Lap dance

This article is about the erotic dance. For the N*E*R*D song, see Lapdance (song). For the upcoming film, see Lap Dance (film).
Lap or couch contact dance demonstration at the 2008 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

A lap dance (or contact dance) is a type of erotic dance performance offered in some strip clubs in which the dancer typically has body contact with a seated patron. Lap dancing is different from table dancing, in which the dancer is close to a seated patron, but without body contact. With lap dancing, the dancer may be nude, topless or scantily dressed, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction and the club's policies. With full-contact lap dances, the stripper may engage in non-penetrative sexual contact with the patron, such as "grinding" his or her body against the patron. Variant terms include couch dance, which is a lap dance where the customer is seated on a couch. In some places, a "block session" of lap dances (usually a half an hour to an hour) can be booked in a "champagne room", which is a private room usually located in the back of a club. In many clubs, the duration of a lap dance is measured by the length of the song being played by the club's DJ. Charges for lap dances vary significantly.

Depending on the local jurisdiction and community standards, lap dances can involve touching of the dancer by the patron, touching the patron by the dancer, neither, or both. In some clubs, any touching by the patron is forbidden. On the other hand, absent any oversight by the club, various levels of contact may be negotiable between the participants. Clubs vary widely with regard to whether they enforce their rules or turn a blind eye to any violations.

There is some debate as to whether lap dancing is entertainment or a type of sex work.[1] Critics of lap dancing allege that some club owners, by installing dark private booths and charging dancers steep stage fees, are covertly condoning and encouraging the sale of sexual acts between customers and dancers. This can be a concern if, as for instance in the United Kingdom, the club has a Public Entertainment Licence rather than a Sex Establishment Licence, and in jurisdictions where brothels are illegal.[2][3] According to the UK paper The Guardian, "Research shows that the majority of women become lap-dancers through poverty and lack of choice."[4]

Typical area where lap dances are had in semi-private

Lap dancing clubs are a later development of earlier strip clubs, where strippers danced on stage and were paid a wage. In the 1970s, New York's Melody Theater introduced audience participation and called it "Mardi Gras".[5] The Melody Theater became the Harmony Theater and operated in two locations in Manhattan for over 20 years until it was closed down in 1998.

In 1977, San Francisco's Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre changed its policy so that customers could have dancers come to sit naked on their laps for a $1 tip. The practice quickly spread.[6] It suited club owners, because it brought in more customers, and it meant that the club could pay the dancers less. This then evolved into lap dancing. A San Francisco District Attorney's 2004 decision to drop prostitution charges against lap dancers in the city changed the sexual culture of San Francisco and "has the potential to influence the policies of other cities".[7]

In some areas of the U.S. and Canada, local authorities began cracking down on lap dancing after reports that some clubs allowed customers to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual activity with dancers during lap dance sessions.[8] Various strip clubs have wide-ranging rules on how customers should interact with strippers.[9]

Canada

In 1973, an upmarket Vancouver bar called "Gary Taylor's Show Lounge" employed showgirls and strippers as waitresses who gave a free dance with every drink. The club was raided by the police under the guise of obscenity legislation, but, in 1974, Judge Jack McGivern ruled that dancer nudity was not obscene, which started a trend of nude dancing in bars. No contact between dancers and patrons was allowed at the club, but Gary Taylor's had a boxing ring where the girls performed revealing acrobatics after stripping off and then earned tips. Americans from Washington State made the trip to the club from the United States, which at the time had stricter laws.[10]

In a landmark ruling regarding the 1994 case of Pat Mara and Allan East (the owner and manager of Cheaters Tavern), Judge E. Gordon Hachborn legally defined lap dancing and ruled that it did not contravene Canadian public decency statutes. A number of conflicting judgements were issued in the years that followed, including decisions to close certain bars in which sex acts took place on the floor of the club and other rulings in which patrons were allowed to touch the dancers, as long as an actual sex act did not take place.[10]

In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a typical lap dance did not constitute an "obscene" act within the meaning of the Criminal Code. The Crown did not argue that lap dances constituted "prostitution", and therefore the court did not address the possible issue that the typical lap dance may contravene one or more anti-prostitution laws.[11] This led to the displacement of strip clubs and table dancing clubs in Canada by lap dancing clubs.

