Strip Clubs
 

Background

As some of you may know I come from Birmingham. In Birmingham we have a lot of strip clubs. In general when I go out on a Saturday in Birmingham I will go for a drink in a pub, then move to a bar, then go onto a club and finally end up in a Strip Club.

What do I do in a strip club?

If I want to carry on drinking I do so until 4am
If I want a private dance I buy one
I sit and chat to my friends
I enjoy the show

Now the cost of entering a strip club is roughly £5-10
A dance is £20 (lasts about ten minutes and is a full strip)
A beer is £3

The story

Last night I was out in brum it was a friends 21st. There were ten of us at the start of the night, by midnight two had left as they had work. By 2am we left the club and the birthday boy wanted to cap his 21st bday off by going to a strip club and getting himself a few private dances.

So off we went to spearmint rhino on hagley road. Anyone who knows this particular establishment, will I hope, agree with me that its the best strip club in Birmingham. They dont mind if you touch the girls, the girls break the 3 inch rule and touch you...yadda yadda yadda. You also see a few local celebs there including footballers and in general it is dark, relaxed and up market with very good clientele. Nothing seedy at all.

We gathered together all 8 of us and it was decided that we would jump in a couple of cabs until two of the lads threw up objections to going to the strip clubs. I tried to find out why and they didnt really give me much other than they didnt want to. I said fair enough but told them that im not going to go with them as its the guys 21st and I think its wrong if I leave him.

These two guys are pretty straight up guys. Im not actually sure if they have lost there virginity yet (although I think they have, but you can never tell) They are quite conservative but are still one of the lads ie drinking etc.

The question(s)

Are strip clubs wrong?

Do you/Would you go to a strip club?

If not, why not?

The issue isnt about these two lads, I think they just felt uncomfortable or had some kind of moral high ground, whatever it is I respect there decision.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

never been.
not sure the fake atmosphere at one would really interest me.
I like good music, good conversation and good company.
I imagine a lapdance being incredibly frustrating and liklihood of pulling in a strip club is low to nil.
The type of people I like to meet in clubs aren't the type of people who go to strip clubs...
And they are expensive.

Saying that if a group of mates were going then i'm sure i'd probably tag along.

Stew is the man to talk to about them. I believe he had a spearmint rhino membership card and went there at least once a week.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

but he's made of twigs :(:(

the poor boy'd be physically crushed

(what a way to go ... "Mrs Stew... I have some rather upsetting news ..." etc.)

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I went to one in Prague when pretty drunk and with a couple of friends. I didn't really consider the morality too deeply, I was more concerned with the fact drinks were ten times the local price.

It was fairly interesting though, some of the women were actually a lot more "beautiful" than I was expecting but the whole thing is a bit fake (obviously). Also, the majority of the woman had that orange skin / peroxide hair that so many women seem to go for these days so even if they were pretty enough they looked fairly dodgy.

To be honest, I don't remember much of it. I'd happily go again if I was with friends and fancied a laugh, etc.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

No.

Yes I do go to strip clubs. When I want some sort type of entertainment. I have 4 of them two roads away from my road... two clubs at each ends of the road.

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This is going to be another GDesque answer, but what do you mean by 'wrong'? Even if you thought the sexualisation of women for profit was wrong id say it was as wrong as 'sex sells advertising'.

Once id have said no, now ill say when suffeciently drunk and in the presence of friends id try it.


Incidently im in the midlands now, the public transport is shit.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Im not too sure really, i think as in morals paying to see naked ladies etc.


we have great roads in the midlands so who needs public transport. Such roads include the M6, M6 toll and my personal favourite the A38 (where clarkson got his first speeding ticket btw)

Although the public transport in brum is quite good imo. Where I live theres a train to the city centre every 15 minutes and a bus every ten. A return on the train costs £2 and a bus ticket costs a horrible £1.20 (I remember when it was 70p). But taxis are cheap here and a fair few people drive. Although I use the train/bus/walk/taxi combo.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I wouldnt have any desire to go and I would object if someone suggested in while I was out on the grounds that it would be a shit night. I'm not prepared to say theres anything 'wrong' with it as such, but I'm fairly dubious about people who try to split off the physical aspects of sexuality from everything else. I dont really understand how you can enjoy having a girl dance/flirt with you when you know shes just doing it because shes being paid to.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Well thats a bit like saying as long as i don't pay for porn its morally acceptable. As far as im concerned its fine if you do pay for it.



This man is lying.

