The STOPLight

Strip clubs: An insider's view

David Sherman spent 14 years managing various strip clubs in the United States. Five years ago lie left that business and now tells others what really goes on in these clubs. This article is taken from testimony he gave to the Ethics and Constitutional Law Committee of the Michigan State House of Representatives on January 12, 2000.

Having been involved in the adult entertainment industry for fourteen years, I am very aware of the consequences this business can have on all involved. There are tremendous negative effects on entertainers, communities, local businesses, as well as families.

Right from the start, drug and alcohol use is rampant. The dancers call it partying. They don't realize that they are medicating themselves in order to do the work they do.

The argument that the girls are only putting themselves through school is a farce. Very few of the girls even attend classes once they are making the kind of money that they do. Soon they are working until 2, 3 or 4 a.m., leaving them in no shape to get up and go to classes. Very few of these girls finish school.

The abortion rate is extremely high. Most dancers have lost contact with family members. They also feel they could never take the chance on flawing their body from carrying a child. Additionally, the dancers believe they have no way to support a baby without dancing, and therefore can't quit to have one. Basically, they are caught in a very real, painful Catch-22.

The girls, if they have never danced, are usually extremely against it. Most of the time they are hired as waitresses, even though waitresses are not needed. This makes the atmosphere become a part of their life. They start to see stripping as a job-not as stripping-and are converted quite easily to dancing. Once dancing, they get used to being objectified. It becomes as important to them to hear how beautiful they are 200 times a day as it is to actually make the money from the dancing.

Between the use of drugs to medicate what they do and hearing how beautiful they are all the time, they soon experience what I call Basic Dancer Attitude: it no longer matters what friends, children, husband and families think about her. They can be replaced because all of the patrons idolize her. Now, the dancers are truly caught in the "adult" scene. With friends and family gone from their lives, they exist alone in this subculture which is now their normal lifestyle.

After a couple of years, the dancer realizes she is getting older and attempts to fit back into society. She tries boyfriends, school, or really anything to cling to what is "normal." Realizing that she cannot live in both worlds, she returns to the subculture of the adult business, actually despising the real world. This leads to more dependency on drugs and alcohol.

The dancers will continue living like this until they realize they can no longer stay at their "current level" and keep making money and getting the compliments. Once they realize this, they begin to master more perverse things to earn money, to make up for fading looks and dancer burnout.

The cycle then becomes even more vicious with depression, drugs, alcohol and body mutilation to stay thin. They realize they can no longer keep up with the new and younger girls so they leave, going to one of five places:

1. A very filthy, nasty club that's full of girls in their position. Here they perform and do some of the most vile and filthy acts you can imagine to make money.
2. Prostitution, meeting customers outside of the club. The club now becomes a place for them to meet new "clients".
3. Marriage, just to be able to survive. But the addictions to drugs and alcohol normally shatter and destroy these relationships.
4. School, to become productive citizens, but the frequency of this is around 1 of 50.
5. They become society's throwaway people. They are degraded, abused, and even sold by the people who own these establishments.

Three stories

Here are three examples of what can and often does happen to a young, innocent woman who naively gets sucked into the sexually oriented business industry:

1. She was a pretty, intelligent 20-year-old girl who came into the business as a waitress. She was, from what I could see, from the upper middle class and a loving Christian family. She attended a state university, was fluent in several languages, and carried a 3.8 grade point average. She soon became interested in stripping. She started dancing and very quickly got caught up in the lifestyle of drugs, alcoholism, and lesbianism. I watched her life deteriorate for about two years. She has, as far as I know, gone on to graduate from school. But, still after five years, has not left this subculture and only fallen deeper into it.
2. Another young lady was a nice, 19-year-old pharmacy major at a university. She too started as a waitress and soon converted to dancing. After about eight months, her family found out what she was doing and did everything in their power to get her to quit. But by this time, she was making enough money and doing enough drugs to think she could handle life on her own. Her family lost all contact, and she lost all control. She disappeared into this subculture and I haven't heard of her since, and that has been over three years ago.
3. Another young victim was a medical student. Her husband of only two weeks worked in one of these adult clubs. Being newlyweds, they needed money but she did not want to dance. After waitressing for a brief time, she easily converted to dancing. The life quickly consumed her. She moved to another city for her medical career but soon quit school and started dancing at a club there. Divorce quickly followed, and she went on to another state doing drugs and making XXX films. I recently learned she has contracted AIDS after about two years in the pornography film business and is now working in a fast food restaurant in San Diego.

The manager's role

Every female employee the manager hires-waitress, hostess, or bartender-is treated as a potential dancer.

