stripper

Strippers perform striptease for a number of reasons, predominantly to make money. The physical attractiveness, sex appeal and techniques of the dancer determines the business the stripper tends to generate. In some localities, strippers are required to obtain permits to work in adult entertainment.{{cite news |last=Matteucci |first=Megan |date=22 October 2009 |title=Police: Strip club offered drugs, sex |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/police-strip-club-offered-170255.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062930/http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/police-strip-club-offered-170255.html |archive-date=6 August 2012 |access-date=13 August 2010 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}} Most of the time dancers have to audition to get the job.{{Cite web |last=T |first=Lily |date=2019-05-17 |title=So you want to be a stripper—Part 1 : Welcome to the International Pole Convention |url=https://poleconvention.com/general/so-you-want-to-be-a-stripper-part-1/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=:: Welcome to the International Pole Convention |language=en-US}} Once a dancer has secured the job the formal training is minimal, primarily on the job and provided by more senior dancers. Dancers learn a set of rules, such as never leave money unattended; never leave the club with a customer; and never refuse a table dance.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Touching strippers is not permitted in many localities; few dancers and clubs allow touching of dancers during private dances. If permitted, during a lap dance the dancer may dance sitting in the customer's lap, clothed or topless.{{citation | last = Bremer | first = Susan | contribution = The grind | editor-last1 = Egan | editor-first1 = Danielle | editor-last2 = Frank | editor-first2 = Katherine | editor-last3 = Johnson | editor-first3 = Merri | title = Flesh for fantasy: producing and consuming exotic dance | pages = 35–52 | publisher = Thunder's Mouth Press. Distributed by Publishers Group West | location = New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 9781560257219 | postscript = .}} In parts of the US, there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, which the dancers must cover with pasties. The common practice of hiring strippers as contractors rather than full-time employees often leads to job insecurity, unstable pay and a lack of health benefits. Strippers are also sometimes required to pay fees to the club for renting their stage.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Strippers most commonly work as providers of live entertainment in strip clubs. House dancers work for a particular club or franchise, while feature dancers usually have celebrity status, touring a club circuit and making live appearances. Porn stars often become feature dancers to earn extra income and build their fan base. High-profile adult film performers such as Jenna Haze and Teagan Presley have participated in feature shows throughout the US, as did later-retired stars such as Jenna Jameson. These dancers are not usually direct employees of the club but instead perform as independent contractors for a predetermined house fee.{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Your Rights |url=https://wadusa.org/know-your-rights/your-rights/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514170647/https://wadusa.org/know-your-rights/your-rights/ |archive-date=2024-05-14 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=We Are Dancers |language=en}}

Most clubs have a dancer rotation where each dancer in turn will perform for one or more songs in a fixed sequence, which repeats during a shift. More informal clubs will have dancers take turns when a stage becomes empty or have a free flow of entertainers, where they can wander off and on stage at their own will. Feature entertainers have set times for their performance, and are not usually part of the rotation. If a DJ is present, they will emcee the rotation, advertise the feature entertainers performance and typically announce the dancer(s) on stage and possibly whom to expect in future sets.{{Cite web |title=Adult Clubs — The United States Disc Jockey Association USDJA - DJ Insurance, Education, Networking |url=https://www.usdja.org/dj-education-adult-nightclubs-strip-clubs |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=The United States Disc Jockey Association |language=en-US}}

During each set of one or more songs, the performer will dance on stage in exchange for tips. Dancers collect tips from customers either while on stage or after the dancer has finished a stage show and is mingling with the audience. A customary tip (where customers can do so at the stage) is a dollar bill folded lengthwise and placed in the dancer's garter from the tip rail. Other common tip methods are to insert the dollar into the stripper's cleavage from the hand or mouth, or to simply place it or toss it onto the stage. Tipping during a stage performance is prohibited by some clubs due to restrictions in local ordinance or past incidents on the premises. Each club and dancer will have individual tolerance levels for customer interaction including tipping. Some clubs will have multiple stages on the premises that dancers will move between, but typically the dancer would collect for her time on the main stage during a rotation. Tips can also be collected during private dances.{{cite journal|last=Wendroff|first=Darren|title=Strip-Club Etiquette|journal= Men's Health |date=September 2004|volume=19|issue=7|page=86| url = http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/14174771/strip-club-etiquette |access-date=10 May 2013}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Where legal (or legal restrictions are ignored), dancers may offer additional services such as lap dances or a trip to the champagne room for a set fee rather than a tip. This fee will typically include a set fee for the room, for a set amount of time. Private dances in the main club areas most often take the form of table dances, lap and couch dances, and bed dances among others. An air dance is a particular form of private dance where little to no contact between the dancer and customer occurs. This class of dance spans the different categories above, and some dancers can perform air dances when more contact-heavy forms of dance were expected and paid for.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Table dances are distinguished from other forms of dances in that they can be performed where the customer is seated on the main floor. Table dances also refer to a form of minimal touch private dance where the performer is physically located on a small table in front of the customer(s). Table dances should not be confused with table stages, where the stripper is at or above eye level on a platform surrounded by chairs and usually enough table surface for customers to place drinks and tip money. These stages are configured for close viewing of the striptease and are known for dancers lowering themselves from the stage onto customers during their set.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Lap dances can be (and are) performed in all manner of seating, ranging from plain stools and kitchen-grade chairs to plush leather armchairs. They can also be performed with the customer standing in these designated areas. A service provided by many clubs is for a customer to be placed on stage with one or more dancers for a public lap dance. Occasions for this type of performance are bachelor parties and birthdays in the club among others. Bed dances are designed for the customer to be lying down with the entertainer(s) positioned on top of them. Bed dances are the least common of the three, and in many clubs, these are a more expensive option than a lap dance because of the novelty and increased level of contact between customer and service provider.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

