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Annex 7 Performer Interviews

Dancer interviews

Research Summary

The objective of this research was to explore the issues relating to working in the adult entertainment industry from the dancers' perspective. Interviews were conducted with five dancers who had experience of working in 'lap-dancing clubs' in various localities across Scotland. Discussions covered a range of subjects but focussed on the working environment, relationships with owners, customers and other dancers. The research also explored the reasons for choosing to become dancers, the experiences of working in the industry and the perceived effect on the dancers' lives. The findings will help inform the deliberations of the Adult Entertainment Working Group.

Method

Five face to face interviews were set up following the placement of adverts for interviewees in two national newspapers. Two interviews were arranged in Edinburgh and three were arranged in Glasgow. However, four interviewees were not able to turn up at the agreed time. As it was unfeasible to re-advertise for dancers at this stage, the researchers decided to re-contact the dancers who were unable to meet in person to arrange telephone interviews. Consequently, five additional telephone interviews were set up and four were successfully completed. Of the five interviews conducted, four interviewees were still dancing and one was an ex-dancer. The fieldwork was conducted during February and March 2006.

Interviews were semi-structured and covered the following issues:

• Details of dancing activity
• Earnings
• Treatment at work
• Experience of criminal activity/violence and drugs
• Social impact of dancing (family and relationships)
• Psychological impact of dancing
• Physical impact of dancing

Interviewees were assured that the interviews were completely anonymous and confidential.

Key Findings

• The amount of money dancers are able to earn is extremely variable.
• The commission and fining system is perceived to be unfair
• Some of the benefits of dancing are improved fitness and stamina, and increased self esteem and confidence.
• Some of the drawbacks are strains and injuries, abuse from customers and the difficulty in earning a living due to high commission and other fines.
• Although some dancers are approached by customers to have sex, involvement in prostitution and pornography is rare and is disapproved of by most dancers and clubs.
• Overall dancers felt safe working in the clubs.
• Asked what dancers would improve about their job, most said that the dancers need more protection, that commission should be reduced and rudeness from customers should not be tolerated.

Main Findings

Personal Characteristics:

Gender and Age

All dancers were female aged between 22 and 40 years.

Children and relationships

Two dancers were divorced, two had partners (unmarried), and one dancer was single. Two of the dancers had children.

Qualifications

All of the dancers interviewed had GCSE and 'O' grades as minimum educational qualifications. Two also had vocational qualifications. Two dancers had 'Higher and 'A' level qualifications and two held degree qualifications.

Other work/studying

Only one dancer was not also working in another type of employment. Two dancers were studying, and three were involved in other forms of employment.

Type of dancing and number of hours

Two interviewees were both lap dancers and pole dancers; One was a lap dancer and also did burlesque; one was a lap dancer only; one was a table dancer and lap dancer. Three interviewees danced between 10-20 hours per week. One dancer only danced 'now and again' and one interviewee danced more than 40 hours an week.

The dancer who classified herself as 'ex-dancer' still said she intended to return to dancing 'now and again'. She said that she had left frequent dancing to focus on other training and work opportunities but would return to dancing if and when she needed money. She was the oldest of the five interviewees, but only three years older than the second oldest (37 years). Otherwise, there was nothing that stood out in her responses as being particularly distinct in terms of her views and experiences of dancing as compared with the dancers.

The only dancer who did not have another job said that she had no intention of leaving dancing for another type of work.

All dancers were asked if they thought they would still be dancing in 10 years time. Only one dancer thought that she would like to still be dancing because she 'enjoyed it'. Three dancers explained that they thought they would definitely be 'too old' in ten years time and one dancer who also ran her own business intended to be a full-time business women in ten years time.

Key Issues

Earnings

Issues relating to earning potential and financial arrangements were raised by dancers at various points throughout the course of the interview.

Earning Potential

All dancers talked about the variability in earnings. At the top end, they could earn up to £800 per shift, but they all said that they sometimes ended up owing the club money. This degree of variation made establishing an average very difficult. Dancers found it marginally easier to estimate an average range that was £200-£300 for around 10-20 hrs work (after commission).

The ability to earn a living from dancing was mediated by a range of factors. These include the need to pay commission/a deposit to the club, fines and penalties, whether they worked on week days or weekends (which are more lucrative) and number of private dances they managed to secure. One dancer also mentioned that she also had to pay for her own drinks and sometimes she would have to pay extra for protection and the DJ. All dancers said they sometimes end up out of pocket and that they have to work long shifts just to break even.

