Annie Temple is a Stripper, Mother, Writer, Feminist, and Canadian. The following excerpts are from articles she's written sharing insights from her career as a stripper. Visit Annie Temple's website The Naked Truth to read the full essays.
"My stage name is Annie Temple and I started stripping when I was 23 years old. My first gig was as a private dancer at the Marble Arch. I made the same amount of money in one night (doing your average, no-contact private shows) as I was making in 2 weeks at my then-current job as a leather-jacket salesperson. I hated my regular job and had always been comfortable with nudity (skinny dipping in Kelowna since I was young). So the natural next step was stripping."
on Audiences:
We like the clients who smile back at us and applaud; after all we are entertainers. We generally don't like the men who are overly loud and rude (e.g. "Spread 'em Baby!"). Likewise, I have never met a dancer who likes having a customer blow at her. For some reason, many men will blow at our exposed parts or wiggle their tongues at us. I've engaged in many change-room debates about why these men insist on displaying such vulgar behavior. We might be strippers, but we were women first and we consider it to be very unattractive. Some dancers believe that the men do it because they think we like it. As far as blowing is concerned, perhaps it is a way of touching without actually touching.
on Bodies:
Do we compare our bodies to each other? The answer again is yes. Before I became an exotic dancer, I did not realize how different we all are down below. Not every dancer is happy with her anatomy and surgery can be pursued in places other than the breasts if desired. However, we are comforted in knowing that we cannot please everyone and the individual tastes of our audience members allow for us to be content with our unique shapes and sizes (high heels do the rest).
on Boyfriends:
When our boyfriends become jealous and come to the bar and humiliate us, we are dumbstruck. "What is wrong with him? Doesn't he realize how hard this job is when there's so much negativity." Meanwhile, Juicy Fruit is crying and doesn't want to go down to the bar to face the 'fucking prick'. The DJ is offering to have him kicked out, and the change-room phone is ringing off the hook. The boyfriend is calling and verbally abusing any dancer who picks up the phone. And we just can't relate. We know all his friends are saying to him, "How can you let her do that, man?" It's silly to say that, because either he met her as a dancer or he agreed to her getting into it in the first place.
on Change-room Chat:
We share makeup tips and recommend costume designers. We rate tanning centers and boycott shoe repairs (we go through shoes like crazy). Remarkably, the fantasy scene that involves a group of women milling naked around a mirrored room is quite accurate when one describes the average dancer change-room. When we get off stage, we usually need to cool down (those lights give off a lot of heat). So for the first 5 or 10 minutes after a show we do not get dressed. Sometimes individuals will remain undressed until the next show time especially when that time is not far away. Also, we are unselfconscious of our nudity as a result of our jobs.
on DJs:
We discuss the friendliness of the DJ's. The DJ's are the bar employees who we deal with most. If they keep the stage lights bright or make us wait to do our shows, their popularity suffers. Those who help us with our bags and occasionally have a kind word for us are usually well liked. The DJ's are also privileged to see behind the scenes, so it is greatly appreciated when they are understanding comrades rather than miserable authorities. Much discussion between dancers centers on the DJ's in our lives.
on Drugs:
Sure we go through rough times, but so does everyone in the world. And you will find drug-addicts in any industry, including ours. The focus should not be so much on how many strippers are addicted to cocaine, but how many men come into strip bars with the intention of offering it to us for free.
on Equality:
We deal with issues of sexuality on a day-to-day basis in our jobs. We are well equipped to judge how women are doing in terms of equality with men. We interact with men enough to know a lot about how they work. From a feminist perspective, we are not the degraded, drugged-up, incompetent whores that many in the world stereotype us to be. We are, in more cases, strong, intelligent, creative, healthy women with substantial amounts of money passing through our bank accounts. I have confidence. Men in the world do not intimidate me. And I feel sorry for the women in the world who don't realize their power. Before I was a dancer, I felt insignificant when I walked into a bank or had a suit-and-tie guy look down his nose at me. That affliction no longer ails me. I feel stronger and stand up for myself more since I became a stripper.
Our Perspective:
When I got into stripping, I was confident that I knew how others looked at it. The boys in the audience, the feminists protesting it, the families of the dancers. All very different points of view, but I comprehended each one easily. It changes once you're on the other side. I don't know when it happens or how, but you become unable to read what your audience is thinking. Like when a group of boys bursts into laughter while you're on stage, whereas you used to think, 'someone just told a good joke', you now can't help but wonder if they are laughing at you. Was that move unflattering? Do I have something in my teeth? Is my tampon showing?
Our Reality:
As a stripper, my reality is different from yours. And somehow, you and the rest of the "others" have convinced me that my experience is not reality. My real life is what I do outside of sex work that coincides with what you do. Having babies, cleaning house, going for coffee, working out, banking, budgeting, etc. That's my real life. Stripping? That's the fantasy I create for you or your husband or son or brother.
By no means do I want to convey that strippers are insecure and degraded. That is not my reality. But somewhere along the line, we lose our ability to relate to "the others", those who are not involved in the industry. Those who feel entitled to judge and condemn us or idolize and worship us, whichever the case.
Our Workday:
A popular, however misguided, opinion of exotic dancers is that their jobs are easy. After all, they are only expected to be on stage for under twenty minutes, five to seven times a day with long breaks in between. And they are paid generously for what little is expected of them. On the contrary, such half-truths do not accurately describe the nature of the industry. Stripping is, both physically and mentally, a very challenging career. Beyond the obvious physical challenges of stripping is the center of our existence in the industry, our bodies. Looking beautiful, having strength and flexibility, and withstanding the fatigue that comes from a lengthy work shift are critical factors in surviving the exotic entertainment industry.
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