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My boyfriend thinks that the stripping industry in no way contributes to violence against women, or the objectification of women, or that it could any way be harmful to women who are not strippers, and in fact, he believes that most women who are strippers want to be strippers because they like it, and they like the money. When I asked him what he would think if our (to date still imaginary) daughter wanted to be a stripper, he said he would support her decision. I was outraged, and our argument left me drained and incredibly confused.

But he did say he was willing to be educated, so that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to find information to help him learn, and I'd love your help with this. Any stats you could point me to would be most helpful.


That's certainly a familiar conversation and I think it's a tough conversation because both things can be true — women can be making the decision to strip and they can be exploited. Some women do need the money — but as others have argued — shouldn't we hope that women had better options for make money? And though I have certainly met women who enjoy stripping, there are few women who "want" to strip — they get something out of it (financial, as well as attention and even get something from being able to manipulate men), but it's rarely long-term gratifying and mostly women want more options.

I don't think there are stats that specifically point to how stripping contributes to a specific impact on women — but I can say that it contributes to the general climate of how women are treated — or mistreated. Women should be able to get validation from other avenues, not just how men pursue them. Also, though some women can be strong in those situations for most it's a charade and that doesn't serve them in the long run.