Strip Clubs and Politics

Well that title ought to provoke some interest! Sorry to disappoint,  but it is not going to be as salacious as you might think. Recently, I overheard a conversation that I can't get out of my head. The conversation involved a question posed to a father regarding his daughter. If you could choose, would you rather your daughter worked as a stripper or at a fast food restaurant? Unbelievably to me, the father, a man with at least a bachelor's degree, stated he would choose stripper because you can't live off the wages from a fast food, minimum wage job. It took every ounce of this asshole ' s being to not come at the man like a spider monkey. I don't like strip clubs. It's not that I'm jealous of the beautiful women or concerned my husband secretly wants one of them. No, my dislike of them comes from the fact that they hurt women. I've heard people say that it is empowering, that they are taking advantage of men's desires, and all the other arguments we tell ourselves to justify their existence. All of these arguments provide nice soundbites and alleviate the conscience. The problem is that the arguments are dead wrong. Here is what happens to a woman who is employed as a stripper. First, she makes a large amount of money without any real marketable skills that can be translated to a different industry outside of the sex industry. This sounds good...making a lot of money without a lot of effort. However, her lifestyle quickly grows and she becomes used to making more money than what her transferable skills can support. So, she in essence, becomes stuck. Leaving will necessarily mean a loss in wages. I know you might be thinking suck it up cupcake but how many of us could take even a 10K paycut much less the larger one faced by these women? So, the women become stuck in the sex industry. The options, then, if one  wants to leave, are limited. Often, the women who want to leave get sucked into other illegal activity such as drugs, sex trafficking or other illicit activities that can provide comparable wages without any real skills. 

I can't believe anyone would choose this cage (no pun intended) for their daughter. I know the father probably didn't think about it as intensely as I have but the sad fact remains that money, no matter how it is acquired, is often the commodity that is valued above all else. It can lead to absurd results wherein a father would rather his daughter be trapped in the sex trade instead of flipping burgers at The Sonic. I also think that the conversation illustrates another issue that has been bothering me of late and it is the politics half of this post. How often do we all, including myself, hold opinions that we have not examined or questioned. Unexamined opinions lack validity and credibility and yet, we become attached to these opinions and defend them, not with facts, but with personal attacks or worse by stating some vague rhetoric that lets us off the hook. It's a mental shortcut and it's  As Americans, we are entitled to hold and state these opinions. I don't think, however, we are entitled to ignorance. Our freedoms come with great responsibility. I'm not asking you to turn every game of "would you rather" into a dissertation. In my defense, the conversation that sparked this post was not a result of this whimsical game, and instead, was sparked by a discussion on the state of the economy.  What I am asking is that you look beyond the rhetoric or the quick justifications before your opinion becomes solidified and entrenched but especially before you try to convince someone else of its truth.