User:Karstenwise

=English Composition=

Statement of Intent
The purpose of my writing will be to perform a study on gentlemen's clubs (a.k.a. strip clubs or titty bars). I do not intend to produce shallow writing, nor am I using this as an excuse to get a lapdance "for school". I think gentleman's clubs have a very interesting dynamic, it is a great place for people watching. It is not as if I frequent the local strip clubs but, the experiences I have had are certainly intriguing.

Overview

 * Compare and contrast Gentleman's clubs in San Fransico, New Orleans and Seattle. This will be mostly a research essay, stating the hard and fast facts comparing the three. (1200 word essay MLA format).


 * Write 4-5 dancer profiles (500 words each) about dancers (strippers) that were "memorable". I will write what about them made an impression on me. A dancer may have made an impression on me for various reasons, anything from their appearance, personality, attitude on stripping, pole dancing ability or social views (yes, dancers talk about that stuff too).

It should be noted that this will not be a "rating" of sorts of different dancers, it will focus on them as a person and why I think it is important to include what they had to say. Although it will be about them as a person, they are all tied together by the fact that they are dancers so some details about that are important I believe.


 * A short narrative on the Seattle icon, the Lusty Lady (600 words).


 * Journals about Deja Vu (Seattle), Crazy Horse (San Fransico) and Lipstixx (New Orleans). The intent of these will be recall personal experiences from these clubs. There will be multiple entries to the Deja Vu, and they will each be about seperate occasions (3), one entry for Crazy Horse and one for Lipstixx. All the journal entries will be writen from memory. The only exception is that I may go to the Deja Vu with the intention of people watching. (Journals will vary in length but will be no less than 750 words each, per entry. In other words 5-6, 750 word entries.)

It would be productive to include at least one journal about an experience that is done with the intention of going to a strip club for this project. (i.e. interviewing, people watching and so forth.)


 * One editorial that draws from the above pieces of writing, to be written at the end of the quarter. This piece will center on the role in our society strip clubs play. (400 words).

Rationale
I hope to write a series of pieces that will illustrate my view of the Gentleman's club and analyze their social worth, not in the terms of morality but in terms of the role they play in society, and what they say about us as a society.

Publication/Presentation
My work will be posted on Wikiversity as required. Depending on workload I may put my work together in a zine, and distribute it to the class at the end of the quarter.

Schedule
Order of events.


 * Week 2: Discuss statement of intent with Steve. Begin research paper.
 * Week 3: Begin Dancer Profile #1. Bring RD of research paper to class for peer edit.
 * Week 4: Post Dancer Profile #1, begin Profile #2. Post research paper. Begin Crazy Horse and Lipstixx journals.
 * Week 5: Post Dancer Profile #2, beign profile #3. Post Crazy Horse and Lipstixx journals. Start Deja Vu journal #1
 * Week 6: Post Dancer Profile #3, begin profile #4. Post Midterm report paper, Deja Vu journal #1. Start Deja Vu journals 2&3.
 * Week 7: Post Dancer Profile #4, begin profile #5. Post Deja Vu Journal #2. Continue Deja Vu journal #3.
 * Week 8: Post Dancer Profile #5. Post Deja Vu journal #3. Begin final editorial.
 * Week 9: Post editorial. Begin putting work into zine.
 * Week 10: Continue formatting zine & producing enough copies of the zine to distribute to class.
 * Week 11: Bring zines to class & final reading, probably editorial. Post self assessment.

Anticipated Problems
1. Overloading myself with work. I am not sure how I will cope with the amount of work I have assigned myself and the worl from my other classes plus my job. I have allowed time at the end of the quarter to possibly drop the zine in order to complete the actual writing.

2. For the most part I am calling on memory for these experiences, this might be some cause for writers block. However I am very good at remembering details about situations so I'm not too worried. If it is a problem I can make an educational trip to the Deja Vu.

3. I am concerned about making the zine aesthetically pleasing. All text would be pretty dry. I could pirate some artwork but then I might run into copyright law issues. As a photogrpahy major I would like to do some sort of voyeristic photo essay however, photography in a strip club is prohibited by law...

