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 When it comes to the topic of the sex industry, it seems that there is such a huge force behind seeing the negatives and pitfalls. Now I'll admit to you that the sex industry is one of four industries in the world that are profitable, but can be quite questionable. The other three are markets in death, drugs, and taxes. Anyways, it seems that there is a higher upturn of the sex industry because of our economic turn downward right now. More and more girls are considering a job, mostly part-time, in the sex industry, but preferably stripping. There is a higher application of girls to work at strip clubs as well as pornography now then it was per say two years ago. The only other time the sex industry boomed in such a short time was when the internet became a public service. Now I had no motives to be talking about the sex industry here on ICE since my objectives here are mostly based around the advertising and promotion of independent artists. I usually do the blog-thing from time to time whenever I do have time. I love all forms of media so there is always an album I want to listen to, a book I want to read, a show I want to view, or a movie I want to watch. So blogging isn't my first criteria anymore as it used to be per say six years ago or less maybe.
Now the initial push to write an article for the sex industry came from two people, as well as two articles that came up here on ICE. I suggest you all check out the articles by my boss Patrick called Unrealistic SEXpectations and Andrew called The Eleventh Plague because both are good personal experience articles within their lives and how they view certain parts of the sex industry. These were the two articles my best friend Dizzy read and she had a discussion with me about them which is actually explained in my earlier article, Narrow Minds. The final factor would be Andrew commenting me on the article on me bringing up as many good points with the sex industry and if I outweigh his views, then he'll turn his views as well. However, I am not doing this to turn anyone's views but to probably give another view that may improve their view or should I say refine their view. My views are always refined over and over again with more that I learn and I am thankful for that. I learned a lot about certain science events thanks to Patrick. I learned certain views on classical arts thanks to The Merry Muse. So there is more to this article. In a real debate, you don't prove the other team wrong, you make your point valid. That is what you do and I am going to give some validity on the positives of the sex industry. Like anything else, there is two sides to every story, there is always a yin and a yang. What I am going to write about is the hidden yin among an overexposed and propaganda-based yang within an industry that is very misunderstood.
When it comes to talking about the sex industry, there are four different branches that seem to pop up in most people's minds. The four branches are stripping, prostitution, sexual consumerism, and pornography. I will however talk abourt the two big ones today which are stripping and pornography since the other two can stem off of these. The first one is stripping which is actually more well-known because every state in this country has their own establishment of a strip club. Now the positives when it comes to being a stripper, or dancer if you don't personally know them or get along with them, are mostly based around the stripper themselves. First off is the enforcement of personal responsibility, especially when it comes to finances. Now the media is very good at exposing the high-end calibur pay of a stripper, stating some girls make about $300,000 to $500,000 a year. That is a lot more than I make and that is fine. These girls earned it. However, we will use an equation here for the Space Coast of Florida. There are currently eight strip clubs here in the Space Coast and each has an average of forty strippers working for them. That totals to 320 strippers working here in the Space Coast. Not to mention, some of the strippers work a circuit which is that on certain days they work at one club and other days they work at another club. Now people think that the club makes money from alcoholic beverages and services but where they really make their money are the strippers. Strippers, no matter what day it is, have to do a payout by the end of the night. What people don't know is that strippers aren't hired directly to the club per say they work eight hours and get paid hourly plus their tips. That is not how it works at most strip clubs. Strippers are hired by contract and by terms of the contract they have to pay the club for services the club provides for them before they can make a profit. I'll give an example here. House Fee: $40, $20 if you are working on the floor before 7PM. Bouncer Fee: $20. Bartender Fee: $20. Cocktail Waitress Fee: $20. House Mom Fee: $20. Must work a minimum of eight hours before leaving. Failure to do so will be accessed a $50 early leave fee. 20 percent of income earned from lap dances will go to the club. So by the end of the night, a stripper needs to pay off all these fees BEFORE she makes a profit. Some days are good and some days are bad and if you don't pay off your fees, it ROLLS OVER to the next time a girl works at that club.
Financial responsibility is one but also a deeper understanding of a good relationship is another. Now people may not understand this but when you work in a business where the worst of people seem to pool, then it will change some views as well. These girls are around some of the worst of the worst and these people are good people, just the worst may come out of them. Doctors, lawyers, construction workers, and every other good hard-working man has a bad side you know. However, it seems to come out more around this type of environment because of the environment. A lot of these strippers are just getting by, especially in today's economy, but because of what they do, they are already branded. To that extent, there are things that they'll learn when they become a stripper. First off is the notice of this being a job. They do take off their clothes, they do flirt, and they do get nude, or topless depending on the club. Because of this, nudity isn't a big deal to them. It isn't like the highest echelon of showing how much you love a person which seems to be a huge step for many people in relationships. So when it come sto the relationship, they go for something deeper, more emotional and stronger, than most people do. Most strippers are usually in relationships with people who understand them and love them for who they are. Ever met a beautiful girl dressed down in public with a guy that isn't even up to par with even the passing qualms of society's view of beauty? Well most likely, the girl is a stripper and she's with a man who loves her for who she is. In that respect, these girls go way past the superficial as in "big muscles, income, blah, blah, blah!" when it comes to finding someone. They are what they are to a man so it would be expected the other way around to. These girls want a man who loves them for who they are, not what they do. Also, certain emotions will be tested and even refined such as insecurity and vanity. A lot of these strippers pass, and some fail. Girl secure with herself and does it to get by: pass. Girl that is very insecure and does this job so many men could oogle her and desperately want her: fail!
