The Ethical Stripper | Stacey Clare | TEDxCoventGardenWomen
Summary
TLDRStacy, a stripper for nine years, shares her experiences working in high-profile clubs while highlighting the empowerment and challenges she faced. She discusses the industry's exploitative conditions and her journey to activism, leading to the formation of the East London Strippers Collective. The collective aims to improve working conditions, protect dancers' rights, and challenge negative stereotypes, advocating for the recognition of stripping as an art form and the importance of creating the right conditions for value in sex work.
Takeaways
- 💃 Stacy, the speaker, has been a stripper for nine years, working in various clubs and experiencing both the highs and lows of the industry.
- 🌍 She has traveled extensively and made significant money, forming friendships and enjoying her work despite some challenging moments.
- 🤔 Stacy acknowledges the discomfort some may feel watching her perform due to the sexual objectification inherent in her job, especially in a room full of feminists.
- 🔓 She introduces her alter ego, Claire, who is multifaceted, working in various roles and pursuing interests that give her a sense of fulfillment and purpose.
- 🎭 The speaker demonstrates compartmentalization, being able to switch between her stripper persona, Stacey, and her personal identity, Claire.
- 👚 Stacy discusses the unrealistic expectations and pressures women face due to sexual objectification in media and society, quoting Jean Kilbourne on the dangers of objectification.
- 🚫 She expresses her resentment towards the exploitation of women's bodies for profit and identifies as a feminist, raising the question of how she reconciles her job with her beliefs.
- 💪 Stacy shares her journey into stripping, starting at 19, and how she found empowerment and financial stability in an industry that also presented challenges and exploitative conditions.
- 🤝 She founded the East London Strippers Collective to advocate for better working conditions, legal protections, and recognition of the value of their work.
- 🎨 The speaker sees stripping as an art form, requiring a range of skills from athletic performance to emotional labor, and believes it should be recognized as such.
- 🤝 The collective aims to challenge negative stereotypes and stigma associated with stripping and sex work, advocating for a cooperative venue run by strippers to create better working conditions.
- 🌟 Stacy concludes by emphasizing the potential for value creation in stripping and sex work, provided the right conditions are established, and asks for recognition and understanding.
Q & A
How long has Stacy been working as a stripper?
-Stacy has been working in the industry for about nine years.
What are some of the high-profile clubs Stacy has worked in?
-Stacy has worked in clubs such as Spearmint Rhino and Stringfellow's.
What is Claire's daytime occupation when she is not performing as Stacy?
-Claire is self-employed and works in various roles including as a bookkeeper in a gallery, an Events Manager, and for an academic at the London School of Economics.
How does Claire describe her experience of compartmentalizing her life as Stacy the stripper and her other identities?
-Claire describes compartmentalizing her life by having a 'stripper persona' named Stacy that she can 'wheel out' when needed, separate from her other identities and roles.
What is the main issue Claire identifies with the portrayal of women in the media and society?
-Claire identifies the issue of women being bombarded with images that pressure them to conform to unrealistic expectations and the objectification of women's bodies for capital gain.
How did Claire's first experience in a strip club at the age of 19 affect her?
-Claire's first experience in a strip club led her to get a job as a charity fundraiser instead, which taught her about social justice and led her to activism.
What role did pole dancing play in Claire's life before she became a stripper?
-Pole dancing was something Claire learned and carried a pole to house parties, which led people to ask her about her occupation, eventually helping her get a job as a stripper.
What is the East London Strippers Collective and what are their main goals?
-The East London Strippers Collective is a group Claire formed with other strippers to improve working conditions, protect dancers' rights, and challenge negative stereotypes. They aim to review the law, improve working conditions, and possibly open a cooperative, worker-run strip club.
How does Claire view the stigma associated with being a stripper?
-Claire views the stigma as a form of secondary objectification, where society labels strippers and sex workers as victims, which she sees as an unchosen and harmful stereotype.
What personal experience does Claire share regarding her childhood and how it relates to her work as a stripper?
-Claire discloses that she is a survivor of childhood abuse and neglect, and she has used her 'stripper persona' as a coping mechanism to reclaim her identity during her recovery from breakdowns.
What is Claire's perspective on the value of stripping and sex work under the right conditions?
-Claire believes that stripping and sex work can create value in people's lives if the right conditions are created, and she sees her job as an opportunity to create such value.
