Four categories of women who work as topless dancers

18 Sexuality & Culture / Winter 2004

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Sexuality & Culture, Winter 2004, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 18-43.

FOUR CATEGORIES OF WOMEN WHOWORK AS TOPLESS DANCERS

Lacey SloanInstitute for Child and Family PolicyMuskie School of Public Service400 Congress St. Portland, ME 04104([email protected])

Stéphanie WahabUniversity of UtahCollege of Social Work395 S. 1500 E Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0260([email protected])

Many involved in the feminist debates over sex work have polarized theconstruction of women in the sex industry as either victims of exploitation, orfree agents who choose this work. This study examined the life circumstancesof 30 women who worked as topless dancers to determine, how, if at all, thepolarized debates reflect the realities of the women in this study. Four catego-ries of women who worked as topless dancers emerged: (1) survivors, (2) work-ers, (3) non-conformists, and (4) dancers. These categories suggest that there isa continuum of experience with varying degrees of choice, and demonstratethe limitations of dichotomous thinking when it comes to understanding thelived experiences of women in the sex industry.

Although some have characterized women who work in the sextrade industry as victims of exploitation and abuse, many sex work-ers reject this characterization and claim their right to engage in thisbusiness with agency and without stigmatization. Sex work is aterm that includes many types of situations in which compensation

Women Who Work as Topless Dancers 19

is exchanged for some kind of sexual activity, including legal ac-tivities that do not involve person-to-person client contact (tele-phone sex), legal activities that involve person-to-person contactbut not intercourse (such as lap dancing, stripping, topless danc-ing), and illegal forms of sex work where there is intimate person-to-person client contact (such as, sexual massage, sexual nudemodeling, and all other forms of prostitution). As a former toplessdancer, the lead author had the opportunity to observe the nature ofsex work from an insider’s perspective and to know intimately manywomen who worked as sex workers. This life provided her withmany insights into the reality of women who work, or had worked,as topless dancers.

This study was designed to learn more about the choices andoptions of women who decide to work as topless dancers. Womenwere interviewed who worked as topless dancers, a segment of thesex trade industry which typically does not involve person-to-per-son intimate sexual contact with clients, and which is legal. An all-female research team interviewed and observed the women whoworked as topless dancers. A continuum of work and life experi-ences was found among the women who participated in the study.

Research on Topless Dancers

The literature on striptease artists, go-go dancers, and toplessdancers indicates the similarities of the work. Actually, these seemto be historical progressions of the same job beginning with bur-lesque and the striptease, out of which go-go dancing emerged,and then quickly followed by topless dancing. Compared to theliterature on prostitution, the literature on topless dancers is sparse.

Many studies have explored the reasons women become sexworkers. Skipper and McCaghy (1970), who conducted formalinterviews with 35 strippers and informal interviews with approxi-mately 40 other strippers, identified three conditions which typi-fied women who became dancers: “(1) a tendency towardexhibitionism for gain, (2) an opportunity structure making strip-ping an accessible occupational alternative, and (3) a sudden aware-ness of the easy economic rewards of stripping” (p. 402). Thompson

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249984643_Stripteasers_The_Anatomy_and_Career_Contingencies_of_a_Deviant_Occupation?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-29c2a973-0f0c-4292-97c7-9bb13504ac7c&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIyNzMzNDMwNDtBUzoxMDQ0NzQ3ODE2ODM3MjZAMTQwMTkyMDEzODA4MA==


and Harred (1992), who conducted structured interviews with 40topless dancers, agreed with the findings of Skipper and McCaghy,and added four more dimensions from their study. First, they foundthat over half of the women in their study first danced topless as theresult of “being slightly or highly intoxicated” (Thompson & Harred,1992, p. 299). Coupled with the intoxication, many respondentswere “dared or challenged to do it” (Thompson & Harred, 1992, p.299). Third, many of their research participants indicated theyneeded a job and found they could make the most money as atopless dancer. And fourth, many of the women in their study wereintroduced to this work through a network of friends or acquain-tances. Similarly, Forsyth & Deshotels (1998) report that the strip-pers in their sample entered the occupation for the following reasons:(1) tendency towards exhibitionistic behavior, (2) opportunity struc-ture that makes stripping an accessible occupational alternative, (3)an awareness of the easy economic reward derived from stripping,(4) plans to continue dancing and, (5) management of stigma asso-ciated with the occupation.

The dancer’s ability to make more money as a sex worker thanin other occupations has been noted by many researchers over thepast century (Addams, 1912; Forsyth & Deshotels, 1998; Gonos,1976; MacKinnon, 1987; Pheterson, 1989; Thompson & Harred,1992). According to Gonos (1976), the go-go dancers in his re-search, unlike featured strippers in other research, did not look atdancing as a means to further entertainment careers. Instead, go-godancers chose this work because they could work part-time andmake more money than they could at other jobs currently availableto them (Gonos, 1976). Gonos stated that these dancers “aspiretoward ‘legitimate’ occupations and careers,” not related to danc-ing or performing (1976, p. 190). Presumably, they only danceuntil they are able to acquire the non-dancing job they desire.

Sex Work Debates and the Impetus for this Study

The continuing feminist debates over sex work provided the im-petus for this study. For over 15 years, the first author (Sloan) foundherself entrenched in the feminist debate over sex work. This be-


gan at a National Coalition Against Sexual Assault conference in1987 when a resolution was submitted naming all forms of sexwork violence against women. During the discussion on that reso-lution, Sloan revealed that she was a former topless dancer and thatshe did not feel victimized while working as a dancer. The makersof the resolution suggested that Sloan was a victim of false con-sciousness and simply did not realize she was victim. This promptedSloan to research the literature, and eight years later, to conduct thisstudy to understand more about other women’s experiences as top-less dancers. Specifically, we wanted to know if women who be-came topless dancers were forced into this work due to economicdesperation, drug addiction, and/or pressure from a third party.

