Poll: Do you find strip clubs misogynistic?

[Inglorious891]

Pretty basic question: do you find strip clubs misogynistic? And I'm referring to clubs featuring women, not men.


The question came into my head a few months ago, when a few co-workers were talking about taking me to a strip club for my 21st. My initial, and current thought, is that I really wouldn't like being in one, but I really don't know why. One reason for that though is the thought that it would be offensive to the female population in general as such places actively objectify women. I'm still kinda iffy on that thought as I've always been a fan of the opinion that it's OK to (and this is going to be a poor way to describe it but I really want to get back to Just Cause 3 and I can't think of a better way to describe it) view women purely for their attractiveness as long as you also realize that they're still human being and deserve respect because of that. Despite this, I still feel like I'd be insult a hell of a lot of people if I ever stepped foot in a strip club.

Also not helping this thought is the fact that I've never meet a women who has negative thoughts toward strip clubs. Neutral thoughts, of course, but never one who considers a strip club to be a negative place purely because of the "entertainment" there.

Anyway this post is longer that I like, so, TL;DR: are strip clubs inherently misogynistic?

 

[mecegirl]

The idea of a club itself is fine. What is misogynistic is how some patrons don't always respect the performer's boundaries. I've also heard stories of owners shortchanging the women that work there. Adding to that are social norms that create a world where there are more female strip clubs than male and how people treat performers as if they are lesser.

 

[Zhukov]

Nah, not really.

Only been to one mind you. Didn't strike me as remotely hateful though. Just kinda awkward. A whole lot of mildly aroused dudes sipping drinks and staring at wiggling women. Personally didn't see much value in paying to stare at someone I wasn't going to be touching anytime soon.

I suppose you could make the argument that it fosters misogynistic or similar attitudes, but that would carry quite the burden of proof.

 

[Antari]

Not in the slightest. At least around here none of the strippers I have ever met were forced into the line of work due to life circumstances. There is the occasional one but most just do it because they like doing it. And its good money. Occasionally people get out of hand, but the same could be said for any bar. That's why most have bouncers.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Inherently? No.

I wouldn't feel comfortable being a patron at one, though, without knowing that all the girls were there by choice and not need. That it was something they genuinely enjoyed, and that me looking at them didn't make them feel shitty in any way. Since there's really no way to establish that, I'd just...rather not.

On a purely hypothetical level, though, you could have a stripper/patron interaction that was perfectly enjoyable and rewarding for both parties. So I voted "nea".

 

[Foolery]

I'm with Guppy on this one, inherently bad? Probably not. It's all a case by case basis. There are poorly run strip clubs, and well run strip clubs. The only one in town here was called 'Elbows' and it shut down a couple of years ago. Although, there is a pretty skeezy titty bar one city over. Not my kind of thing, anyway.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Strip clubs are more social an experience than I usually like (I don't care for regular clubs and bars either) but as a concept, I've never seen the problem. Older feminist theories were about limiting the portrayal of women as pretty objectws because that was all women were seen as or even could be seen as at one time, and rarely for their own benefit, and it did make sense back then. Today, well, striping supposed makes good money from guys parting with sizable amounts of hard earned cash for a look at a naked women and maybe some teasing, so I'm more inclined to see it more as exploiting the men that go to these things.

As for seeing them as objects, honestly, our interactions with a lot of the people in our lives aren't much better. It's a fair complaint to see women as only physical things to look at, but a lot of interaction and jobs have a similar "you're only good as long as you're doing this thing or filling that role" just relying on physical, mental, creative, artistic, or technical skills rather than attractiveness as a means of determining their worth to you. Now that things are better in the sense that we can value a women (and any other person) for a variety of skills beyond looks, it's safe to say there are areas where it's perfectly alright to let people use their attractiveness to make a buck realizing we aren't holding them in any less regard than the person making your take-out lunch, delierving your package, cleaning the mall floor, ringing up your purchase, or any other menial job we take for granted.

 

[Fox12]

The idea of a club itself is fine. What is misogynistic is how some patrons don't always respect the performer's boundaries. I've also heard stories of owners shortchanging the women that work there. Adding to that are social norms that create a world where there are more female strip clubs than male and how people treat performers as if they are lesser.

Yeah, I think this nails it.

