Sociology

Erotic dancers master customer relations

When they pull up a stool to offer a customer a “$10 dance,” erotic dancers use strategies from the business world, similar to the ones espoused by management schools: customer loyalty, personalized sales, competitive advantages.

This was doctorate student Shirley Lacasse’s conclusion following on an in-depth study on the work of erotic dancers in two Montreal-area bars. For one year, Ms Lacasse frequented one of the two bars almost every night to observe and interview 31 dancers. This ethnological approach enabled her to lift the veil, so to speak, on a profession virtually unexplored in Quebec universities. “It is often said that these women are victims of domination based on sexual exploitation, but I disagree. In reality, these women are self-employed workers who set the conditions in which they provide their services to customers. The most skilled women reap the greatest benefits from their customers,” explains Ms Lacasse who, in addition to a PhD, has a bachelor’s degree in sexology and master’s in criminology.

One might think that the youngest and most attractive women make more money than those who have worked erotic dance bars for several months or years. But that’s not the case. “Some women end the evening with $50 in their pocket, while others take home $500. The difference in earnings is all about how they manage their expertise,” explains Ms Lacasse whose 200-page thesis moves beyond the stigma to examine the work of erotic dancers as service providers (“Le travail des danseuses nues: au-delà du stigmate, une relation de service marchand”).

For 12 months, the doctoral student visited the two erotic bars (one in Montreal and the other one off the island) and, with the help of two women who acted as intermediaries, developed a trusting relationship with dozens of dancers. Ms Lacasse filled her daily field journal with a mass of data. Her doctoral thesis, including writing and analysis, took close to a decade to complete.

Ms Lacasse does not claim to have achieved a scientific sample of all erotic dancers, but she did try to be as representative of the milieu as possible. And there were a few surprises along the way. First, one-third of the women she spoke to had not finished high school but almost as many had pursued college or university studies. In addition, the respondents were older than one would expect: 28 years old on average at the bar in Montreal and 35 at the suburban bar. Most of the women had been in the profession for more than 10 years and over half had children.

Ms Lacasse stressed the fact that erotic dancers are unfairly stigmatized by the population and the media. “When we examine their reality objectively, we realize that they have a lot more control over their situation than we think,” explains Ms Lacasse. “A woman who hates to have her breasts touched can make sure to attract customers who won’t bother her with that. And a woman who is not comfortable making conversation will focus on a more physical interaction. Often, it’s the women who lay down the rules.”

That’s not to say that an erotic dancer’s work is a walk in the park. “I wouldn’t want to do it,” responds Ms Lacasse when asked if she could ever be tempted by the profession. Ms Lacasse is acutely aware of the difficulties, namely financial, that these women face. In addition, “these dancers are sometimes exposed to physical (biting) or psychological (humiliation) violence as well as to various transgressions (such as touching dancers without their permission) on the part of their customers,” explains Ms Lacasse in her thesis. However, she is quick to add that “the data suggests that these problematic situations that affect a dancer’s emotional well-being are not representative of their daily work.”