The Lie All Strippers Tell Themselves to Avoid a Harder Truth
* "What are your plans for retirement? This career has an expiration date that's different for everyone. What if something happens and you can never dance again?"
* I've been asking this question for over fifteen years now and I always get the most perfunctory and redundant answers; misguided is an understatement.
*1) "That's still so far off, I'm not too worried about that now."
*2) "I'm in nursing school."
*3) "I'll have money saved by the time that happens."
* NONE OF THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ANSWER THE QUESTION!
* I asked, WHAT IF YOUR CAREER COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT?
* I can answer the question for at least 50% of strippers right now. They're completely lost! Dancers in WA state told me, on the phone, they never want to reclassify as employees, but that they are and always will be contractors. Legally most of them are not independent contractors, they're mislabeled employees. Since two strippers who were longstanding employees at DejaVu in Seattle ASKED FOR ADVICE, right after the company was sued and the CA state ruling went through, forcing clubs to reclassify strippers; it stands to reason that they were in fact employees, as contractors cannot be fired, nor do we work on a schedule. Along with Working Washington and a few others, the girls asked the IEAU for help; but they insisted on remaining contractors.
* I sent Ms. Dhatt of WWA our union Dancer bill of rights, information on various laws and programs the union offers -including an LLC membership for self-employed adult entertainers- because most strippers prefer to be free of schedules and rules that only serve the club; most of us give away about 60% of our cash, or gross income. This was all used for a new bill and nobody has a clue that I CHASED the woman from Working WA after my colleague scared them off. It led to a new bill for dancers that isn't going over well.. Anyway, back to the point..
* I very clearly told everyone on the conference call that day all the rights they DON'T have and never will, as contractors. They didn't care, this was their choice. So, how are strippers faring? They aren't. They are now learning what life after stripping will be like if they don't start being honest with themselves about the fact that they're highly unprepared. The same dancers who were very clearly told, in 2018, that they DO NOT qualify for unemployment are angry at their club owners for not helping them out during this time.
* Here is where I come in. I know strippers from all over the USA and I see a sad story unfolding; their denial being the worst. It's hard to get through to people who do not seem to know anything outside the adult industry; they're in denial. This is why I created the LLC membership for the Exotic Dancer Guild. For contractors. There are so many stripper groups out there but NONE of them will ever be able to help when the time comes. Like now, union strippers would have assistance and help they need. Unfortunately the funds are limited due to our current membership drive; fees are waived due to Coronavirus. Now many adult entertainers are joining and there's only so much we can do; financial aid being almost impossible. Membership fees typically go right back into the IEAU funds for programs we offer or would like to offer; we are a board of volunteers! We will NEVER take money. Think about the magnitude of what all my amazing fellow officers are doing FOR YOU!! We CAR3E!! Joining now is still better than not. Had strippers unionized before all of this started, we would be much better equipped to help and I can only hope they see it now; or soon!
* All that is to say that dancers are not taking this well. They know they won't get anything that employee strippers are entitled to; but again, they have minimal rights and our LLC membership at least offers union protection, but NO employee rights. The choice is ALL theirs, as far as contractor vs. employee is concerned and no one else. They are waiting for their clubs to reopen and many will be in an even worse position when half the clubs in the state went bankrupt. According to the DejaVu Director of Operations, they (DejaVu owned clubs) will remain closed until the Coronavirus is no longer a threat. WA, CA and OR girls are in for a rude awakening because our industry is barely hanging on and waiting around for something that may never happen again is exactly why I ask this oh so "annoying" (eye rolls always!) question; "What are you going to do if you can't work because your club goes bankrupt, or you have an accident, get too old to keep going, etc.?"
* I already knew 90% of dancers wouldn't handle this time well. If ANY of the answers I always get were true, contractors would't be begging their clubs for help; after all, they can't run without dancers so that means there's no money coming in. How the hell are these poorly run businesses supposed to help? Furthermore, WHY are strippers acting so entitled when they have no leg to stand on and KNOW where they stand? It's backsliding. This is what life is like after stripping if you can't get OUT OF the bubble that is the dance industry and get a glimpse of reality outside; because our world, the stripper world, is unlike any other. Those who started young and never had any other kind of job except dancing are in the most trouble, because they've spent two decades being brainwashed, used, abused and unable to do anything but work for assholes who USE US TO AVOID TAXES!!! Value yourself! HELP FIX WHAT YOU HELPED BREAK!!!