We have great roads
We have great cars
We park the cars on the roads.
And wait.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Nod i want you to know i love you, and i accept the capitalist foundation of your arguments over dante and t&fs communism, and god help me ive tried but i can't reduce the female form to a philosophical discussion about her inteligence and beauty and whatever else. Theres a caveman inside me that wants to oogle. Not talk. Just oogle. So i do.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

this probably isnt what I meant.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

i find it concerning that you arent sure what you meant.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I wouldnt go in, no.
I've got strong objections to the exploitation of women like that

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I find it hard to understand how its exploitation.

My reasoning behind this is these girls arent forced to dance, they choose if they want to do it or not. They earn good money for relatively little amount of work and are only making use of great assets.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I know what I meant, I just wasnt sure what he meant. I was talking about possession more than anything else, although thats a fairly misleading term. I dont really like discussing this though because I just end get irritated that the English language doesnt have the exact words I want to use, and terms like 'power' and ''conquest' all have connotations I'd rather avoid :( I really dislike the idea of sleeping/flirting/whatever with someone who was doing it for reasons other than because of who I was, which is why I normally have such a negative attitude towards strippers/prostitution etc. The thought of actually paying someone repulses me; it would feel like the worst possible admission of inadequacy.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I see nothing inadequate or pathetic about going to a strip club. I think thats because I have been so many times that its no longer novel to me and I just see it more as an after club hangout, where I can get a few more beers and chat to my mates. If im feeling horny then ill get a dance. I've had girlfriends and casual sex so I know that its not a last resort. Ive also taken girls to strip clubs and they have become incredibly horny, so by the time we get back home its great sex.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Well I definitely wouldlnt say its pathetic; I assume that many (if not most) people who go to strip clubs are fairly normal teens/twenties rather than the stereotypical desperate loser. I just view it as being part of a certain culture which I dislike and prefer not to be part of.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Surely that just makes it worse?

Re: Strip Clubs
 

What about those city workers who frequent to strip clubs a lot for drinks, meetings, etc? What category do they fall under?

Re: Strip Clubs
 

The whole "exploitation" idea gets even more weird if you switch the genders.

Now who is rallying to the rescue of the poor exploited chippendale dancers?

With the prices of some strip clubs, i sometimes wonder who gets exploited ;)

Re: Strip Clubs
 

The 'fairly normal people' one? :confused:

Re: Strip Clubs
 

never have and never will visit a stripclub. they seem dull, expensive and a waste of time.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

theres nothing wrong with them really, but they are pretty much for jocks and likely lads, so i'll stay clear.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I've never visited a stripclub, might do it a day just for the 'experience'.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Fixed.

Anyway, never been, if the circumstance arrived I would go out of curiousities (trying to type that word out correctly over and over again, so its now lost all meaning so it could be completely wrong now :( ) sake. Although the expense and possibly certain types of people could put me off, I don't see much wrong with it, a well-paying, secure environment etc.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

The first thing that comes up in my mind when I think about strip clubs is Al's Nudie Bar

I've never been to a strip club but they seem kinda dull to me
I once had to sit through a striptease and it kinda bored me tbh

Re: Strip Clubs
 

no, nothing wrong with them, but I wouldn't go to one. Just not interested.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

By the way Pig, know any in Canterbury?

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I don't find them any more exploitative than I do any other job. I've been to two and they were alright but I found them overly expensive and lacking in value.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

i went to one for an hour or so on my 19th birthday, primarily for the cheap drinks. I had a dance bought for me that day and probably wouldnt buy one for myself though i wasnt exactly complaining during/after.
I definately dont think they are being exploited, its their choice and most of the time i think the women are treated with some respect though obviously in society they will be looked down upon by people that dont go.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I would consider going to one. I've heard nothing but horror stories about my local one. Most of the dancers being old enough to be my grandmother and such.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I've been to a strip club once, but I did not realize that it was a stripclub untill I went inside. It was boring, expensive and the girls looked like freaks with all that light and makeup. Besides, when a girl shows off not because it's me and its cool but because somebody pays her, I just dont get off on it. Same with porn, it's just too fake for my tastes. A lapdance beacause a girl fancies me is awesome, but I do doubt I would get excited for a paid one.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I kinda do understand what nod means, there needs to be a word around the condescending/patronizing mark. You're paying them to find you attractive, it reduces human contact and emotions to their most shallow levels. Its a bit like having to pay you family to love you.

