tyra banks is an idiot (warning: about strippers)

I don't know why i recorded that drivel...okay I do...she was going undercover in a strip club to understand why men go there and what it's all about. I wanted to see. Being that I used to be a stripper about 10 years ago. But all it did was piss me off. She made it seem like the men that go to these places are sick and the women that work there are all pretty much high school dropouts or had something traumatic happen to them when they were younger or were in abusive relationships. Which ticks me off cuz I was a stripper for 4 years. I graduated in the top 20 or so of my class and went to Yale University for a year. And I don't feel there was anything wrong with me being a stripper. I found the job by accident. I answered an ad "dancers wanted" she asked how old I was. "19" did i have any experience? "well I can tap and jazz" (i'm sure she stifled a giggle here) you DO KNOW that this is exotic dancing? "ummmm...no" are you still interested? "sure"

So she set up an audition and I borrowed my mom's high heels and my bf at the time drove me to the bar. I remember dancing to Madonna in a stretch top and a black thong she had brought for me. Even tho I was underage she offered me a drink before I went up to dance. I declined. I remember she was impressed with me. I remember it was a little weird at first to dance topless, but i got used to it. 1 song dressed...2 w/o a top. They hired me. She ended up as my agent. I would make $5/hr plus tips (they don't have hourly anymore...they barely had it at the time I quit) It doesn't sound like much, but I ended up working at a bar called "Golddiggers" in Detroit and I worked easily 6 days a week and alot of doubles. I remember they told me to order "rum & coke" or "screwdrivers" and don't let the men taste them. Since I was underage they would give me just cole or O.J. but charge the men for the alcoholic version.

The first bar (whereI auditioned) was called "Shakers" I don't know what it's called now. I was there a week or 2 when they fired me cuz I was too fat. I was about 150lbs @ 5'6"...not fat but not skinny. So my agent got me a job at golddiggers. I fit in like a glove there. It was run by 2 women, May and Nettie. They were proly in their late 40s or so. Nettie's hubby owned the place. They took me under their wings. I never saw any drugs, altho I'm sure people were using. I never did any. I just danced. I loved it too. Especially during the day. The tips weren't as good, but the guys were nice. It was like a neighborhood bar...like Cheers but with strippers...same guys would come in everyday. You sit and chat with them, they buy you drinks, maybe get a lap dance or a tip while you were onstage. This one pair of friends, Butch and Greg, came in everyday around 4 and sat at the same table. You'd be lucky to get a dollar out of them each time you went to the stage, but they'd buy drinks all night long. They were good guys.

Sure, you'd get the occassional asshole, but generally the guys that came in there were there to escape from the everyday world. We had a pool table. I became pretty good. We had a big screen TV. Used to watch Monday Night Football all the time. We even had karaoke. I used to sing while I stripped. Even had regulars who would come in and sing just for me while i danced (yea we had to dance to at least one karaoke song each time we got on stage...sometimes it was pretty awful! I got lucky usually) I have really fond memories of that place.

I'm not saying it was all roses and lollypops. There were the guys that aszked you if you did "private shows" or the ones that tried to touch you while you were giving them a dance. (we were never allowed to touch them at golddiggers...we had to stand on a box and dance near them...like a private stage) but I met alot of really nice guys while I was there too. Greg, James, Brian...to name a few...made some really good friends and had some really good times. I was too young to understand some of the things that were going on...even when it directly affected me...I attribute that to the fact that I grew up so sheltered. I didn't have my first real kiss until I was 17 and away for a weekend visiting the Yale campus. I never smoked or drank or went to parties in high school. didn't much do it when I went to college either. I used to make fun of the drunk people. So dancing was a totally different world for me. I remember once a guy i went to high school with came in the bar. He used to date my best friend Rebecca. I used to have a crush on him. That was pretty embarrassing lol. Shouldn't have been for me, but it was.

WOW! this ended up nothing like I wanted it to. A small trip down memory lane. Like I said, it wasn't all roses and lollypops. But I do have fond memories. And I know what it was like. And to see Tyra pretty much degrading the women that strip and the men that go there without trying to understand what it is all about...well it made me mad. It's not all about sex. Sometimes...most of the time...it was about companionship. Someone who would listen.