Topless dancing pays college expenses for some students

By Carrie Mitchell
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

With the cost of college tuition rising more each year, many students hold down jobs as they earn their college degree. Some students flip their way through college at the nearby fast food restaurant; some scan their way through at the local grocery store; while others dance their way to their diploma, topless.

Six nights a week Faith, who asked that her real name be withheld, sits in front of a makeup-smeared mirror getting ready for her seven hours, that will decide what bills she pays this week.

"The worse thing about [exotic dancing] is the unsteady earnings," said the blonde twenty year-old Dartmouth College psychology major from Manchester, N.H. "Some nights you can make $40, others you'll make over a thousand. How do you plan bill paying around that?"

Exotic dancing is also one of the few jobs that doesn't usually pay an hourly wage. There is no real job security or benefits like workmen's compensation or insurance. So why do it?

"Somebody's got to," said Beth, who asked that her real name be withheld. She is a 25-year-old education major at the University of Vermont. "I know if I were to fall and break an ankle or something that I'm out of a job. It's not a bad job, though; you just have to be really comfortable with your body and not have any eight o'clock classes."

Beth also works part-time at an area school in Burlington.

"You certainly don't have a lot of free time," Beth said. "I am in class or work all day, then I come here and work all night. It's worth it, sort of."

Both Beth and Faith make $300 to $400 a night and usually work seven hours a night and six days a week. That means they make between $42 or $57 dollars an hour, which is a little more than the average burger flipper.

"It's good money, but it can be a lot of stress. You have to deal with the stereotype that all dancers are promiscuous and a lot of people treat you different once they know what you do for a job," said Stacey, who requested anonymity. Stacey, 23, is from Boston, Mass., and will be graduating from Boston University in a few short months with a Bachelor's degree in history and a minor in both Spanish and English.

"There's also pressures to look good," added Beth "You're up on stage selling your looks. That can do a number on your level of self esteem, also, because you're putting a dollar amount on the way you look."

All three girls live two completely different lives. By day, they're the typical college students, wearing flannel pajama bottoms to class. All three are currently on the Dean's Lists at their schools, and Faith is well on her way to graduating with honors. She's held a steady 3.5 grade point average for two-and-a-half years. By night, they're wearing body glitter, dancing on a black double-poled stage.

"Not many people know what I do; some, I'm sure, have a good idea, but it's not a topic that I start conversation with," Stacey said. "I've been dancing for almost four years, and my parents have no idea what I do for work."

Faith was upfront with her family from the start. Her reason: "my worst fear was to be on stage and have my brother or dad walk in."

"It's a job for her, not a career," explained Faith's mother, Carol, (not her real name). She is a lawyer in Manchester, N.H. "I'm not thrilled about it, but I'm not disappointed in her, either. [Faith is] paying for her college education by herself. How many parents can say that about their kids?"

Faith and Stacey both have had fellow students and professors show up in clubs where they have worked. "My freshman year, one of my professors walked in a club I was working at in Boston while I was on stage," laughed Stacey. "I don't know which one of us was more embarrassed."

The women agreed that it was easier to face students than a professor. Stacey summed it up, saying that the students aren't the ones who decide whether you get that diploma or not.

"You hope that a professor wouldn't base a grade on your job, but there is always that fear," Faith said.

A social life is hard to maintain when you work six nights and week, and dating isn't an easy feat, either. Beth just told the man she's been seeing that she is an exotic performer.

"I was pretty surprised, actually; I really had no idea," said Brian, who also attends the University of Vermont. "It doesn't really change anything. It's a job."

"I am in no way ashamed of what I do. How many people can say they make $1,800 a week?" said Faith "I always ask people if they would dance topless if they could go to college free."

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