Now on the other side, as in the customer side of the stripper equation, the positives are most dominant with how they are. Sometimes, a girl I know who's in a relationship isn't quite sure if he's being really nice or going through the motions to get in her pants. Now take note this girl is a stripper too and a lot of "customers" want to get inside a stripper's pants. So how do a test a man's character with women? I give him power? Customers have a lot more power over a stripper than they think. These girls hustle because they need to get paid but any man who plays their hand right into money has a girl in his hands. Now how he treats that girl is where the real test is. I'll take the guy to another club and act like I never been there. If he is acting like he doesn't have a girlfriend, he failed the test. Not just because I saw it but also because the strippers did too. Strippers are one huge community that seems to look out for each other, even the bad ones look out for the good ones and vice versa when it comes to that. Now when a good customer comes in, especially the ones that get to know certain girls, you'll test yourself on what type of girl will be attracted to you. A good customer attracts all the good girls who are doing the job because they need, good reasons actually. A bad customer attracts all the girls who are in the business for the wrong reasons. Usually, the bad girls around a good customer will avoid them because they lack a lot of the good qualities they see in the customer and in ways, will justify it like how certain people justify good acts as bad and bad acts as good. So what good does this teach a customer? Well if the customer is actually high-calibur, he'll be able to identify and find a good girl, a true good girl, without seeing the masks and the distractions. Finding a good girl in an environment where the girls are scantily clad and showing off their boobs can be a distraction, but only to those who make it so.
Now onto the pornography. This industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and I believe the reason why it got so big has got to be the internet. If it weren't for the internet, the entire porn-industry would still only be in Portland, Oregan, since that place used to be the pornography central, since it was not allowed by state to do pornography as a public business in other states, until it became a huge money maker thanks to the internet. Now pornography is so huge, it is a norm. First things first, what are the actual positives of the pornography industry that seems to be a business where Andrew destroyed it to the point it is nothing but a plague? Well first things first. Out of all the branches in the sex industry, pornography is the SAFEST. What people don't realize is that when you apply to do pornography, or the traditional contract way, you have to go through a screening. First off, people have to be able to differentiate between reality and fantasy and if you can't do that, which is actually most people who watch porn, then they disqualify to work in pornography. Next is the psychology. Vivid, Hustler, and many other porn-related companies always stress the psychology. What it means is that once you do a porn, it never really goes away. You are exposing yourself to a nation as a person who is having sex on camera in front of millions of people. This will also affect how people percieve you outside of porn. Finally, this business always does health tests and safe-sex practices more than anything else. Condoms are always an option but if the scene is condomless, then the two people within the act have to be tested within less than two weeks before AND prior to the scene. Of course things slip up here and there but the standards for making pornography as safe as they can make it is very high.
Next would be that the very act of sex in a relationship for a pornstar is throughly appreciated. Now in most porn, the scenes shown are unrealistic sexpectations and if you didn't know this, let me educate you. The pornographic actors and actresses KNOW it's unrealistic sexpectations. A lot of the scenes and what they do are done mostly for the benefit of the shoot or should I say for the job they do. All them angles they do and positions are uncomfortable. All the fast-paced action they do is for the fact they need to make a scene last ten minutes or so. All the extreme stuff you see in a porno scene, is done just for the scene. So the unrealistic factor of super-huge boobs, very tight vaginas, and foot-long penises are exactly what it is, a high sexpectation. However in reality, the porn stars know what it's about. Sex shouldn't just be pleasurable but comfortable. They do understand that couples want to "experiment" and try what they did but not all the time. In that sense, there was an interview with a porn star, I'll leave the name out, and she did it at the AVN Convention which is a huge convention in Las Vegas, Nevada centered around the sex industry. Anyways, at her booth, she played the part of a porn star saying she liked foot-long penises and to give head and stuff like that. Then she was in a one-on-one, the real girl behind the porno glam and you got to hear her be honest saying that it doesn't matter how big a penis is. All men know how to have sex, its in their genetic makeup just like all women know how to have sex. But it only happens if you follow your instincts which have been dumbed down drastically. She then said how the most important parts of pleasing a woman is within the first two inches of her vagina and the rest is accomidation. Girth is more important than length if it came to a size. She even stated that in a relationship, sex is "boring" because only the "boring" sex is intimate. It is more about giving yourself to the one you love instead of getting your own. Anyone can get their own with anyone. But you can only give yourself to the one you love. Sometimes the situation may be different but if what you do is for the one you love on a sexual basis, it is about the same. There is true emotion in it. As for the other end, the customer end. Pornography can be used as a catalyst to spark a more sexual exploration with the one you love. It is the freedom to try something new when that department has become mundane.
