Feminist Ethics and Strip Clubs
I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post a personal feminist ethics question here or not, so if this is outside the bounds of this community I'll delete. So here goes...
I have mixed feelings about strip clubs and pornography, but I tend strongly toward believing that they're mostly harmful to women. I believe in choice and certainly wouldn't rule out all strip clubs and all pornography, but the mainstream stuff I think is mostly harmful. That's my personal stance, and I wanted to get some advice about something of a moral quandary in regard to this stance. I'd like to hear perspectives both from pro- and anti-porn feminists because I feel like consulting this community might help me make a better decision than if I just talked to my friends and family (many of whom are pretty uninformed about feminism).
I was recently offered a job as a paralegal to the owner of several large, very mainstream strip clubs. This is a very tempting offer for me because I'm going to law school and it would be excellent experience; my current job has nothing to do with my chosen field. I'd also have much more flexibility in my schedule as well as be making a LOT more money. So I want to get those things out there as temptations that could possibly be clouding my judgment. The question is, am I selling out, so to speak, if I take it?
The ethical pros of the job: there are several explicitly feminist lawyers working for the company, including one who helped to integrate the citadel. As I was walking through the office, I saw TONS of law books about sexual equality, how to avoid gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, etc. I was really kind of surprised to see this in a strip club office. And as far as I can tell, the strip club is run quite ethically. I've talked to several strippers and they all seem happy with their jobs and are certainly making plenty of money. In scouring the internet I haven't been able to find any rape or harassment claims against the club. While I was at the club, I saw one patron attempt to touch a stripper and he was quickly arrested, so it seems like they do a fairly good job of protecting the strippers. The owner of the strip club makes a ton of money (obviously) and gives a large chunk of it to battered women's shelters and children's charities. He's also done quite a bit of good in the animal welfare community, including setting up sanctuaries for abused and neglected animals. This is a pet issue of mine so I look favorably upon that.
The ethical cons of the job: First and foremost, this is a very mainstream and popular chain of strip clubs. They are absolutely upholding the standard oppressive norms of beauty. The strippers are mostly blonde and almost all white, all thin, and I found myself feeling pretty inadequate around them. There's also the fact that I'm pretty opposed to strip clubs on a personal level. I also worry that I might become desensitized to the problems with strip clubs. Perhaps most importantly, I'm working as a nanny right now. I take my job very seriously and it's very important to me to protect the children I'm working with. I don't want to be betraying the little girl I work with by going to work for an industry that is potentially harmful for women, and this is probably the biggest contradiction for me to resolve or defend.
So, the question is, am I letting my judgment be clouded? I've been chronically broke and in medical debt for years, so money is a big temptation for me. I have a heavy school load and lots of animals whom I love dearly, so having more time to deal with both would be a huge deal in my life. Basically,there's a lot of temptation here. I feel like consulting outside parties might be the best way to determine if I'm creating reasons that this is an ok thing to do.
ETA: I think a couple people might be misunderstanding what I'm saying here or where I stand on this particular issue, so let me clarify a couple of things:
-I think strip clubs, like media, like advertising, like a lot of things CAN contribute to violence against women. And just like media, etc. some clubs are worse than others. I don't want to work in a place if I am directly or indirectly contributing to violence against women, just as I would not watch a movie that advocated rape. While this strip club seems ok so far, I know I've just gotten a surface view, so I am extremely hesitant. I thought some of the more obvious issues with strip clubs were apparent in my original post, but I see now that I did not explicitly state that these were concerns
-I am not worried about feeling ugly next to the strippers. I won't be working with them. But even if I were, that would be a ridiculous reason not to take a job, and frankly, is not a very big concern in any case. While I think that most women are affected to some degree by beauty norms, for the most part I'm able to monitor myself with that one and not let it get too out of control.
-I'm an anarcho-socialist. I don't expect anyone else to hold these values. But they are mine. So there are some issues here in general with working for a large corporation, which is something I have never done before. I am also very aware that basically all industries hurt women in various ways. I just don't want to participate in one of the worst ones, and the jury is still out with me on whether or not this is one.
-I am concerned that this job may burn me out, depress me, or put me into situations where I have to either quit or do bad things. I will not be a boss here; I'm going to be a lowly paralegal. There is little opportunity for changing anything I don't like.
What do you guys think? Also, after some of the comments, I'm wondering if people's positions would change if, say, the club had a history of sexual harassment lawsuits, rape claims, gender discrimination, etc.? Because while I haven't found any yet, I am worried that I'll get there and find out that's exactly the case.