In 2005, two Supreme Court of Canada rulings (R. v. Labaye and R. v. Kouri) decriminalized private sex clubs in Canada.

On 20 December 2013, (in Bedford v. Canada) the Supreme Court of Canada found the laws prohibiting brothels, public communication for the purpose of prostitution, and living on the profits of prostitution to be unconstitutional. The ruling gave the Canadian parliament twelve months to rewrite Canada's prostitution laws; in the meantime, existing anti-prostitution laws continued to be enforced.[12] Current laws on prostitution in Canada, introduced in 2014, make it illegal to purchase sexual services (including lap dancing) but legal to sell them.[13]

United States

Some jurisdictions in the United States outlaw lap dances and enforce a minimum distance between dancer and patron. In Seattle, one such minimum distance ordinance was overturned by public referendum in November 2006.[14]

Also in 2006, concerned about reports of sexual assault and illegal stage fees, San Francisco's Commission on the Status of Women recommended a ban on private rooms and booths at adult clubs in the city. However, a majority of dancers at the Commission's meetings and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' meetings protested against these efforts, fearing for their income and claiming that these rooms were safer than other venues.[15][16] As a result, the Commission's proposed ban was not adopted by the city.[15][16]

In February 2010, the Detroit City Council voted to ban lap dances in VIP rooms.[17] However, across from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario in Canada, lap dancing remained legal, even where alcohol was served, and Sex clubs were also legal in Windsor. Current laws on prostitution in Canada, introduced in 2014, make it illegal to purchase sexual services (including lap dancing) but legal to sell them.[13]

In 2012, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that lap dances were not an art form and are subject to sales tax.[18]

An exotic dancer demonstrating a contact lap dance

United Kingdom

The first lap dancing club in the UK was opened in 1995,[19] and, during the 2000s, the lap-dancing industry grew quickly. In 2008, clubs were being opened at a rate of about one per week. By 2009, the total number of clubs had reached its peak of 310 (approximately twice the number in 2003), and the number of lap-dancers was estimated at 10,000. There are now lap-dancing clubs in big cities, small towns, and out-of-town business parks.[20] The figures plateaued during the subsequent weaker economic climate and had hardly changed by 2012. At that point, the amount of money a lap-dancer earned in an average shift was £230 (down from around £280 in 2011), and the industry was valued at around £300 million. However, some clubs, particularly in London, charged a house fee for the dancers to perform and had an increased number of dancers, which reduced an individual dancer's earnings.[21] The industry body in the UK representing club owners is the Lap Dancing Association.

The Policing and Crime Act 2009 reclassified lap-dancing clubs in England and Wales as "sexual entertainment venues" instead of "entertainment venues" and, since April 2010, lap-dancing clubs have been required to apply for licences. Local authorities now have the power to decide on the number and location of lap-dancing clubs in their area.[22][23] Between 2010 and 2015, there were approximately forty-five refusals of licences for sexual entertainment venues in England and Wales, mainly on the grounds that the locality was unsuitable.[24] There is no right of appeal against such refusals, except on the grounds that committees have not followed correct procedure. The number of refusals, together with the costs of licence application, means that there have been few new businesses opened since 2010, with the overall number of clubs declining over time as a number of local authorities implemented a "nil limit" for new clubs.[25] Until 2016, lap dancing clubs in Scotland continued to be licensed under Section 41 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, which covers general entertainment licenses, and licences in Scotland could not be refused on the basis of the nature of the entertainment in itself.[26] The Scottish Government set up an Adult Entertainment Working Group in 2005 and carried out a consultation on the regulation of sexual entertainment venues in 2013. The Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 comes in to effect in 2016, requiring local authorities in Scotland to set out individual policies with regard to the licensing of “sexual entertainment venues” such as lap dancing clubs.[27][28]

