I want a scene where MC1's "buddies" pay a dancer to give him a favor short of the "full deed" because they think he's a virgin or something. Of course, the gal is MC2 and when she tries to hustle him, they actually connect. Would this be done "above" or "under the table"? Would U.S. state matter? I've only ever lived in MI, so somewhere in the Midwest would be great.
All of them. Everywhere. Probably no exceptions. And the proper term is now "independent dancers," at least on paper. Most of that business is conducted privately through Instagram these days. Cash only. The strip club may take a cut depending on the setup. And there's almost always a "madame" or mother hen that coordinates the girls. Usually the wife of the owner. They often source clients and maintain the network with hotels, restaurants, and traveling secretaries. When clients come to town, there is a person who knows the person to call for a good time. Just a few weeks ago I had a big-time athlete in one of my restaurants with 8 strippers. The girls were local and he was obviously from out of town. But these same girls service all the out of town athletes for their road games. We've turned it into a game. When the Patriots schedule comes out, we see who's coming to town when and make predictions which players will have the most hookers.
Thanks a bunch! Will you elaborate on this, please? Might be a stupid question, but is IG somehow used in the club setting? Also, I heard elsewhere that clabs ensure independent dancers (I'm confused; you also used "strippers" and "hookers") only go home with designated rides, not customers. Is that still true? Was it ever?
I was being somewhat facetious. The commercials and paperwork (probably) uses the term "independent dancers" but regular people still uses hookers and strippers. And not all strippers are hookers and vice-versa. But a lot of them dabble in both for obvious reasons. Regarding IG, that's how Johns and Tricks find each other a lot of the time. And I'm sure they have other apps and things to facilitate. Why stand on a corner in 2023 when you can advertise clandestinely to the entire world? We're talking the professional escorts here; not turning a quick back-alley trick to buy drugs when needed. As for the rides for independent dancers, I have no idea. It makes sense for the strippers who just want to dance. But there's a LOT of subterfuge, codes, and willful ignorance in that line of work, for both the employees and employers. I really don't know much about the day to day ins and outs, but being in the hospitality industry my whole live, I've seen a lot of shit and met a lot of shady people. Plus I work with a bunch of knuckleheads that partake in these services that me stories that no clean boy like myself should be hearing. It should also be noted--and I'm not a lawyer, cop, or even 100% sure how this works--that paying for sex is not illegal but solicitating sex for money is. That's why escort services have been publicly available and advertised forever, though that may differ between states. Nevada obviously has its own thing going on. And I've seen some shit in Louisiana that... nevermind. But the way I understand it, you can have sex with a girl and give her $100 and there's no technical crime. The sex and the $100 are two separate, independent events. However, you can't ask a girl to have sex with you for $100, regardless of whether you do it or not. That solicitation for purposes of prostitution. And a girl can't advertise sexual favors in a way that can be legally proven, but there's nothing wrong with providing a dating service. Again, not a lawyer, but I'm witness to some shady circles and privy to things I probably shouldn't be. I've got some stories that would get me sued or killed quicker than you can say, "Guess who walked into the bar with a bunch of hookers last night?"
@Homer Potvin I can only marvel at your knowledge of seedy underhanded business practices, perhaps rivalled only by Moose's understanding of weapons, military procedure, and ways to kill people. It's good to have experts here on hand. (Wow, I hope that doesn't sound insulting, I totally don't mean it that way! I get it, you're adjacent.) One bit of knowledge I can contribute—in order for a stri—dancer to become a "featured dancer" (and I'm not sure exactly what that means, but they get to make a lot more money) they need to also be an 'adult performer' (aka pron star) and I believe also to have a couple of silicone-or-saline enhanced features right up front. At least I ran across that information somewhere. Apparently there's a pretty solid pipeline between strip clubs, porn, and the world's oldest profession. Oh, and add in plastic surgery. They might not all partake of all of the above, but apparently those industries go together like peanut butter, jelly and bread. It at least sounds like anyone who's a dancer for any length of time (especially if they attract a crowd) would at least be strongly pressured into the other related industries. Maybe something like the unholy alliance between weightlifting ex-athletes who are extremely charismatic, pro wrestling, and Hollywood action heroes. And maybe steroids standing in for the silcone enhancement procedures. This weird modern world that worships the artificial and the extreme. I think if I wanted a dancer character to seem down-to-earth I'd have her not be a featured dancer, but maybe she's been offered it and pressured toward it many times. Unless you're doing a story about people who worship the artificial and the extreme of course, or hilighting the horrors of those industries.
