About a month ago #whyIstayed was one of the top trending hashtags on twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. The hashtag became popular after a video of Ray Rice punching his then fiancé was released to the public. The hashtag itself became a way for those involved in domestic violence to voice their reasons for staying in a relationship when others felt it was an unwise decision. Although this hashtag pertains specifically to domestic violence, I believe that there are other avenues in which it can give a voice to those who are misunderstood, misjudged, and oftentimes looked down upon by those who have never been in their shoes.
Today I want to talk about stripping. Contrary to popular belief, not every dancer wants to be in the club. Sometimes it feels like a necessity. The most popular response to the question “Why did you stay?” is finances. Who doesn’t like fast money? Not only is the money fast, but a lot of times it is thousands of dollars a night. When you’re broke but have bills to pay and a family to feed, something like dancing becomes attractive, even if you don’t want to do it. So why don’t the dancers just quit and get another job? It’s not that easy.
Much like a bad habit you just can’t kick, dancers who leave the club return two to three times before leaving for good. Imagine going from making thousands of dollars a night to working a minimum wage job where what you used to make in a few hours now takes you all week. The struggle is real.
It’s not impossible for dancers to leave. It happens all the time. However, sometimes the motivation for staying seems so much more attractive than the desire to leave.
Below are some of the responses to the question “Why did you stay?”
*It was more money than I would make at any other job. #WhyIStayed
*I was too scared to go into the real world. I found my hope in the club. #WhyIStayed
*I felt better about what I was doing as long as I was in the club and not on the street. #WhyIStayed
*It was easy money. #WhyIStayed
*I felt important. #WhyIStayed
*I felt like I was worthy of nowhere else but the club. #WhyIStayed
*I had money for my kids. #WhyIStayed
*I had no self-esteem #WhyIStayed