I don't think strip clubs or porn, for instance, are inherently misogynistic. The women do choose to work there, after all. It really depends on how people are treated. I read an article by a dancer once, and she said that sometimes lonely men would pay her just to talk, or that a married couple would come in to experiment with their relationship, and they were very curtious. Other patrons were assholes. So strip clubs may not be misogynistic, but some of the patrons certainly are.

 

[Rastrelly]

Are mines inherently misoandric? Or maybe sperm banks?

 

[FPLOON]

Nope... But, given the right strip club, they can make some decent-ish pseudo-therapy sessions in the form of calm, verbal communication between patreon(s) and stripper(s) over a set period of time...

Other than that, I've never been to a real one... But, that one time at the virtual strip club was pretty dope in its own right...

 

[Yopaz]

By this point the term misogyny completely lost its meaning anyway, so just about everything can be considered misogynous.

Yeah, and going "HURR DURR everything is misogynistic" is the best way of combating any criticism and make you look like a well educated, tolerant person to hold a mature discussion with.

Are mines inherently misoandric? Or maybe sperm banks?

So you'd call a profession that historically exclude women from working there misandrist? By what logic? Terrible analogy.

OT: No, I do not find strip clubs to be misogynistic. It preys on horny people who are willing to pay to see someone get undressed. The people who go there might be misogynistic or not, the people who run the clubs may be, but the concept isn't.

 

[Kyrian007]

That's a tougher question than a yes or no answer can do justice to. I've known a couple of women who have stripped and to them it was just them exploiting men's enjoyment of watching their bodies for cash. To them it was more like a scam they were running to exploit men. They said there were clear "look but don't touch" boundaries (which are actually required by law in the area where I live,) and they made all their money and if they had to share it was only with other dancers or perhaps a bartender (which seems fair enough I guess.) On the other hand I also know a woman who's landlord tried to give her the "go work at my strip club or I'll evict you" the first time she was late with her rent. Also, even though there's a "classy" strip joint in my area, I've also know there's at least 3 gang-run strip clubs in the city as well. I know that illegal stuff goes on there, one or another of them has a tendency to get raided, closed, and reopens elsewhere with a different name every couple of years or so. And I'm just guessing here, but in those places I doubt that the dancers are making the profit.

So I guess that means inherently... maybe not. But I do know that you don't have to go very far to find the deep end of disgustingly misogynistic in looking at places like that.

 

[9tailedflame]

I mean there's male strippers out there too, though i imagine a lot less.

Anyway, i don't really think so. I mean the strippers are ultimately the ones in total power, at least in a legal place, even while they're the ones getting paid. Seems at least a little bit like an empowered position. I don't get the appeal myself, if i want to see naked people I'll go on the internet to do it for free. In some ways, it could be considered very exploitative of men. It provides titillation, but ultimately not satisfaction, it's like a drug you get addicted to, always looking for that high but never quite getting to where you need to be. It preys on guys with an underdeveloped sense of sexuality, and that's fine, it's an industry, and most every industry will prey on one demographic or another at some point, but it's good to be aware of that.

I mean ultimately, it's an industry like any other. Most industries have some level of objectifying it's workers and exploiting and manipulating it's customers. Why should strip clubs be any different?

 

[Rastrelly]

So you'd call a profession that historically exclude women from working there misandrist? By what logic? Terrible analogy.

By the same logic stripper profession is misogynistic - alien one.

 

[fenrizz]

Ehh.. Sort of, but not really.
It's a womans choice if she want's to strip and no one has any right to tell he otherwise.
That being said, the industry is plagued by less than ideal conditions.

Either way I find the whole strip club thing rather tacky and low class.

 

[Amaror]

Well you can't really have it just one way. If your someone that considers female strip clubs mysogonistic, then you pretty much have to concede that male strip clubs are misandrist. Their literally the same thing.

That being said i also don't enjoy the idea of going to a strip club. Not because of "sexism", but i just don't really get the point. Why would i want to pay to get horny without gratification. I get horny all the time i don't need to pay any women to get me there.
It just doesn't make any sense to me, really. I get it as a special thing at a bachelor/bachelorette party, but otherwise not really.

 

[fenrizz]

Well you can't really have it just one way. If your someone that considers female strip clubs mysogonistic, then you pretty much have to concede that male strip clubs are misandrist. Their literally the same thing.

If you look at it as just two strip clubs side by side, one male and one female, then yes ()or rather, none of them are).
But this is hardly the case in real life.

 

[Risingblade]

No because male strippers exist.