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Thread: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

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    Default After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    In December, Gizelle and other dancers began working with the SOAR Institute, a sex-worker advocacy organization, to create a long-term organizing strategy. “What Gizelle and many other women have done since the fall is to start to shed light on the egregious labor violations that exist in their industry,” said Melissa Broudo, co-director of SOAR, “I’ve been in the sex-worker rights movement for over 15 years, and to see broader movements and organizations embrace sex workers is really beautiful. That is really what Gizelle and her colleagues have done.”

    While the movement is still in the early phases of building a concrete agenda, the Stripper Strike has already made a difference for many dancers. “Girls have told me there has been a bit of change in some of the clubs. The money has shifted toward the dancers in some places,” said Gizelle. “A lot of women have reached out [to me] and been very supportive. They’re like, ‘you’re doing a great job. We thank you so much for speaking up for us.’”

    Working with SOAR, the Stripper Strike brought a cohort to the NYC Women’s March in January. Gizelle also marched with sex workers at the Las Vegas Women’s March. “So often within the broader feminist movement, and we’ve seen this happen specifically within the Women’s March, sex workers are either explicitly not included or implicitly not included as part of a broader women’s rights platform,” explained Broudo. “We wanted to have a vocal and notable contingent around sex worker rights in that space.”

    Organizers from the International Women’s Strike USA are also working with the Stripper Strike. The group aims to connect dancers to other labor groups organizing women workers in sectors such as restaurant work and domestic labor, and invited Gizelle to speak at their rally in Washington Square Park for International Women’s Day on March 8. Despite the bad storm that hit NYC that day, an estimated 1,000 people were in attendance. “Sex work is work,” she said during an emotional speech. “Stigma perpetuates exploitation and drives violence. Black and brown women are amongst the most marginalized and exploited people in this country... I’m here today on behalf of all strippers, all sex workers, and my black trans sisters to raise awareness and demand the right to protection.”

    “What we can provide is a platform to come together with other struggles that can strengthen the struggle that the strippers are waging,” said Ximena Bustamante, an organizer with the Women’s Strike. “Usually people understand sex work as an exceptional kind of work, but it generally shares conditions of many women workers, in the sense that it’s precarious and they don’t have contracts, security or retirement. They can also be fired at any time, harassed or discriminated against.”
    With the support of these organizations, Gizelle hopes to develop Stripper Strike contingents in cities across the country and to develop a national advocacy agenda. Gizelle is also working on forming a nonprofit organization that has an online presence to raise awareness and resources for the Stripper Strike movement. She hopes to garner enough donations to provide financial and legal support to dancers who experience abuse in the clubs.
    “What a caterpillar calls the end of the world we call a butterfly.” - ECKHART TOLLE

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Gizelle continues her boycott of clubs that don’t treat dancers fairly. She’s been working at Club W, a “pro dancer club,” which charges low house fees and allows dancers of all races and skin tones to work. Other dancers in the movement continue to boycott the clubs in the city they say are discriminatory, instead working at Club W or in other states. Yet with all the forms of marginalization that many dancers, particularly those of color, navigate on a daily basis, it’s been hard for Gizelle to convince a critical mass of dancers to join the movement. The confusing laws regulating their work, combined with the abuse they often face both in and outside the club, make organizing seem fruitless to many dancers. Although their work conditions foster the instability they face, many strippers feel their struggle is tough enough on the day-to-day without potentially risking their livelihoods, according to Gizelle. “Not only are we dealing with the problems inside the club, we’re dealing with the systematic oppression outside of the club as well,” she said.

    The circumstances under which NYC dancers currently work not only open them up to financial instability, but also make them vulnerable to sexual harassment and abuse. Due to the house fees and other fines dancers have to pay to work, it’s possible for them to leave work owing money to the club. “Dancers can show up for a shift and be down $200 or $300,” said Broudo. “It puts the dancers in this situation where they have to hustle that much harder to get tips, and that creates such a severe power imbalance with the customers, the managers and the promoters.”

    Legislative change to improve working conditions for strippers could include harsher enforcement against race quotas within clubs, and strict limits on or the elimination of house fees. These changes could also include more clearly defined job descriptions and baseline pay for dancers, which could prevent the competition between dancers and bartenders fostered by club management in New York.

