come in

when it comes to talking income there’s a general tendency amongst strippers to stay vague. girls are more likely to say they had a “good night” or a “shitty night” then actually place dollar amounts on any particular evening. i’ve always found this a little maddening for two reasons. firstly, it has taken me a long time to determine what “good” means. there’s pre and post-recession “good” and there’s also geographical specificity in terms of a good income. bopping around the internet, it seems that girls who share dollar figure amounts have different assumptions for “good money” depending on where they are located. while i was traveling, i really had no concept of “good” because in one club, “good money” might mean $150 while in another club, “good money” was $350 and in another it was $500 and up. the girls in my club are actually pretty forthright about what they earn and i’m getting a better idea of what “good money” is here and what should be expected.

the second reason i find the ambiguity around income annoying is because, as a collective stripper workforce, i don’t think it serves us to hide the value of our income. in fact, i think it hurts us. by speaking plainly about what we make, new individuals can learn how they are doing in relation to their coworkers and in relation to different clubs across the country. if we have a collective idea about what we should earn we are more likely to demand it, refusing to settle for less and leaving a club when/if it doesn’t reach income standards. the girls i work with are actually quite forthright about their earnings and i deeply appreciate knowing what they make. if everyone or most everyone in the club makes less than $150 on a night when i can’t break $100 then i don’t have the sense that i personally am lacking. if everyone makes over $300 and i barely break one hundred then it would be high time for me to start reflecting on my hustle technique, lap dance quality or stage performance.

finally, not speaking plainly about money is not specific to strippers. one of my close friends has a psychiatrist father who said, “people in america are more likely to talk about their sexual perversions than they are about their yearly salary” and it’s absolutely true. because of the incorrect idea that our individual worth can be measured by our income people keep mum on their earnings, using instead the less verbal but still blatant conspicuous consumption to communicate their “value”. considering the debt load of our nation’s people, a nice car or house doesn’t actually translate to a person’s earnings or liquid assets. and it DEFINITELY doesn’t speak to their character as a human being. while this country continues to be mired in recession, people continue to reflect lack of “success” on individual performance. i see so many people self-judging and judged for not having a job or not having the right job these days and it’s about time we start seeing our national inequality as a collective problem rather than any individual’s shortcomings.

rich folks suffer from this silence also. there are those who make loads of money and flaunt it loudly, but there are those who make a high salary and tip-toe around with a sense of guilt or fear. as money accumulates, it’s not uncommon that under the shroud of silence the notion of scarcity increases also and money becomes more guarded and even more secret.

so with all that said, i’m trying to be more honest about money. both with myself and others. so here’s the breakdown of my earnings from the candlelight club. things to consider:

i would say that i’m considered an above average earner at the club.

january was super slow. february picked up a bit. and with only a week of march under my belt, i’m expecting it will be better than february.

shifts at the candlelight club are short relative to the 8, 10 and 12 hour shifts i worked around the country. with that in mind, instead of depending on a nightly average, i also broke down income into average dollars per hour.

from the numbers, you should also see that learning to roll with the highs and lows is one of the greatest challenges at the candlelight club. keeping my attitude and feelings of self-worth at an even keel despite the ups and downs is one of my favorite stripper lessons for life.

*JANUARY*

Saturday $128

Sunday  $48

Wednesday $124

Thursday $88

Friday $173

Sunday $60

Tuesday $12

Wednesday $209

Friday $177

Sunday $146

Tuesday $220

Wednesday $65

Thursday $75

Saturday $80

Wednesday $105

Thursday $32

Friday $415

Sunday $80

Total: 2237.00 Days Worked: 18 Daily Average: $124.00 Hours Worked: 96 Dollars per hour: $23

*FEBRUARY*

Tuesday $124

Wednesday $87

Thursday $6

Friday $238

Thursday $30

Saturday $479

Friday $330

Tuesday $32

Wednesday $173

Friday $109

Tuesday $320

Wednesday $20

Saturday $450

Total: $2398 Days Worked: 13 Daily Average: $184 Hours Worked: 75 Dollars per hour: $32

*MARCH*

Tuesday $300

Wednesday $125

Friday $278

Saturday $414

finally, for all other blogging strippers, would you be willing to post your earnings? i understand that people who are out on the internet about where they work might not feel comfortable posting actual numbers. but for those of you who are willing, if you post your earnings and let me know, i’ll update this post with a link  to your site and your wages.

UPDATE:

so gypsy (who you might remember i danced with during my travels) posted her numbers here and several reasons i didn’t think of about why it may not be the best idea to share numbers with coworkers.

strippr posted her numbers here and included some very interesting personal reflection on why she fibs about her income.

another dancer out of houston, texas took the challenge and posted her numbers and lots of details about her hustle, her appearance and her style. love it. click here.