The manager makes the girl feel at home in an environment that is abnormal. This is easily accomplished by having her work as many hours as possible and by having all of the management and staff treat them as if they were long-lost friends.

After a few weeks, when the girl thinks the manager is her friend, he mentions he needs more dancers that night, possibly for the amateur contest. He asks her to please help, that she doesn't need to take her clothes off, but the club just needs an extra body. Usually, they happily agree to do this. He then has her change into dancing attire, usually a skimpy dress, a teddy, g-string or a t-bar (which is a very small pair of panties). Often, the girls, having become used to the environment and the nudity, are intoxicated with being on stage and are lured out of their clothing by the other girls, customers, and promises of large tips.

If the girl has still not taken her clothes off, the manager continues to work on her. He may take her out for dinner, drinks, and small talk, "my treat". Of course, the club always writes this off! Returning to the club she now believes that they're good friends, plus she is under the influence of alcohol. At this point, she easily disrobes on the customer's request with the other girls welcoming a new dancer into their ranks. The experienced dancers will then go on about how beautiful she is and how much money she'll make.

Of course, even now, she still might not disrobe. But, by this point, a manager can make her feel guilty about not helping out more. He will ask her to please disrobe, as without her, he'll not make much money that night. She is needed. People who need her and customers who tell her how beautiful she is, surround her.

She now experiences a variety of emotions and, being human, needs to be needed. She finds herself wanting to be complimented, which she is, and she wants to make money, which she can. The manager then plays on "what more can a girl want?"; the subject of self-worth never really comes up.

If she still has not disrobed, the manager lets her know he no longer needs her for her current position, but dancing is open if she wishes to still work at the club. This approach does not work unless she has incurred debts and needs the money, or she doesn't want to lose her new friends.

If she stays, the manager must start training her to be a professional. This means changing almost everything about her including her personality. She must learn to say whatever it takes to make money.

Mandatory meetings are set for all the girls. This time is mostly used to program the girls. You let them know what you want and motivate them by whatever it takes.

Managers program the girls to have regular customers. A regular customer is a man who believes a girl actually cares for him, making his fantasy world complete. With all the regular clients, the club is guaranteed a steady income and solid revenues. The new dancer starts running around with the more seasoned girls, and they realize how much easier this job is being drunk, high, or more often than not, both. By now she's working until 2 a.m., staying out all night partying after work, and then grabbing a breakfast with the girls. They wake up, go to work, and the cycle starts all over.

At this point anything the manager asks or demands of the girl will gladly be done because the club is now her home. The girls don't realize this is their only world now, and the manager has total control over their lives. The girls will put up with degradation, verbal, and emotional abuse from the manager.

Soon the dancer finds herself not being complimented as much or making the money she did at first. Because of the drugs and alcohol, she finds herself aging fast and losing her looks. Of course, this now leads to a downward spiral of more drinking, partying and drugs. Many opt for plastic surgery in one form or another because in their own eyes, their looks are what they are worth.

Customers

I've found that there are five categories of customers that visit the clubs.

Customer one is usually 28 to 50,married or recently divorced. He almost always becomes not only a pornography addict but also a "fantasy" addict. He is lured in for just a glimpse of the "other side." But once there, the well-trained dancer learns his weaknesses and strengths, and, knowing what buttons to push, soon has him as her "regular." He is soon there three to four times a week, seeing only one dancer, believing she is his girlfriend. I've seen regulars leave their children in a car in the parking lot for hours while they lived out their fantasies. I could write pages on customer number one as far as bad decisions he makes trying to carry on his "love affair" with dancers.

Customer two is 18 to 30, there for a bachelor party, birthday, college party, etc. About 15% of these will return again and again to the club.

Customer three is the majority of your night business. He is 25 to 30, comes in maybe one or twice a month, and either feels a friendship there or maybe has a need being fulfilled. He teeter-totters on the edge of becoming a regular. It only takes the right girl or the right experience and he easily falls into that category.

Customer four is 45 to 70 or in the 18 to 25 age bracket. He comes in only once in a great while for special events, special entertainers, or business meetings. Most of the time, this will be the only time you see him. A very small percentage of these will become a number one customer.

The fifth and most dangerous customer is the person there merely for his drug trade. Many clubs have several of these people all intertwined together in this dark world. With girls wanting drugs, number five has them and the club in his control.

Speaking out

I could easily fill a book with all I've observed in this business. I've seen countless lives destroyed and unbelievable heartache. That's why I want to educate the public about what's going on and encourage legislative action which will ensure the safety of many people's lives.

David Sherman is the founder and director of The National Organization Against Lewd Activities (NOALA). Contact David for speaking engagements, consulting about legislation, or more information and referrals about the adult entertainment industry.

1-800-552-1901