* I hope this virus and all that's happening will break this cycle, and allow people to figure out how they'll survive after their career ends. FOR MANY IT'S OVER, THEY JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET! I think many are waking up and have stopped lying to themselves that they will be fine, because they're anything but! Maybe it's time to do the things you told yourself and others you'd do when you're done; because HALF the clubs in America won't reopen. The owners have no cash coming in from the 30 girls they illegally take money from. Strippers ALWAYS COMPLAIN about that, yet they're ready to go back out of sheer desperation and we all know that's bad for the dancers; but money trumps their safety, health and future. It is time to quit living in the moment and STOP WAITING AROUND!!
* 2021 is still MONTHS away and many clubs won't be reopening after that long, that's if Coronavirus has been eradicated by then. The recklessness many people display is going to be their downfall because the virus won't go away when people are sweating and other bodily fluids are exchanged; asymptomatic carriers are the most dangerous because they spread the virus without getting sick themselves. If money trumps safety and human life, you need to reevaluate your entire life and what kind of person you are INSIDE! Nobody is going to be around to help you when you drown alone because you never learned to swim. We all have to learn to keep our heads above water; just jump in and learn, because you don't have a swim coach or life raft. Time to learn that the rest of the world will NOT take pity on or help those who REFUSE to help themselves; nor do they care! YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR "YOU"!
* Take it from someone whose career DID end abruptly. If I didn't have my education to fall back on, or the abilities I LEARNED BECAUSE OF STRIPPING, then I would be screwed and my life would fall apart like most everyone else. I BECAME who and what I am on my own. I learned I have talents, intelligence and abilities I never knew I had; you have to FIND YOUR DESTINY and not keep on dancing, ignoring reality and skipping merrily to your DEMISE! MONEY WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL!!!! The GREED!
* WHY DO STRIPPERS CONTINUE TO FEED THE SAME STIGMAS WE HATE!!! YOU'RE PROVING SOCIETY RIGHT; AND THAT'S A MISTAKE!*
* I almost fell into the same rabbit hole but I did everything in my power to hold on. I could have drowned if I hadn't gotten my education and jobs OUTSIDE the industry. Decades of conditioning not only lead to this downfall, but left most jaded and unable to interact with most people outside the industry. That is NOT okay nor is it going to be helpful in building success! This isn't my opinion, these are hard facts. It's time to get on your feet. For now, figure it out; learn a new skill or go to school online. Nobody else can help you. YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN! You tell people the world doesn't owe them shit. So why doesn't that apply to you? NOBODY owes anyone anything! Not for free!! The entitlement is why you're failing now. This is your brutal wake up call. You are ON YOUR OWN NOW! Sink or swim.
* I've been asking this question for over fifteen years now and I always get the most perfunctory and redundant answers; misguided is an understatement.
*1) "That's still so far off, I'm not too worried about that now."
*2) "I'm in nursing school."
*3) "I'll have money saved by the time that happens."
* NONE OF THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ANSWER THE QUESTION!
* I asked, WHAT IF YOUR CAREER COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT?
* I can answer the question for at least 50% of strippers right now. They're completely lost! Dancers in WA state told me, on the phone, they never want to reclassify as employees, but that they are and always will be contractors. Legally most of them are not independent contractors, they're mislabeled employees. Since two strippers who were longstanding employees at DejaVu in Seattle ASKED FOR ADVICE, right after the company was sued and the CA state ruling went through, forcing clubs to reclassify strippers; it stands to reason that they were in fact employees, as contractors cannot be fired, nor do we work on a schedule. Along with Working Washington and a few others, the girls asked the IEAU for help; but they insisted on remaining contractors.
* I sent Ms. Dhatt of WWA our union Dancer bill of rights, information on various laws and programs the union offers -including an LLC membership for self-employed adult entertainers- because most strippers prefer to be free of schedules and rules that only serve the club; most of us give away about 60% of our cash, or gross income. This was all used for a new bill and nobody has a clue that I CHASED the woman from Working WA after my colleague scared them off. It led to a new bill for dancers that isn't going over well.. Anyway, back to the point..
