Running head: EXOTIC DANCING CULTURE

On the Pole: An Introduction to Exotic Dancing Culture

Robert Morris University
Professor Kiliany
COSK2235 Honors Intercultural Communications
Section A
November 21, 2014

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2
Abstract

The research paper looks to examine the traits and characteristics of the American coculture of Exotic dancing. First, the origins and features of the group are established. Following
this, the membership is looked at. This includes an analysis of the composition of the culture
along with a look at the beliefs and values that separate exotic dancers from the dominant
culture. Finally, the external aspects of exotic dancing are analyzed focusing on both the
relationship with the dominant culture and controversies surrounding it. This is all done with the
intention of promoting a greater awareness of local cultural differences in effort to educate and
create better inter-country intercultural communication.

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On the Pole: An Introduction to Exotic Dancing Culture

Imagine walking into a brightly neon-lit building. As you step through the doorway, your
ears are hit with the pulsing bass of some danceable song. Your eyes are assaulted with all sorts
of bright gaudy colors. You see a bar, bouncers and people sitting around the room, but what
draws your eyes is the reason you probably went to that place in the first place: the women
dancing and taking their clothes off, moving about a risen stage and around shiny metal poles
jutting up from the ground. You are at what is commonly known in America as a strip or
gentleman's club: home to exotic dancers. While many people enjoy the sensations of visiting
such performers and many more scorn the profession itself, most people do not know very much
about the culture itself. With so much unique emotion and situational circumstance due of the
way the dominant culture views and treats the profession of exotic dancing, their members have
created a very, if not one of the most, fascinating and exceptional cultures in America today.
The first recorded act of stripping was done in an ancient Sumerian myth where the
Goddess of Love, Inanna, removed an article of clothing at each of the seven gates to the
underworld on her mission to find her lover (Rubin, 2012, para. 12). This is far from what people
normally think of when they think of exotic dancing, however. The first instance of modern
stripping began in some of the theater productions in the sixteenth century. Some various plays
had either men or women taking off their garments as part of the acting. In the eighteenth century
many European brothels were incorporating some form of stripping into their business to tease
and titillate customers into wanting more. The American co-culture of exotic dancing really
began in the early 1900's when striptease became a part of many vaudeville traveling carnivals
and burlesque theaters. From here, the art of exotic dancing found its was into go-go dancing
when Carol Doda became the first topless go-go dancer during Condor Night Club's first year in
business: 1964 (Friend, 2004, para. 36). The 1980's and 90's are when a large number of the strip

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clubs we know today began popping up and becoming quite popular for people go and enjoy.
An exotic dancer is defined as one who removes all or most of his or her clothing in a
sexually suggestive fashion to a paying audience in a performance environment (Skipper and
McCaghy, 1970, para. 17) The work of the average exotic dancer of today is comprised of three
main types of dance. These include pole dancing, table dancing and lap dancing. These terms
comprise the jargon used by those involved in the practice of exotic dancing. Pole dancing is
typically the general entertainment at a gentleman's club. It requires no extra charge to watch and
occupies the main stages in the clubs. In this type of dance, the exotic dancers combine dance
and acrobatics to preform erotic movements around an average and usually metal pole that
stretches from the stage to the ceiling. Customers are typically sitting around the stage and are
often throwing dollar bills at or placing in the clothing of the dancers. While not working on the
main stages, dancers are often to be found prowling around the floor looking to entice people
into purchasing one of the other two forms of dancing which are more private. Lap dancing, the
more private of the two is a one-on-one performance, often in a more secluded area of the club,
in which one of the dancers dances erotically in the lap of the patron because of their sitting
orientation. Table dancing is similar to lap dancing but is preformed on a table either because of
either preforming to a small party rather than an individual or because of local laws prohibiting
the touching of patrons by the exotic dancers.
The culture of exotic dancers is composed of mostly women with few male strippers
compared to the women. This is because, since stripping is a type of sex work, it is more
appealing to men because of their greater propensity towards sex and lust as a physical
gratification and the less relational sexual desire compared of men to that of a woman (Benard et.
al., 2003, para. 15). Other than the great disparity of the gender ratio, the membership of the
culture is very open and diverse as there is little to no barrier of entry into the profession. There