In February 2014, Fiona Mactaggart (MP for Slough) asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, if he would "make it his policy not to offer job subsidies for employing teenagers as auxiliary workers in adult entertainment establishments".[29] Her question related to employers in the adult entertainment industry being offered an incentive of over £2,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions for every unemployed young person (aged 18–24) that they hired.[30][31] Esther McVey, the Minister of State for Employment, stated that: "The Welfare Reform Act 2012 ensured that vacancies which involve performing sexual activities were banned from being advertised on Government websites and a distinction was made in law to differentiate between performers and ancillary workers."[29]

Labor issues and job conditions

The economic position of lap dancers, as employees of the clubs, has also changed. Over time, most strip clubs have stopped paying the dancers. Stage dancing became a showcase to advertise the bodies of the dancers, whose money came from the tips or standard charges, depending on the club, that the patrons gave them for lap dancing. In the majority of clubs, dancers are simply charged a percentage of their nightly takings. However, the latest development in many countries, including Great Britain, the United States and Canada, is that many clubs charge dancers a "stage fee" or "tip-out", which is an amount that a dancer needs to pay a club (usually in advance) in order to work on a given night, per shift. Given that dancers are basically paying for the privilege to be at a club, some clubs allow as many dancers as possible to appear on any given night, increasing competition among the dancers. Also, the vast majority of clubs will not waive this charge if a night happens to be slow. Consequently, the dancer either leaves her shift without any profit or builds a debt to the club.[32]

In the U.S., most clubs treat dancers as independent contractors, thereby avoiding the need to pay minimum wages, overtime pay, income taxes and other benefits required by law. This status has repeatedly been challenged by some dancers. While labor commissions and the courts have, for the most part, ruled that exotic dancers are employees and deserving of reimbursement for back pay and stage fees,[3][32] some court decisions have decided that an exotic dancer can be classified as an independent contractor. In June 2006, in Tracy Buel v. Chowder House (dba The Hungry I) an appellate court of California's first district ruled that dancer Tracy Buel, also known as "Daisy Anarchy", was correctly classified as an independent contractor and that "Buel shall pay defendants’ costs on appeal". A publication called the California Employment Law Letter described the case as follows: "The dancer based her suit on the fact that she was an employee of the nightclub rather than an independent contractor. The appellate court, however, after applying a 10-factor test, upheld the jury's verdict in favor of the nightclub and its owners and found that the evidence weighed in favor of classifying the dancer as an independent contractor rather than an employee."[33]

A UK study on lap dancing found that the overwhelming majority of those surveyed were satisfied with their work, because they got to choose their own hours, got paid instantly, got more money than in other available jobs, and had the opportunity to combine "fun and work" (e.g., socializing with other dancers and patrons).[34] At the same time, the same study revealed various disadvantages to lap dancing work, such as: the women never knew how much they would earn each week; the women had to try to keep their job secret from friends and family; the women had to face some rude and abusive customers. As well, while most felt safe, almost half of the dancers had faced frequent verbal harassment and unwanted touching from patrons. Another issue raised by the dancers was their lack of labour rights in the workplace and the high overhead costs – house fees (or stage fees), commissions, fines (whether paid directly to the club's management or not), and tipping out (or paying a portion of their income) to DJs and bouncers.[34]