* I very clearly told everyone on the conference call that day all the rights they DON'T have and never will, as contractors. They didn't care, this was their choice. So, how are strippers faring? They aren't. They are now learning what life after stripping will be like if they don't start being honest with themselves about the fact that they're highly unprepared. The same dancers who were very clearly told, in 2018, that they DO NOT qualify for unemployment are angry at their club owners for not helping them out during this time.
* Here is where I come in. I know strippers from all over the USA and I see a sad story unfolding; their denial being the worst. It's hard to get through to people who do not seem to know anything outside the adult industry; they're in denial. This is why I created the LLC membership for the Exotic Dancer Guild. For contractors. There are so many stripper groups out there but NONE of them will ever be able to help when the time comes. Like now, union strippers would have assistance and help they need. Unfortunately the funds are limited due to our current membership drive; fees are waived due to Coronavirus. Now many adult entertainers are joining and there's only so much we can do; financial aid being almost impossible. Membership fees typically go right back into the IEAU funds for programs we offer or would like to offer; we are a board of volunteers! We will NEVER take money. Think about the magnitude of what all my amazing fellow officers are doing FOR YOU!! We CAR3E!! Joining now is still better than not. Had strippers unionized before all of this started, we would be much better equipped to help and I can only hope they see it now; or soon!
* All that is to say that dancers are not taking this well. They know they won't get anything that employee strippers are entitled to; but again, they have minimal rights and our LLC membership at least offers union protection, but NO employee rights. The choice is ALL theirs, as far as contractor vs. employee is concerned and no one else. They are waiting for their clubs to reopen and many will be in an even worse position when half the clubs in the state went bankrupt. According to the DejaVu Director of Operations, they (DejaVu owned clubs) will remain closed until the Coronavirus is no longer a threat. WA, CA and OR girls are in for a rude awakening because our industry is barely hanging on and waiting around for something that may never happen again is exactly why I ask this oh so "annoying" (eye rolls always!) question; "What are you going to do if you can't work because your club goes bankrupt, or you have an accident, get too old to keep going, etc.?"
* I already knew 90% of dancers wouldn't handle this time well. If ANY of the answers I always get were true, contractors would't be begging their clubs for help; after all, they can't run without dancers so that means there's no money coming in. How the hell are these poorly run businesses supposed to help? Furthermore, WHY are strippers acting so entitled when they have no leg to stand on and KNOW where they stand? It's backsliding. This is what life is like after stripping if you can't get OUT OF the bubble that is the dance industry and get a glimpse of reality outside; because our world, the stripper world, is unlike any other. Those who started young and never had any other kind of job except dancing are in the most trouble, because they've spent two decades being brainwashed, used, abused and unable to do anything but work for assholes who USE US TO AVOID TAXES!!! Value yourself! HELP FIX WHAT YOU HELPED BREAK!!!
* I hope this virus and all that's happening will break this cycle, and allow people to figure out how they'll survive after their career ends. FOR MANY IT'S OVER, THEY JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET! I think many are waking up and have stopped lying to themselves that they will be fine, because they're anything but! Maybe it's time to do the things you told yourself and others you'd do when you're done; because HALF the clubs in America won't reopen. The owners have no cash coming in from the 30 girls they illegally take money from. Strippers ALWAYS COMPLAIN about that, yet they're ready to go back out of sheer desperation and we all know that's bad for the dancers; but money trumps their safety, health and future. It is time to quit living in the moment and STOP WAITING AROUND!!
* 2021 is still MONTHS away and many clubs won't be reopening after that long, that's if Coronavirus has been eradicated by then. The recklessness many people display is going to be their downfall because the virus won't go away when people are sweating and other bodily fluids are exchanged; asymptomatic carriers are the most dangerous because they spread the virus without getting sick themselves. If money trumps safety and human life, you need to reevaluate your entire life and what kind of person you are INSIDE! Nobody is going to be around to help you when you drown alone because you never learned to swim. We all have to learn to keep our heads above water; just jump in and learn, because you don't have a swim coach or life raft. Time to learn that the rest of the world will NOT take pity on or help those who REFUSE to help themselves; nor do they care! YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR "YOU"!
* Take it from someone whose career DID end abruptly. If I didn't have my education to fall back on, or the abilities I LEARNED BECAUSE OF STRIPPING, then I would be screwed and my life would fall apart like most everyone else. I BECAME who and what I am on my own. I learned I have talents, intelligence and abilities I never knew I had; you have to FIND YOUR DESTINY and not keep on dancing, ignoring reality and skipping merrily to your DEMISE! MONEY WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL!!!! The GREED!
