‘Feminist’ Strippers Keep Bristol Strip Club Open

[Thesepreciousthings]

Can’t link to any of the articles as they are all subject to subscription. Can anyone find one? It was just discussed on Jeremy Vine.

Campaigners fought for the club not to renew it’s license. The feminist strippers who work at the club maintain that by working as a stripper they are earning so well that they are, in fact, exploiting the men who frequent the joint.

My argument is that by working in the industry their ‘choice’ is reinforced by a society that measures women based on their sexual appeal, body shape and general objectification. That one of the ways a woman can earn good money is through sex work as opposed to working their way up in a city bank (for example). I believe that the money they are paid reinforces the idea that a woman’s work is defined by her physical sex instead of her intellectual capability.

Thoughts?

How does getting your kit offin front of random guys empower anyone
Empower what a loada shite some idiots can come out with

The OP, Thesepreciousthings wrote - "The feminist strippers who work at the club maintain that by working as a stripper they are earning so well that they are, in fact, exploiting the men who frequent the joint."

I do not believe that a man is exploited if he voluntarily gives some of his income to strippers when they strip for him. The man gets what he wants at a price he is prepared to pay.

Claiming that strippers exploit men seems to me to be like claiming e.g. Victorian mill workers exploited the mill owner because the owner paid a small amount of his income to each worker.

Exploitation is about more than payment. Exploitation is about power.

You’re right Vesuvius.

Naming a price for which you will provide a sexual based service is not exploiting the person willing to pay, it is simply putting a price on your own self worth . They don’t even see ‘you’ they see a sexual object and they pay for it. The power lies with the person willing to pay, not someone waiting around for them to turn up.
Btw they’re certainly not gentleman- I hate that title gentleman’s clubs- seedy gits clubs is more fitting.

I think the power lies with the person who takes the money and pays the wages.

Claiming that strippers exploit men seems to me to be like claiming e.g. Victorian mill workers exploited the mill owner because the owner paid a small amount of his income to each worker.

Yes, this!

It's sad that in about 10 years time these women will desperately regret that they campaigned for this.

The ignorance of youth is a very dangerous thing.

I think when people use the term empowered in this regard they actually just mean employed. If they were really empowered I’d expect them to do something inspirational and admirable with that new found power; taking their clothes off for men’s satisfaction could not be less apposite.
Men must be thrilled with the misappropriation of the term empowerment.

X posted with EJenninhs who articulated the point far better than me

a gentleman's club
oh ha ha.

Just seconding everyone else re "empowering" What a load of tosh.

The exploitation of men bit is utter nonsense. I love Hermès scarves- they are ridiculously expensive but I think they are worth it. These (scum) men presumably think paying a stripper is worth it. Neither buyer is being exploited.

A culture that commoditises women’s bodies is a culture that doesn’t truly respect women as men’ equals. Feeding that culture is not a feminist act.

This subject stresses me out a bit.

At 22 my sister was partying with pop stars, sleeping with footballers and earning nearly £3,000 a week. Sounds like a great job for a dyslexic woman who struggled with education. But by 30 she was dead and the path taken by her isn’t anything I would wish on anybody.

Stripping is an entrance point to drugs and prostitution, sure some may avoid this, but many fall to one or the other.

HubrisComicGhoul that's heartbreaking.

A culture that commoditises women’s bodies is a culture that doesn’t truly respect women as men’ equals. Feeding that culture is not a feminist act.

Hear, hear, Doobigetta.

As for "empowering," isn't the test of whether an act is empowering: are people in (actual, real) power doing it?

Isn't the test of empowering anything that an individual feels empowered by?

TeeJay when I was about 18 I felt incredibly empowered by the fact that I could put on a short skirt, get really drunk and without fail bring a random man home with me if I so chose. I don't really need to spell out how there was actually nothing empowering about any of it. "Empowering" is a word that often gets thrown around with no real meaning attached to it.

Thank you for telling me and other women how to think.

I guess if a woman taking her clothes off for men who give her money feels like that gives her power over them, then that's fair enough.

She doesn't actually have power over them though. They are there because they see her as an inhuman object for which they can pay, if they choose to, nothing more.

That is the fact of the matter, regardless of feelings or thoughts.

Bit baffled if that was aimed at me - I definitely haven't told anyone how to think.

You can think what you like. Other people can disagree with you and think you are wrong. It's a reasonable question to ask what actual power comes from this empowerment that is felt.

Lols at teejay
Nobody told you want to think

Great question. Tell these:

“serving yourself up for the sexual titillation of the dominant sex class is not empowering”
“no they are not empowered”
Empower what a loada shite some idiots can come out with”
“misappropriation of the term empowerment”
“Just seconding everyone else re "empowering" What a load of tosh”

Whatever

Those statements are disagreeing with you. So maybe try explaining what power came from your feeling of empowerment. If there was none, then can you really say your feeling of empowerment was accurate?

Yes, 'feeling' empowered and 'being' empowered are not necessarily the same thing.