In "Reality Check," author Aisha Hakim-Dyce recounts her experience as an unemployed college student looking for a job that would provide her with the funds to survive and obtain an education. Unfortunately, her experience was met with much frustration, as the only jobs she found paid well and worked around her busy schedule as a full time student were those jobs that sexually objectified. She says that she struggled with completely dismissing of one occupation in particular: go-go dancing. While she rejected the idea that women should prance around naked in uncomfortable and flashy high heels and give men sexual favors, she could not ignore the rewards that would come about from taking such a job. She could work flexible hours and make a great deal more money than any other minimum wage telemarketer position by simply shimmying her naked body for "silly" men. She tried countless times to convince herself that desensitization would allow her to ignore the inherent sexism present in jobs like go-go dancing as a means to pay for her college tuition.
While Hakim-Dyce in the end does not take the go-go dancing job, as she is offered another job as an English tutor right before her audition is about to take place, single mother "Melissa" (she asked that her name not be used in the article) has been dancing for four years and has been successful attending college and raising her younger daughter. In the article "Single Mom Strips to Support her Child and Pay for College," author Jasmine Rivera explains how Melissa went from working as a manager of a movie store, working 12-18 hours a day, seven days a week to picking her own hours and having ample time to spend with her daughter. Melissa states, “I turned to stripping and I learned to ignore society’s views and judgments against my job, which used to make me feel guilty and ashamed. I allowed myself to take advantage of what stripping can offer.” Melissa's experience dancing has been positive and she hopes that by sharing her experiences with others, she may be able to "minimize the stigma and humanize who we are inside and outside the club." I think Melissa's content with her job is a product not of what she does day after day, but instead is a product of what her job allows her to do day after day. It is the consequences of a job that provides her with ample money, flexibility and free time that has made Melissa happy with her decision to be a stripper. However, if Melissa was not reaping all these benefits, would she view her job in the same light? Or would she agree with Hakim-Dyce that dancing for ogling men is another way patriarchy oppresses and sexually objectives the female sex?
When reading Dyce's article I definitely felt guilty for a number of reasons. First, I usually joke with my guy friends about strippers and the interactions they have with them. When they come back from the strip club boasting about the fact that they got one of their numbers I immediately make fun of them. For the most part I say that they are just doing it because they have a child at home who needs diapers or they want something in return from my friends (gifts etc). Although this article does show that these women can be in desperate situations, I was totally out of line for making light of what is a very serious situation for many women. I am fortunate enough not to have to strip for men and be objectified. However, not all women were born with the same circumstances that I was and are forced to make ends meet in whatever way possible. Next time I will be sure to choose my words wisely.
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