I have mixed feelings about strip clubs and pornography, but I tend strongly toward believing that they're mostly harmful to women. I believe in choice and certainly wouldn't rule out all strip clubs and all pornography, but the mainstream stuff I think is mostly harmful. That's my personal stance, and I wanted to get some advice about something of a moral quandary in regard to this stance. I'd like to hear perspectives both from pro- and anti-porn feminists because I feel like consulting this community might help me make a better decision than if I just talked to my friends and family (many of whom are pretty uninformed about feminism).
I was recently offered a job as a paralegal to the owner of several large, very mainstream strip clubs. This is a very tempting offer for me because I'm going to law school and it would be excellent experience; my current job has nothing to do with my chosen field. I'd also have much more flexibility in my schedule as well as be making a LOT more money. So I want to get those things out there as temptations that could possibly be clouding my judgment. The question is, am I selling out, so to speak, if I take it?
The ethical pros of the job: there are several explicitly feminist lawyers working for the company, including one who helped to integrate the citadel. As I was walking through the office, I saw TONS of law books about sexual equality, how to avoid gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, etc. I was really kind of surprised to see this in a strip club office. And as far as I can tell, the strip club is run quite ethically. I've talked to several strippers and they all seem happy with their jobs and are certainly making plenty of money. In scouring the internet I haven't been able to find any rape or harassment claims against the club. While I was at the club, I saw one patron attempt to touch a stripper and he was quickly arrested, so it seems like they do a fairly good job of protecting the strippers. The owner of the strip club makes a ton of money (obviously) and gives a large chunk of it to battered women's shelters and children's charities. He's also done quite a bit of good in the animal welfare community, including setting up sanctuaries for abused and neglected animals. This is a pet issue of mine so I look favorably upon that.
The ethical cons of the job: First and foremost, this is a very mainstream and popular chain of strip clubs. They are absolutely upholding the standard oppressive norms of beauty. The strippers are mostly blonde and almost all white, all thin, and I found myself feeling pretty inadequate around them. There's also the fact that I'm pretty opposed to strip clubs on a personal level. I also worry that I might become desensitized to the problems with strip clubs. Perhaps most importantly, I'm working as a nanny right now. I take my job very seriously and it's very important to me to protect the children I'm working with. I don't want to be betraying the little girl I work with by going to work for an industry that is potentially harmful for women, and this is probably the biggest contradiction for me to resolve or defend.
So, the question is, am I letting my judgment be clouded? I've been chronically broke and in medical debt for years, so money is a big temptation for me. I have a heavy school load and lots of animals whom I love dearly, so having more time to deal with both would be a huge deal in my life. Basically,there's a lot of temptation here. I feel like consulting outside parties might be the best way to determine if I'm creating reasons that this is an ok thing to do.
ETA: I think a couple people might be misunderstanding what I'm saying here or where I stand on this particular issue, so let me clarify a couple of things:
-I think strip clubs, like media, like advertising, like a lot of things CAN contribute to violence against women. And just like media, etc. some clubs are worse than others. I don't want to work in a place if I am directly or indirectly contributing to violence against women, just as I would not watch a movie that advocated rape. While this strip club seems ok so far, I know I've just gotten a surface view, so I am extremely hesitant. I thought some of the more obvious issues with strip clubs were apparent in my original post, but I see now that I did not explicitly state that these were concerns
-I am not worried about feeling ugly next to the strippers. I won't be working with them. But even if I were, that would be a ridiculous reason not to take a job, and frankly, is not a very big concern in any case. While I think that most women are affected to some degree by beauty norms, for the most part I'm able to monitor myself with that one and not let it get too out of control.
-I'm an anarcho-socialist. I don't expect anyone else to hold these values. But they are mine. So there are some issues here in general with working for a large corporation, which is something I have never done before. I am also very aware that basically all industries hurt women in various ways. I just don't want to participate in one of the worst ones, and the jury is still out with me on whether or not this is one.
-I am concerned that this job may burn me out, depress me, or put me into situations where I have to either quit or do bad things. I will not be a boss here; I'm going to be a lowly paralegal. There is little opportunity for changing anything I don't like.
What do you guys think? Also, after some of the comments, I'm wondering if people's positions would change if, say, the club had a history of sexual harassment lawsuits, rape claims, gender discrimination, etc.? Because while I haven't found any yet, I am worried that I'll get there and find out that's exactly the case.