4. I hope I don't get distracted. I have ADD. I hope I can stay focused on my work and put ample effort into all the pieces I write.

5. Lastly I hope I do not become embarrassed by discussing my own experiences at a place so taboo as a strip club. I am generally a pretty open person so I should be okay.

Week 6 Project Review


Reader's Report


Project
Karsten Wise ENG 101 Steven Arnston Workshop, Week 3

When most of us hear the phrase “sex worker” we immediately think of a prostitute, or someone who performs sexual favors as a means of gaining income. We generally come up with some more derogatory names for such people as ‘slut’, ‘whore’ or ‘hooker’. Sex workers can be anything from strippers, pornographic actors, phone sex operators, escorts and prostitutes. The sex industry is a billion dollar industry, with porn grossing 13 billion dollars in 2008 (Harris). If the sex industry is something taboo in our culture, why is it so profitable? It shows a lot about us as a culture. Clearly our nation has a much larger sexual appetite than it would like to reveal. Porn is generally is a more prudent and private way of viewing erotic material, it can be viewed from the privacy of your home computer, laptop or mobile phone. Porn doesn’t generate the controversy that gentleman’s clubs, which are more often referred to as strip clubs, do. Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and a committee proposed referendum 1, which would impose a rule that would prohibit exotic dancers or strippers from being within 4 feet of club patrons (Galloway). This paired with Washington State law prohibiting smoking and drinking alcohol in such clubs would make some of the strictest strip clubs, more strict. The 4 feet rule would have made the lap dance obsolete in Seattle, this would have lowered strip club income greatly. 4 major clubs in the Seattle area invested over $850,000 to block the referendum, which was defeated by the voters. Nickels and his committee cited ties to organized crime and detrimental impacts on public health as their reasons for attempting to institute such restrictions at strip clubs (Galloway). It was clearly an attempt to take out local strip clubs, probably for morality, or perception of the city. One supporter of the restrictions, Sally Clark said, “I know there’s a lot of argument over the real impact versus the perception. (But) people take that perception pretty darned seriously.”(Galloway). This demonstrates that in our culture we would rather ignore something that is risqué, or make sure that public had a favorable perception of what was going on. In Portland, Oregon, strip clubs are far more progressive, as they are protected by Oregon’s constitution which provides very liberal free speech rights (Brunner). Portland is home to the first recorded pole dance in 1968, It was performed by Belle Jangles (stage name) at Mugwumps strip joint (response source). Perhaps since Portland is the “birthplace of pole dancing”, is the reason Portland is home to approximately 50 strip clubs. Their strip club per capita ratio is one club per 10,660 residents, compared to Seattle, with a ratio of one club per 143,500 residents (Brunner). Portland police say, “The strip clubs per se do not create a bigger crime problem for the neighborhood versus any other liquor establishment. Strip establishments have been a part of our country since early in the 20th century, demonstrating that America has long had a fascination with the taboo. Theatre Republic in New York became one of the first prominent striptease clubs in 1931 when Bill Minsky transformed the theatre into a full time strip club. But as long as there have been strip clubs, there has been moral opposition to such institutions, and Minsky’s burlesque club was shut down in 1942. Renamed as the Victory Theatre, it became Times Square’s first XXX theatre. Victory theatre was recently renovated and has now transformed into a “children and family” theatre(New 42nd St.). Why are strip clubs often the target of our morality crusades? By not voting to institute the 4 foot ordinance in Seattle voters are showing that they are not ready to give up these places, but at the same time no one is running to the defense of strip clubs. If strip clubs are constitutionally protected by free speech laws why are we as a culture embarrassed to be patrons of such places? Where are we learning that it is wrong to go to a strip club even though it is not against the law?

Galloway, Angela. "In strip club debate, many keep their distance." Seattle Post Intelliger. 01 NOV 2006. Seattle Post Intelliger, Web. 21 Jan 2010. .

Brunner, Jim. "When it comes to strip clubs, Portland has nothing to hide." Seattle Times. 02 NOV 2006. Seattle Times, Web. 21 Jan 2010. .

Harris, Gardiner. "H.I.V. Found in 22 Actors in Sex Films Since 2004." New York Times. 12 JUN 2009. New York Times, Web. 21 Jan 2010. .