The feminist debates on sex work exist primarily between femi-nists who want to abolish sex work and feminists who want allforms of sex work legalized or decriminalized. While most of thisdebate is focused on prostitution and pornography, feminists whooppose prostitution consider all forms of sex work violence againstwomen. Many people believe that all feminists recognize sex workas victimization (MacKinnon, 1987), but women who considerthemselves feminists do not all speak with the same voice on thisissue (Bell, 1987; Chapkis, 1997; Delacoste & Alexander, 1987;Jenness, 1993; Nagel, 1999; Lerum, 1999; Pheterson, 1989).

On one side of the debate are feminists and women escaping thesex trade industry who believe that sex work is a form of victimiza-tion of women perpetrated by a patriarchal system which wants tomaintain men’s right to sexual access (whether through intercourseor other sexualized activity) to women (Dworkin, 1987;MacKinnon, 1987). This group of women and men believe sexworkers are victims and call for the abolition of the sex industry(Barry et al., 1984; MacKinnon, 1987). On the other side of thedebate, other feminists and sex workers claim sex workers arebusinesswomen who should be granted the same freedom towork as any other worker (Bell, 1987; Delacoste & Alexander,1987; Jenness, 1993; Pheterson, 1989). These feminist and sexworkers claim sex workers are not victims, except of puritanicalmores and oppressive laws; they want sex work legalized or de-criminalized.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246178611_Feminism_Unmodified_Discourses_on_Life_and_Law?el=1_x_8&enrichId=rgreq-29c2a973-0f0c-4292-97c7-9bb13504ac7c&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIyNzMzNDMwNDtBUzoxMDQ0NzQ3ODE2ODM3MjZAMTQwMTkyMDEzODA4MA==



Methods

To best understand the experience of women who worked astopless dancers and the circumstances surrounding their decisionto work as dancers, qualitative research methods were used. A datacollection team of five women was used to conduct semi-struc-tured, face-to-face in-depth interviews with participants. To protectthe identity of participants in this stigmatized profession, each par-ticipant chose a pseudonym for use in the interview and publica-tions; these were used here. In addition, to further protectparticipants, the names of the cities and the state have not beenincluded.

Research Sites

This research was conducted in the home state of the first author,primarily because of ease of access to dancers in bars where thefirst author previously worked as a topless dancer, familiarity withtopless bars across the state, and familiarity with the state. The origi-nal research site was the capital city, largely white collar, liberal,and dominated by colleges and universities. The metropolitan areahad a population around 750,000, poverty rate around 10%, andmedian annual income around $40,000. At the time of the study,there were six topless bars in the city, ranging from high-end barsattracting businessmen to neighborhood bars attracting working classmen, to a “dive” reputed to have few limits on dancer-customercontact. Initially, the authors intended to conduct an analysis bytype of club, but since participants moved around from bar to bar,even state-to-state, we decided against it.

After data from participants in the capital city became redun-dant, the research team went to the next urban center. The secondcity was much larger (more than one million in the metropolitanstatistical area) and more ethnically (Latino and white almostequal in the population) mixed, the poverty rate was around 18%and the median annual income was around $30,000. Tourism, mili-tary, and the health industry were major employers. There were


several topless bars in the city, ranging from high-end cabarets toneighborhood bars attracting working class men.

The third city was the smallest (around 250,000 in the metro-politan statistical area) and predominately working class. The popu-lation was ethnically mixed (almost equal Latino and white), thepoverty rate was over 20% and the median annual income was justover $25,000. Seasonal tourism, military, and oil refineries werethe major sources of employment. There were no high-end toplessbars in this city and many of the bars were historically owned and/or managed by men who were affiliated with motorcycle clubs.

Sampling

A combination of convenience, snowball, and purposive sam-pling procedures were used in this study. Topless dancers, age 18 andolder, were invited to participate in this study. Thirteen women cur-rently employed as dancers at a topless bar, who met the age require-ment, volunteered to participate. Seventeen women who had previouslyworked as dancers, but were not currently employed as dancers, alsovolunteered to participate. Thirty women participated in this study.

Recruitment. Sloan found many of the managers, bartenders,disc jockeys, and owners for whom she worked for ten years earlierwere still in the business. These men and women provided the initialaccess to women currently working as topless dancers. At clubs wherethere was no previous working relationship, Sloan introduced herselfto the manager, identifying herself as both a researcher and a formertopless dancer. The personal revelation identified her as an insiderand provided easy access to the bars and the dancers.

Once a current dancer was contacted she was invited to partici-pate and asked to pass on information about the study to other danc-ers. Dancers of minority ethnicity were specifically invited toparticipate in the study. To expand the range of women participat-ing in the study, the data collection occurred in two other cities, onea larger urban city with a large Latino/a population, and the other asmaller, ethnically mixed, working class city.

Former dancers were initially contacted through the data collec-tion team member’s informal network (i.e., they know someone


who knows someone who knows someone who was a dancer).Announcements about the study were also made in universityclasses, inviting current or former dancers to participate, and ask-ing students to pass on the information to women whom they knewhad worked as a topless dancer.