* WHY DO STRIPPERS CONTINUE TO FEED THE SAME STIGMAS WE HATE!!! YOU'RE PROVING SOCIETY RIGHT; AND THAT'S A MISTAKE!*
* I almost fell into the same rabbit hole but I did everything in my power to hold on. I could have drowned if I hadn't gotten my education and jobs OUTSIDE the industry. Decades of conditioning not only lead to this downfall, but left most jaded and unable to interact with most people outside the industry. That is NOT okay nor is it going to be helpful in building success! This isn't my opinion, these are hard facts. It's time to get on your feet. For now, figure it out; learn a new skill or go to school online. Nobody else can help you. YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN! You tell people the world doesn't owe them shit. So why doesn't that apply to you? NOBODY owes anyone anything! Not for free!! The entitlement is why you're failing now. This is your brutal wake up call. You are ON YOUR OWN NOW! Sink or swim.
Message me on Twitter about this guild
ReplyDeleteVisit www.entertainmentadultunion.com I am listed under "officers" for the IEAU which is the mother union. The Exotic Dancer Guild is our subordinate designed only for strippers. We cover all legal sex workers and adult entertainers. Even UFC fighters & tattoo artists. It's pretty cool, but it has been a nightmare getting people to join. Even the ones going "we want a union".. It already exists. Like all unions, it's federal & local chapters will pop up as membership rises. I can literally drop the link in people's "we deserve rights" threads & am starting to wonder if half of them even understand unions, what they are or how they operate. I found a way to unionize indy contractors. I fought hard & it is in our drop menu under "LLC memberships". We file your EIN (tax ID) & register you as an LLC, making you an employee under your own name. The only difference is that we cannot perform union functions, i.e. collective bargaining, as you are your own employee in that case, and not an employee of the club. Therefore only union derived benefits are available. It didn't make sense to exclude 80% of the industry when only 20% are properly labeled workers and strippers, most of them anyway, prefer to actually be contractors and treated as such. Excluding the brunt of the dance industry is asinine, so I came up with the LLC program and the DOL seems to approve. It has NEVER been legal to work sans EIN.
DeleteOn paper we're contractors. What the owner knows & pretty much NOBODY else is aware of is that it is the duty of the establishment's owner to provide the IRS form to acquire a legal tax ID. In other words, every time they make someone sign a contract, mislabeled or not, the contractor cannot legally work without filing for their own employer ID number first. On the form the entire mid section is actually for the owner to put their own EIN/LLC on the application along with any other necessary tax info. They don't, obviously, because they only thrive on treachery. Can't steal cash that is on someone's books or a dancer's REAL tax form.. IRS forms 4070 & 4070A are calculated tip ledgers that can be filled out weekly, biweekly etc. Form 4070A is the worker's copy. Form 4070 goes to the owner, who must keep every single dancer's ledgers for taxes; meaning they would be forced to stop the bullshit.. Who wants that? In column D they ask that you provide the full names of every single person you tipped and how much. Boom.. IRS cross reference!
NOBODY that we tip out actually qualifies as a legally tipped employee, meaning they cannot report the cash income they get from us. If dancers would just fucking pay taxes, the IRS would have seen this shit a very long time ago and half the industry issues would never have existed. Like mislabeling, which is tax fraud.. Aaand if you look at IRS form 3949-A, Report Mislabeling, there are 3 kinds of fraud every stripper can check off. Failure to pay employee tax, unsubstantiated income, failure to report cash income and in most cases "failure to file". Going back to the ledgers, obviously neither form can be fudged and they must match because come tax season, they have to file every ledger and dancers send theirs in with the 1099MISC form which has ALWAYS required an EIN..
How exactly do dancers file their taxes as contractors when they don't even have a tax ID? Pot calling the kettle black.. The IRS will reject all forms missing vital information. Is this concept really that hard to grasp? Wanna end mislabeling, wage theft and even trafficking? File taxes properly. Done. The rest the IRS will handle. How is it that nobody can manage to use the tools provided to prevent the very thing they incessantly bitch about? Paying some bullshit cash to the IRS is nowhere near as expensive as paying the owner's mortgage and club overhead. Or... quit bitching. You know what I mean? God I am glad I got out!