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are no prerequisites to becoming an exotic dancer, and the job training is minimal (Benard et. al.,
2003, para. 43 ). As long as the dancers are able to sell themselves and follow basic guidelines
and rules, they are able to be an exotic dancer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there
about 1500 dancers employed in places that serve alcohol, which puts the number of members of
the co-culture around that figure (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). There is no
real breakdown of the racial, or ethnic dissection of exotic dancers, but considering the lower
barrier to entry and the nature of the job, it can be inferred that there is not any one group that
monopolizes the culture past any regular proportion of the dominant culture. However, though
not a race or ethnicity, considering that the more attractive dancers generate more business,
beauty and sexuality are common traits amongst the culture. Along these same lines, there are
generally accepted to be two different types of dancers: career and transient (Philaretou, 2006,
para. 2). The difference is often created by different levels of education and ambition. Those of
lower education often end up seeing dancing as a lasting career while many higher educated
dancers view their time dancing as limited and as a means to an end in terms of acquiring funds
to help shape the rest of their lives. This also shows that the educational level of exotic dancers
also varies and does no necessarily favor one or the other. Geographically, strip clubs tend to
cluster around bigger cities rather than rural or suburban areas because of their business qualities.
A greater population leads to more business, which is epically important for a strip club because
of the very specialized audience that it appeals to.
The goals and objectives of the group are very straightforward. There are many reasons
why an exotic dancer might join the profession, but the predominant, overriding motivation is to
acquire wealth. Stripping, especially if you are good at it, can be a quite lucrative job, and this
attracts a lot of persons to join the industry regardless of potential moral degradation from the
negative stigma associated with the profession that the dancers have to deal with.

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Exotic dancers, as a culture, do not really have a doctrine of set beliefs and values. As a
culture, they are all very individualistic, working toward their own goals and beliefs. Being a
culture shaped around what boils down to a business profession, there is not really any emphasis
on the more spiritual aspects of a culture. However, due to the deviant aspects and moral
degradation of participating in the culture, there are many techniques of neutralization that the
dancers use and share to help rationalize and justify their profession (Sykes & Matza, 1957, para.
5). A dancer might deny that her manipulation of emotion is not hurting the patron and that each
one treats her performance as a transaction only. They justify that men of higher moral
professions are the ones that come to the clubs, and therefore, the focus of the negative stigma
should be on the patrons rather than the dancers. They tell themselves that since others are doing
it, that it is more acceptable. Finally, the dancers believe that the money they are working
towards will create a means of use that will justify the sinful act of dancing. This also
translates to looking at the positive things that the money will do for others and such as funding
their schooling and helping them justify the work themselves.
The organizations that support the exotic dancers are the clubs themselves that they work
at. The strip clubs not only pay the wages but also provide security to keep the dancers safe. The
clubs hire bouncers to protect the dancers in case some of the patrons become overly attached to
the dancers or harass them in any way. These bouncers also are there for protection from other
deviant acts which can often happen in a given club. This can include things, such as prostitution
or drugs. Prevention of all of these things leads to a safer work environment. Along with
protection and pay, the clubs also offer the basic physical necessities to preform their job, such as
the work space and necessary tools of the trade. Gentleman's clubs today play a very prominent
role in exotic dancing and do a great part in facilitating the culture. Without professional
organizations to sponsor the dancers, the culture might not even exist.

