked my ass for one week, and it was another couple weeks before I felt normal. Even though the zombie apocalypse hasn’t occurred from H1N1 there are people dying from it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Strip club secret weapons
The FTC has posted rules regarding disclosure of any payments or perks to bloggers. (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm) I can safely say I have not received any sort of perk or compensation for this blog. However, if you want to throw a free lap dance or drink my way I can be bought. Cheap. Really Cheap. Just sayin’. There are a lot of web sites that tell you how to get the most for your strip club dollar. What clubs allow more, where the cheapest drink are etcetera. This isn’t one of those, but these are a few simple things I’ve discovered.
The snuggly shirt
The golden rule always applies even in strip clubs. If you want somebody to do something nice to you, do something nice for them. Wear really soft fuzzy shirts to the club. It’s just common sense, if you want somebody to grind against on you, you should be pleasant to grind against. A dancers work clothes tend to very thin to non-existent. What you wear makes a big difference. I discovered this purely by accident. One of my many quirks is I’m really concerned about textures. How a garment feels is as important to me as how it looks. This explains why I sometimes dress like an idiot, texture over image every time.
Have to be honest, it never occurred to me that a dancer would care until one day I wore a microfiber shirt to the club that felt like silk. It got an immediate reaction from the dancers. Soon I had my wardrobe divided up into my A list shirts, B list shirts and all the rest. The A list shirts were really, really soft sort of what you’d expect to find on a plush stuffed animal. B list were not quite so soft but still nice. I think the A list shirts are more popular than me. But I guess that setting the bar pretty low. I have noticed an oddity that I can’t point out that I’m wearing a soft shirt to have an impact. The dancer has to discover it. I suppose I probably come across as a creep, “Hey baby want to feel my shirt”, ugh.
The bar staff is your best friend
Seriously, take care of the bar staff. They can be your best friends in the club. Whether it’s carrying your unconscious ass out the back or vouching for you when a scammer stripper tries to hit you up for more dances than she actually did the bar staff can be your savior. Most clubs have a policy that a dancer can’t turn down a drink if customer offers to buy one (she doesn’t have to drink it) or always try get the customer to buy them a drink. Waitresses are much more likely to either ignore the rule, or ask you specifically if you want to the buy the dancer a drink even if the dancer asks for one. It’s really nice to have the waitress on your side. I’ve had waitresses warn me when a dancer is buying a really expensive drink. Any dollar they save me I always tip them in appreciation.
The bypass
If you are holding your drink in your hand waitresses will usually not ask you if want another. When you’re at a club where they don’t know you this is a fairly effective way to keep waitresses from constantly asking you if you want another drink. This will also slow down a dancer sitting next to you who is currently pounding down drinks like a drunken sailor. It can save you a few bucks and help avoid a confrontation with a drunk dancer.
The snuggly shirt
The golden rule always applies even in strip clubs. If you want somebody to do something nice to you, do something nice for them. Wear really soft fuzzy shirts to the club. It’s just common sense, if you want somebody to grind against on you, you should be pleasant to grind against. A dancers work clothes tend to very thin to non-existent. What you wear makes a big difference. I discovered this purely by accident. One of my many quirks is I’m really concerned about textures. How a garment feels is as important to me as how it looks. This explains why I sometimes dress like an idiot, texture over image every time.
Have to be honest, it never occurred to me that a dancer would care until one day I wore a microfiber shirt to the club that felt like silk. It got an immediate reaction from the dancers. Soon I had my wardrobe divided up into my A list shirts, B list shirts and all the rest. The A list shirts were really, really soft sort of what you’d expect to find on a plush stuffed animal. B list were not quite so soft but still nice. I think the A list shirts are more popular than me. But I guess that setting the bar pretty low. I have noticed an oddity that I can’t point out that I’m wearing a soft shirt to have an impact. The dancer has to discover it. I suppose I probably come across as a creep, “Hey baby want to feel my shirt”, ugh.
The bar staff is your best friend
Seriously, take care of the bar staff. They can be your best friends in the club. Whether it’s carrying your unconscious ass out the back or vouching for you when a scammer stripper tries to hit you up for more dances than she actually did the bar staff can be your savior. Most clubs have a policy that a dancer can’t turn down a drink if customer offers to buy one (she doesn’t have to drink it) or always try get the customer to buy them a drink. Waitresses are much more likely to either ignore the rule, or ask you specifically if you want to the buy the dancer a drink even if the dancer asks for one. It’s really nice to have the waitress on your side. I’ve had waitresses warn me when a dancer is buying a really expensive drink. Any dollar they save me I always tip them in appreciation.
