The number one thing that dancers like about stripping is the money. Most women expressed that, at least in the beginning , to be given rolls of cash for making conversation, drinking freely, and giving the occasional private dance was very exciting.
For many dancers, like Laura, who is 19 years old, money made from stripping also allowed them much needed financial security , and the means to provide some luxuries for their children. Laura said:. It's helped our life a lot because financially speaking β I moved out when I was 16, had my little boy at Whereas now, in two weeks I'm doing a big haunted house for all the kids in the neighborhood. I've put thousands of dollars into it just for the kids, and we're still okay.
Birthday parties, Christmas, wanting to just go to the zoo, or do something β that's a possibility now, and it's really not that hard for me to achieve because our work is so flexible and we can work as much as we want. So I can just work an extra night and these things are possible. Some of the women I interviewed also shared stories of men who gave them a large sum of money without expecting any sexual favors in exchange.
These experiences are important to dancers not only because it is gratifying to receive a gift of money but also because they reaffirm the woman's belief in the generosity of some clients. Dana's story is typical of these lucrative encounters with clients:. I had a really good customer come in, a younger guy, and I totally didn't trust him either.
He always wanted to go out, and I thought he was married. I still wonder to this day if he was married. But he came in, and on my birthday last year he brought in seven or eight hundred dollars: here you go, no strings attached, no anything. I thought that was really neat.
