Their Works On Exotic Dancers example essay topic

It has been observed by a pensive and inquisitive mind that most people in this world view their surroundings as though they were merely glancing at the cover of a glossy magazine while hurriedly exiting a supermarket: people tend to look quickly, figure out the general concept of the magazine issue, and then proceed to neatly tuck away the memory of that magazine cover in their mind as they trot on down the check out isle. They never pick up the journal, never thoroughly read the articles contained within that shiny bit of paper, never really understand what is going on inside of it. This depiction of the overwhelming tendency of individuals to formulate opinions of people, places and things solely based on a casual observance of their outward appearance stirred up great emotion in my heart. I am a 21 year old woman who has put herself through college by working as an entertainer at an upscale Chicago gentleman's club. I realized recently that I myself was only superficially aware of what it truly means to patronize or to be employed by a gentleman's club. Of course, I was aware of the fact that on the most basic level, a pricey gentleman's club provides a wealthy and extravagant individual with a venue where he can comfortably indulge in the finest champagnes and scotches while basking in the bubbly personalities and beautiful bodies of paid entertainers.

I decided to study the inner workings of a gentleman's club and to write about the effect that working in such an environment would have on women employed by such a club. As I delved deeper into my research, I realized that I could not fairly describe the effect that working in the adult entertainment industry would have on women because I didn't fully understand the service that was actually being provided by "entertainers". Simply put, we entertainers make our living by receiving money from men in exchange for spending time with them, and usually in exchange for stripping off our clothes for them. But what else are we really selling that would inspire a man who is not allowed to touch us (therefore gaining no physical pleasure from the woman whom he commissions to dance for him) to pay in excess of four hundred dollars an hour for our company? What exactly are exotic dancers selling? Through extensive research, I have come to realize that such women sell the occupation of their time, they sell a customer permission to glance upon their bodies in various degrees of undress, and they sell the luxury of allowing a customer to be charmed by their lovely manners and delightful personalities.

Which raises another point: why are men interested in buying the right to look upon a woman naked and to pay for the privilege of spending time with her? The reasons go far beyond wanting to indulge their desire for the sheer pleasure and excitement that is sparked by viewing a naked woman. Customers can be drawn to patronize a club for a whole multitude of reasons, ranging from the innocent (coming to the club merely to relax and to gaze harmlessly at the women who dance there) to the sinister (wanting to pay a woman for her time because one could then force her to do as he pleased, putting him in a hugely dominating position over her). Assuming that there are men who enter a club with the intention of degrading and objectifying them women who dance in that establishment, then let me pose a question: how does a man's objectification of a dancer affect that woman's life and self image?

Is it possible for a woman to work in a field where she knows that she is constantly viewed as somehow less than human, viewed as a body who can be commanded to do whatsoever a man pleases, to maintain a normal and healthy lifestyle? Over the course of this paper, I hope to share with the reader what I have learned about what the psychological repercussions are for women who dance. I have had the good fortune of accessing the works of psychologists who have happened to specialize in the field of human sexuality and who take a special interest in the lives of exotic dancers and in the lives of the men who regularly visit such establishments. Through my studies, I believe that I have accumulated a general sense of what exotic dancers are "really" selling, about what the men who pay them for their time are "really" hoping to gain from their visits to gentleman's clubs, and about the effects that this strange industry may possibly have upon those who are employed by it. It is my hope that I may share with the readers of this study a glimpse into the "real" lives of the women who choose to seek employment in this exotic field, and to describe the effects that their trade has upon their conscious and unconscious minds.

As I began my research, I was highly irritated to discover that many of the articles I found were thrown in with research done on "sex workers". Sex workers are prostitutes, call girls and individuals who perform live or videotaped sex acts. Many exotic dancers are highly offended when they are lumped in with those who actually exchange sex for money. As was stated by Dr. Katherine Frank (a female psychologist who paid for her education by working as an exotic dancer, all the while writing her doctorate on the mentality of men who patronize gentleman's clubs), "We (exotic dancers) sell the idea of sex. We do not sell the act of sex.

We sell a sexual fantasy without actually copulating". The fact that exotic dancers do not literally sell sexual favors to customers is often a quiet reassurance to entertainers. Oftentimes, dancers view themselves as models or actresses. They feel that their work is no more demeaning than that of an actress who is paid to perform a nude scene in a highly popular film. Although dancers may not actually be seen in any less "compromising" or revealing positions than the stars of blockbuster movies, the experience of dancing nude for a paying customer is a far different one then the experience of removing one's clothing on a closed television set. So it is safe to say that even though a starlet and a stripper may both show their bodies to the general public, the effects of their acts of nudity on their mental states are entirely different.

What effects does dancing exotically have upon women who chose to do so? Much research has been done on this topic in recent years. Jo Doezma and Ronald Weitzer, both psychologists who specialize in the study of women and the sex industry, believe that the stripping does not always have an entirely negative affect on women. Rather, the experience of dancing places upon a woman an element of psychological stress akin to experiencing a divorce or a loss of a loved one. Going through any stressful will undoubtedly cause some "emotional excitement".

However, a woman with a stable mind who is comfortable with her own body will not necessarily be harmed by the experience of dancing. In her essay, Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance and Redefinition, Doezma goes on to state the criteria that she believes a woman must possess in order to maintain a healthy body image and sexual attitude while working as an exotic dancer in great detail. First, Doezma believes that a woman must enter the trade of exotic dancing with a positive self image. She must know that her personal worth is not based on her outward appearance.