A champagne room (also called a champagne lounge or champagne court) is a specialized VIP Room service offered by gentleman's clubs where a customer can purchase time (usually in half-hour increments) with an exotic dancer in a private room on the premises. Depending on the quality of the club, the room, which is away from the hustle and bustle of the main club, is well decorated and usually has its own bar. Clubs sell champagne by the glass or by the bottle for both the dancer and the customer.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Strippers can be contracted for performances outside the strip club environment. Some strippers will only strip for private engagements and do not have a regular affiliation with a strip club.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Adult industry trade shows often have strippers working, though many of them are affiliated with individual companies and not necessarily freelancers. There are also exhibitions, festivals, and competitions where independent strippers perform. Nudes-A-Poppin' was a popular festival scheduled annually which features both female and male dancers competing in erotic dance.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

{{Main|Bachelor party|Bachelorette party}}

A bachelor party may involve activities beyond the usual party and social-gathering ingredients, such as going to a strip club or hiring a stripper to perform in a private setting like a home or hotel. In some traditions, there are hazing-like tests and pranks at the future groom's expense. These pranks can involve a stripper if the entertainer is willing. Some women also participate in a similar party to be held for the bride-to-be. This is known as a bachelorette party or Hen party.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Private parties are popular events for which to hire strippers. There are many entertainment businesses that have strippers contracted for private performances. Some of these companies have a national presence, with strippers contracted in multiple states and some who work regionally over a multi-state area. Strippers will also do side work and handle their own agreements and payment arrangements. Written agreements are atypical in this type of transaction unless a formal, registered business is involved. They could also travel over significant (i.e. flight required) distances for private events and appointments, most of the time passing the cost of travel and accommodations onto the customer. Patrons at the clubs in which the strippers work are a primary source of customers for their work outside the club. Much like activities inside the club, different dancers have different comfort levels for services they will provide during a private party.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

File:Strippers strip club Mexico City.jpg (2011)]]

While working, a stripper is not necessarily required to remove all of their clothing. Regardless of size, name, or location in the world, strip clubs can be full nude, topless or bikini.{{citation | last = Frank | first = Katherine | contribution = Laurelton and its strip clubs: the historical, physical, and social terrain | editor-last = Frank | editor-first = Katherine | title = G-strings and sympathy: strip club regulars and male desire | pages = 57–78 | publisher = Duke University Press | location = Durham | year = 2002 | isbn = 9780822329725 | postscript = .}}{{cite news |last1= Stanley |first1= Kameel |title= Police raid downtown St. Petersburg bikini bar |url= http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1100220.ece |work= St. Petersburg Times |date= 5 June 2010 |access-date= 8 June 2010 |archive-date= 9 June 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100609043122/http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1100220.ece }} For any type of strip club there are exceptions based on the individual dancer and management, and clubs are classified based on typical performances, zoning, and advertised services.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

During a performance, both the breasts and the genitals typically remain covered by revealing clothes, while dancers provide services and entertainment. A female stripper whose upper body is exposed, but whose genitals remain covered during a performance, is said to be topless. Strippers who uncover the genital areas while removing the rest of their clothing during a performance are said to be dancing fully nude. The fully nude practice is banned in many jurisdictions, but many dancers work around these constraints by selective uncovering of the vulva, anus, or both, for short periods of time, followed by immediate replacement of the clothing.{{cite book | last = Stencell | first = A.W. | title = Girl show: into the canvas world of bump and grind | publisher = ECW Press | location = Toronto, Canada | year = 1999 | isbn = 9781554903719 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=dXIZbIKMUesC Details.]{{cite web |last= Erskine |first= Michael |title= Exotic dance club is still open despite lawsuits | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131227070317/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/dec/16/dolls-is-still-open-despite-lawsuits/ | archive-date = 27 December 2013 |url= http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/dec/16/dolls-is-still-open-despite-lawsuits/ | website = commercialappeal.com |publisher= The Commercial Appeal | date = 16 December 2007 |access-date= 13 August 2010 }}

In many clubs, entertainers will walk the floor in their revealing clothing. When a stripper performs personal services (such as lap or bed dances) they come into contact with a customer, and are required to remain in their revealing clothing in more restrictive club environments. Private dances in particular are scrutinized to ensure that no club policies or local ordinances are being violated during the performance. The additional clothing also acts as a deterrent to prevent a customer from exceeding the boundaries set by a particular dancer. On 19 June 1964, Carol Doda began go-go dancing topless at the Condor Club on Broadway and Columbus in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.{{cite news | title = Nudity, noise pay off in Bay Area night clubs | url = http://latimes.com/ | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 14 February 1965 | page = G5 }} She became the world's most famous go-go dancer, and a prototype for the modern stripper, while dancing at the Condor for 22 years.{{cite book | last = DiNardo | first = Kelly | title = Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the striptease mystique | publisher = Back Stage Books | location = New York | year = 2007 | isbn = 9780823088898 | url = https://archive.org/details/gildedlilililist00dina_0 }} [https://archive.org/details/gildedlilililist00dina_0 Details.]