Data Collection

The interviewers were all women who identified as feministsyet held a wide range of views on topless dancing and sex work.The first author worked as a topless dancer for almost four yearsand finds major flaws with the anti-sex work rhetoric. Two otherteam members worked with prostitutes’ court ordered into a coun-seling group and both felt that while individual women should beable to choose sex work, they believed sex work supported thegeneral exploitation and objectification of women. The final twoteam members did not prescribe to a particular belief about sexwork, but identified as feminists.

Interviews. The primary data collection methods used were in-depth, semi-structured, individual interviews that allowed for in-tensive exploration of the dancers’ perceptions of their work andobservation. Interviews were conducted individually and privatelywith dancers. The average interview lasted approximately two hours,although they ranged from one and one half hours to four hours.

A semi-structured interview schedule with broad, open-endedquestions around specific areas of interest was used. First, partici-pants were asked “tell me about your life growing up.” After this, adetailed description of each job, high and low income from eachjob, and reasons for quitting, were elicited. Participants were alsoasked about a variety of topics, including drug use, prior paid orunpaid nudity, etc. More details were requested around the timejust prior to when each participant began working as a topless dancer,such as who they were supporting, employment, salary, amongother things. After a thorough discussion of life circumstances, par-ticipants were also asked about the impact of topless dancing onthem, reasons for leaving dancing, and “what is the one thing youwant people to know?” For the purposes of this report, much of the


data has not been included so that information relevant to the lifecircumstances of the women when they decided to work can beemphasized.

Observation. Observation was conducted in three topless barsin the primary research city. While engaged in observation, research-ers were in the role of customer. Although most customers are men,all of the bars allowed women in as customers, although some re-quired male escorts. We did not disguise our role as researchersattempting to access participants for the study. However, while inthe bars we also participated in the typical rituals of topless bars,such as tipping the dancers, buying drinks for the dancers and our-selves, and engaging the dancers in conversation.

As a subculture, the employees and customers of topless barshave developed their own language, rules, and customs that dictatehow dancers perform their work responsibilities (Boles & Garbin,1974b; Gonos, 1976). By engaging in observation, we were ableto gain a better understanding of the work culture of topless barsthan could be obtained through individual interviews alone.

Data Analysis

Data from the transcriptions of the interviews and field notes(both from the interviews and observation) were analyzed usingboth quantitative descriptive statistics and qualitative immersion andcrystallization methods. First, over 100 variables were identifiedwhich could be quantitatively coded (demographics, abuse, druguse, work experience, etc.). A code sheet was developed and eachinterviewer coded the interviews she conducted. Descriptive analysiswas run on this quantified data, with selected quotes used to exemplifythe quantitative data. Then, the findings were taken back to partici-pants for review. One of the most poignant comments, and one thatled to further analysis, was “I can’t find myself in here.”

Therefore, over the next year, the interview transcripts were read,reread, and examined for qualitative themes and patterns to answerthe primary research question: What were the life circumstances ofwomen at the time they began to work as topless dancers? Fourcategories emerged into which all women were grouped: survi-


vors, non-conformists, workers, and dancers. Perhaps like all cat-egorization of human behavior, some women did not fit neatly intoone category. For these women, the category was selected that bestfit her life circumstance at the time she became a topless dancer. Oncethe women were grouped into categories, other themes in their storieswere identified, such as the reasons they left dancing or their percep-tion of impact of dancing on them. This final analysis led to the iden-tification of further differences between the four categories.

Findings

The study participants ranged in age from 18 to 50, with a me-dian age of 31.5. Twenty-five (83%) women identified their ethnicityas Caucasian, three identified as Latina, one identified as Asian,and one identified as African American. Twelve (40%) women weresingle, ten (33%) married, six (20%) divorced, one (3%) separated,and one (3%) widowed. The educational level of the research par-ticipants at the time of the interviews, ranged from ninth gradethrough completion of medical school (coded as 20 years), with amedian of 13 years.

Four Categories

Four categories of women emerged in this study: survivors, non-conformists, workers, and dancers. These four categories werebased on the woman’s employment and economic history prior tobecoming a topless dancer, reason for becoming a dancer, and thesense of agency expressed about her decision during the interview.It is important to note that the number of women in each categoryshould not be interpreted to reflect the percentage in which theyoccur in the population because we used convenience, snowball,and purposive sampling.

Non-conformists

Non-conformists were the hippies or rebels in this sample wholived alternative lifestyles. They were predominately white, middle,


or upper socioeconomic status, college-educated women, who hadthe privilege and resources to enter a stigmatized profession andleave when they tired of it. Betsy was one of the older study par-ticipants, but her lifestyle was similar to many women in this cat-egory:

My father’s a doctor in the [military] and my mother has her bachelor’sdegree.... I was a complete rebel growing up after I became a [drug] user andI was pretty wild.... [After a couple years of college] I took a leave of ab-sence and ended up not coming back for three or four months because Iended up in Mexico.... I’m already smoking grass, I’m into the beatnikscene. Like ’62, ’63. We’re already like hippies but it was more beatnik.We’re smoking dope. I dropped my first acid in ’63.

Demographics. In the non-conformist category, two women werecurrent dancers and five were former dancers. All but one identi-fied as white. The one woman who was not white identified as anAsian woman adopted as a toddler by a white family. The womenin this category ranged in age from 25 to 50. All came from eithermiddle or upper socioeconomic status backgrounds. Three womenidentified as bisexual and four identified as heterosexual. At thetime of the interviews, the highest level of education of the non-conformists ranged from completion of the 12th grade throughcompletion of medical school, with their median educational levelbeing completion of an undergraduate degree. Three of these womenhad no children, three had one child, and one had two children.Two of the four women who had children did not have custody ofthem. The two women without custody voluntarily gave custodyto her child’s father in non-threatening situations. Kathy describedher decision:

I had never really requested or insisted upon any kind of child support formy son. And I decided I was going to change that.... [My child’s father] saidto me you know, I never had a chance to be a father.... If you’re having a hardtime and you’re going through school ... why don’t you let my son—ourson—come stay with me? ... I thought about it and I agreed.... It’s just that Iwanted to be free. You know, it’s like I made the decision I wanted a childbecause to me that meant freedom. By that point, I had a different concep-tion of freedom and I wanted to be free.