Outlines
💃 The Dual Life of a Stripper and Feminist
Stacy, a stripper with nine years of experience, shares her journey through various clubs like Spearmint Rhino and Stringfellow's. She discusses the highs and lows of her career, emphasizing her enjoyment and the body positivity it brought. However, she acknowledges the discomfort her performance may cause, especially in a feminist setting. Stacy also introduces her alter ego, Claire, who has diverse interests and jobs, showcasing her ability to compartmentalize her life. She grapples with the ethical dilemma of being a stripper while being against the exploitation of women, and begins to explore how she can reconcile her profession with her feminist beliefs.
🌟 From Anarchist to Empowering Stripper
The narrative follows Stacy's transformation from a broke art student to a stripper, exploring her identity and sexuality. She found empowerment and financial stability in stripping, which also helped her regain control over her life. Despite the industry's competitive and exploitative nature, including having to pay to work and lack of legal protections, Stacy sees potential for empowerment. Her research into feminism aligns her with sex-positive feminism, advocating for agency over one's body. The story illustrates the conflict between the exploitative conditions of the stripping industry and the potential for personal empowerment, leading to her activism for better working conditions.
🗽 Advocacy for Strippers' Rights and Challenging Stereotypes
Stacy, now identifying as an activist within the stripping industry, discusses the formation of the East London Strippers Collective. The collective aims to improve working conditions, protect dancers' rights, and challenge negative stereotypes. They propose the idea of a cooperative strip club, emphasizing the artistic value of stripping. Stacy also addresses the stigma and misconceptions associated with her profession, including the assumption that strippers are victims of abuse or false consciousness. She shares her personal experience as a survivor of abuse, using her stripper persona as a coping mechanism. The talk concludes with a call for recognition of the value that stripping and sex work can create, provided the right conditions are established.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Stripper
💡Sexual Objectification
💡Feminism
💡Compartmentalization
💡Agency
💡Stigma
💡Objectification
💡Cooperative
💡Activism
💡Self-Worth
💡Care Work
Highlights
Stacy, a stripper with nine years of experience, has worked in various high-profile clubs and has a diverse range of experiences in the industry.
Stacy's alter ego, Claire, is a self-employed freelancer with a wide array of jobs, including bookkeeping, event management, and pole dance instruction.
Claire demonstrates compartmentalization of her life by presenting her stripper persona, Stacey, when necessary.
The speaker acknowledges the discomfort caused by the sexual objectification of women and the unrealistic expectations it creates.
A quote from Jean Kilbourne emphasizes the dangers of turning humans into objects, which can justify violence against them.
The speaker's journey from an art student to a stripper involved exploring identity, activism, and eventually finding empowerment in the industry.
Stripping provided the speaker with financial stability, self-worth, and the ability to control the sexual attention she received.
The speaker discusses the exploitative business practices within the strip club industry, including dancers having to pay to work.
Feminist literature influenced the speaker's perspective, aligning her with sex-positive feminism and the belief in agency over one's own body.
The UK's Women's Rights Lobby called for the eradication of the strip club industry, leading to a law that gave local authorities power to shut down clubs.
The East London Strippers Collective was formed to address the lack of recognition for strippers' worth and to improve working conditions.
The collective advocates for the review of laws, protection of workers' rights, and the opportunity for dancers to take legal action against exploitative businesses.
The idea of opening a cooperative, worker-run strip club in Europe is discussed as a means to create better working conditions and recognize stripping as an art form.
The speaker challenges negative stereotypes about strippers and sex workers, arguing that they are harmful and contribute to secondary objectification.
The stigma faced by the speaker in her work is explored, including the assumption that she must be a victim of abuse or have a damaged psyche.
The speaker discloses her experience as a survivor of abuse and how her stripper persona served as a coping mechanism during her recovery.
The talk concludes with the message that stripping and sex work can create value if the right conditions are established, and the importance of being seen as the speaker chooses to be seen.