{{Main|Toplessness#Entertainment and media|l1=Toplessness}}

Women are at times employed in adult-only venues to perform or pose topless in forms of commercial erotic entertainment. Such venues can range from downmarket strip clubs to upmarket cabarets, such as the Moulin Rouge. Topless entertainment may also include competitions such as wet T-shirt contests in which women display their breasts through translucent wet fabric—and may end up removing their T-shirts before the audience. Strippers can engage in these alternate topless activities at sanctioned times inside the club or as independent contractors at outside venues. Not all strippers are comfortable dancing topless. In areas where choice in formats exist, exotic dancers express concern that the more they offer in their performance (nudity included) the more they stand to profit.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Even the dancers that will go topless have been known to stay covered during a dance during slow periods in the club with few customers. This is particularly true if the customers do not appear to be engaged or actively tipping because they are not being compensated for their time on stage. The practice of topless dancing is banned in many jurisdictions, but strippers have been known to work around the constraints by selectively uncovering her breasts "peek-a-boo" style for short periods of time then replacing the clothing. For a male dancer, a bare chest is not considered in the same light and does not face the same legal restrictions. During a show where customer tipping is permitted, most strip clubs limit contact with a dancer's breasts to one way—from dancer to customer. Many clubs do not allow any breast contact, and some go so far as to place markers on stage that a dancer is not permitted to cross while nude. This physical separation enforces compliance with the no-touch policy.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Strippers are banned from dancing fully nude in many jurisdictions, but many dancers will work around the regulations by selectively uncovering their vulva, anus, or both for short periods of time then replacing the clothing. For a male dancer, exposing the penis or anus is equivalent.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Not all strippers are comfortable dancing fully nude. If viewed as a continuum, fewer dancers will dance topless than go-go and fewer still would dance fully nude. It has been reported when in direct competition with more conservative offerings, fully nude formats are seen by customers as a superior enough substitute for them to switch clubs.{{cite news|last=Bell |first=Tom |title=Sex & the country |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321050321/http://www.pressherald.com/news/sex_2010-03-13.html |archive-date=21 March 2013 |url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/sex_2010-03-13.html |work=Portland Press Herald |date=14 March 2010 |access-date=30 September 2011 |url-status=dead }} In areas where choice in formats exist, exotic dancers express concern that the more they offer in their performance (nudity included) the more they stand to profit. Still, strippers have been known to dance only at topless clubs because of their desire not to strip completely nude.{{cite book | last = Conrad | first = Jessica K. | title = Dance naked: a guide to unleashing your inner hottie | publisher = Harmony Books | location = New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 9781400052738 }} Some clubs permit both nude stage dancing and fully nude lap dances. Where nude private dances are allowed with contact, some dancers choose to place some type of barrier (cloth or occasionally plastic) over the customer's lap as a precautionary measure.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Strippers are focused on making money from customers. Strippers are employed as independent contractors and expected to generate income themselves making the profession similar to a sales job. How dancers go about maximizing revenue varies. For customers they do not already know, dancers use factors such as clothing, shoes, age, and race to determine whom they wish to interact with. Dancers are the primary enablers to encourage potential patrons to spend time in strip clubs. The dancers continually interact with the customers in the club by walking around and attempting to solicit drinks and lap dances, usually scanning the floor of a club to find the most lucrative customer to target.{{Cite journal | last1 = Wosick-Correa | first1 = Kassia R. | last2 = Joseph | first2 = Lauren J. | title = Sexy ladies sexing ladies: women as consumers in strip clubs | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 201–216 | doi = 10.1080/00224490801987432 | pmid = 18686149 | date = 2008 | s2cid = 6882260 }}

While clubs can generate revenue through means such as cover charges and drink fees, dancers make most of their profit from giving lap dances or VIP dances where regulations allow. Otherwise, customer tips to dancers from a stage set are their primary form of payment per shift. The dancer qualifies a customer by sizing up their appearance and personal characteristics. Once the dancer identifies her mark, she approaches and attempts to create social relationship with her customer using tactical interactions and manipulations. Alternatively, customers can make the first move and engage the dancer directly. Strippers appeal to masculine desires, but they can adapt to fit the needs of female patrons to view them as customers. Adapting the experience to the customer is an integral part of exotic dancing.