Growing up. Three women in this category ran away from homebefore they turned 18, one at age 15, the other two at age 17. The


age at which these women left home permanently ranged from 17to 19, with a median age of 17. Tora left home at 18, and her storyexposes the rebelliousness of many in this category:

I went and lived with a friend of mine until her parents just couldn’t controlme anymore. And I was like, O.K., I’ll be independent and I’ll do it. And soeventually they told me that I was going to have to leave—and that theywould buy me a bus ticket to anywhere I wanted to go in the world, and so(sighs) it was just another one of those cut off your nose to spite your facethings. I was too cool to let them send me anywhere. I was much too inde-pendent. And so I packed up a little bag and just started hitchhiking.

Two women in this category had childhood histories of sexualabuse: one by a parent and one by a school principal. Three womenin this category were physically and emotionally abused as chil-dren, all by a parent, and two were neglected by a parent. Yet,when these abuse survivors talked about their childhoods and theircircumstances when they started dancing, the trauma which hadresulted from their abuse did not seem central to their lives whenthey decided to become a topless dancer.

Their career aspirations seem typical of young girls in general.Two of the women in this category wanted to be veterinarians whenthey grew up, one wanted to be a dancer, one wanted to be a doc-tor, one wanted to be an artist, one wanted to be a teacher, and onewanted to be a mother.

First danced. Two women in this category had not completedhigh school at the time they started working as a topless dancer,one had completed high school, two had completed two years ofcollege when they first started dancing, one was not in school buthad previously completed two years of college and one had com-pleted undergraduate school at the time she first danced.

Although women in this category worked because they neededmoney, this work was consistent with their lifestyles. Babaji hadbeen living with a musician when she first danced:

[At age 19] I met a musician and moved to Silver City. Lived very happilyfor five years.... I knew him for about a month or so and then I immediatelystarted traveling with him on the road. We had a home base here and trav-eled for five years. We lived together for two and we were married forthree.... No drugs, no nothing like that. Very clean. We traveled about 215days a year, traveled a lot. And got sick of that. We had a friend who was a


hairdresser and we used to go to the topless bar when we were in town. In theprocess of that I ended up jumping up [on the stage] and dancing andmaking money.... I’ve always been a dancer. I’ve always been into danc-ing.... It was more of a party thing than a work thing.

The age at which women in this category started dancing rangedfrom 17 to 30, with a mean and median age of 21.8 and 19, respec-tively (data unknown for one). One of the women had been in atopless bar before they started dancing, five had not been in a top-less bar before, and the information is unknown for one partici-pant. Before they started working as dancers, all seven women inthis category had a friend who worked as a topless dancer. Two ofthe women had been involved in other forms of unpaid nudity be-fore dancing, three had not, and the information is unknown forone woman. One woman had been involved in some form of paidnudity or semi-nudity and six had not.

Left dancing. Only one non-conformist worked as a toplessdancer for more than five years. Non-conformists were most likelyto quit topless dancing due to burnout. For example, Kathy quitwhen dancing was no longer fun:

It was starting to where I didn’t like it as much. Didn’t like doing it. Notdoing the job, but it started to seem like a job instead of fun. And it’s like Iwanted to do something different. And I was getting really frustrated causemy goal was to be a writer. And I wasn’t getting anywhere with that. So I wasreally starting to feel like I was in a rut. And where do I go on? And how didI get out of this? And it’s like this is like the big insulting thing when somemen would say, Well, ... you could be a secretary.... I would never want to besomeone’s secretary.... I have a college degree and I didn’t go to college tobe a secretary.... So I saw a law degree as something that I could kinda do thesame as I do dancing: I could do it part-time [and] ... I don’t have to work foranybody.

Workers

Workers were predominately working class, never married,white, or Latina women, who became topless dancers because itwas the job that offered the highest income. Workers usually didnot leave home until they had graduated from high school and en-tered the workforce. After a couple years of work, they started


working as topless dancers. Eight women emerged as workers.Shelly explained her decision to work, which was similar to otherwomen in this category:

My girlfriends were dancing.... They said Shelly, that’s where the moneyis—come on. (laughs) ... I needed cash and I was staying with one of thegirls that was dancing there. And I’ see the wads she brought home at night....I said, yeah, that’ll get me started, get some cash in my pocket.... [My firstnight was] pretty good. I’m sure I had a good time. I’ve always been anexhibitionist so I kind of fell right into it.... I know I told my mom. I’m sureshe had done it herself once or twice, but you know, I didn’t consult withthem on it or anything. Mom’s always been pretty encouraging, Hey, yougot to work, you got to work, you know. You go where the money is.

Demographics. In this worker category of eight women, threewere former dancers and five were current dancers. Six of thewomen in this category identified as white and two as Latina. Theyranged in age from 20 to 34, with a median age of 30. All comefrom either low or middle socioeconomic status backgrounds. Allidentified as heterosexual. Six of these women were never mar-ried, one was married, and one was widowed. The highest level ofeducation ranged from ninth grade to two years of college, with amedian educational level of 12.5 years. Seven of these women hadno children and one had two children (and custody).