Still the occasional shallowness isn't bad.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I once went to such an establishment many years ago. The friend that I went with actually picked up one of the dancers and lived with her for a few years. She was nice enough but not overly attractive imo.

At any rate, "to each his own." If you enjoy them then I don't see the harm. If on the other hand you don't enjoy them, I don't see the harm in not going either.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I was to a strip club once, in Cracow (.pl), a few years ago. We were all pretty drunk, so it was more or less by accident that we ended up there. We went there more for laugh, and so we could say that we "had been there". I don't remember much, but apparently the alcohol was expensive, and the girls were pretty. Haven't visited one since.

I don't consider it morally wrong - so long as the girls who work in these establishments voulenteer for it. After all, they do get paid. I would certainly not buy lapdances though. To the girl, it's just a routine she get's paid for - you're just the guy with the money.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

To be more of a moralist, I think that the buying and selling of love/affection is pretty sick in a society. A lapdance is something that should be given as a sign of affection/lust/love/attraction, not as a product. Same with sex. The fact that even this is exploited as a market, is pretty disgusting.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

I wonder what Traveler thinks?

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Who is Traveler, and should I or we care :confused:

Re: Strip Clubs
 

First I would like to start by saying that long before I believed in Christ that I did frequent strips clubs. I think went at least a couple dozen times in my life and not often to the same place. Most of the strippers were there for cash to support drinking and drug habits.

Seems it may take an altered state of mind to strip naked in front of men. Most women are self consious about their bodies so being naked is mentally tough for them. But they do take pride in knowing that stupid men will pay to see them.

From a religeous viewpoint it's wrong, that a no brainer.

Morals are about what you personally feel is right and wrong. Law are what society as a whole feels is right and wrong. And ethics is the middle ground between laws and morals.

One thing to think about is, what if you saw your sister, wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother, grandmother working at a strip club. How would you feel about seeing them in such a place? Would you feel happy they were making good cash? Or would you be ashamed they were being exploited for their bodies?

Personally I think stipping is the modern equivalent of prostitution even though prostitution does still exist seems like there are more strippers and it's legal in alot of places.

Really the choice is yours. Since you brought up the question it is likely you have your own doubts about whether it's ok with you or not.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Now

My Oxford College was named after Mary Magdalen (spelling disputed)

http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk

Explain to me who and what you think mary magdalen was.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

good to hear

thats not the impression i get of strippers in the UK

I disagree here at the strip clubs i go to theres a strict no drinking policy for all strippers while on duty, and they will only drink soft drinks. IF a punter buys her champagne thats a different story, if there stupid enough to pay £250.

what yahwe said

Well they CHOOSE to be strippers, they arent forced into it. If my wife, gf, mother whatever had that as a career I would support them. I might not be happy about it at first but tough luck to me as women have a mind of there own. If I got paid to strip ie £20 every 5 minutes hell id do it.

Im lost here, as we dont come from the same country I guess the system is different in the states? In the UK prostitution is illegal yet kind of legal infact me and blasto were talking about it the other day. Anyway strip clubs are well regulated joints where the girls get looked after and are never put in trouble. NOTHING at all like prostitution. Theres even laws and guidlines as to what strippers and punters can do.

no doubts at all i was just trying to understand why people dont go to strip clubs ill carry on going with friends until i can

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Wives tend to put end to that. Even the non-religeous ones.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

So I hear ;/ although to be honest I doubt she would have a great problem with it, as I said previously ive taken girlfriends there and they were displaying concerns many on these forums are they left and they had nothing but praise, although still raised an eyebrow when I told them I went ;p

Re: Strip Clubs
 

piglet

oh piglet.

You 'let him off' replying to me.

never underestimate a zealot.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

i reckon its kind of like 3D porn, plastic girls wearing too much make up and bad shoes faking enjoyment so that you dont need to use your imagination as much when wanking.

i'd rather meet someone and have sex myself.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Locally, we have a judge who worked her way through law school as an "exotic dancer."

Re: Strip Clubs
 

Show them how it's done then.

Edit: You can practise on me if you like.

Re: Strip Clubs
 

It's true - I went quite often in my student days - though rarely with just lads. It was 4 bottles for a fiver as well, and something a bit different. Not been for a while though.

In other news I was in hospital from Saturday until yesterday and I now have a girlfriend. The two items of news are not related.

Edit: That's a lie (to do with the first part) - Dante reminded me that I went to strip clubs in Prague last summer and I'm fairly sure I'll go to some when I go to Prague in a months time.