In the 21st century, as adult themes and work are becoming more commonplace, more of the population is attracted to this type of work.{{cite news | title = Porn is just one 'sex work' way to cover college tuition | url = http://business.avn.com/articles/video/Porn-is-Just-One-Sex-Work-Way-to-Cover-College-Tuition-550396.html | work = Adult Video News | access-date = 3 March 2014}} For example, a University of Leeds study, published by the British Journal of Sociology of Education, revealed that as many as one third of "strip club dancers are students, with many using the cash earned to support themselves throughout their studies" and likely to come from middle class backgrounds.{{cite news | last = Grove | first = Jack | title = Acceptable face of 'party night' striptease | url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/acceptable-face-of-party-night-striptease/2011637.article | work = Times Higher Education | access-date= 3 March 2014}} The study also stated that "students were now a 'core supply group into the sex industries', with clubs even targeting freshers' week events with recruitment leaflets." This is supported by a 2014 story in the New York Daily News regarding San Francisco strip clubs taking out recruitment ads in the university newspaper for the University of California at Berkeley, The Daily Californian.{{cite news | last = Taylor | first = Victoria | title = San Francisco strip clubs place recruitment ad in college newspaper | url = http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/strip-clubs-place-recruitment-ad-college-newspaper-article-1.1698709 | work = New York Daily News | date = 22 February 2014 | access-date = 3 March 2014}} One distinction made is that many view working as a strip club dancer as a short-term means to address financial needs, while others view it as a profession and go on to other types of sex work such as performing in adult films.

File:Male stripper San Francisco January 2009.jpg

File:レイザーラモン風 (14156787159).jpg]]

Until the 1970s, strippers in Western cultures were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences. Male and female strippers also perform for all types of adult audiences.

The modern male stripper show usually involves full nudity, although sometimes they may retain underwear, especially g-strings, bikini briefs or thongs throughout the show, or only remove all clothing for a brief time. Performances are usually fully choreographed, involve dance routines and a costume of some sort. Prominent male strip groups include the Dreamboys in the UK & Chippendales in the US.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

A male stripper will likely perform at club, bar, workplace or private home with private advanced bookings or ladies nights being prevalent over strip clubs which is the norm for female strippers.{{cite news | title= Hiring a male stripper: advice from the experts | url = http://www.bachelorette.com/hirmalstripa.html | website = Batchelorette.com | access-date= 11 March 2015}} This is different from the Chippendales scene that emerged to prominence in the 1980s with today's norm being one sole performer, or a series of individual performers rather than a group of strippers.{{cite news|url=https://strip-magazine.com/articles/male-strippers/|title=Male strippers; the myths and the facts |work=Strip Magazine | date = 23 December 2005 |access-date=11 March 2015}}

The social psychologist Richard Tewksbury says that male strippers 'masculinise' the role; thus are not disempowered in the way that, he asserts, female strippers are.{{citation | last = Tewksbury | first = Richard | contribution = Male strippers: men objectifying men | editor-last = Williams| editor-first = Christine L. | title = Doing "women's work": men in nontraditional occupations | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4A5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 | page = 174 | publisher = Sage Publications | location = London | year = 1993 | isbn = 9780803953055 | postscript = .}}

Ethnographic research has observed that strippers, regardless of sexual orientation, have a tendency to treat female customers differently than males. Because of the non-physical motivations ascribed to female intimacy, dancers select women to approach who are smiling and sitting comfortably with open body language such as uncrossed arms, actively participating with the crowd, laughing and engaging with fellow customers, and applauding for dancers at the main stage also increase the likelihood they will be approached. Dancers tend to avoid women with unfriendly facial expressions or visibly hostile body language, again regardless of sexual orientation. In order to become approached, men must indicate financial potential through their appearance. Women must demonstrate their good attitude and willingness to participate in club activities. At that point, a woman's perceived profitability is also a factor in a dancer's decision to approach a female patron. The presence of male companionship has been cited in research as an indicator used by dancers to gauge the profitability of a female once she is perceived to be a customer.

{{essay-like|section|date=April 2015}}

{{Excessive examples|section|date=October 2023}}

File:Condor Club.jpg site. Full text:

"The Condor; Where it all began; The birthplace of the world's first topless & bottomless entertainment; Topless – June 19, 1964 Bottomless – September 3, 1969 Starring Ms. Carol Doda; San Francisco, California"]]