So just like we've seen in so many movies where the 'masseuse' says (I remember this specifically from Cat People, the 80's remake): "The massage is fifty bucks. For fifty bucks that's all you get. But you can offer a tip and I can provide certain other services. You can put the tip on Visa or Mastercard." Or those Cops videos where a police woman dresses like a hooker and stands on a street corner luring johns in, trying to get them to directly ask her for sex for money. Or the similar ones where an undercover cop hits up the sleazy end of town and tries to buy drugs from suspected dealers, and as soon as somebody agrees, a half dozen brawny cops pull up, jump out of their cars, and shout "You're under arrest!" followed by "Stop resisting!" and then usually a beatdown.
Thanks. Bit more specific question: in my city, apparently, even showing female nipples in clubs is prohibited, so I need to set the story in some other place. Decent opportunities for a struggling musician would be nice. And can I have the salsa on the side?
of course a seedy club might do things that are illegal, so you could still set it in your town and just have them break the law. That aside my experience of going to those sorts of clubs when i was much much younger and less clever than I am today, is that you pay the club for a private dance, what goes on in the room between you and the dancer after that is for the two of you to negotiate, there are dancers who will tell you no touching below the waist, and others who will do practically anything if the price is right. Its not something I'm exactly proud of but if you take a bunch of young men just back off duty in Ulster with a bunch of accumulated pay and pent up testosterone, and turn them loose on the Reeperbahn (hamburg red light area), these things happen.
Homer and I are shortly going to take over the city, he'll run the sheebeens, strip club and brothels, and i'll 'explain matters' to any other 'entrepreneurs' who object to our take over bid
Yeah, for instance they need to wear G stings in most places, full nude isn't allowed, but if a dancer likes you or you seem like an easy mark they might do a pullover—where they pull the G string over to the side. Also twerking orginated in stirp clubs apparently, because the dancers weren't allowed to—use their hands to show you certain things let's say, so they found that if you shake things in a certain way gravity, momentum and physics will reveal things you otherwise wouldn't be able to see. Learned all this from movies. And pasties can "Oops!" fall off. Clubs get raided all the time because they don't follow the laws. And I don't know all this from experience or anything, I went to a strip club twice. I was a total greenhorn noobie there, all bashful and lost. My friends tried to talk me into getting a private dance, but I didn't do it.
Clubs get raided because they don't bribe the Licensing Board or give free tuggies to the precinct shift supervisor. Politicians can't usually help in that regard unless they have direct influence on the police, typically by sitting on the budget committee. I can see I'm going to have to teach you guys everything.
This Tumblr post says I did an image search, and I don't see how this is practically possible on a stage raised to about the rail's level—unless you got on your hands and knees first, and even then... plus, ew! You'd lick your fingers?
If this is your reaction to something so tame, maybe you don't want to write about strippers. Or maybe go with a more cleaned-up Stripper With a Heart of Gold approach, without showing any of the club action, something like Pretty Woman. Or describe the action purely through metaphors, like I did a few times above.
Oh my bad—I keep forgetting. It's all buisnesses, they're only called seedy and underhanded if they get caught or are in bad neighborhoods or in obvious visible disrepair. Is this gonna be on the test?
The breadth and depth of experience on this thread leave me speechless. Okay, so little leaves me speechless, but I am entranced by the discussion. You mean apple picking, of course. Several years ago, I created a program for the local college entitled Shady Ladies. It is hosted in 1927 by a very proper retired schoolmarm attired in a dowdy dress, cloche, and gloves. Enough people signed up for the darn thing to be held twice the first semester with more people on a waiting list. That was followed by Shady Ladies II and Shady Ladies III. All three fill and overflow into long waiting lists every time they're offered. I've made a nice sum of money from very naughty subjects without ever so much as rolling down a stocking. It doesn't hurt that tea, coffee, and cookies are offered at the affair. Back before I was of an age to pass for a frumpy retired school teacher, I spent two years as a professional belly dancer. Yep. True story. Start to finish, 39 years dancing and/or teaching Middle Eastern dance. Perfectly respectable profession though there were those who didn't get the difference between what I did after the show and what some of my sisters in the g-strings did. Whenever I danced in a questionable venue, I took along my very own very large perfectly willing to bust heads pet biker. Having him escort me to the dance floor took care of most incidences before they happened and I never noticed that his presence hurt my tips, either. Ah, sweet days of youth when everything I've got now was three inches higher.
And now that you know of those activities, you know why the Beatles spent so much time performing there!
Back to the original point, though, it depends a lot on location. States will differ, and cities within states will differ. Just as an example, here in Amarillo, a club could have topless dancers, serve alcohol, and close at 02:00. In Dallas-Fort Worth, the closing times vary from 01:00 to 04:00, depending on the suburb, but all have no bottom-less dancers. And all offer lap dances in private rooms, and likely after-hours activities.
Not much, unless you're talking about paint strippers ... which a carpenter might use if he/she accidentally drops some of the wrong paint on a new table that he/she is building. (Yes, it's a bit of a reach, but I got there in the end! Huzzah!)