The UK paper The Guardian gave a darker portrait of lap dancing in an article partly based on an interview with a former stripper.[35] It stated that "[r]esearch shows that the majority of women become lap-dancers through poverty and lack of choice,"[4] and that "academic research has linked lap-dancing to trafficking, prostitution and an increase in male sexual violence against both the women who work in the clubs and those who live and work in their vicinity." For example, a "recent conference in Ireland highlighted the use of lap-dance clubs by human traffickers as a tool for grooming women into prostitution; the clubs also normalise the idea of paying for sexual services."[4] "[R]esearch on strip clubs in the US found that all dancers had suffered verbal harassment and physical and sexual abuse while at work; all had been propositioned for prostitution; and three-quarters had been stalked by men associated with the club."[4]

Critics of lap dancing choose to describe it as a type of sex work, because, in their opinion, "it is difficult to discern between the performance of erotic dance and prostitution."[36] However, others contend that it is a misnomer to call a lap dancer a sex worker, because no sexual act is technically performed during a typical lap dance. Club owners in the UK argue that lap dancing should not be labelled as sex work.[37]

In 2007, based on statistics from eighteen dancers over a period of 60 days, it was noted that female lap dancers earned the highest tips around the time of ovulation, during the most fertile period of their menstrual cycle and the lowest tips during menstruation; the average difference in earning between those two times amounted to about $30 per hour. Women on the pill earned overall less than those not on the pill. The results were interpreted as evidence of estrus in humans: females apparently advertise their fertility status to males in some manner.[38] This finding earned its authors the 2008 Ig Nobel Prize (a parody of the Nobel Prize given for unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research) in Economics.[38]

Mileage

Establishments that offer lap dancing, and the lap dancers themselves, are sometimes rated regarding "mileage."[39] It refers to the amount of contact between dancer and patron during the performance. Every jurisdiction has its own laws regarding such contact, but enforcement of these laws is sporadic. Ultimately, it comes down to what the club and the dancer will allow.

Nevada, and especially Las Vegas, have established very lenient laws regarding what contact is allowed during a lap dance.[40][41] Patrons may legally touch the dancer anywhere she will permit, excluding the genitals. This has led to a pricing strategy in some all-nude strip clubs, in which a standard lap dance is considered to be just topless with no contact, but can be upgraded to include full nudity and/or touching.

