Stripper Names and Profit

I literally picked my first dancing name within about 2 seconds. The day I got hired, I was so pumped to make money that I stayed for the whole day shift AND night shift. When I got off the stage after my audition, the house mom said, "Ok, so, did you wanna go by your real name or... what name?" I hadn't even thought of a name! Even though I was thousands of miles away from my hometown and nobody was gonna catch me, I just could not use my real name, so I had to pick something. I blurted out, "Rose!". I think I watched Titanic at home a few days before, so the name must have been lodged in my subconscious. That name suited me. I actually made the most money with that name, but it might have just been because I was new and new girls make more. Soon after, I had been dancing for a while and I got bored with the name and my persona. I wanted to be more mysterious and sensual. It was at that point that I chose to be "Silhouette", and people called me "Silly" for short. I chose that name because I felt that I used to be such a meek person, then I became this whole other person at work. I felt like people were witnessing me bare all so candidly, yet they really weren't looking at the whole me. Hence, my new name. I made decent money as Silhouette, I had really steady customers, and I felt that this name made it easier for me to separate my private life and professional life. I have since changed my name to Chanel, or Lexi Chanel in whole, and my income has tripled. I feel that guys in clubs really prefer girls with cute, ordinary names. It is JUST MY OPINION that whimsical names like Apache, Candy, Passion, Sweety, even "Silhouette" are tacky, and not profitable. There was a girl I worked with named Sandra, who was the most beautiful, exotic girl I had ever seen. Sandra looked like a statue of Nefertiti brought to life, with golden skin, and long brown hair, and cat-like green eyes. She made the most money in the club, and I owe a lot of valuable advice to her. I asked her real name and it was a sexy, Colombian name. I asked her why she didn't go by that name, and she responded matter of factly, "Because its too hard to say, and too easy to forget. Pick a name like "Jenna", "Sascha", "Jessica", or " Tracy" and I promise you will make more money. Better yet, think porn star name and put two simple names together. You have to be a man's fantasy". These names just sound more high-end. A businessman walks into a club, and has money for a champagne room. The bouncer tells him, "I have two women that I really think you should meet. Who would you like me to bring up, Jessica Ann or Lolly Tops?" Which one sounds more approachable, and generalized for multiple admirers?

My Views On Exotic Dancing

I will do a "In the Beginning: Part Two" at a later time, mostly cuz I want to talk about something different. There are two types of dancers: those who flaunt their occupation, and those who conceal it. I want to start off by saying that it is your personal decision how you choose to include your friends, family, and general acquaintances in your professional life. My siblings know what I do, however, grandma and mama do not! You really must take into consideration that your profession may hurt your loved ones greatly, or they could be totally cool with it. You know your family, my advice here is, approach them and their questions with sensitivity. If it might hurt them you may choose to fib. I did. I said I was working as a cocktail waitress at a comedy club getting paid under the table. I had a friend that I danced with and she was from Russia. I asked her if her parents back home knew what she did, and she responded in the funniest little Russian accent, "Fuck no! If my mother knew this she would swim all the way across the ocean to beat my ass!" If you choose to be honest with your family, more power to you! Honesty is an awesome quality. I was watching Austin Powers Goldmember the other day, and one line stuck with me. I know its stupid to use an Austin Powers line as a valuable rule to live by, but here it is," You can spend your whole life trying to make your parents happy, but in the end, its all about what makes you happy, baby, yeah!"
Boyfriends are a different story. In a dancers world there are 3 types of boyfriends: those who are cool with your job, those who hate your job, and those who say they are cool with it but secretly hate it. I think I have number 3. When we were first dating he was OK with it, but slowly over the years, I think it starts to eat away at a guy.
The key to dancing is to make sure that you are comfortable with it. If you're not morally comfortable, you won't be confident, and if you're not confident you won't make any money, so its pointless. I don't feel that dancing takes anything from a woman, or a person for that matter. Its those bad apples that get us all in trouble with public opinion. I know so many girls in the industry that have the most genuine hearts, and best intentions. Exotic Dancers are natural dreamers. They might not be privileged in their past circumstances, but each girl I know has a passion, and an idea of where they want to be someday. The only problems with a lot of us is that we are compulsive, inconsistent, and frivolous financially. Exotic Dancing is legal! Don't ever let anybody make you feel like you are doing something that is illegal. Keep it classy ladies. Don't sell your goods to customers, thats nasty, and that IS illegal. Sell the idea of your goods. Overall, my view of exotic dancing is that it can provide the resources needed to reach a goal, though it may be taboo to your loved ones, it is important in life to do YOU.

In the Beginning

I guess the most logical way to start this off is by telling about how I came to be a dancer. I had recently moved to a new city halfway across the country after transferring my job as a barista in a cafe at a well-known book store. Little did I know that with that transfer came a pay cut by, like, 2 whole dollars. Thank you, lower cost of living! So there I was prepared for my finances with a set graph of what I needed to live, what I thought I was gonna have, and what I actually had being insubstantial. Bottom line, I was broke. I was eating microwavable oatmeal for breakfast,and lunch, and dinner was top ramen. During this time I actually lost a lot of weight, but I was thin to begin with, so it wasn't a good thing. One day, while I was having lunch (oatmeal) in the break room, I opened up a newspaper layed on the table. As I flipped through the pages I saw an add for a local club that said boldly, "Hiring for Waitstaff, and Dancers!". Now, I knew this was a great club because since I had moved to this city I continuously saw this club's name on taxis, and billboards, and I heard their commercials on the radio. I, also, had a friend that told me this club was top notch, and pretty hard to get into. I kept telling myself, "Its just waitressing!". Even though every bone in my body was trembling, and I felt like passing out, I took the bus to this club. I was just 19, and had never been in ANY club, let alone a topless club that served alcohol. I was dressed cute that day, and I never really get dressed up, so there were numerous things that made me a little nervous that day. When I walked in, I filled out an application, and I didn't know the date so I saw a guy in a black suit walking passed me and I thought to ask him. He must have thought that I looked pretty good, because he said" Are you applying for a dancing position? I'm one of the owners, I really think you should be a dancer". I replied, "No, well, I don't know, Uhmm, what does it take to be a dancer?" He told me, " You would make a great dancer, come in for an audition on Tuesday, but I can almost guarantee you got a job." The girls at the club were giving me some dirty looks, but I didn't mind. I was on cloud nine! This was so different, and concerning, but exciting. It was a mix of so many complicated emotions. To Be Continued....