Growing up. None of the women in this category had childhoodhistories of incest or physical abuse, although one woman was sexu-ally abused by a baby-sitter. However, three women in this cat-egory described chaotic, dysfunctional families in which there wasalcoholism, multiple divorces, and/or frequent moves. Two of thethree women with dysfunctional families reported emotional abuseby a parent. On the other hand, five women in this category hadchildhoods without serious problems. Denise proclaimed the joysof her childhood:

My parents were perfect. My father and I are probably closer than my momand me just because I was like Daddy’s little girl and I was like the oldestand I just got what I wanted.... I never got spanked; I never got punished ...well, I got grounded, go to my room, but they never hit me ... I think I havea really good relationship with my family. I mean, I get along with all ofthem. I love them all. I get along with them more now than when I wasyounger just because I was a teenager rebel type, but it wasn’t anythingdestructive or real damaging to me.


Three women in this category ran away from home before theyturned 18 (two of the women from dysfunctional families). Theage at which they ran away from home was 12, 14, and 16. Theage at which these women left home permanently, ranged from 15to 20, with a median age of 18, (information unknown for two).Jasmine, who first ran away at age 12, tells her story:

My mother was yelling at my sisters and offering to let them go live withour real father who we didn’t know ... I’d have to be persecuted too ... It wasexcitement for me so I packed a suitcase and hitchhiked down [the high-way]—was gone for a few days with my sister, of course. Well, I’ve got to gotoo, [it was] one of those sorts of things. And [we] came back a few dayslater. Then I ran away [again] when I was 16.

First danced. This group worked as dancers because they neededa job to support themselves or family. They did not report feelingpressured or forced to do this work. All had previous work experi-ence but were drawn to dancing because, as Shelly put it, that’swhere the money was. G, who at age 25 had an extensive servicesector work history, needed more money to support her family, soshe sought out the job where she thought she could make the mostmoney:

My mom decided we should all move into this house.... There was [mybrother], myself, my mom, Sonya, and [Sonya] had a baby.... My sister,Jasmine ... came and moved down with us. She brought herself and her littleboy.... I took a waitressing job, which I hated.... And when I decided to quitone day, driving down the street, I saw a sign, it was for [the topless bar]....I remember people talking about how much dancers made.... And we neededso much more than we had. And I also wanted to move out of this house andto get an apartment.... [So when] I saw that sign, and I said, I’m going to doit.... I didn’t give it any more thought than half a day. Went home, changedand went and auditioned.

The age at which women in this category started dancing, rangedfrom 19 to 27, with a median age of 20. Three of the women hadbeen in a topless bar before they started dancing, five had notbeen in a topless bar before. Before they started dancing, fivewomen had a friend who had worked as a topless dancer, andthree had relatives who had worked as dancers. When Tracie firstlearned her friend was working as a topless dancer, she had thisreaction:


I saw topless dancers in [another state]—I was appalled! Couldn’t believeit.... [I] moved back to Wavington, went back to work in another restaurant,and that was a restaurant right next to a really famous club in Wavingtoncalled Don Juan’s. A mutual friend came in and said, did you know that yourfriend you lived with in [another state] was working in Don Juan’s? So Iwent over there ... walked right in the door of Don Juan’s, found my girl-friend, grabbed her—it was a total scene from Flashdance! I was so influ-enced by TV it’s sick.

Left dancing. Workers quit working as topless dancers for a va-riety of reasons (financial support from someone else, health rea-sons, burn-out, and drugs). One participant, G, quit topless dancingbecause of her health, and moved to another job. G was told by herphysician to quit or she would be paralyzed:

By that time [my brother] was a little less dependent. I had severe problemswith my knees and my neck. I have a degenerative spinal disease ... And ithurts quite [a lot]. And my doctor told me if I didn’t get off the high heels,that I was wearing down the ligaments of my knees very badly, and that Iwould have knee problems. But if I kept dancing, I probably would noteven be able to turn my head in a couple of years.... So I quit ... [and started]a bartending job.

Survivors

Nine women emerged as survivors, all of whom had extensivehistories of childhood abuse. These women were most likely tobegin topless dancing as underage teenagers, with no prior workexperience. For the women in this survivor category, topless danc-ing frequently became a career. Jessica, age 18, has a history thatexemplifies the extremes of life that were experienced in this groupof women:

My mom was whore, hooker, prostitute.... She was a cocaine addict.... Wespent a lot of time moving around. She spent a lot of time with differentmen. I mean, I’ve called so many men, Dad in my life, it pathetic. I grew upin clubs.... I learned how to shoot my mom up when I was (seven or eightyears old). I know how to do just about every drug in the book. Done justabout every drug in the book.

Demographics. Of the nine women in this category called survi-vors, five were current dancers and four were former dancers. All


identified as white. They ranged in age from 18 to 42. All but onecame from either low or lower-middle socioeconomic status back-grounds. All but one woman (lesbian) identified as heterosexual.The highest level of education ranged from ninth grade to two yearsof college, with a median educational level of 12 years. One womanhad no children, three had one child, and five had two children.Five of the eight women in this category who had children did nothave custody of them. Freechild’s history was similar to the otherwomen in this category who did not have custody of their children:

I dated [a guy who was about 5 years older than me] for about a year beforeI got pregnant, and (pause) had a little boy. I was married to him for threeyears and in that time we also had another child. He was fairly emotionallyabusive.... I was kept in a trailer house with two children alone most of thetime, without a way to get out.... So I was 18 with two children, and I didn’tknow anything at all. I had never worked—never did anything. I’d quitschool in the tenth grade so I felt kind of left out of having education. AndI took off with my kids and went back to live with my parents. And (pause)about a week later was when my husband came back and kidnapped mychildren and I haven’t had custody of them since.

