The stripping industry is flat

It's official: The stripping industry is flat

Encouraging words, those! I happened on a story on CNN.com about how the brothel industry is being negatively affected in Nevada by our fuel shortages. Of course that caught my eye… I do work in the sex industry, after all. It was actually an article about brothels giving out gasoline cards to customers. In essence, it reported that brothels are legal in 10 of Nevada’s 17 counties. Many of the brothels are in rural areas, along interstate corridors. They tend to be frequented by truckers. Many of those truckers are independents, and they pay for their fuel out of their own pockets. With the rising costs, they have less disposable cash to use for “entertainment” purposes.

Several brothel owners were interviewed in both rural and city areas. The brothels in city areas seem to be doing better because they rely on tourists. Some have even seen an up-tick in business. But the rural ones are down by as much as 25%. That is a big hit! So they are using gas cards to the tune of $100 per $500 spent, and other offers, to lure customers through the door.

One of the interviewees mentioned that they are having more women applying for work in the brothels. He maintains that with the “escort services and stripping industry flat” more women are leaving those areas to find steadier work in the brothels. Hmm. I wondered about that, because we (dancers) have been noticing a significant drop in the number of customers coming through our doors. So Sunday, I was tired and burned out, and just did not have the strength to “play the game” any longer. I left feeling kind of pissy. One of the dancers saw my mood as I left and shook her finger at me. “No! Do NOT go there!” she warned. She knows me too well already. I went for a sandwich at a local burger joint and decided to review the Sunday strip scene in Portland Oregon.

1. Top Hat and Tails – This was the first club I worked at long term. I worked there for a few months. It was closed. I had heard it was so lifeless it was being converted to a sports bar. I wasn’t very sad, to be honest. It was a real hole… the worst place I have ever worked ‘cause of all the knives, guns, drugs, and all sorts of crimes. The last night I worked there was Thanksgiving Friday.

2. JD’s – Across the “triangle” from Top Hat. Slow. The bartender said it’s been slow. But she asked me to audition, so I did. She wants me on the schedule. We’ll see. It would mean dancing for 10 hours straight on a Saturday or Sunday, and 6 hours on the other day. That is a lot of dancing on top of a 45- or 50-hour day job.

3. Viewpoint – Closed on Sundays. (So is Casa Diablo, by the way.)

4. Club 92 – This was my other long-term club. Closed. I had heard the city bought it to raze it and make a park-n-ride for the new MAX. It was stripped of signs, so I guess the rumors were true. I felt a tinge of sadness. Ask any dancer what marked their experience at 92 and she will always tell you, “Walking past that damned grill and oil fryer in the kitchen to get to the dressing room.” Kind of scary in 6” stripper heels with 3 or 4 drinks in you. And hot as you came back sweating from a long hard set on stage. My last night there was Thanksgiving.

5. Tommy’s on 81st & Foster – Dead. Slow overall.

6. Devil’s Point on 51st & Foster – Busier, with a dozen or more customers, but most were ignoring the stage. They said it gets busy after 9 though, with their shows.

7. Tommy’s on 35th & Powell – Dead.

8. Cocktails and Dreams across 35th from Tommy’s – Dead. A shower stage with a dancer and no audience. Two empty pole stages. Three or four customers at the bar. Two guys and a gal at a pool table. One of the bar patrons snagged me on my way out and engaged me in small talk. I politely worked my way loose after answering all the prerequisite questions about boyfriend/husband, etc. Another one snagged me. I just said I was researching bars and left him high and dry. I figured if he really was interested he could ask the other guy. Ha! Like that is going to happen. Sorry guys… not cheap, not easy. Divvy it up and figure it out.

9. Lucky Devil on Powell just before the bridge – (Is that 8th or so?) It was dead. Two dancers on the patio, two customers on laptops. I knew one of the dancers, so we caught up on all that has happened since we last saw each other last fall. Her little girl is riding without training wheels now. Nice! Her girl is just SO cute! Then she wanted to show me a new pole trick. Wow! That girl… I met her in an Industry Pole class being taught by Áine at Brassy Butterfly. This woman has taken pole to a new level. She would start with a classic inversion. I would be thinking, “Ok, I know this one.” Then she would give us this little look from upside down that she does so well, drop about six inches down the pole (making my heart leap) and Pow! into a different position that just looked impossible to maintain. As I would start to get nervous, thinking she was going to land on her head, she would give us another little look and Pop! into yet another position a few more inches down the pole. She just kept doing that. I was so impressed, and so ENVIOUS! That is the kind of pole I strive to do. Alas, I am not that muscular or athletic. Or artistic. I don’t know that I will ever get this body to do that. For one thing you need to dance a LOT to get there. When I danced four days a week, I improved a lot faster than I do now just dancing two days.

So anyway, nine clubs later and I would agree that yes, the stripping industry seems to be flat overall. Especially on a Sunday evening of a very hot summer day. All the clubs except Devil’s Point reported the same thing.

Unlike Nevada, Oregon has no (legal) brothels, so I guess I will just keep dancing.

June 30, 2008