The image of strippers has evolved through the late 1960s and 1970s in the U.S. and international cultures which embraced Americanized striptease. By the 1980s pole dancing had become popular in America, and the highly sexual imagery associated with the period's performers was widely accepted and frequently portrayed in film, television, and theater.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In addition to lesser-known videos, the 1980s also featured mainstream films involving strippers and their work as part of the central narrative. These included Flashdance (1983), which told the story of blue-collar worker Alexandra "Alex" Owens (Jennifer Beals), who works as an exotic dancer in a Pittsburgh bar at night and at a steel mill as a welder during the day. Blaze (1989) features Lolita Davidovitch as notorious stripper Blaze Starr. Starr herself appears in the film in a cameo role. Exotica (1994), directed by Atom Egoyan, is set in a Canadian lap-dance club, and portrays a man's (Bruce Greenwood) obsession with a schoolgirl stripper named Christina (Mia Kirshner). Showgirls (1995) was directed by Paul Verhoeven and starred Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon. Striptease (1996), was an adaptation of the novel starring Demi Moore. The Players Club (1998) starred LisaRaye McCoy as a girl who becomes a stripper to earn enough money to enter college and study journalism.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In Jekyll and Hyde (1997), the character of Lucy Harris (originally portrayed by Linda Eder) works as a prostitute and stripper in a small London club called The Red Rat, where she meets a multi-dimension man named Doctor Henry Jekyll, who turns into his evil persona Mr. Edward Hyde. Lucy performs the song "Bring on the Men" during a show at The Red Rat (which was later replaced with "Good 'n' Evil" in the Broadway production, some claiming "Bring on the Men" was too "risqué"). In Neighbours (1985), the character of Daphne is originally a stripper at Des's bucks party, and eventually goes on to marry him. Married... with Children (1987–97) often featured Al Bundy, Jefferson D'Arcy, and the NO MA'AM crew spending a night at the Nudie Bar. In The Sopranos (1999–2007) business was often conducted at the Bada Bing strip club.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000) is a feature film starring Sandra Oh and Daryl Hannah. The female cast of the film researched the film by dancing at strip clubs and created their parts and their storylines to be as realistic as possible. Stripsearch (2001–), an ongoing Australian reality television show which centers around the training of male strippers. The Hot Chick (2002) stars Rachel McAdams, in her film debut, as a high school cheerleader who, after switching bodies with a small time criminal (Rob Schneider), starts working at a strip club called Pole Cat. The Raymond Revuebar: The Art of Striptease (2002) is a documentary, directed by Simon Weitzman. Los Debutantes (2003) is a Chilean film set in a strip club in Santiago. In Closer (2004), Natalie Portman plays Alice Ayres aka Jane Jones, a young American stripper who arrives in London, England. Portman won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance. Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake features Michael Myers' mother Deborah (played by Zombie's wife Sheri Moon Zombie), dancing to "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

I Know Who Killed Me (2007) stars Lindsay Lohan as Dakota Moss, an alluring stripper involved in the machinations of a serial killer, and features a long striptease sequence at a strip club.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072702430.html |title=Lindsay Lohan Gets An 'A' for a B-Flick |first=Stephen |last=Hunter |author-link=Stephen Hunter |date=28 July 2007 |access-date=21 October 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post }} In Planet Terror (2007), Rose McGowan plays go-go dancer Cherry Darling who, after having her leg eaten by a zombie, uses an assault rifle as a prosthetic leg.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/04/05/grindhouse-interview-rose-mcgowan |title=Grindhouse Interview: Rose McGowan |date=5 April 2007 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis, LLC}}{{cite web |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3469542/planet-terror-100x-badass-2017-2007/ |title='Planet Terror' is 100x More Badass in 2017 Than It Was in 2007 |first=John |last=Squires |date=14 November 2017 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Bloody Disgusting}} In the two-part season 6 finale of Degrassi: The Next Generation, Alex Nunez resorts to stripping after she and her mother do not have enough money to pay the rent on their apartment. Darren Aronofsky's 2008 drama film The Wrestler features Marisa Tomei playing a stripper and single mother who is romantically pursued by professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke). Tomei received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Zombie Strippers (2008) chronicles a zombie virus that makes its way to a strip club. Barely Phyllis is a play on Phyllis Dixey which was first staged at the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield in 2009. The Hangover (2009) features Heather Graham as a Las Vegas stripper and escort who marries Stu (Ed Helms) despite his plan to propose to his controlling girlfriend (Rachael Harris).{{cite news |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/heather-graham-confesses-that-she-lived-as-a-stripper/news-story/ebec527c0f6e17ab95b1c4f6eb285b64 |title=Heather Graham confesses that she lived as a stripper |date=10 June 2009 |access-date=21 October 2018 |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |publisher=News Pty Ltd}} She reprised her role in the sequel The Hangover III.{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heather-graham-resumes-her-stripper-role-in-hangover-3heres-todays-buzz-2012-8 |title=Heather Graham Resumes Her Stripper Role In 'Hangover 3'—Here's Today's Buzz |first=Aly |last=Weisman |date=10 August 2012 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Business Insider |publisher=Insider Inc.}}