Growing up. All the women in this category had childhood his-tories of abuse. All but one was sexually abused as children, fourby a parent, two by non-family members, and two by multiple of-fenders. Four women in this category were physically abused aschildren, all by a parent. Six women in this category were emotion-ally abused by a parent, and two were neglected by a parent. Theone woman who was not sexually abused experienced emotionalabuse and witnessed physical abuse of her mother. Sarah’s descrip-tion of her family was similar to other women in this category:

[My memories of my family are] horrible. (laughs). Well, to me, they werejust normal ... until I got older. Then I found out that we weren’t. We werevery dysfunctional. My father was a child beater, child molester. And mymother was the submissive [who] stood back in the corner, didn’t help kindof person. But see, I was so sheltered ... I thought this was normal. We had avery abusive family. Very abusive.

Only two women in this category were raised in a home withboth biological parents. Four of the women, were raised by theirmothers (with stepfathers occasionally in the home). One woman,was raised by relatives and another, had no primary caretaker and


eventually ended up on the streets at age 11. One woman was notasked who raised her. The occupation of primary caretakers of twowomen in this category are unknown, one was unemployed, onewas a prostitute, one was a laborer, one was a agricultural worker,one was in the military, and one was a professional.

Seven of the nine women in this category ran away from homebefore they turned 18. The age at which they ran away from homeranged from 11 to 14, with a mean age of 12.9 years. All women inthis category left their family of origin permanently before age 18.The age at which these women left home permanently ranged from11 to 17, with a mean and median age of 14.2 and 14, respectively.Kat ran away from home at age 14, and her life story is similar tomany other women in this group:

I left home because I was being sexually abused [by my stepfather] and mymom knew it but she didn’t really do anything about it. Because I guess shedidn’t want to be alone. I left home [at 14] and I got married a month after Iturned sixteen, got pregnant in November, had her a month before I wasseventeen, and divorced before I was 18.... When my ex- and I split he tookmy kid up to New York and I couldn’t get a lawyer to go up there so he gotfull custody of her until she turns 18 this year. But that’s when I went intodancing, when I was seventeen and going to school at night and dancingpart time during the day and paying our bills.

First danced. Overwhelmingly, this group worked as dancersbecause they needed the money and expressed that they felt forcedto accept this type of job because they had few skills or options.Sunshine’s experience was familiar to that of other women in thissurvivor category:

I was looking for a job. I needed to make my truck payments. I needed totake care of my son cause my husband wasn’t giving child support ornothing, you know. And I talked to my sister on the phone and she said,Hey, I’ve been dancing down here in Seminole Valley ... And I said, Well,“O.K.... I have to be really drunk to do this.” And she said, “O.K., I’m goingto come up.” ... So we went [to Erotica] and they hired us. And we got on thestage together. It was my first time [and] I was really scared.

The age at which women in this category started dancing rangedfrom 15 to 26, with a mean and median age of 18.1 and 17, respec-tively. Four of the women had been in a topless bar before theystarted dancing, four had not been in a topless bar before, and the


information is unknown for one participant. Before they starteddancing, three women had a friend who had worked as a toplessdancer, three had a relative who had worked as a dancer (includingone woman’s mother), and two women did not know any toplessdancers. Karen had not known anyone who worked as a toplessdancer prior to when she started dancing, but she had this to say:

I knew I was at home when I walked in [the topless bar].... Certainly there’sa part of me that’s (pause) I hate to say it’s dark, but it is dark. It’s wrapped upin what’s not acceptable and adventurous and romantic and you know,under the table shady dealings and characters and like, you know, like youwould read out of a novel. (laughs) And people who are slick, hip and cool,people who also live on the edge emotionally and mentally, you know. Imean, it’s not hard for me to relate to that and it wasn’t frightening to me atall, like it may be for some other people....

Left dancing. Survivors were most likely to quit this work be-cause someone else started to provide financial support, or becauseof drugs and alcohol. Sarah, now in recovery from drug addiction,described what preceded her decision to quit working as a toplessdancer:

I got sick of the drugs and the partying. And I just got fed up with it. I wassick of it. I was ready to settle down. I wanted a family. I wanted to havechildren. And I just wanted to slow down. I felt like my life was going toofast. I think what woke me up is I had a heroin addiction at the time. And Iwoke up in another state, in someone else’s bedroom with all these otherpeople ... that made me realize that it got to the point that it’s getting out ofcontrol when you don’t know where you went ... I had enough of it.

Dancers

What connects this category of participants is that all of themhad taken traditional dance lessons, usually for many years andfrequently to the verge of pursuing professional dance careers.Dancers were the smallest, yet most demographically diverse cat-egory of women in this study. Six women emerged as dancers.Like most of the women in this category, Pandora’s dance historygoes back to childhood:

My father is an artist and he taught art for many years.... I started takingdance classes and that continued for years and I realize now that I never


really had the discipline to follow through on it but at some point I wastaking a many as ten dance classes a week, at least five days a week, and soI was sort of doing it in a way that would indicate interest in a career indancing.... I think [one of] the things that informed my topless dancingdifferently than a lot of other people is that my parents were artists and Ididn’t grow up with that same sense of shame about the body....

