Strip clubs have never been of particular interest to me. However, being a 20-year-old in the US grants me the fabulous right to watch some erotic dancers even before I have my first legal drink; so a couple of weeks ago I decided to hit the clubs for the first time.
Some friends and I decided to go to a male strip club. A surge of "feminism" ran through my veins as I thought about the fact that I was going to see male strippers, but it didn't last long. I started thinking about the context, the reasons and the details of my experience and this dampened my excitement. I though that this would be an equalizer, or that somehow me going to a male strip club would be like men going to a female strip club.
When I googled "Seattle strip clubs" I got 10 clubs, nine of which were for straight men. The only option for me and my girlfriends was Centerfolds if we wanted to check out men. The supply of erotic-sexual services for women in Seattle is limited, compared to the dozens of male strip clubs the city has. However, that probably means that the demand is as small as the supply.
Either way the idea of having sex with a stranger does not happen to men and women the same way. Women tend to look for emotional connections, trust and care with a sexual partner. According to a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior Journal in Aug. 2004, women would have short-term relationships to acquire long term partners who promise more. Still, there are always exceptions and I'm not implying that all women are the same, or that one way of thinking is better than the other. But, men in general go to strip clubs for reasons quite different than those of women, for instance to fantasize and sometimes take it a step further.
Although some of Centerfolds's strippers did end up completely naked, most of their performances were spent teasing the audience, dancing energetically and exciting the audience with funny scripts, moves and songs performed live. And of course one of the dramatic superficial differences is the noise level and energy in the response from the crowd. Women respond hysterically, laughing and screaming their lungs out, while guys sit down with serious looks on their faces while the female strippers try not to amuse them at all.
Women in the audience are allowed more physical contact with the male strippers, and are sporadically brought on stage to mock sex, while men are completely banned from doing the same in female strip clubs. Generally, women frequent male strip clubs with groups of friends, and the environment is crazy and playful. A male stripper is not merchandised or objectified as much as female strippers are; it's not as common to see male strippers in movies or ads as it is with female strippers. This could also be due to the puritan culture that denies and hides female sexuality.
Male strippers, although sensual, are more playful rather than seductive, starting their shows with relatively full outfits, whereas female strippers walk around semi-naked with really revealing skirts and dresses and focus most of their performance on showing their breasts and genitals.
Even the way these dancers are portrayed or marketed says a lot about their images and audience. Just check online at the Hunk & Babes website (http://www.hbstrippers.com/), the titles are revealing. Females are babes--young, not fully responsible objects of pleasure, and men are hunks--strong built men. Are they the same then?
The relation between the service provider and the customer is different in each case. While women strippers get paid for showing their bodies just like men do. Men strip, approach women, and intimidate them by taking them to the stage or dancing with them, while female strippers barely have contact with their clients unless there is some extra cash involved in the form of a lap dance or maybe more. In both cases, it's the male who chooses and acts. Some may take this as a metaphor, others as a caricature of gender relations in society.
For me and my friends, male strippers were just fun.
Printed in: "The Ebbtide" - The student newspaper of Shoreline Community College - Volume 44 Issue 13 - May 8 - May 21, 2009
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