Transcripts
hi my name is Stacy and I'm a stripper
I've been working in the industry now
for about nine years and I've worked in
a range of places danced in some of the
higher and corporate clubs you might
have heard of Spearmint Rhino
Stringfellow's and I've seen a lot in my
time as a stripper I've traveled a lot
I've made a lot of money I've met
thousands of people I've made some
amazing friends and had a lot of fun and
then it hasn't all been great you know
there's been some low points as well but
in general the work suits me suits my
personality I enjoy it I've got the body
for it
and I'm guessing from looking around at
some of the expressions on your faces
that watching me strut around performing
a sexually objectified gender stereotype
is producing some uncomfortable feelings
for some of me
we are in a room full of feminists don't
me okay
so just let me just take a second right
hi my name is Claire and when I'm not
being Stacy I'm me I am self-employed
and I work freelance I've always had a
lot of different jobs and I what do I do
so I work in a gallery in central London
as a bookkeeper I'm an Events Manager I
work for an academic at the London
School of Economics I've done care work
in the past I've done modelling I've
been a pole dance instructor I practice
Buddhism I do community theater I pretty
much do lots of things that give me a
sense of fulfillment and purpose in my
life and the reason I gave you that
floor show there was to demonstrate to
you how I compartmentalize my life how
I've got this stripper persona Stacey
and I can sort of wheel her out whenever
I need her and I know we're not everyone
like Stacey and I know this whole talk
comes with a caveat because I know that
women and feminists all over the world
resent the notion that a woman's worth
is measured by her hotness I know that
when we are bombarded with images like
this that women feel uncomfortable and
they feel under pressure to conform and
men can feel confused and even resentful
when reality doesn't match up with these
unrealistic expectations and this is a
quote from one of my favorite feminists
Jean Kilbourne she's a total legend
turning a human into a thing is almost
always the first step towards justifying
violence against that
well I couldn't agree more with all of
this
I also relent resent this relentless
poor notification of women's bodies for
capital gain so what I'm saying
basically is that I don't like to see
women exploited and I guess that makes
me a feminist but I how can I possibly
go to work and do a job that involves
being objectified more or less all the
time how can I be an ethical stripper
well I believe that I can and I'm going
to explain how by sharing some of my
insights with you so when I was 19 I was
and when I first did a audition in a
strip club I was 19 and I was very
precocious and I had these terrible
white person dreadlocks and I refused to
shave my legs and I just finished the
first year of an art degree and I was so
broke that I played my guitar in the
street for money anyway they wanted to
give me the job and as a stripper but
they were very cagey about how much
money I was going to earn and they they
wanted me to change my whole appearance
which I wasn't comfortable with so I
went got a job as a charity fundraiser
instead which taught me about social
justice and I got involved in activism
and I became this anarchist this
political anti-capitalist rebel and I
went to anti-war marches and I hung out
in squats and teepees and met anarchists
and anarchists let me be whoever I
wanted to because back then I used to
dress up a lot I used to really you know
explore my identity and I got very good
at performing this way and I was very
confident
I knew men found me attractive and that
was part of myself that I enjoyed
because the summer I did summer I
discovered sex I sort of transformed
from this and awkward androgynous kid
into this and like woman who is free to
explore sexualized roles when I was
fighting for social justice I was kind
of drinking a lot partying hard nearly
dropped out of art school because I was
kind of losing control of my life and
among the
things I was trying at the time I
learned to pole dance and I used to
carry a pole around with me to house
parties and people just ask me where I
worked and then I found of friends who
helped me get as a job job as a stripper
by this time I was 22 and I was my
identity was more in flux so shaking my
legs and conforming to the stereotype
wasn't such a sacrifice it was kind of a
fun experiment and I found that it was
generally empowering to be in control of
my the sexual attention that I got from
men you know at sexual harassments kind
of part of my life but when I discovered
stripping I could regain some agency or
something that I had didn't have control
over otherwise and the regular money was
a big benefit my sense of self-worth
actually shot up and I could afford to
pay my rent I cut down my drinking and
partying because I didn't need to do it
anymore it was my job and I went I was
able to concentrate on my degree it
wasn't all a bed of roses far from it
and the work is not easy it's not fun
being surrounded by drunk people all the
time and try not to absorb their
negative energy and when I first joined
the the industry it was at the beginning
of the financial crisis so that there
was a very unhealthy competitive
environment for those of you who don't
know strippers have to pay to work so we
have to pay a house fee and or a
percentage of our income to the clubs
and even though we're technically
self-employed we are always treated as
employees and we have to submit to some
very exploitive business practices
because we are drugs are not protected
we can't take an illegal action so these
are these experiences kind of set the
scene for me and I could see clearly how
the job had the potential to be
empowering but because of the working
conditions inevitably wasn't so when
back to art school and I researched