Demographics. In this dancer category of six women, four wereformer topless dancers and two were current topless dancers. Fourwomen in this category identified as white, one as Latina, and oneas African American. They ranged in age from 20 to 39, with amedian age of 31.5. The women came from a variety of socioeco-nomic backgrounds, from upper-lower to upper-middle. Fourwomen identified as heterosexual, two as bisexual. Three womenwere never married, two were married, and one was divorced. Thehighest level of education ranged from completion of high schoolthrough completion of college, with a median educational level of13.5 years. Four women had no children, one had one child, andone had two children. One of the two women in this category whohad children did not have custody of them. Pandora became preg-nant as a teenager:

I think the major event that has really formed a lot of my life has beengetting pregnant when I was sixteen.... At the time I wanted to have anabortion and felt as if I was manipulated by my family to have thatchild.... I did the best I could at being a mother for five years. And in themeanwhile I was living at home with my parents.... My parents hadalways assumed financial responsibility for [my child] and after thefirst years, more and more care and emotional responsibility.... When Iwas gonna come down here and marry this guy, my parents adopted my[child] before I left, legally.

Growing up. None of the women in this category reported physi-cal abuse or neglect. Only one of the women in this category wassexually abused (by a distant relative). One woman reported emo-tional abuse by a parent. Four of the women in this category lefttheir family of origin permanently at age 18, one at age 19, and onewhen she went to college (exact age unknown).

First danced. This group of women, were influenced to work astopless dancers by their interest and experience with dance. Delilah’sexperience was similar to others:


For some reason I had this idea that I wanted to try topless dancing becauseI had also started dancing.... When I quit school, I started taking danceclasses.... It was a real passion.

The age at which women in this category started dancing rangedfrom 18 to 25, with a mean and median age of 22.2 and 22.5,respectively. Only one of the women had been in a topless barbefore she started dancing. Shirley described her first time inside atopless bar:

I’m from [the deep south] and the only thing I knew about topless bars waswhat I saw in Clint Eastwood movies. You know what I’m saying? I hadabsolutely no idea what I was in for. So, [my friend] takes me in. It was a coldnight. I can’t remember exactly when it was but it was rather cold thatnight.... I come from a small town where at midnight they roll up the side-walks, O.K.? (laughs) It was totally foreign. It was like going to the moonfor the first time when I opened the door to Kensington.... I certainly didn’texpect to see girls smiling while they got their butt bent over in some guy’sface. This was totally foreign to me!

Before they started dancing, three women had a friend who hadworked as a topless dancer and three women did not know anytopless dancers. One of the women had been involved in otherforms of unpaid nudity before dancing, four had not, and the infor-mation is unknown for one woman. No women had been involvedin any form of paid nudity or semi-nudity (the information is un-known for one).

Left dancing. Dancers were most likely to quit this work when itwas no longer fun (burn-out). Over time, the topless bars began tochange and Pandora became less enthusiastic about her work:

[In the early to mid-1980s] there was no physical contact what-so-ever atthat club between the customer and the dancer.... [But] about 1988 ... theygradually started dancing closer and closer to them.... I have never liked tobe touched inappropriately.... I was finally bottoming out. I’ve notice otherdancers when they would quit would get this silliness the last six monthsthey were there.... [Towards the end] I went around to a bunch of SalvationArmy stores and I gathered up a big floppy bathrobe like ... everybody’smom wore, a big flannel nightgown and these dorky looking quilted fuzzyslippers and some little granny glasses and I put my hair in a bandanna andI had on thermal underwear and I came out of stage like that with a pillowand a coffee cup and I danced to the Thunderbirds, Why Get Up about howhis whole life is falling apart so why even get out of bed. And I basically


shuffled around on stage and scratched my butt and yawned and stretched....It seemed like after I decided that I was gonna get off the business that all ofa sudden I realized how sick of it I was. And it was all that I could do to kickmyself to go back to work every day.

Discussion

The participants in this study represented four categories ofwomen who work, or have worked as topless dancers: non-con-formists, workers, survivors, and dancers. These four categoriesprovide insight into the feminist debate over sex work because theyreveal that each extreme of the feminist debate is accurate, to somedegree. Survivors, for instance, engaged in “survival sex” and con-sequently most closely fit the description of sex workers by thosewho embrace the notion that sex workers are victims and do notfreely choose sex work. MacKinnon (1987), a leading expert ofdomination theory, argues that, “female sexuality is entirely con-structed as an object of male desire. Women’s sexuality is, socially,a thing to be stolen, sold, bought, bartered, or exchanged by others... women never own or posses it” (p. 59). The survivors had abu-sive childhoods, limited education, and tended to begin sex workbefore they were adults. Non-conformists, on the other hand, rep-resent a more privileged group of women who had an array ofemployment options available to them. The non-conformists hadthe freedom provided by resources (education, work experience,families with economic resources, personal economic resources) towork in a highly stigmatized profession while knowing they had away out.

The findings of this study lead us to believe that, radical sexualpluralist theory (Rubin, 1984), which borrows from discourse onsexology, gay liberation, and social construction theory, provides ahelpful lens through which to explore issues related to sex work.Radical sexual pluralist theorists seek to understand the multiplic-ity of human sexualities without using grand theories or binaries torepresent individual experiences, nor does it assume any essentialexperience of woman. Central to this theory is the notion that nosexual behavior is more moral or real than any other. Within radical



sexual pluralist theory all experiences are legitimate and understoodas informed by context and positionality. By not privileging onebehavior over another, a space is created for those who have beenrelegated to the margins to contribute to the creation of knowledgeabout their experiences (Rubin, 1984).

The four categories of topless dancers that emerged in this studysupport the notion that women’s truths are informed by context andsubjective experiences. Each of these four categories, although di-verse even within each group, had certain realities that were bothdifferent and similar across the other categories.

