Stripping 101: How and Why I Got into This Profession

Some may wonder why I have always been interested in the sex industry. Maybe it was the allure of the forbidden, or maybe it was just something I had to try at least once-I have this insatiable desire to try everything at least once in life-after all I am a Scorpio and everybody knows about us. Could it be the astrological aspect? It sure as hell cannot be the fact that I was exposed to anything sexual as a child, far from it actually. I was raised in a one parent-mom-household with two older siblings. I was a virgin at the ripe old age of 29; my mom always dressed me head to toe in cotton. God forbid any part of my skin showed when I walked out of the house. To this day I do not know what drew me, what compelled me to take my clothes off for complete strangers or why I felt the need to go back day in and day out when everyday when I got home I felt I had to wash the griminess of the day off my skin and out of my mind. The allure was too much for me I think; I had no will power back then. I had no respect for my body or myself.

The truth is I had no job and car payments were building up on me. I looked and looked for a job to no avail. Truly I did. With my car payment right on top of me I knew I needed to do something drastic, something for which my family would not like. Not at all. I have always been a curious sort, browsing through those forbidden ads on craigslist. I've heard the stories and I knew to be careful, but I just had to make money. Fast.

One day, I just shoved aside my shyness and fear and decided to answer an ad that had stars and exclamation points. I thought 'Cool, they need inexperienced girls and you could learn on the job!' Naively I called and started working the next day. And being a jade among the sometimes over endowed, surgically enhanced veterans, I was a little intimidated but seriously intrigued by all the attention. So what if it was the wrong kind of attention and so what if just by walking in the door with a pair of CFM shoes carefully concealed in my oversized tote that I was now considered a stripper. I felt like I could do anything now that I had conquered my shyness in some way.

My first day was pretty boring such as it was a weekday morning. I did not know what that meant until the end of the day. I met the regulars, the bartender and the bouncer who by the way only works after 8 pm. What was surprising to me were the dancers. I truly expected the dancers to be mean and spiteful but the truth was they were all pretty much in the same boat I was in and at least half of them were just starting out like me and all of them were pretty in their own way. Not one of them I thought had a lack of confidence except me. And not one of them I thought except for me needed the attention these men seemed so desperately ready to give.

I always thought I would remember my first customer, but to tell you the truth the men that walk through the door look all the same after a while and before you know it you see not the man who comes in but how much you think he will spend on you that day. They all want the same thing, they expect it. And they all try to see more than what you want for them to see and they all try to get more for less. Every last one of them. The regulars (the ones that come in every day or sometimes maybe twice a week) are cool. They know the drill, know what to expect, know what they're not going to get and don't try and get it. The semi regulars (the one's who come in at least once a month) know the same thing and yet they still try and get a piece of you. The newbie's (guys who have never stepped foot inside a strip club or the one's who come in maybe once or twice a year.) are few and far between and are precious in their adoration and attention.

When I first strutted up on stage in my stiletto platform pumps, my legs were shaking that I couldn't even walk around the pole without the sparse crowd noticing. I was coerced into coming down and taking a shot of whiskey (well drinks were only a dollar for the girls) In the coming days I would soon realize I needed at least one shot to get up on stage and perform because even then when I knew what I was doing and knew what the guys wanted I still was shaking and could not for the life of me seem to stop (the air conditioning was not helping in the least).

The customers were friendly enough, the fellow strippers encouraging but the money was just not there. They say that the money making days are over, that the days for this type of work are almost over and then we have the same people say the industry is picking back up and it's only a matter of time before it's in full swing again. I say it's all in the attitude of the stripper. Whether she wants to make money that day or not. This type of job will never be extinct, the profession is as old as time and like all things it will enjoy its heyday again.

I became a different person while on the inside, I think I became more myself, but the reason I got out? I found out I like sex way too much. The number one rule is that you do not sleep with customers and I was never one to follow rules much anyway. At first I was very good but the temptation was too great and eventually I succumbed. At first I was selective, but then I started enjoying the alcohol a little too much. But towards the end of my exciting stint as a stripper I started hating myself for what I was doing to myself and my body. When I started sleeping around I knew I had to get out. It started out as trying to gain confidence and it ended with even lower self esteem because in the course of my two month excursion I realized the male gender does not care in general if your pretty just that you need to have the right equipment i.e. a vagina. And you're not going to find Mr. Right in a strip club. Even though I knew this I was still hoping. Do not get your hopes up. Yeah, they're some really nice, sweet guys that go to strip joints, but don't be swayed by their nice attire or willingness to buy you a drink or two.

These days you can find me working as a certified nursing assistant. I am a much happier and self confidant woman today than I was before I started and I do believe stripping helped me in more ways than one. I made some horrible decisions while wrapped up in that life but I also feel that I have learned from my mistakes. I don't know if I will ever strap on my CFM shoes again( they are safely tucked away in storage) but I do know that I have come out of this experience with a deeper love for myself and a greater knowledge of the world around me. Would I recommend this life? No. There are much better ways to earn daily cash. But if you are, just think long and hard before you commit, know what you're getting yourself into and know when to get the hell out.