    The attacks that Gizelle says she sustained from club management when she started the Stripper Strike have largely stopped. “The clubs and the promoters don’t say anything anymore, because they know that I’m right,” Gizelle said.

    “They just don’t think that there’s going to be a change.”

    As the NYC Stripper Strike continues to develop, Gizelle is determined to prove the naysayers wrong. “My focus is trying to fight for women’s rights,” said Gizelle. “It has affected me financially, but I feel like because I’m bringing so much awareness and getting so much support, I’m going to be ok.”

    https://jezebel.com/after-5-months-t...-go-1823835024
    “What a caterpillar calls the end of the world we call a butterfly.” - ECKHART TOLLE

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    It's about time. We need change!
    You can't reason with stupid!
    It's a night of clowns and buffoons! - Maitre de in NYC

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Amen. Most places say the girls are independent, but you get treated like an employee.

    . I’m so proud of those girls!
    Last edited by Ifyouseekamy; 04-04-2018 at 01:23 AM.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Gizelle appears on The Daily Show talking about the NYC Stripper issue. Thats a big deal fast forward to about 10:00 if you want to see it http://www.cc.com/episodes/ke3c2w/th...on-23-ep-23092 PS the owner of Mr. Wedge is a douchebag.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    We have a slight striptender issue where I work at although nowhere near as fucked up as NYC. We have our waitresses/bartenders where I am at selling lapdances/dressing like strippers/showing tits and ass/ getting on stage and similar fuckery. All without paying out the kinda fees we do lol (although here I believe they do have some tiny fees just way less than we pay as strippers plus we don't get paid by the hour like these girls)...My club is also definitely racist towards black girls although I don't think they have trouble being hired. But the owner/manager pick on them more over dumb bullshit like rules they do not even enforce half the time like covering your ass out on the floor. They will also say something like " I wouldn't have hired you if you tried to get a job here with your hair looking like that" to a black girl wearing her hair natural. The owner has also been known to say the n word.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    We have bartenders and waitresses trying to be strippers too. My club charges them a LOT more than they charge dancers (higher stage fee and double tip out.) It makes sense. The club wants them to dance and strippers don't want them trying to dance and waitress/bartend at the same time.

    They did the same thing to me, when I was trying to be both.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Its so good to read and know sex workers are finally getting heard but know it will take time
    "All you care about is dancing."

    "I beg to differ, what is sports than a dance between two teams? What is business but a dance between two companies, I like to learn about every kind of dance." ----Memoirs Of A Geisha.
    (For those that know the movie I replaced sumo with sports, it seems fitting here.)


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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    This is great. Go GIZELLE!

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Quote Originally Posted by PhatGirlDynomite!!! View Post
    Gizelle appears on The Daily Show talking about the NYC Stripper issue. Thats a big deal fast forward to about 10:00 if you want to see it http://www.cc.com/episodes/ke3c2w/th...on-23-ep-23092 PS the owner of Mr. Wedge is a douchebag.
    You have to be subscribed to a cable provider to watch it. I’m sure you can this episode for free online somewhere

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Any new updates on this issue? I was listening to the latest Joe Budden Podcast and they touched on the strippertender controversy. They basically said they don't deserve as much as the dancers. Around the 90 minute mark.
    https://open.spotify.com/episode/2a8...T4iSU2GyL1Q52g
    I think dancers should tag him on Twitter to see if he'll speak on it even more. Lots of people listen to this podcast and hang on his every word.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Absolutely no change whatsoever in fact I think the bartenders have probably gotten even more ballsy about it. New urban clubs with these strip tenders keep popping up and girls keep working at these clubs. It's brought light to the issue but it hasn't changed anything at least I don't think.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    I’m a new dancer but I would let a club treat me the way urban ny clubs treat their dancers. The bartender literally dance for free and they take the money off the stage.

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    Default Re: After 5 Months, the #NYCStripperStrike Is Poised to Go Nationwide

    Quote Originally Posted by Niyalee View Post
    I’m a new dancer but I would let a club treat me the way urban ny clubs treat their dancers. The bartender literally dance for free and they take the money off the stage.
    They're not dancing for free, they're dancing for the MAJORITY of the money in the club.

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