So there are always a silver lining to every storm cloud. Just like there is always a thorn with every beautiful rose. What I explained above for the two are actually the more important parts of those two branches. There are a lot more positives that are not mentioned but are already advertised enough like stripping to get through school, pay bills, or for family. Stripping to get out of unemployment. Pornography to get out of being homeless Now with a lot of the negatives that both Patrick and Andrew talk about, one thing can be summed into it with the lack of personal responsibility. Knowing what is fantasy and what is reality, knowing what the product is, will give you a better understanding of what the industry is mostly about. Pornography is said to be a "victimless" destroyer and it makes sense because the only person who are victims are the ones who make themselves victims. However, the lack of personal responsibility has a way of pointing the finger at something else instead of taking the responsibility on their own. Now on the personal experience for Patrick and Andrew, I am very happy for them because they took personal responsibility for themselves to get out of their addictions or whoever they are talking about. Shoot there are far better things to be addicted to than getting off from pornography. Heck! Video games are a far better addiction than pornography, especially if you save the princess. Why? Because you win, you beat the final boss, you found all the hidden secrets, you whatever you did in a video game, AND there's no cleanup! How can you beat that?
Now to finish this super-long article off, I am going to put my personal experience with the sex industry. It is not exactly what you may expect and by the end, you'll find out why I am thankful for what the sex industry has done for me, as well the positive impact it had on some other important people in my life.
Back in 2003 and 2004, I did the mistake of dating a co-worker who wasn't mature enough for a relationship within the workplace. Pretty much, she cheated on me with two other co-workers and didn't even bother to hide it from anyone. We eventually broke up and she stayed with the other two, cheating on one another. Now I was out of it and I am glad that chapter was over but the whole mess still lingered around. Pretty much, she was still working there and I just needed to get out, probably work part-time somewhere else just to get away. My friend Celine told me that her place was hiring and she knew how I was back in the day and said I would fit the criteria for a ghost bouncer which is a bouncer that looks like everyone else but when things go down, they bounce. I agreed and she told me where it was. I was first off shocked it was all the way past Orlando near the end of I-4 but I did it nevertheless because, well change of environment.
I drive down to where she wanted me to go and I end up in front of a strip club. First off, I was a stereotypical "Catholic Boy" so the first thing I did was get angry. I called Celine up and told her she was funny for leading me to a strip club. She then says she's inside. Now I don't know what is going on but I enter in. Let the person know at the front I am hear to see Celine. I guess he knew who I was because he lets me in and there's Celine spinning on a pole topless. I was first shocked that one of my friends was a stripper but when she finished she hugged me and led me to the office where the guy told me about the job. I took it but wasn't really into it because the "Good Catholic Boy" qualities kicked in and I was condeming these "whores". Eventually, I got tired of the job because a lot of the girls branded me as a regular and did their hustle tactics. Eventually I would show up, shove the house money given to me to act like a customer down one girls shoe, thong, bra, whatever and sit at the tip rail while playing my Neo Geo Pocket Color for the rest of my shift. A lot of these girls were wondering what I was doing here for four hours a day, three days a week playing a video game. Eventually, the boss told the girls what I did and then it changed.
These girls then came up and introduced themselves with their real names and started talking about life. I realized that these girls are just doing what they can to get by. A lot of them have real jobs outside and work part-time for extra cash or for help on bills and such. I then got to learn how the business really is and that it was truly just a job. The only reason why so many people see the negatives is because the rarity, which is what everyone sees in the media, is usually the loudest one in the club. Eventually, we would hang out at Steak n' Shake, Dennys', or whatever was open after closing at 2AM and just have fun. I wouldn't have much cash but they'd pay for my meal. These were actually the first group of girls outside of my friends circle I really got along with and eventually I started to respect what these girls did changing my view.