The seventh episode of season 6 of the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds focuses on the BAU team tracking down a trio of young men, one of whom is revealed to be the son of the sheriff leading the investigation, who kidnap, rape, and murder several exotic dancers in Indiana. The 2012 film Magic Mike and 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL are fictionalized stories of the lives of several male performers.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} In We're the Millers (2013), Jennifer Aniston plays a stripper who is hired by her drug dealer neighbor to pose as his wife in order to smuggle marijuana from Mexico into America.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jennifer-aniston-bares-all-in-were-the-millers-8752647.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jennifer-aniston-bares-all-in-were-the-millers-8752647.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Jennifer Aniston bares all in We're The Millers |first=Tom |last=Teodorczuk |date=9 August 2013 |access-date=21 October 2018 |newspaper=Independent}} Lap Dance (2014), which stars Briana Evigan and Carmen Electra, focuses on an aspiring actress who makes a pact with her husband to take a job as an exotic dancer so she can make money to care for her cancer-stricken father. It is based on the true story of the film's director Greg Carter. Dixieland (2015) involves Riley Keough as a stripper making money to support her sick mother and is also being abused by her manager.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/tribeca-review-dixieland-starring-riley-keough-faith-hill-chris-zylka-264561/ |title=Tribeca Review: 'Dixieland' Starring Riley Keough, Faith Hill & Chris Zylka |first=Rodrigo |last=Perez |date=29 April 2015 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Indie Wire |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC.}}{{cite news |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/tribeca-review-dixieland-with-riley-keough-and-faith-hill-shows-gritty-innards-of-americas-heartland-62625/ |title=Tribeca Review: 'Dixieland,' With Riley Keough and Faith Hill, Shows Gritty Innards of America's Heartland |first=Emily |last=Buder |date=27 April 2015 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Indie Wire |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC.}} In the TV series La que se avecina, Lola Reynolds (played by Macarena Gómez), changes her job and works as a stripper after know she will earn more money.{{cite web |url=https://www.telecinco.es/laqueseavecina/Lola-bailarina-striptease_2_2460180054.html |title=Lola trabaja como bailarina de striptease… y Javi y Fermín se lían a puñetazos con los clientes |date=31 October 2017 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Telecinco |language=es}}

Strippers have been the inspiration for a number of musical artists, with several of the songs resulting in hit singles. An instrumental, "The Stripper", was a No. 1 hit on the U.S. pop singles charts for David Rose and His Orchestra in 1962. That song pre-dated the opening of what is considered to be the first modern strip club, Condor Club on Broadway in the U.S. city of San Francisco, California. "Private Dancer" by Tina Turner was an international hit and her second highest-charting single reaching No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Mötley Crüe was also a Top 20 hit on the U.S. charts.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

T-Pain had a No. 5 hit on the Billboard chats with "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" in 2006. Hip hop artist Flo Rida had two No. 1 hits in the U.S. in the 2000s with "Right Round" and "Low". For both hip-hop artists, the depictions of strippers and expressions of lust are far more explicit than in songs released in earlier music eras. This is not limited to hip-hop, with contemporary songs in other styles of music sharing similar traits. "Worked Up So Sexual" by The Faint is graphic in its depiction of dancer rivalry (older dancers gag at what new talent seems to mean, smaller tits and younger limbs) and customers longing to bed them.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

Achille Lauro represented San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stripper".{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Duke Nukem 3D (1996) was the first video game to include strippers.{{cite web |url=http://fabiensanglard.net/duke3d/id%20as%20Super-Ego-%20The%20Creation%20of%20Duke%20Nukem%203D.pdf |title=id as Super-Ego: The Creation of Duke Nukem 3D |first=Rene |last=Patnode |date=22 March 2001 |access-date=21 October 2018 |pages=48 |work=Fabien Sanglard's Website}} The Grand Theft Auto series has strippers and strip clubs in many of its games, starting with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002).{{cite news |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/07/playpen_strip_club_versus_gta_pig_pen/ |title=First Amendment rescues Grand Theft Auto's 'totally nude' strip club |first=Austin |last=Modine |date=7 November 2008 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=The Register}}{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-4s-open-world-is-still-fantastic-/1100-6458753/ |title=Grand Theft Auto 4's Open World Is Still Fantastic 10 Years Later |first=Alessandro |last=Fillari |date=19 May 2018 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=GameSpot}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/5-cool-things-you-missed-in-gta-iv/2/ |title=5 Cool Things You Missed in GTA IV |first=Charlie |last=Barratt |date=16 August 2008 |access-date=21 October 2018 |magazine=Games Radar |page=2 |publisher=Future Publishing Limited}}{{cite web |url=http://www.vg247.com/2015/09/15/gta-online-frame-rate-patch-fix/ |title=GTA Online fix tackles frame rate, bugs and freezing strippers |first=Matt |last=Martin |date=15 September 2015 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=vg247}}{{cite news |url=https://metro.co.uk/2013/10/28/gta-online-gamer-heard-flirting-with-stripper-in-cringeworthy-video-4164297/ |title=GTA Online gamer heard flirting with stripper in cringeworthy video |first=Christopher |last=Hooton |date=28 October 2013 |publisher=Associated Newspapers Limited |newspaper=Metro}}{{cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com:80/in-grand-theft-auto-v-if-you-flirt-with-the-strippers-using-the-microphone-other-players-can-hear-you-2013-10 |title=In Grand Theft Auto V, If You Flirt With The Strippers Using The Microphone Other Players Can Hear You |first=Jim |last=Edwards |date=29 October 2013 |access-date=21 October 2018 |work=Business Insider}}

