OUR JOB IS REAL.
OUR WORK IS VALID.
and
WE DESERVE FAIR & SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS.
It is not a luxury to have our safety come before the comfort of a customer,
Regardless of his wallet size.
It is not a luxury to keep a majority of the money we earned for the work we did.
It is not a luxury to be employed without being:
discriminated against, harassed, assaulted, intimidated and extorted
by VIP hosts, management, owners, or any other employee of the club who feels so fucking entitled.
It is not a luxury to retain the rights of an independent contractor,
Without fear of losing our job,
When we are not being paid an hourly wage or provided health benefits.
IT IS NOT A LUXURY TO BE RESPECTED.
Regardless of your race, gender, size
Regardless of how we got into the industry,
Regardless of how much we earn.
To My Stripper-Sisters,
I deeply relate to the complexities involved with not internalizing shame and feelings of less-than put upon us by the patriarchy.
I too still grapple with justifying the validity of my work as a Stripper solely with those big money nights.
I understand how it can sometimes feel like the only way to prove how funding our lives and dreams with Stripping is "worth it,"
Is if we have bigger, better and more than civilians...
As if our stacks, passport stamps and Louboutin's, are our best defense from the hurt society throws at us for something they were taught to be afraid of.
This is not to say that having financial/lifestyle goals and working hard to attain them isn't important.
It's to say that ONLY feeling like the work we do is valid when we are rolling in the dough is directly related to the harmful belief that Stripping is not a "real job."
TO UNDERMINE STRIPPING AS A "REAL JOB" MAKES IT INCREDIBLY HARD TO BELIEVE WE DESERVE BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS.
We are consenting people providing a service to other consenting people who wish to pay for it.
That money then goes on to allow us, at it's most basic level,
To live.
So whether it's an average night, a terrible night or a super fucking lit night-
Let us do ourselves a favor, and remind ourselves (and if you have to, fake it till you feel it):
OUR JOB IS REAL.
OUR WORK IS VALID.
and
WE DESERVE FAIR & SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS.
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