Survivors. Survivors, who had extensive histories of childhoodabuse, were most likely to begin topless dancing as underage teen-agers, with no prior work experience. For the women in this survi-vor category, topless dancing frequently became a career. Survivorsindicated that the work enabled them to survive. Most of the womenin the survivor category, did not have the education or job skillsthat would enable them to opt out of this work. Their indicationthat this work enabled them to survive was hallow of any indica-tion that the work was fun or positive. Survivors had the fewestalternatives other than topless dancing, primarily because of theirlack of other work experience and age. Survivors were most likelyto quit this work because someone else started to provide financialsupport, or because of drugs and alcohol.

While it was a challenge not to see the survivors as victims whowere merely surviving the best way they knew, the women did notinvoke images of powerless passive, unthinking women who hadgiven little consideration to the world around them. That is, thewomen did not identify themselves as victims. Many had clearlygiven thought to the power inequality between men and women,and had found a way; they felt, to beat men at their own game. Forthe most part, the women in this study expressed an understandingof the world around them, and they found a means of survival thatwas best for them at that stage of their lives.

Non-conformists. Non-conformists were predominately white,middle, or upper socioeconomic status, college-educated women,who had the privilege and resources to enter a stigmatized profes-sion and leave when they tired of it. Non-conformists were the


hippies, or rebels in this sample, who lived alternative lifestyles.Almost half of the non-conformists identified as bisexual. Half ofthe non-conformists did not have custody of their children, but un-like the survivors, were more likely to have voluntarily relinquishedcustody under favorable circumstances. For non-conformists,money, dancing, and dressing up was what they liked most abouttopless dancing. Stigma and the negative stereotypes of toplessdancers were what they thought was most important. Only onenon-conformist worked as a topless dancer for more than five years.Non-conformists were most likely to quit topless dancing due toburnout.

Like the Survivors, the Non-conformists entered the sex indus-try for financial purposes. However, unlike the Survivors, financialconcerns were not the only or main set of criteria for the Non-conformists as they chose their work. The Non-conformists hadcertain luxuries and privileges (such as education, whiteness, socio-economic class standing, contacts, access to information) that en-abled them to consider a wider range of personal rewards that maycome from sex work than did the Survivors. The Non-conformistshad the luxury to consider the image, status (positive and nega-tive), and artistic elements associated with topless dancing.

It is notable that all but one of the non-conformists identified aswhite. However, the one woman of color in the non-conformistcategory was adopted and raised by a white family. The dancercategory had the largest percentage of women of color. It is a mat-ter for speculation as to why there are no women of color in thesurvivor category, one for which the authors can think of no viableexplanation. On the other hand, it is likely that the reason almost allof the non-conformists identified as white is because of the greatereconomic resources that accompany white privilege in a racist so-ciety.

Workers. Workers were predominately working class, nevermarried, white or Latina women, who became topless dancers be-cause it was the job that offered the highest income. Workers usu-ally did not leave home until they had graduated from high schooland entered the workforce. After a couple years of work, they startedworking as topless dancers. Only one worker had children, and


she had custody of them. Compared to the other three categories,workers generally earned the highest average income from toplessdancing. For workers, the money and friends were what they likedmost about topless dancing. Workers quit working as topless danc-ers for a variety of reasons (financial support from someone else,health reasons, burn-out, and drugs).

Dancers. Dancers were the smallest, yet most demographicallydiverse category of women in this study. Dancers were white, Latina,or African-American; one-third identified as bisexual; they had upperlower to upper middle socioeconomic status backgrounds; andtended to have completed some college. All of them had taken tra-ditional dance lessons, usually for many years and frequently to theverge of pursuing professional dance careers. Dancers were usu-ally over age 21 when they started working as topless dancers,their income from topless dancing was the lowest of the four cat-egories of women. Most dancers were never married; one of thetwo women with children did not have custody of the child. Fordancers, the creative expression, and exhibitionism was what theyliked most about this work. Dancers were most likely to quit thiswork when it was no longer fun (burn-out).

Conclusions

The categories of topless dancers that emerged in this study arerich. They reflect several different situations and positions fromwhich these women speak. Like many other marginalized groups,the work and lives of these women has been devalued. Although apostmodern radical sexual pluralist theory does not require others toaccept the truth of these women, it does encourage these truths to beconsidered and not dismissed as false consciousness (Bartlett, 1990).

Keeping in mind that women’s choices are mediated by theirdifferent social locations, a choice to survive, be it by selling sexualservices or by working at McDonalds for minimum wage, remainsa choice and a powerful one at that. The concept of choice is sig-nificant to these findings because choice speaks to agency. Whilethe concept of agency remains poorly theorized within feministtheory, it is our belief that holding onto the notion of women’s

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agency is vital to women’s empowerment and liberation and con-sistent with feminist tenets. Recognizing a sex worker’s strengthscould mean validating the choices she has made in order to stayalive, feed her children, protect herself from harm and/or arrest whileworking.

Qualitative research methods provided an opportunity for the 30participants in this study to share their stories. The findings for eachof the five research questions suggest that women who work astopless dancers are a diverse group with a wide continuum of ex-periences, aspirations, and realities. It is critical that the words ofthese participants not be dismissed as the words of women who donot understand the issues or their own victimization. These wereintelligent women who had considered their own lives and theirown realities. Many of them simply disagreed with the abolitionistperspective that they were victims. Others were too busy survivingto care what white, upper socioeconomic status women had to sayabout whether or not they were exploited. We must listen to womenwho are doing this work and learn to acknowledge them as theexperts on this work.

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Documents

Four categories of women who work as topless dancers