{{Main|Legal status of striptease}}

Many U.S. jurisdictions have specific laws on the books related to striptease, with more being added increasing both complexity of enforcement and impact. For example, the classification of dancers as independent contractors has been challenged in court, successfully in Massachusetts in 2009.{{cite web | title = Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court Civil Action No. 07-505 Lucienne Chaves & another vs. King Arthur's Lounge Inc. | url = http://www.llrlaw.com/pdfs/king_arthur_decision.pdf | website = llrlaw.com | publisher = Litchen & Liss-Riordan, P.C. | date = 7 August 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120323163835/http://www.llrlaw.com/pdfs/king_arthur_decision.pdf | archive-date = 23 March 2012 }} One of the more notorious local ordinances is San Diego Municipal Code 33.3610,{{cite web | title = San Diego Municipal Code—Chapter 3: Business Regulations, Business Taxes, Permits and Licenses | url = http://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter03/Ch03Art03Division36.pdf | publisher = The City of San Diego | date = November 2000 }} specific and strict in response to allegations of corruption among local officials{{cite news | last = LaVelle | first = Philip J. | title = More bad news? What else is new? (San Diego Corruption Trial) | url = http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/metro/probe/20050719-9999-1n19council.html | work = The San Diego Union-Tribune | date = 19 July 2005 }} which included contacts in the nude entertainment industry. Among its provisions is the "six foot rule", copied by other municipalities in requiring that dancers maintain a six-foot distance while performing.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

There are a limited amount of dancers and clubs that condone touching of dancers during private dances, and it is illegal in many U.S. states. In some locales, dancers may give a customer a "lap dance", whereby the dancer grinds against the customer's crotch while they are fully clothed. Other rules forbid "full nudity". In some parts of the US, there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, which have thus to be covered by pasties by the dancer (though not applied to the exposure of male nipples). In early 2010, the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan banned fully exposed breasts in its strip clubs, following the example of Houston, Texas who began enforcing a similar ordinance in 2008.{{cite web | title = Houston topless clubs lose case, may respond to Supreme Court with pasties | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192107/http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?k=71554&id=38135a7b-209a-41ef-a325-80435be65732 | archive-date = 3 March 2016 | url = http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?k=71554&id=38135a7b-209a-41ef-a325-80435be65732 | website = canada.com/victoriatimescolonist | publisher = Victoria Times | access-date = 20 October 2004 | date = 29 March 2008 }} The Detroit city council has since softened the rules eliminating the requirement for pasties{{cite web |title=Detroit passes new strip club rules | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609032414/http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22628122/detail.html | archive-date = 9 June 2011 | url = http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22628122/detail.html |access-date= 20 October 2004 | website = clickondetroit.com | publisher =ClickOn Detroit |date= 21 February 2010 }} but kept other restrictions. Both municipalities were reputed to have rampant occurrences of illicit activity including prostitution linked to its striptease establishments{{cite web | url = http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0602081harris1.html | title = Another Houston strip club raided |access-date=20 October 2004 | website = thesmokinggun.com |publisher =The Smoking Gun |date=2 June 2008 }}{{cite web | last = Blu | first = Fantasee | title = Detroit City Council to vote on strip club restrictions | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110713153434/http://kissdetroit.com/uncategorized/fantaseeblu/detroitcitycounciltovoteonstripclubrestrictions/ | archive-date = 13 July 2011 | url = https://kissdetroit.hellobeautiful.com/10251/detroitcitycounciltovoteonstripclubrestrictions/ | website = kissdetroit.hellobeautiful.com | publisher = Kiss FM, Detroit |date=11 November 2009 | access-date = 6 February 2017}} within their city limits.

In 1930 the Windmill Theatre, opened in London, and began to present nude shows, British law prohibited performers moving whilst in a state of nudity.{{citation | last = Senelick | first = Laurence | contribution = nudity | editor-last = Banham | editor-first = Martin | title = The Cambridge guide to theatre | pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh/page/802 802–803] | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | year = 1995 | isbn = 9780521434379 | postscript = . | url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto0000banh/page/802 }} To get around that rule, models appeared naked in stationary tableaux vivants. To keep within the law, sometimes devices were used which rotated the models without them moving themselves. Fan dances were another device used to keep performances within the law. These allowed a naked dancer's body to be concealed by her fans or those of her attendants, until the end of an act, when she posed naked for a brief interval whilst standing stock still, and the lights went out or the curtain dropped to allow her to leave the stage.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In 2010, Iceland outlawed striptease.{{cite web | title = Legislation bans stripping in Iceland | url = http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=359882 | website = icelandreview.com | publisher = Iceland Review Online | access-date = 30 September 2011 | date = 24 March 2010 | archive-date = 1 December 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131201174014/http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=359882 | url-status = dead }} Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland's prime minister, said: "The Nordic countries are leading the way on women's equality, recognizing women as equal citizens rather than commodities for sale."{{cite news | last = Clark-Flory | first = Tracy | title = Iceland's stripping ban | url = http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/03/26/iceland_bans_stripping_strip_clubs | work = Salon.com | date = 26 March 2010 | access-date = 11 March 2015 }} The politician behind the bill, Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir, said: "It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold."