Two out of the five dancers mentioned that the prospect of earning money had formed part of the reason for starting to dance. The financial benefits associated with dancing seemed to relate to belief that dancers could earn additional money quickly in an emergency or when they needed extra money for 'luxuries'. Only one dancer chose to rely on the money as a sole source of income. The reluctance to rely on dancing as a sole source of income may be partly due to the unpredictability of the amount of money they are able to earn over time. One dancer said she had started dancing to 'pay off debts' and another said she wanted money to pay for plastic surgery. Another dancer said they she only dances 'now and again … when I need money quickly for something particular '.

It should be noted that financial reward was not mentioned by any dancer as the sole reason for starting dancing. Enjoyment, excitement and curiosity were more frequently mentioned as the main reasons for being attracted to dancing.

Commission and Fines

The financial arrangements used by the clubs were perceived to be unfair and divisive. Clubs charged very high commission and many clubs also employed a system that fines the dancers for a range of activities. Dancers can be fined for 'dirty dancing' being too drunk, being too long in the bathroom, lateness, talking to other dancers too long and 'no shows'. One dancer described how the type of 'finable' activities changed all the time. Whilst some dancers felt that the rules should be strict, others felt that clubs used fining as a convenient lever to reduce the amount of money the clubs pay the dancers. The amount dancers had been fined ranged from £10-£50. One dancer also said that her tips were also often taken by the management.

Dancers were concerned that high commissions and the use of fines is increasing pressure on the dancers to dance for longer than they may otherwise want to, just to pay back the club. Some dancers also said that it made the girls very competitive with each other, and made the dancers more frustrated with customers who refuse a private dance. Some dancers also have to do their own PR work to attract customers. It must be noted however that none of the dancers said they have considered performing sex or doing pornography to increase their earnings.

When asked what they would do to improve dancing, the need to reduce the amount of commission and stop the fining system was mentioned most frequently.

Prostitution and Pornography

Whilst it is common for dancers to be propositioned for sex by customers as often as 4-5 times a night, none of the dancers interviewed had ever accepted payment for sex or had been involved in pornography. All dancers disapproved of dancers who were also prostitutes and they drew a clear distinction between the different types of work.

'Dancing required skills and stamina and prostitution required a different mentality'.

Whilst some customers asked dancers to perform 'extras', most clubs had a very strict policy of prohibiting sexual behaviour in the clubs. The dancers were keen to stress that prostitution was illegal and that most clubs would dismiss them for 'crossing the line'. One dancer said,

'It is unusual for girls to work in prostitution and dance-prostitutes are looked down on and criticised'.

Dancers were concerned that the willingness of a minority of dancers to provide sex for money posed a threat to their earnings and was putting pressure on some dancers to have sex with customers. Two dancers mentioned that Eastern European dancers were very competitive and were prepared to offer 'extras' (sexual acts) and that this was raising the expectations of the customers.

One dancer warned that that sexual interaction might increase if customers refused to pay the same rate for 'tamer' dancing. If dancers felt unable to make enough money from dancing, they may take more risks with customers by agreeing to so more private parties and/or prostitution. 'Tamer' dancing was defined by this dancer as;

'i f greater distances between customer and dancer and other regulations that prevented closer dancing were enforced.'

Drugs

Only one dancer had bought drugs (cocaine) in the club. Three dancers were aware of a few dancers taking drugs to 'help them cope with the dancing' but all dancers said they felt drug taking and selling was on the decrease because of the strict rules.

Treatment at Work

Dancers were asked a series of questions relating to the work environment. These included specific questions about how they are treated by management, dancers and customers.

Management

All dancers said that they felt club owners treated them as the least important on their list of priorities and two dancers complained that they had been treated unfairly by the club owners. One dancer stated,

'We are lowest down the pecking order - its management, bar staff, bouncers and then dancers'.

One dancer said that management had the attitude that 'if you don't like it - you know where the door is'. Another dancer said that 'general verbal abuse' was common between dancers and management.

Nevertheless, all dancers expressed feelings of safety at work and two dancers specifically said that they felt safer at the dancing club that at ordinary clubs. Feelings of safety were attributed to the CCTV cameras and to bouncers who were able to stop trouble quickly.

Experience of violence and harassment by management varied considerably. Dancers explained that levels of violence depended on the club. Three of the five dancers had never experienced violence of any kind. In contrast, one dancer said that she was being sexually harassed by the management and another dancer described an incident where she had been 'attacked verbally and physically' by management (in a previous club) and that she had witnessed 'others being attacked'. Asked whether they had experienced violence outside work, three of the dancers said that they had no experience of violence outside work. However, one dancer indicated that she had been stalked and had to move home to avoid further harassment. Another dancer said that she exercises caution to 'avoid hangers on outside the club'.