"About the New Victory Theatre." The New Victory Theatre. 2006. New Victory Theatre, Web. 21 Jan 2010. .

"International Pole Dancing Day." Response Source. 07 AUG 2006. responsesource.com, Web. 21 Jan 2010. .

Dancer profile #1 anonymous

I interviewed a dancer that I met at little darlings in Seattle. She is friends with my sister and consented to an interview. I am choosing to post this profile in interview form, because I think that this will provide the information better than me picking and choosing which quotes to include. She has asked to keep her identity concealed. The only edits I have made to the interview are those to protect her identity. The interview was done via email.

1. How/when/why did you become a dancer? How I became a dancer, I got a breast augmentation in March of 2008 and have been talking about it ever since I got my boobs done. I guess I became more confident in my skin to actually think about dancing. When did I? I tried out in April of 09 at lake city deja vu, worked there for 2 weeks and decided it wasn’t for me. I had no clue what I was doing, and ironically I recruited my friend first to try it out and tell me how it went, she said it was great so that’s why I went there. She was more comfortable at it then I was so I quit. It wasn’t what I thought. August of 09, my lease was up and I moved to nyc for a month, danced there...it was pretty cool, I was in the middle of Time square. You can drink alcohol at strip clubs in NYC. In Washington, you cannot. Guys will spend more money when there is alcohol involved. I made at least 2000 in a week in NYC, plus there is more money in NYC then Seattle. I moved back to Seattle in October and my friend Scarlett (dancer name), whom I’ve known for a few years, started dancing at Little Darlings which is a sister club to Deja vue (no one at Little Darlings, including my management, knows I worked at deja vue or I wouldn’t be allowed to work at Little Darlings) I did amateur night at Little Darlings in November and they paid for my license the next day. I’ve been working there ever since. 2. Generally speaking so you enjoy your job? I get asked this question a lot. I enjoy the ability to make as much money as i want. Your in complete control with this profession. I’m not a reliable person when it comes to working, my work ethic is horrible. Same as far as school goes. I cant commit to anything or anyone. I like change, repetitiveness gives me anxiety and depression. So I have full control with my schedule and money at a dancer. plus I love to dance. You can dance however you like on stage but once you watch girls dance, you tend to start dancing like them...more sexual then techniqual. I use to take hip hop and jazz for years. My passion is dancing. I enjoy myself on stage. its the best part of the job, in my opinion. I dont mind being naked infront of people. Besides the stage, talking to different people is interesting. I meet different characters everyday. Sometimes annoying but other times not so bad. I use to have horrible anxiety unless I was drunk. So this job gave me the opportunity to grow up. I was forced to talk to guys or i wouldnt make money. I chose not to drink at work because i want to know exactly what is going on at all times. 3. How do your friends/family feel about it? My 2 older sisters think its sad but we just dont talk about it. My mom thinks positive in everything that I do so she looks at it as a way to make money and to keep myself above water in this economy. My dad and I havent really talked about it. He knows what I do and that I make my own money now, which is different from how my life use to be before I moved to Nyc. My dad has been supporting me my entire life till I chose to move to NYC in August.. He cut me off finacially. So this job made me grow up and its my money now so I had to be wise on how I spent it. Before dancing, I had no finacial limitations. I was free to do whatever but now it's scary. I had to grow up. But it's made me grow up and I see things so differently now, not to mention I have alot of pride now that I make my own money. I havent asked my parents for money in 7 months, for me...that is a big deal. and for my parents as well. My dad and I never fight anymore.