The bypass
If you are holding your drink in your hand waitresses will usually not ask you if want another. When you’re at a club where they don’t know you this is a fairly effective way to keep waitresses from constantly asking you if you want another drink. This will also slow down a dancer sitting next to you who is currently pounding down drinks like a drunken sailor. It can save you a few bucks and help avoid a confrontation with a drunk dancer.
Friday, October 2, 2009
A brief history of the heel
I recently became curious as to when the current stripper style shoe came into being. The six clear Lucite or white platform stiletto. Not too surprisingly there is zero information on this particular subject. At nothing I could uncover with a solid fifteen minutes of research with Google. I’m going to continue the research but I haven’t quite figure out where to look. In the mean time this is what I did find, a brief history of the heel. Note: most of the information I got from the Shoe Diva web site (http://www.geocities.com/fashionAvenue/1495/contents1.html) Check it out for more information.
It appears that the platform heel got its start in ancient Greece and Rome. Besides democracy, aqueducts, and olive oil we have
the heel to thank them for as well. They were called kothorni and were worn by actors. In theater at the time height was equated to status or gravitas of the character. One interesting thing about Roman society is that actors had similar social perceptions strippers have now. People love to watch them, definitely wanted to go party with them, but did not want to be scene with them in polite society. Actor was not a profession any good Roman aspired to. This is part of the reason why the Emperor Nero was so hated by the Roman elite. Nero had to nerve to think himself an actor and would put on performances forcing the Roman upper class to watch. Nero, Emperor of the largest and most powerful empire in the world, absolutely infuriated the Roman elite when one of their own became an actor. In current terms this would be like President Obama addressing congress “Before I begin my state of the union address, I want to show you a couple of my new pole tricks”! While I would find it refreshing to have a president with both humor and chops to do poll tricks, it probably wouldn’t be received well by most.
There are also some sources that claim internet that butchers in the Roman era also used high heels to keep their feet clear of the blood and gore that accumulated while they work. Two thousand years later they are still being worn in meat markets, albeit the markets are now clubs and bars now.
As the Roman Empire declined and fell, so did the height of shoes. The European continent descended into the dark ages and shoes became merely functional again. It would be in the Renaissance, the age of enlightentment, before the high heel shoe would reappear. In Italy, ground zero for all high heel fashions it seems, a shoe style called Chopine or Chapiney. These shoe
s ranged from 6 to 16 inches in height. I kind of have a hard time believing somebody wearing 16 inch heels in a world with cobble stone streets but who said fashion had to be safe or comfortable. In 1430 they were even outlawed in Venice. I can’t find a reason why, perhaps they were punching holes in the gondolas and sinking them. That’s bad for tourism. The invention of the high heel is sometimes is credited to Catherine of Medici. She was short in stature and betroth to the Duke of Orleans, eventual king of France. Necessity is the mother of invention, while she didn’t really invent them she did make them more acceptable to polite society.
The high heel still wasn’t accepted completely though. In 1670 British parliament forbade the wearing of heels, makeup or false hair. The wearer of high heels could be prosecuted for witchcraft. The dark ages for heels weren’t quite over yet. It would be the 1930’s before the heel would make it return. Again in the epicenter of high heel world Salvatore Farragamo began to design shoes in Italy. To me at least, its striking how modern looking the Farragamo shoes look.
While the high heel remained, the platform didn’t really take off until the 1970’s. This time both men and women were wearing platform shoes now. I was in high school in the late 70’s (I graduated in 1979) and I can remember the heels. Most guys only wore them to clubs at the time, it was pretty rare to see a guy walking in platforms.
Eventually the classic (or cliché’) stripper platform came into being. This transition is not too well documented. I haven’t been able to find any real history as to when they started to be marketed. I’ll keep researching.
It appears that the platform heel got its start in ancient Greece and Rome. Besides democracy, aqueducts, and olive oil we have
the heel to thank them for as well. They were called kothorni and were worn by actors. In theater at the time height was equated to status or gravitas of the character. One interesting thing about Roman society is that actors had similar social perceptions strippers have now. People love to watch them, definitely wanted to go party with them, but did not want to be scene with them in polite society. Actor was not a profession any good Roman aspired to. This is part of the reason why the Emperor Nero was so hated by the Roman elite. Nero had to nerve to think himself an actor and would put on performances forcing the Roman upper class to watch. Nero, Emperor of the largest and most powerful empire in the world, absolutely infuriated the Roman elite when one of their own became an actor. In current terms this would be like President Obama addressing congress “Before I begin my state of the union address, I want to show you a couple of my new pole tricks”! While I would find it refreshing to have a president with both humor and chops to do poll tricks, it probably wouldn’t be received well by most.There are also some sources that claim internet that butchers in the Roman era also used high heels to keep their feet clear of the blood and gore that accumulated while they work. Two thousand years later they are still being worn in meat markets, albeit the markets are now clubs and bars now.