Furthermore, she must have a strong enough sense of identity to not be upset by negative comments directed toward her body. She must also not begin to place a disproportionate amount of value upon her body because of the praise she receives for her looks. Essentially, a dancer must never come to believe that her value in as a person is in any way connected to her physical appearance. Furthermore, a woman must be assertive enough to say "no", when a customer requests that she perform any sort of act that would make her uncomfortable. She should never feel that she needs to "go along with" a customer's wishes in order to gain his approval.

A dancer's sense of satisfaction should be based upon her ability perform as well as she can at work while maintaining her sense of freedom and of self-respect; , she need not seek out validation from others, especially from those who patronize the establishment for which she works. Seeking approval from customers at work apparently puts a huge strain on the self-image of a dancer. Sadly, most dancers do not possess all these requisites for good emotional health. In his journal, Sex for Sale, Ronald Weitzer makes the ascertain that there are three types of "negatively affected" dancers. The first type, whom he refers to as having "pre-existing self esteem deficits", are women who drawn to work in the sex industry because they are unhealthy emotionally. Common examples of this phenomena would be women who were sexually abused at children, and have come to possess the belief that they need to reveal their bodies in order to gain the approval of others.

The problems experienced by dancers who have been molested as children are only intensified by the fact that their low sense of self worth makes them believe that they must conform to the wishes of others in order to be accepted. Because of their " reluctant willingness" to submit to the desires of men, the victims of child abuse are the most likely dancers to be physically harmed by a customer. (Apparently this is because these dancers often times will meet customers outside of work because they crave the attention that comes from the men for whom they dance. It is also because they feel "less worthy" than others, and are more willing to go along with the wishes of a customer to avoid conflict.) The second most common "victim" of the sex industry is a woman who is truly uncomfortable with the idea of working within that industry, but does so because she believes that she has absolutely no other way to satisfy her financial needs. This woman believes that her body is something that is private and is not meant to be viewed by strangers. If such a woman were to continue to dance, she will have many negative ramifications.

In this first place, such a woman will come to develop an overwhelming sense of anxiety. She will come to feel trapped and as though she has lost all control over her life. In some extreme cases, she may experience the same mental strain as would a victim of sexual abuse, becoming fearful of men and strangers, and even possibly undergo panic attacks. (She might even develop an anxiety disorder that could require intensive therapy and medication to correct.) Women who feel "forced" to dance are also in grave danger of developing substance abuse problems.

Commonly, gentleman's clubs serve alcohol and encourage dancers to drink. Dancers will often sit down and have a few cocktails with a customer as a way to socialize with him and to make it appear that she is comfortable enough to sit and relax with him. A nervous girl may easily find herself needing to have a few drinks to help her cope with dancing. Over time, this habit of "having a few drinks to relax" can turn into full-blown alcoholism. Waiter's third model of a woman who will be harmed by dancing is the depiction of a woman who is very naive, and enters the world of gentleman's club with an overly social attitude. Such a woman would typically be extremely excited by the "glamour" of the business in which she is working, and she is eager to be caught up in the social circles of the adult entertainment industry.

This type of dancer will experience less significantly damaging effects from dancing than the other two "negatively impacted" types. However, she may find herself distancing herself from the outside world and only associating with those who work in her industry. She may also find herself loosing sight of her original values and interests, and begin to revolve her entire life around the world of exotic dancing. Because her industry is a purely superficial one, such a woman may come to base her sense of self worth on her physical appearance. This will be damaging to her as she ages, and is no longer able to succeed in her chosen field.

This woman will be especially troubled when she ages if she has not received any education or technical skills that will allow her to obtain a "regular" job. She may become extremely depressed because as she gets older she will receive less attention from men, and she will no longer be able to work in her chosen field. Since she has based her entire world around being a dancer, she will feel lost and disoriented. Sadly, it has been approximated that sixty percent of women who dance fall into one of the three categories that I have listed above. However, not all women are damagingly affected by working as a dancer. The type of woman who is most positively impacted by dancing is a woman who uses her occupation as a "means to an end".

Such a woman either possesses skills that will enable her to get another job, or she is attending a college or a technical school to learn such a skill. A healthy dancer will work in her chosen field as a means to provide for herself or her family. She does not work in a gentleman's club because she enjoys the socialization of the industry. She realizes that she goes to work to earn money, and does not get caught up in the potentially detrimental elements of her industry. Over the course of the last few weeks, I have had the delight of studying the works of many experts in the field of human sexuality.

Reading their works on exotic dancers has given me a broader perspective of how women are affected by the time they spend working in the adult entertainment industry. It has also given me a new sense of what exotic dancers are actually "selling" at work. Sadly, they are selling far more than a quick exotic dance: many times, they are selling their values and their self respect as well. I have deviated in my thinking that exotic dancing was a positive experience for most women. Clearly, the research that I have studied has given me adequate reason to believe that dancing is damaging to the mental health of many women. Despite such evidence, I myself feel that I am one of the lucky few who has been able to use her occupation to greatly benefit her life.

By dancing, I have been able to finance my education, to live on my own and to set up my work schedule in such a way that I am able to put a great effort into my studies. Realistically speaking, it is doubtful that I would have had the means to accomplish all the things that I have had I not chosen to dance. Although I have never been "caught up" in the negative spiral that so many young women find themselves trapped in, I definitely have become more sensitive to the plight of many young women who develop emotional problems as they work in the adult entertainment industry..