4. How are the interactions/relationships between girls at work? Scarlett, the dancer/friend who hooked me up with Little Darlings, her and I had a falling out over something that happened, outside of work. Didnt have anything to do with work. There was a little bit of drama at work in November. She was talking about me behing my back to get all the girls to hate me. It worked for a second. my dancer shoes were stolen. I had to manipulate my way back into the circle of girls, so I didnt have to watch my back at work. I havent seen Scarlett in months, so Im not even sure if she still works there. Ever since the new license renewal happened January 1st, half of Little Darlings girls left. We just hired a lot of new girls, so it's new territory. Im no longer the new girl. and I get along with everyone now that Scarlett has disappeared. The reason why the other girls at work hated me was because Scarlett started a rumor that I was a "dirty" girl. When she knows Im the cleanest girl there. I know who are dirty girls, the ones that will do anything for extra money. Our dances are 20 at work and if you ask for more then 20, because your showing more or doing other things while giving a private dance, is prositution. We have a few at our club. and i I am not one of them. but Im super care free so I never even pay attention to who is dirty or not. I just don't care about anyone but myself when Im at work. Im not at the club to make friends however Ive met 2 very sweet girls that I would hang out with outside of the club. but other then that, I stick to myself. Its a business, I am there to make money and support myself. I just wish other girls would do the same. Ever since Scarlett left, whom is only 19 years old and I will be 23 in March....things have changed. No more drama. 5. Is it true that most dancers prefer dancing for women? why? That is just a myth. if any dancer says that, its because they are either A. more comfortable dancing for a female- its just like a female sometimes would rather have a female doctor then a male. its just a boundary issue. or B. They are sexually attracted to females and have more fun dancing for a female then a male. 6. Have you ever been asked to give a dance and refused? Ive never had a man that has asked me and I refused. Im not opposed to saying no. I just never felt uncomfortable with a guy enough to say no. Yet ;) I know girls who have said no, and the man calls them a slut or bitch. Every dancer has her rules and standards. It definitely differs. 7. Do dancers have a knack for picking out audience members who are of better financial standing, in other words will be more profitable? Some girls won't dance for anyone who looks 25 or younger. I dont have an age range. I look at who they are, how they are dressed and if they ordered a diet coke or water. The drink for me is a big thing. because even if they like water, most men wont order water from a club unless they lack money. Thats just my theory. 8. What is your general perception of strip club patrons? Men that come in range from super creeps to horny married men who want to be in a fantasy land. Were just there for them to get away from reality for a second. I just hope my husband doesnt come to a strip club. I wouldnt want him looking at other women naked, or paying women. While I was his wife. Commtiment is a big thing for me when Im with someone and my feelings are involved, because It rarely happens. 9. Do you think our society has a reasonable perception of dancers? Things change over the years in strip clubs. Ive researched and watch documentaries on dancers since I was 12. I never imagined I would be doing it now but it is what it is. Im in denial at work. I only see what I want to see. Dancers are secretive, whether their prosituting themselves, drinking at work or doing drugs. Everything is hidden. at my club atleast. Little Darlings is considered the Mcdonalds happy meal of Strip clubs in Seattle. Were not dirty. but thats a lie because Ive seen it all. Its just not talked about. Which is unfair to the clean girls, because us clean girls have to work twice as hard for our money when were competing with girls who will give it up for an extra 10 dollars. It's ridiculous. 10. You said you get a vibe from audience members, what vibe did you get from me and my two friends? I thought you guys were there just to watch. Which I believe I was right about. I like to atleast talk to everyone or atleast 1 person in a group that comes in, because my vibe has been off a couple times when I thought I wouldnt make any money with a certain customer and then they happen to spend 500 on me in an hour. It's difficult, as a dancer I really shouldnt judge customers when they come in but I do, we all do. It's just like we don't want to be judged for stripping, but we're judged all the time. You can't help but judge us for what we do because its socially unacceptable. taking off your clothes for money doesnt take brains, so we're considered uneducated fools when that is far from the truth...half of the time. 11. Do dancers actually make "connections" with patrons or is that a ploy to make the customer more comfortable? I can only answer this from my experiences and how I feel. I dont fake connections with people or fake that I enjoy their conversation. When Im talking to a customer, I can get up in the middle of the conversation if I am bored and decide I dont want to dance for them. Im real, I just ask how their day is and what they do for a living/fun just to see who I would eventually be dancing for. Then i ask if they want a dance, and thats how far the conversation is. It's always about them though. I make sure the conversation stays on them so they don't find out anything about me. Plus it's suppose to be about the man. That's why they are there. For some attention from a nice women. However, It differs with every girl. Ironically I just met a man for the first time that I found super attractive, we exchanged numbers and I have a date with him next week. Ive never met a guy at work and I thought I wouldnt, but things change. You cant plan how things go at the club, you might have rules and restrictions but once you interact with customers, youll never know how things turn out. A couple dancers at my work have married a guy theyve met at the club. So It's like you ask yourself, is it ok to date someone whom you've met at a strip club? or is that off limits? It just depends. It's a grey area. 12. What is the most uncomfortable situation you have been in at work, and how did you cope? Ive never had an uncomfortable situation happen till just recently last week, a guy asked how much my dances are, he said 30? and I replied "No, mine are 20" But he didnt hear it or pretended like he didnt, because the next second he lifted up his shirt saying he likes his nipples rubbed and then he ripped off my bikini top and grabbed my breasts extremely hard. I pretty much screamed and got up. demanded my money and left. I felt like i was molested. I still have been thinking about it. I dont know if It's because It's still fresh but I felt so disrespected, like I was a doll and he could do anything he wanted to. As if I was numb and have no feelings. That incident happened because he has gotten dances from "dirty" girls. The girls who think they are trash so they let guys do whatever they want to them. Im not like that, so it really upset me that he thought he could do that even when I said no. Pretty traumatizing. 13. Ever been stood up by a patron?