As the Roman Empire declined and fell, so did the height of shoes. The European continent descended into the dark ages and shoes became merely functional again. It would be in the Renaissance, the age of enlightentment, before the high heel shoe would reappear. In Italy, ground zero for all high heel fashions it seems, a shoe style called Chopine or Chapiney. These shoe
s ranged from 6 to 16 inches in height. I kind of have a hard time believing somebody wearing 16 inch heels in a world with cobble stone streets but who said fashion had to be safe or comfortable. In 1430 they were even outlawed in Venice. I can’t find a reason why, perhaps they were punching holes in the gondolas and sinking them. That’s bad for tourism. The invention of the high heel is sometimes is credited to Catherine of Medici. She was short in stature and betroth to the Duke of Orleans, eventual king of France. Necessity is the mother of invention, while she didn’t really invent them she did make them more acceptable to polite society.The high heel still wasn’t accepted completely though. In 1670 British parliament forbade the wearing of heels, makeup or false hair. The wearer of high heels could be prosecuted for witchcraft. The dark ages for heels weren’t quite over yet. It would be the 1930’s before the heel would make it return. Again in the epicenter of high heel world Salvatore Farragamo began to design shoes in Italy. To me at least, its striking how modern looking the Farragamo shoes look.
While the high heel remained, the platform didn’t really take off until the 1970’s. This time both men and women were wearing platform shoes now. I was in high school in the late 70’s (I graduated in 1979) and I can remember the heels. Most guys only wore them to clubs at the time, it was pretty rare to see a guy walking in platforms.
Eventually the classic (or cliché’) stripper platform came into being. This transition is not too well documented. I haven’t been able to find any real history as to when they started to be marketed. I’ll keep researching.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Hard sell
There’s a dancer that always hits me up with the hard sell every time I go into the club. I’ve never bought dances from her or shown any interest in her. I tip her on stage but that’s the extent of it. She’s always polite and interesting to talk to, except when drinks a little too much. She won’t however leave, until I ask her to or another customer comes in that’s a better sales prospect. The vast majority of time I’m usually waiting for another dancer that invited me in. It’s actually pretty rare that I just show up at the club. Between text message, twitter, and old fashion phone calls somebody is trying to contact me. This girl will rush the table and sit down uninvited.
So why is this a problem? When she is sitting at my table, other dancers won’t approach the table. I’ll tell her when she is sitting down, I’m waiting for another girl but that doesn’t stop her. I either end up chasing her off or the girl who I am waiting will force her way in. A lot a dancers won’t do this. They stick the etiquette that you don’t interrupt another dance at table. Or more likely if the girl is pushy with a customer, she’s probably a psycho dancer in the dressing room and not worth the drama.
At a certain point she goes from a scantily clad beautiful dancer to an annoying salesperson. I understand she is there to make money, but there comes a point it no longer is sale job but a contest of wills. I’m not buying that she is selling and she isn’t going to leave. The undesirable force meets the irritated object.
Where do you draw the line? Usually when you tell a dancer that you are waiting for somebody else, they’ll realize that there is no money to be made and move on. You get different levels of graceful exits. Most will politely leave, some will abruptly leave, and a few make a nasty comment then leave. This girl ignores the fact that I’m waiting for some one else and still sits down. At work there are people on three continents who will ignore my wishes in multiple languages. I really don’t want to pay for the privilege.
It also changes the way I perceive the dancer. They no longer are beautiful, scantily clad women. They are annoying salespeople. The fact that she’s on a stage means she is a dancer but a naked annoying salesperson. Worse yet they are a drunk annoying naked salesperson.
The worse thing to do is to give in to an ultra aggressive dancer. If you buy a dance after the high pressure sell you are really stuck. In her mind if you bought a dance once you are going to buy a dance again. At this point she’s gone from annoying to herpes. You are stuck with her forever. The only question is how bad it is going to be when she shows up and gets underneath your skin. The only cure is death. There are a few dancers that notice I cringe when they approached. I’ve never been a very good at hiding my feelings. They’ll even use that as a sale pitch, “You cringe when you see me. That’s not nice, you should buy some dances too make it up to me”. Barf.
This also affects the other girl’s money. After chasing a hard sell, I’m not always completely rational. I dancer might ask to sit down with, not realizing that the Guido the dancer just tried to break my arm. I end up glaring at like she just asked to have one of my kidneys. No kidneys, no dances damn it. A pushy salesperson is a pushy sales person, naked or not.
So why is this a problem? When she is sitting at my table, other dancers won’t approach the table. I’ll tell her when she is sitting down, I’m waiting for another girl but that doesn’t stop her. I either end up chasing her off or the girl who I am waiting will force her way in. A lot a dancers won’t do this. They stick the etiquette that you don’t interrupt another dance at table. Or more likely if the girl is pushy with a customer, she’s probably a psycho dancer in the dressing room and not worth the drama.