As the sex industry has grown and become a more established sector of national economies, sex workers—strippers included—have mobilized to negotiate or demand workplace rights. One means of collectivization pursued by strippers is the formation of labor unions, which involves formal membership. These strippers' unions have tended to focus on economic and workers' rights rather than civil rights, which constitutes a significant departure from the advocacy groups for prostitutes' rights that began in the 1970s and 1980s.{{Cite journal | last = Gall | first = Gregor | title = Sex worker collective organization: between advocacy group and labor union? | journal = Equality, Diversity and Inclusion | volume = 29 | issue = 3 | pages = 289–304 | doi = 10.1108/02610151011028877 | date = 2010 }} [http://www.ilera-directory.org/15thworldcongress/files/papers/Track_2/Poster/CS2T_1_GALL.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113008/http://www.ilera-directory.org/15thworldcongress/files/papers/Track_2/Poster/CS2T_1_GALL.pdf |date=7 February 2017 }} The stigma attached to sex work also creates another obstacle to organization because many strippers and other types of sex workers are uncomfortable with declaring their profession publicly, even in a movement to improve their work environment and benefits.{{Cite journal | last = Gall | first = Becki | title = 'Troublemakers' in tassels and c-strings: striptease dancers and the union question in Vancouver, 1965–1980 | journal = Canadian Review of Sociology | volume = 43 | issue = 3 | pages = 329–344 | doi = 10.1111/j.1755-618X.2006.tb02228.x | date = August 2006 }}

One potential critique of the organization of strippers and sex workers of other types is that people in management positions in these industries, who are in a position to perpetuate the exploitation that sex workers face, can infiltrate these labor organizations and lobby for the maintenance of a status quo.{{Citation | last= Marr | first=Stella |title=Pimps posing as 'sex worker activists' & conflicts of interest (blog) |publisher=Survivors Connect | via = WordPress |date=24 May 2012|url=http://survivorsconnect.wordpress.com/tag/international-union-of-sex-workers|access-date=16 May 2013}} {{registration required}}

The Striptease Artists of Australia formed in 2002. The SAA successfully negotiated an industrial award with the AIRC in 2006. Despite this establishment of an industry-wide minimum standard for labor rights, changes to employment legislature under a Conservative government enabled employers to utilize loopholes such as employing strippers as sub-contractors.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Another group, the Scarlet Alliance, has been involved in advocacy and projects geared towards improving the standing of sex workers since its inception in 1989. While labor rights are an important part of this group's agenda, it is not a labor union.

The International Union of Sex Workers is a branch of the GMB, a major general union in Great Britain.

In the 1980s, the Vancouver Exotic Dancers Alliance formed and was active for about a decade. The Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour was established in 2003.{{cite magazine|title=Labour pains|url=https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/labour-pains|first=Jenn|last=Clamen|date=31 December 2024|magazine=Briarpatch|quote=Parallel to this effort, in 2003, sex worker rights advocate and mentor Kara Gillies and I launched a collective called the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour.}}

The Lusty Lady of San Francisco is a notable example of collectivization of strippers in the U.S. When the strippers of the establishment successfully unionized in 1996 through the Erotic Dancers' Alliance, the owners of the club closed it. In response, the strippers formed a cooperative in 2003 to run the club themselves, renamed the Looking Glass Collective. The Lusty Lady closed in 2013.{{cite web |title=In a historic step, strippers at an LA bar unionize |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/16/1134667170/strippers-union-los-angeles-dancers-star-garden |website=NPR |first=Emma |last=Bowman |date=18 May 2023 }}

{{anchor|Star Garden}}In 2023, strippers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, California voted to unionize and join the Actors' Equity Association, which made them the only group of unionized strippers in the United States.{{cite news |title=Strippers have a new tactic in a North Hollywood labor fight. Organizing with an actors union |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-08-17/strippers-unionize-star-garden-north-hollywood-union-actors-equity-association |access-date=15 June 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=17 August 2022}}{{cite news |title=Dancers at this California topless bar to become only unionized strippers in U.S. |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-16/strippers-union-labor-strip-club-star-garden-topless-bar-north-hollywood-california |access-date=15 June 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=16 May 2023}}

{{Portal|Erotica and pornography|Human sexuality|Nudity|Sex work}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Bikini barista
• Bubble dance
• Burlesque
• Neo-Burlesque
• Exhibitionism
• Feminist stripper
• Gown-and-glove striptease
• Hunk-O-Mania
• List of strip clubs
• List of strippers
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• Sex workers' rights
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}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book | editor-last1 = Egan | editor-first1 = Danielle | editor-last2 = Frank | editor-first2 = Katherine | editor-last3 = Johnson | editor-first3 = Merri | title = Flesh for fantasy: producing and consuming exotic dance | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oqaqh7h0NCsC | publisher = Thunder's Mouth Press. Distributed by Publishers Group West | location = New York | year = 2006 | isbn = 9781560257219 |oclc=62901866 }}
• {{Cite book | editor-last = Frank | editor-first = Katherine | title = G-strings and sympathy: strip club regulars and male desire | publisher = Duke University Press | location = Durham, North Carolina; London | year = 2002 | isbn = 9780822329725 | oclc = 260110589 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=y-lw0_XzWM0C Details.]
• {{Cite journal |last=Trautner |first=Mary Nell |title= Doing gender, doing class: the performance of sexuality in exotic dance clubs | journal = Gender & Society | volume = 19 | issue = 6 | pages = 771–788 | doi = 10.1177/0891243205277253 | jstor = 27640850 | date = December 2005 |s2cid=17217211 }}

• {{commons category-inline|Strippers}}

{{nudity}}

{{sex}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stripper}}

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