What do you mean by this question, have I ever been rejected when asking him if he wants a dance? Yes I get rejected everyday. Men like what they like, if Im not what it is, that doesnt bother me at all. Every man I dance for I wouldnt look twice at out of the club, so its the same for guys when they come in, they know what they want. That is why we have such a big variety of women at the club to choose from. About how often does this happen do you think?- I make good money. however I get rejected by poor guys who admit they have no money, more then guys who i can tell dont like my look. 14. Why did you decide to come up to me that night? My girl friend and I decided to talk to you and your guyfriend because we just got to work and didnt have very good luck with the customers so we made it a rule to talk to everyone that night. We set goals throughout the night. with ourselves or with a group of girls.

16. How did you decide on your stage name?

I dont even know how I chose my stage name. I like boy names for girls, anonymous is a cute name. the group of girls I hang out with at work, ironically, all have guy names. Anonymous, anonymous and anonymous. You can refrain from using our names in your project though :)

Dancer Profile #2 Jasmine

I met Jasmine during my second visit to the déjà vu (journal from this experience will be posted later). She was not aggressive when she came up to me, I think this is why I was initially drawn to her. Plus, she didn’t sound like her brain was empty when we exchanged pleasantries, she made small talk and asked me if I would like a dance instead of putting her tits in my face and asking if I wanted to “cum play in the back”. I would guess she stood at about 5’6” without her dancing shoes on. She was a little curvy but had smallish breasts. She was Filipino and white, her face reminded me of Hayden Panettiere. She had the rolling stones logo tattooed on her hip. She wasn’t a ‘dirty” girl who would charge an extra ten dollars and let you frisk her up while she danced for you, but she was okay with my hands on her hips which made the situation less awkward than sitting on my own hands. She was the first girl who had ever danced for me that was able to maintain conversation with me for an extended period of time. I spent 180 dollars on her, 20 of which was a tip and they had a 3 dance for 40 dollar special so, $160/40=4 sessions * 3 songs per session= 12 songs at 3 minutes or so each = 36 minutes! We talked about our school, she had gotten a scholarship to Seattle University then lost it for poor grades, she noted a boyfriend who was a bad influence being the cause. She was now enrolled at Seattle Central community college and was saving to go to Western after she got her associates degree. She was extremely confident while she was dancing, while we were talking she constantly maintained eye contact, she did not seem embarrassed about her job, she was just making a living. About halfway through she stopped dancing, and complained that the music wasn’t her taste, I noted the tattoo on her hip and asked if she was an old rock fan, she said, “I love the stones!” and continued dancing. I asked her if she had seen Annie Leibovitz’s work from when she was their tour photographer. Indeed Jasmine had a reproduction print of a portrait of Mick Jagger done by Leibovitz. Jasmine was the dancer that originally got me interested in talking to strippers, seeing what they have to say. Although their profession is often looked down upon, there are many different types of women who dance and I realized I was quite intrigued with learning how different women came to be dancers, and what they had to say about the profession.