Stripping sisters

Q: What’s it like to work as a stripper with your sister?

B: Um . . .

A: She loves it. She. Loves. It.

B: The thing about stripping – well one of the many things about stripping – is that a lot of the job is not what people think it is. Actual stripping is only a part of it. And that happens in private, so it’s not as weird doing the job with your sister there as it would be if it were all about stripping out on the floor, I guess. It’s kind of like being a hostess. You’re in a night club type environment, people come to have fun, and so they want to come and see pretty girls who are having fun, and making them feel happy and like they’re having fun. And then they’ll want to have more fun with you and then they’ll want to pay you. So going out to a night club type environment is something that I do do with A, and it’s fun, and it’s just like that.

Q: So it’s a good thing to have a clubbing friend with you at work.

B: It’s very good. Very good.

A: Told ya. She. Loves. It.

B: Because she has the perspective of a stripper which most people that I love don’t have so she’s supportive in that way and she also has the perspective of . . .

Q: Hang on. Are you saying that I’m not very supportive?

A: No. You’re Terrible.

B; Shocking. Shocking.

A: I hate the way you talk about it, like you’re kind of proud of us. Disgusting, disturbed woman.

(This is all said in jest, in case it’s not obvious on the page. You know, you had to be there.)

B: No you are. But there are some things that I talk about to A because she knows what I mean. She’s been there and she’s experienced it all. There are other strippers who I can talk about that with but they won’t necessarily come from a similar point of view. You know there are a lot of things that we believe that other people don’t and so A has both of those perspectives in common with me so I can talk to her and feel understood and supported. And she makes me laugh and so it’s good to have a break from being in a sort of work frame of mind just to be silly. Which I’ll do with A around much more often than I’ll do without her around.

Q: Thanks Babe. Do you have anything to add to that, A?

A: I like working with B because she gives me lifts to work and . . . I like her. So it’s nice having people that you like at work with you.

B: Do you get the feeling that she’s . . .

Q: Not Taking This Seriously?

A: You know, sometimes it’s bad, because if B gets sad then I get sad and I don’t make any money. So I want to be there for her. And if she’s a bit upset about something I’ll find out about it and I’m like, ‘Awwww,’ and I feel myself deflate and I go, ‘Dammit! I did it again.’ And then I go home.

B: I don’t go home.

A: But I feel bad now. ‘Awww, B’s sad. Can I go?’ Like I went downstairs one night to ask the housemum if B could go because she was really upset about something and she didn’t want to ask if she could go. And the housemum said that’s fine and I said, ‘Can I go?’ And she went, ‘Yeah,’ and I said, ‘I’m sorry. Because B is sad and it makes me sad,’ and she said, ‘I know. I know that. You’re ‘right mate.’ So mostly it’s excellent but occasionally it’s bad because, you know, B is my big sister, and I have this really protective thing with her so if she gets upset about something I can find it a little hard to focus on the job because, well, I Don’t Care. About the job. Really. So if there’s anything to distract me I’m going to go with it. That’s a little bit with everyone, not just B. It just affects me a bit more if it’s B.

B: Yes, it’s a volatile kind of environment. Customers and dancers – and bar staff and everyone that works there – we’re all in it together. If it’s got a bad feel, we all cop it.

A: And it’s kind of cool. You get really good at picking up the feel of a room or a group of people. Which I think we all do anyway, but we’re so used to walking into an environment and having to know what’s going on that we start to pick it up without knowing that we are. So you can walk in and know what the vibe is.

Q: So you can walk into a night club and get a feel for it?

A: Probably, yes. I usually walk into night clubs and it just. looks. so. pretentious! ‘I’m not at work!’

B: It’s easier at work. It’s easier in an environment you’re used to because you feel the difference. Whereas somewhere you’ve never been before . . .

A: You still can though. You still do get a feel.

B: You can, definitely. And it’s the same the other way. When people are feeling good, it rubs off on everybody. Which often is the case because the girls are just so lovely, they really are lovely to you when you go there. They say hi to you and they really give you good vibes from the start. Most of the time.