In film

See also

References

  1. ↑ Einat Albin, "The Case of Quashie: Between the Legalisation of Sex Work and the Precariousness of Personal Service Work", Industrial Law Journal, (2013) 42 (2): 180-191. doi: 10.1093/indlaw/dwt006 - Accessed on 12 March 2014
  2. ↑ Bindel, Julie, "Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK", Study for the Glasgow City Council (August 2004)
  3. 1 2 "Lap Victory. How a DA's decision to drop prostitution charges against lap dancers will change the sexual culture of S.F. – and, perhaps, the country", SF Weekly (8 September 2004)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bell, Rachel, 'I was seen as an object, not a person', The Guardian (19 March 2008), Accessed: 23 October 2011
  5. ↑ "Harem Theatre in NYC?". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  6. ↑ David McCumber: X-Rated, Pinnacle Books, 1996, pp. 79-80
  7. ↑ Steinberg, David. "Lap Victory". SF Weekly. SF Weekly, LP. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Ross, Becki (October 2009). Burlesque West: showgirls, sex, and sin in postwar Vancouver. University of Toronto Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8020-9646-3. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Lap Dance Etiquette". Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Lifestyles: Canada's Multi-Million Dollar Addiction To Lap-Dancing". 21 September 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada – Decisions – R. v. Pelletier, 13 December 1999, archived from the original on 25 March 2007, retrieved 20 November 2016
  12. ↑ "Canada Supreme Court strikes down prostitution laws". BBC. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Technical Paper: Bill C-36, Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act". justice.gc.ca. Government of Canada: Department of Justice. Retrieved 13 September 2015. Bill C-36 criminalizes, for the first time in Canadian criminal law, the purchase of sexual services… The following activities have been found to constitute a sexual service or an act of prostitution, if provided in return for some form of consideration: lap-dancing, which involves sitting in the client’s lap and simulating sexual intercourse… Bill C-36 does not prevent those who sell their own sexual services from entering into legitimate family and business relationships…
  14. ↑ Lap dance ban defeated, Archived at: Archived 13 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. 1 2 Goodyear, Charlie (5 August 2006). "Adult club private rooms debated". San Francisco Chronicle.
  16. 1 2 Estrella, Cicero A. (19 August 2006). "Exotic dancers rally at City Hall to halt private-room ban in clubs". San Francisco Chronicle.
  17. ↑ "Detroit City Council votes to allow alcohol, ban lap dances in strip clubs". MLive.com. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "New York Court of Appeals: Lap Dancing Is Not An Art Form, Is Subject To Sales Tax". Forbes. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Memorandum submitted by The Lap Dancing Association (LDA): The Real Body of Evidence". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. November 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  20. ↑ Cooke, Rachel (8 March 2009). "Should lap dancing be run out of town?". The Observer. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  21. ↑ Corcoran, Kieran; Taylor, Jerome (12 April 2012). "The human cost of UK's £300m addiction to lap-dancing". The Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "New powers to crack down on lap-dancing clubs". BBC News. 12 February 2010.
  23. ↑ "Leeds lap dancing clubs face new threat". Yorkshire Evening Post. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  24. ↑ Hubbard, Philip (2015). "Law, sex and the city: regulating sexual entertainment venues in England and Wales". International Journal of Law in the Built Environment. Emerald Group Publishing. 7 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1108/IJLBE-01-2014-0001. Pdf
  25. ↑ "SEV licensing". SEV licensing (a blog reviewing licensing news relating to Sexual Entertainment Venue license applications). Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  26. ↑ ""Adult entertainment" / Lap Dancing". Women's Support Project. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  27. ↑ Martin Hannan (7 August 2015). "New air weapon licensing laws to be introduced next year". The National. Retrieved 9 March 2016. New rules on the licensing of “sexual entertainment venues” such as lapdancing clubs are also introduced in the Act, with local authorities required to set out their individual policies.
  28. ↑ "Sexual entertainment venues". legislation.gov.uk. Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  29. 1 2 Fiona Mactaggart (MP for Slough) & Esther McVey (Minister of State for Employment) (11 February 2014). "Employment: Sex Establishments (written question)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 583W–584W.
  30. ↑ Piggott, Mark (16 February 2014). "UK Government pays sex clubs to employ teenage girls". International Business Times. IBT Media.
  31. ↑ Department for Work and Pensions (2010), "Chapter 20: Youth Contract - Wage Incentive Scheme", Work Programme provider guidance (Work Choice only): treatment of different types of employment (pdf), HM Government, pp. 4–5
  32. 1 2 Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America, Lily Burana, Talk Miramax Books, 2001
  33. ↑ "Exotic dancer stripped of her job", David R. Ongaro, California Employment Law Letter, Vol. 16, No. 9. 14 July 2006
  34. 1 2 Sanders, Teela & Hardy, Kate, 'The Regulatory Dance: Sexual Consumption in the Night Time Economy' (April 2011), Accessed on 24 October 2011
  35. ↑ Bell, Rachel, "'I was seen as an object, not a person'", The Guardian (18 March 2008)
  36. ↑ Ditmore, Melissa Hope: Prostitution and Sex Work. ABC-CLIO, 2010, pp. 6-7
  37. ↑ "UK | Lap dancers object to 'sex' label". BBC News. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  38. 1 2 Miller, Geoffrey; Tybus, Joshua M.; Jordan, Brent D. (November 2007). "Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus?" (pdf). Evolution and Human Behavior. Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico. 28 (6): 375–381. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.06.002. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  39. ↑ Snyder, Arnold. "Vegas Strip Club Mileage". Topless Vegas Online. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  40. ↑ Pordum, Matt. "Judge Agrees That Erotic Dance Law is Too Vague". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  41. ↑ Snyder, Arnold. "Las Vegas Strip Club Law". Topless Vegas Online. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
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