I eventually even started to defend these girls because a lot of them are "better" than almost all "civilian girls" (Girls not strippers!), I have met becuase they also explained what they wanted in a relationship, that they been cheated on, and I am relative to that. They also explained the ridicule and the unrealistic expectations they get from people. I relate to that too. Then Celine simply says, "By how you treat us strippers, you're going to end up marrying one of us you know." To this day, those who really know me, my original twelve friends and the strippers that know me since then, believe that. Even I believe that and had my second-best relationship ever when I ended up with Celine. I broke off mutually because I wanted her to try to patch things up with her family back in Texas. It didn't work so she came back and now works as a solderer for jewelry. It is me that just can't seem to get passed the whole "She's now my friend" thing because that is how I feel about her. I love her but she is my friend. Things may change though and who knows.
Even both of my best friends have a thing with this industry. Dizzy heard the statement about what Celine said to me about marrying a stripper and so she decided to become one just to "qualify" just in case. Once in, she learned what I learned and because of her attitude, she is very disliked among most civilian girls. Strippers however are the only girls that she really are able to relate to and they get along so well. Celine loves my best friend Dizzy too and they hang out alot whenever they are around. As for my other best friend, I found her in this environment and she is the most important person in my life now becuase of what she means to me in my life. She actually levels me down becaue I am very aggressive with my universal absolutes and my apathy but with her, it's different.
In all respects, the sex industry is questionable because of how the content can be displayed to the general population but as always, most of it has a lot to do with personal experience and most people's personal experience with the sex industry is bad thus making the sex industry a bad thing to them. However, anything can destroy a person or create them. It's just a matter of the experience and how it is percieved. We are not our abilities, but our choices and I choose to see things through an open-mind, taking in personal responsibility for the actions I may do or not do when it comes to anything in my life. For the sex industry, my choices have given me something to be thankful for.
Faith Saves ALL!
Alpha OUT!
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BLOGOSPHERE 
The thing that keeps coming back to me though, is simply this- You attribute qualities which I have found in MANY places as solely learned in the sex industry.
Let's look at your discussion of the gentleman's club, or strip joint, however you wish to term it. (Though I like the GC term better- Seems less demeaning.)
You talk about the ability to choose qualities in a person beyond their external facade. While I am sure that the job sharpens those qualities, they are certainly not grown and cultivated exclusively in that environment.
Also, you spoke of solid relationships being a positive by-product. Again, while I am sure the industry aids in developing this desire, I truly cannot comprehend how that could be an "industry original," so to speak.
Moving on to the pornography industry, You state that it is the safest branch of the sex industry. It may be the safest internally, and there I'll agree with you. Wholeheartedly.
However, you have failed to show ANY positives for the clientèle. While the ability to separate fantasy from reality is absolutely important, as is the need for protection and disease screening, etc., you are illustrating only internal positives.
The issues addressed in my first installment were not meant as a personal slight, though I know even Beth has told me that when I first state my views, they can be almost offensive.
They addressed the buying public- The men and women who do not go through psychological evaluations, STD screenings, and personal grounding. They are buying into the fantasy for one reason alone- They want to escape.
Anyhow- I'm going to end up putting my entire second installment up right here if I don't stop myself, so I'll sign off right now.
I will, however, keep my word, in that I'll put forward some industry views as well; I do not intend on writing a column named "Veritas" while leaving out part of the truth.
Philao~
Andrew
I do know I wrote one little sentence of what pornography can do to consumers as in showing as an example for those who have had a mundane turn in their sex lives.
As for all the other negatives, my statement of personal responsibility comes back to the front of the most important factor again. Very quickly, I'll post some minimal benefits of pornography on a positive basis.
1. Introduces an example of sexual experiences to couples in which their sexual part of their relationship has gone a bit mundane.
2. Sexual-based products around, no matter what the preference, can easily be stated as a catalyst from preventing someone from doing something illegal in a sexual way.
3. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry which provides numerous jobs not just for porn stars but for numerous other people especially editors, supervisors, distributors, collectors, etc. It is also one of the few industries unaffected by the downturn of the economy.
4. A friend once told me that a guy playing a rape-simulation game isn't raping her. Sometimes, certain sexual-base preferences can keep unconscious appetites at bay. May sound very bad but in a way, it's working with the flaws they have instead of submitting to them.
5. A possible catalyst for understanding one's sexual preferences, which may or may not be understood or accepted by others. Back in the early 1930s it was taboo for a black person to be with a white person. Now it isn't a taboo if you see that relationship.
These are all generals on the pornography part of the discussion and like it said, it is mostly about personal responsibility. Anything can and cannot be a major threatening addiction. It just depends on the person within it.
On a fellow co-worker to co-worker view. I understand you view to help guide a soul to be free from the brinks of addiction but the only person who can truly save someone, even if you, I, or anyone else realizes it is themselves. Sure there are influences but down to the core, it is all about a person's choice which once again goes to the topic of personal responsibility.
Talk to you later Andrew. I'm actually going to do an article on personal responsibility, mostly on "The Secret" actually.
Faith Saves ALL!
Alpha OUT!
>^.^imms
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Thanks,
The Alpha Jan