Interestingly, three of the dancers identified 'bad clubs' which give other 'good clubs' a bad name. The term 'bad clubs' was used to describe clubs that were either perceived to offer little protection to the dancers by management against verbally offensive customers and/or clubs that demanded high commission and applied fines.

In terms of dealing with difficult or abusive behaviour, it was clear that the management exercise discretion and control over the extent to which the dancers were allowed to avoid abuse and deal with poor treatment from customers. One dancer said;

'I can walk away from verbal abuse...the club allows me to do that…If clients behave they get a show - if not they don't' Another dancer said, 'in the bar you can get grabbed or photographed and management don't do anything'.

There was also a suggestion by one dancer that club owners sometimes felt pressure to 'turn a blind eye' to all illegal activity if there was 'gangsters' involved in the club.

When dancers were asked what they would do to improve their jobs, most mentioned the need for the club to offer more protection for the dancers.

Dancers

Some dancers' reported tension between dancers although actual incidents of violence between dancers were rarely mentioned. Two dancers spoke of dancers as being like a very 'close knit family' whereas the others described the some other dancers as 'bitchy'. There was only one incident of violence between dancers mentioned during the interviews. One dancer had experienced bullying from the other dancers and said that 'a glass was 'dropped' near my leg' …' Dancers were more likely to complain about the lack or privacy and security which has lead to other dancers stealing from them. One dancer wanted clubs to enforce stricter house rules in to punish theft and ensure greater privacy.

Customers

All dancers said that the majority of customers treated them 'fairly' although all said that a small number could be rude, offensive and treat them like a 'commodity'. All the dancers said they receive a mixture of compliments and insults from customers. All of the dancers said that the biggest problem were often 'new' customers who did not understand the strict rules of the club. Asked which aspects of the job they disliked the most, alcohol induced rudeness from clients was mentioned most frequently with the fines and commission.

Nevertheless, all dancers were emphatic about the pleasure they received from the dancing itself and the positive response for the audience. Lap-dancing and private dances was perceived as enjoyable as pole, table and stage dancing. Dancers also felt that the aim of their job is to secure as many private dances as possible. Two dancers felt that they performed a valuable 'service' for customers who had problems establishing relationships with women.

Psychological Impacts

Dancers perceived that dancing had both positive and negative effects on their mental health. All dancers interviewed said that dancing had boosted their confidence and self-esteem and that it developed their ability to deal with difficult people and situations more effectively.

When asked what aspects of the job they liked the most, the impact on their self-esteem and increased confidence was mentioned most frequently with the thrill of the performance (dancing for its own sake) and the 'buzz' of the audience reaction. Notably, financial gain was not mentioned at all in response to this question.

Three dancers said that they actively try to keep dancing separate from the other aspects of their lives. One dancer said, 'I have a separate dance identity and private life'. Another described how she has a distinct 'dancing persona'. One dancer felt that this duality had lead to some psychological problems. She said, 'dancing can screw you up - you ask who's the real me?'

The tendency to keep the dancing separate from other part of their lives was also apparent when we asked about whether their families or partner knew that they were dancers. One dancer, who had been dancing from more than three years, had still not told her parents. Three other dancers had not told people at their other places of work or university. However, this was not the case for all interviewees. Two had been open with friends, partners and their children about the dancing.

Social Impact

Two out of the five dancers said that their families 'strongly disapproved' of their dancing and as a consequence, they had been 'cut off' from their families. However, it was clear from both dancers that relations between themselves and their families were very stained before they started dancing but that dancing had intensified the antagonism. Both dancers described their parents as 'middle-class' and 'respected' and that their parents were embarrassed by their decision to take up dancing. Another dancer mentioned the how dancing effected the perception of them by others, she said, 'non-dancers judge you… people think you have AIDS.' Two of the dancers said that all their friends, families and children were supportive about dancing.

One dancer admitted that dancing had affected her relationship with her boyfriend. She said she felt pressure to 'perform' when they know you're a dancer.

Health impacts

Dancers listed a mixture of positive and negative impacts on their health. Damaging effects included lumps appearing on the throat due to the smoky atmosphere and from shouting over the music and strains and pains associated with the physicality of the dancing itself. Health benefits included general physical fitness and in particular, an increase in strength and stamina.

Catherine Bisset
DD: ASD

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