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The exotic dancing culture shares a very strained relationship with the dominant culture
of the United States. The dominant culture views Exotic dancing as a deviant occupation. This is
so because the dominant culture sees exotic dancing as a means of sexual exploitation. The sex
industry itself is considered deviant itself due to just the vary nature of the dominant culture
considering the whole subject as taboo and not politically or socially correct to discuss. This
stems from a long past of making such overly sexual things illegal and shameful. Americans
generally consider the sex industry to be immoral or improper. Exotic dancing, however, is
considered to be even worse because of its perceived exploitation. Many consider exotic dancing
to be selling the fantasy of sex without following through on the act (Benard et. al., 2003, para.
9). This is emphasized further by the fact that the dancers feign feelings of attraction and
intimacy to acquire more money from tips and success at their job. The dominant culture
considers this to be wrong not only because of the deviance of the sex but also from the
manipulation of feelings to acquire money.
As something so naturally viewed as deviant by the dominant culture, it follows that
many controversies arise from the culture. One such controversy is if the profession of exotic
dancing itself should be allowed or forbidden. Due to the negative stigma associated with the
dancers, there will always be some who believe that the world would be a better off place
morally if stripping were to be illegal itself. This idea is foolish. The act of stripping is not evil
itself but only looked down upon because individuals are raised to believe so. Another such
controversy surrounds the tool of the dancers: pole dancing. Pole dancing is an art that requires
much coordination and strength and constitutes a healthy form of exercise. Many people also
look on the act of moving with that same strength and coordination as something of great beauty
and art (Pary, 2013, para 4). The controversy arises because pole dancing has so readily become
ingrained in our minds and associated with striping. This creates a situation in which those who

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enjoy the act and art of pole dancing are judged and, by context, associated with the strippers.
These people do not wish to be associated with the deviant act of striping and thus, the argument
forms. This idea is also foolish. A style of movement should not be associated with only one type
of people that utilize it. Anyone should be free to express themselves in any way they choose
without unjustified stereotyping. Controversy can even be found stemming from the
rationalization that the exotic dancers use to justify their deviant acts. From their justification of
condemning the condemners, people argue of the degree to which the deviancy should be placed.
Some feel that the strippers are morally wrong and should be blamed for committing the act.
Others argue that, if not for the ones who go to see the strippers, there would be no striping to
begin with, meaning that the lust and desire of man is the source of the morality. All of these
controversies are based on the premise that there should be a negative stigma associated with
exotic dancing. Since that idea is inane, these controversies are also silly. There are more
controversies yet that result from exotic dancing. When dealing with such a morally debated
subject matter, however, there will always be many.
Exotic dancing is one of the more unique cultures that exist in the United States. With so
many viewpoints about morality and being one of the few cultures that exists alongside of but
also looked down upon by the dominant culture, it would be surprising if it were not. As with any
culture it is always important to understand and learn about them. Becoming more versed in the
various co-cultures of America, there will be greater communication between people and a more
happy and productive society.

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References

Benard, C., DeGabrielle, C., Cartier, L., Monk-Turner, E., Phill, C., Sherwood, J., Tyree, T.,
(2003). Exotic dancers: Gender differences in societal reaction, subcultural ties, and
conventional support. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 10 (1): 1-11.
doi:http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol10is1/bernard.pdf
Friend, Tad. (2004, July 12). Naked profits. The New Yorker, 66
Parry, Gemma. (2013, October 21). Should pole fitness be banned?. Huffington Post, 1.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/gemma-parry/pole-dancingclass_b_4119374.html
Philaretou, A. G. (2006). Female exotic dancers: Intrapersonal and interpersonal
perspectives. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity,13(1), 41-52.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10720160500529243
Rubin, Norman A. (2012, November 16). The shocking history of striptease. Strip-magazine, 1.
Retrieved from http://www.strip-magazine.com/shocking-history-striptease
Skipper, James K. and C. McCagh. 1970. Stripteasers: The anatomy and career contingencies
of a deviant occupation. Social Problems 17: 391-404.
Sykes, G. M & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency.
American Sociological Review, 22, 664-670.
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014) Employment by industry [Data file]. Retrieved
from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/entertainment-and-sports/dancers-andchoreographers.htm#tab-6