These Beautiful Photos Show the Reality of Working in a Small Town Strip Club
Cate Dingley was living in Upstate New York when she noticed a sign outside the local strip club that said "Gateway to Exotic Bodies in Motion." Dingley decided to find out what was happening inside the tiny, rural club. She ended up spending eight months shooting and getting to know the dancers and other staffers. "The women were very supportive of each other, which having talked to dancers at other clubs and other cities and places, that's not usually the case," Dingley said. "They really watched out for each other. They were kind to each other. And they supported each other backstage which was really, really great to see." The Brooklyn-based photographer says she still keeps in touch with a few of the women she got to know while working on this project, and while she's not sure where her next project will take her, these photos offer a powerful, nonjudgmental window into a job that is still surrounded by stigma.
© Cate Dingley1/14"A misconception that a lot of people have—and definitely a lot of people that come from small towns where these women live—is that women who decide to strip are doing so because they are lazy and want to make more money faster. What I found is that most of them, they couldn't have gone further with their life goals without stripping, without making this kind of money. The small towns they were in, they just didn't have other job options—especially part-time—so they could pay for their college tuition, or that could afford them to support their two kids on their own while also taking night classes. Most of [the women] actually used it as a stepping stone toward something else. And it was temporary for almost all of them."
© Cate Dingley2/14"What was really great to see is that the women were very supportive of each other, which, having talked to dancers at other clubs and other cities and places, is not usually the case. But at this club, one of the things that really made it different was that the dancers protected each other, you know? They just had one bouncer and there was one woman in particular, Scarlet, who, if any customer was going over the line with another woman there she would step up and protect her and act as a bouncer herself."
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© Cate Dingley4/14"A lot of the men who came there were, to put it in a nice way, a bit old-fashioned. There was definitely some racism against the women of color at the club. And the environment could be a little bit dangerous for the dancers sometimes. They would get followed home if they didn't drive really quickly away and take sharp turns and try and lose them. The men really felt that they had some kind of claim on them sometimes which was a bit disturbing to see. But that seems to be the case in urban strip clubs as well. It's hard to be in the sex industry and also have those personal boundaries. I saw them struggle with that, and just try and keep themselves safe."
© Cate Dingley5/14"I had to walk to get to the backstage area, and you walk right through the front door. I would usually arrive before the club opened for the evening, but then I would leave in the middle of the night and walk through the club. Since [customers] saw me coming from the backstage area, I had to be very careful that I didn't get followed home. They assumed I was one of the dancers. Like the other women there, I had to keep an eye on my surroundings and be very vigilant when I was on my way home. I got out of there as quickly as I could once I left the backstage."
© Cate Dingley6/14"I'm sure the men understood that there was some element of fantasy, but they didn't realize that it was all fantasy—everything that the women said. It's actually not allowed at the club, to divulge their name. A lot of men would be like, 'OK, well, what's your actual name?' And they'd give them a second fake name. [The customers] got easily lured into the fantasy, but for the women, [the fantasy existed] for their own peace of mind and their own protection. They had split personalities between the backstage and when they crossed that line when they went onstage or when they left the little door that went into the club. They just had to turn it on."
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© Cate Dingley9/14"[For the women working at club], it's just exhausting and boring most of the time. It was just like working at the grocery store. Your feet got sore. Your body got tired. [You] just tried to make the best of it."
© Cate Dingley10/14"The women I'm still in touch with have all left the club. You know like I mentioned before how they use it as a tool to save up money or pay for tuition? One of the women has met her goal that she [set] six years ago. She's a lawyer now, which is really incredible. And she is glad for the time that she spent there. She sees it as a really formative life experience and would do it again. Unfortunately, she has to keep it from her employers. But she was able to use the club just how she wanted to: work there for a couple years to help pay for tuition and books, and move on to her goal of being a lawyer. That's really amazing, I think."
© Cate Dingley11/14"I wanted to make sure that I did [the women] justice. By showing someone's everyday life in the simplest way you can [represent them] in a way that's honest and respectful. If you see anyone, no matter what industry they're in or what they do during the day, if you feel close to them, if you feel like you can understand them a little bit from a photo, I think that that can bring empathy."
© Cate Dingley12/14"The women watched out for each other. They were kind to each other. And they supported each other backstage which was really, really great to see."
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© Cate Dingley14/14"The power of photography [is] that it can bring empathy and understanding. But obviously you have to be a thoughtful photographer. You have to be respectful and get to know the subjects. The longer you can spend with them, the better photos [will] show who they are and provoke those reactions in your viewers."