At a certain point she goes from a scantily clad beautiful dancer to an annoying salesperson. I understand she is there to make money, but there comes a point it no longer is sale job but a contest of wills. I’m not buying that she is selling and she isn’t going to leave. The undesirable force meets the irritated object.
Where do you draw the line? Usually when you tell a dancer that you are waiting for somebody else, they’ll realize that there is no money to be made and move on. You get different levels of graceful exits. Most will politely leave, some will abruptly leave, and a few make a nasty comment then leave. This girl ignores the fact that I’m waiting for some one else and still sits down. At work there are people on three continents who will ignore my wishes in multiple languages. I really don’t want to pay for the privilege.
It also changes the way I perceive the dancer. They no longer are beautiful, scantily clad women. They are annoying salespeople. The fact that she’s on a stage means she is a dancer but a naked annoying salesperson. Worse yet they are a drunk annoying naked salesperson.
The worse thing to do is to give in to an ultra aggressive dancer. If you buy a dance after the high pressure sell you are really stuck. In her mind if you bought a dance once you are going to buy a dance again. At this point she’s gone from annoying to herpes. You are stuck with her forever. The only question is how bad it is going to be when she shows up and gets underneath your skin. The only cure is death. There are a few dancers that notice I cringe when they approached. I’ve never been a very good at hiding my feelings. They’ll even use that as a sale pitch, “You cringe when you see me. That’s not nice, you should buy some dances too make it up to me”. Barf.
This also affects the other girl’s money. After chasing a hard sell, I’m not always completely rational. I dancer might ask to sit down with, not realizing that the Guido the dancer just tried to break my arm. I end up glaring at like she just asked to have one of my kidneys. No kidneys, no dances damn it. A pushy salesperson is a pushy sales person, naked or not.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Podcasting
I’ve been really interested in podcasting. Without too much equipment or technical skill you can put together a show to be distributed over the internet. There isn’t a major selection of stripper oriented podcasts out there. What is there is pretty lame. They are either dancers griping about customers or the “ask a dancer” thing. I’d like to do a series of podcasts with a more practical approach. More of a how to get started and dancer basics, something that get more into the way things actually work. The podcast would be aimed much more at dancers rather than customers.
Here is my initial Episode list
1) Getting started. - The absolute basics of what it takes to start dancing. Clothes, transportation, clubs, etc. Very general in scope
2) Picking a club. - What to consider location, type of club. Where to research. What to look for.
3) The Audition. - What to expect. What to do, what not to do. What to wear. What to bring. Things to look for.
4) The first day. - What to bring, What to expect. Different shifts.
5) Persona. - What name to pick, what to wear.
6) Strip club operations. Bouncers, Waitresses, Bar Tenders, Managers
7) Difficult customers. What to look for, what to do.
8) Difficult co-workers. What to look for, what to do.
9) Children – Where to find a baby sitters, problems that other parents don’t have.
10) Traveling – Laws, Las Vegas, Guam
11) Switching clubs – Risks, When to change clubs
The basic format would sort of a short conversation style. I think if two dancers on a skype call and limited the time to 15 to 20 minutes it would be both useful and entertaining. If you’re interested in participating let me know at:
pdxstoney(at)gmail.com
It will probably be a couple months before I get the logistics worked out of producing and distributing a podcast. I’ve thought about doing it “live” from a club. The problem is that most clubs play the music load enough to shoot down lo flying aircraft. Not very good setup for recording.
Here is my initial Episode list
1) Getting started. - The absolute basics of what it takes to start dancing. Clothes, transportation, clubs, etc. Very general in scope
2) Picking a club. - What to consider location, type of club. Where to research. What to look for.
3) The Audition. - What to expect. What to do, what not to do. What to wear. What to bring. Things to look for.
4) The first day. - What to bring, What to expect. Different shifts.
5) Persona. - What name to pick, what to wear.
6) Strip club operations. Bouncers, Waitresses, Bar Tenders, Managers
7) Difficult customers. What to look for, what to do.
8) Difficult co-workers. What to look for, what to do.
9) Children – Where to find a baby sitters, problems that other parents don’t have.
10) Traveling – Laws, Las Vegas, Guam
11) Switching clubs – Risks, When to change clubs
The basic format would sort of a short conversation style. I think if two dancers on a skype call and limited the time to 15 to 20 minutes it would be both useful and entertaining. If you’re interested in participating let me know at:
pdxstoney(at)gmail.com
It will probably be a couple months before I get the logistics worked out of producing and distributing a podcast. I’ve thought about doing it “live” from a club. The problem is that most clubs play the music load enough to shoot down lo flying aircraft. Not very good setup for recording.
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