feminism and I devoured text after text
of feminist literature and I have found
myself aligning with sex-positive or
pro-choice feminism just the idea that
we are agents of our own bodies and
as such sour right my body my choice
what to do there now
in my final year there was a big fight
going on about the strip club industry
in the UK the women's rights Lobby were
calling for my industry to be eradicated
as an integral harm against women and
the people who were representing the
industry in Parliament in the media were
the bosses and the managers not the
dancers themselves and this was
infuriating because what I saw going on
above my head was this circus of opinion
and but no one asking current strippers
what could be done to improve things and
he dances who did speak out were
dismissed his victims by the opposition
and the law was passed
so now local authorities have the power
to shut down clubs and limit the number
of licenses but nothing has been done
about the exploitive conditions so we
have some licensing conditions that put
the onus on us like in some clubs I have
to dance one metre away so I can't make
any contact can't me any lap dancing but
legally it's perfectly okay for a
manager to find me for wearing the wrong
dress or for chewing gum so I started to
speak to other dancers about this and
you know found that plenty of them are
just as intelligent and felt just as
strongly as me I took what I'd learned
from the activist world and I applied it
to my choice of work which fit perfectly
because workers rights is a cornerstone
of social justice so in true activist
style
I decided something's got to be done so
a year ago I invited all the strippers
that I know to form a collective and we
are called the East London strippers
collective we feel our industry doesn't
recognize us our worth because we are
continue to be financially exploited
nearly everywhere we work and secondly
we feel very let down by a law that
promised to help women but inevitably
less left us more vulnerable which we've
got less choices as workers so what do
we want the law needs to be reviewed our
cops need to be protected dancers need
the right to take legal action against
exploitive businesses if that's what
they want to do we want our working
conditions to improve we want to be
consulted ideally we'd like to create
our own working conditions there's very
exciting talk at the moment of opening a
cooperative venue which would be
Europe's first and only stripper worker
run strip club we believe what we do is
an art form this is a picture of a
colleague of mine Miss cheeky love and
if this is not an art form I don't know
what is this skills of a stripper range
from athletic performance to emotional
labour and what we do is we relieve
people of their and we relieve adults of
their stress boredom frustration
loneliness and we do this primarily by
talking not necessarily dance of taking
our clothes off speaking of someone
who's done both jobs I can see the
parallels between being a carer and
being a stripper what we actually do is
work and it deserves to be recognized to
search and we also want to challenge
negative stereotypes because we believe
they are harmful and when I go to work
as a stripper I conform to a sexually
objectified gender stereotype that's my
choice as part of my job and I'm
comfortable with that
but when wider society creates and
proliferate this an unhealthy negative
stereotype that strippers and sex
workers are victims this is a type
another type of secondary
objectification one that I haven't
chosen and where it's the same for
buyers and customers when we demonize
them as abusers or as sad and pathetic
these negative stereotypes are just as
and helpful as the media sexism that I
spoke about at the beginning of this
talk now finally I want to talk to you
about stigma specifically the stigma
that I face in my work and a good
example of the stigma I know
everyone here is going to be a stripper
or a sex worker but everyone can relate
to stigma a good example is the question
if it's that bad why don't you just
leave or the question what's a nice girl
like you doing in a place like this and
for me the subtext of these questions is
what is so wrong with you that you can't
escape conditions like this and to be
asked questions like this that imply
there is something inherently wrong with
me
but why should be honest beyond me the
worker instead of the people in the
industry doing the exploiting why should
I leave an industry that I've spent
leave a job that I spent years getting
good at and that I love and I believe a
lot of the negative stereo like the
negative stigma around our work is this
widely held belief that strippers and
sex workers are victims of childhood
abuse historic childhood abuse and that
we are acting out of false consciousness
we don't our own minds so I want to
reveal something to you now I'm going to
do some disclosure if that's ok all
right and I am a survivor of abuse when
I was a kid my childhood was really
unstable and I was really badly
neglected and so when I was growing up
as an adult my my adulthood has been
loaded up with trauma and I've had lots
of breakdowns but one thing if anyone if
anyone here has had a breakdown you'll
know that part of the recovery process
is to reclaim your identity we build
your identity from in my experience
having a stripper persona having this
pre rehearsed identity to fall back on
when all else failed when I didn't know
who I was anymore was an extremely good
coping mechanism and I believe that
value can be created anywhere especially
where they're suffering I believe I
regard my job as an opportunity to
create value in my life and in others
and the idea I want to leave you with is
that stripping and sex work can create
value but we need to create the right
conditions for that to happen and the
best way that you can help with that is
by seeing me as I choose to be seen
thank you very much
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