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A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other including . Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. American-style strip clubs began to appear outside North America after World War II, arriving in Asia in the late 1980s and Europe in 1978, where they competed against the local English and French styles of striptease and erotic performances.
the size of the global strip club industry was [[estimated|Estimation]] to be US$75 billion. In 2019, the size of the U.S. strip club industry was estimated to be US$8 billion, generating 19% of the total gross revenue in [[legal]] adult entertainment. [[SEC filing]]s and state liquor control records available at that time indicated that there were at least 3,862 strip clubs in the United States, and since that time, the number of clubs in the U.S. has grown. Profitability of strip clubs, as with other service-oriented businesses, is largely driven by location and customer spending habits. The better appointed a club is, in terms of its quality of facilities, equipment, furniture, and other elements, the more likely customers are to encounter cover charges and fees for premium features such as VIP rooms.
The strip club as an outlet for salacious entertainment is a recurrent theme in popular culture. In some media, these clubs are portrayed primarily as gathering places of vice and ill reputation. Clubs themselves and various aspects of the business are highlighted in these references. "Top Strip Club" lists in some media have demonstrated that U.S.-style striptease is a global phenomenon and that it has also become a culturally accepted form of entertainment, despite its scrutiny in legal circles and popular media. Popular Internet sites for strip club enthusiasts also have lists calculated from the inputs of site visitors. The legal status of strip clubs has evolved over the course of time, with national and local laws becoming progressively more liberal on the issue around the world, although some countries (such as Iceland) have implemented strict limits and bans. Strip clubs are frequent targets of litigation around the world, and the sex industry, which includes strip clubs, is a contentious issue in popular culture and politics. Some clubs have been linked to organized crime.
Other possible influences on modern stripping were the dances of the Ghawazee "discovered" and seized upon by French colonists in 19th century North Africa and Egypt. The erotic dance of the bee, performed by a woman known as Kuchuk Hanem, was witnessed and described by the French novelist Gustave Flaubert. In this dance, the performer disrobes as she searches for an imaginary bee trapped within her garments. It is likely that the women performing these dances did not do so in an indigenous context, but rather, responded to the commercial climate for this type of entertainment.
Middle Eastern belly dance, also known as oriental dancing, was popularized in the United States after its introduction on the Midway at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago by a dancer known as Little Egypt.
In 1905, Dutch dancer Mata Hari, later shot as a spy by the French authorities during World War I, was an overnight success from the debut of her act at the Musée Guimet. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just a jeweled Brassiere and some ornaments over her arms and head. Another landmark performance was the appearance at the Moulin Rouge, in 1907, of an actress called Germaine Aymos, who entered dressed only in three very small shells. In the 1930s, the famous Josephine Baker danced semi-nude in the danse sauvage at the Folies and other such performances were provided at the Tabarin. These shows were notable for their sophisticated choreography and for often dressing the girls in glitzy sequins and feathers. By the 1960s, "fully nude" shows were provided at such places as Le Crazy Horse Saloon.Richard Wortley (1976) A Pictorial History of Striptease: 11, 29–53.
In Britain in the 1930s, Laura Henderson began presenting nude shows at the Windmill Theatre in London. At that time, British law prohibited naked girls from moving. To avoid the prohibition, the models appeared in stationary tableaux vivants.Vivien Goldsmith, "Windmill: always nude but never rude", Daily Telegraph, 24 November 2005 The Windmill girls also toured other London and provincial theatres, sometimes using ingenious devices such as rotating ropes to move their bodies round, though strictly speaking, staying within the letter of the law by not moving of their own volition. Another example of ways that the shows stayed within the law was the fan dance, in which a naked dancer's body was concealed by her fans and those of her attendants, until the end of her act in when she posed naked for a brief interval whilst standing still.
In 1942, Phyllis Dixey formed her own company of girls and rented the Whitehall Theatre in London to put on a review called The Whitehall Follies. By the 1950s, touring striptease acts were used to attract audiences to the dying music halls. Paul Raymond started his touring shows in 1951 and later leased the Doric Ballroom in Soho, opening his private members club, the Raymond Revuebar, in 1958. This was the first of the private striptease members' clubs in Britain.
Changes in the law in the 1960s brought about a boom of strip clubs in Soho with "fully nude" dancing and audience participation.Goldstein, Murray (2005) Naked JungleSoho Stripped Bare. Silverback Press Pubs were also used as venues, most particularly in the East End, with a concentration of such venues in the district of Shoreditch. This pub striptease seems mainly to have evolved from topless go-go dancing. Though often a target of local authority harassment, some of these pubs survive to the present day. A custom in these pubs is that the strippers walk round and collect money from customers in a beer jug before each individual performance. This custom appears to have originated in the late 1970s when topless go-go dancers first started collecting money from the audience as the fee for going "fully nude". Private dances of a more raunchy nature are sometimes available in a separate area of the pub. (2025). 9781899344857, The Do-Not Press. ISBN 9781899344857
Widespread bans on striptease had a direct influence on the creation of the strip clip joint and the exotic dancer as known today. Bans still exist; enforced now mostly at the local municipal level. American-style striptease began to appear outside North America in the post-World War II era and is now practiced widely around the world.
The 1960s saw a revival of striptease in the form of topless go-go dancing. Topless dancing was banned in certain parts of the country, similar to the bans on striptease, but it eventually merged with the older tradition of burlesque dancing. Carol Doda, of the Condor Club in the North Beach section of San Francisco, is credited with being the first Toplessness go-go dancer. Nudity, Noise Pay Off in Bay Area Night Clubs, Los Angeles Times, February 14, 1965, Page G5. The club opened in 1964 and Doda's première topless dance occurred on the evening of 19 June of that year. California Solons May Bring End To Go-Go-Girl Shows in State, Panama City News, September 15, 1969, Page 12A. The large lit sign in front of the club featured a picture of her with red lights on her breasts. The club went "bottomless" on 3 September 1969; launching the trend of explicit "full nudity" in American striptease dancing. It was Doda's brand of dancing which is credited with the move from striptease to stripping.
San Francisco is also the location of the notorious Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. Originally an X-rated movie theater, this striptease club pioneered lap dancing in 1970, and was a major force in popularizing it in strip clubs on a nationwide and eventually worldwide basis. 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 A further development in the American tradition took place with the emergence of upscale "gentlemen's clubs" in the early 1990s in large cities such as New York. Scores New York was the first major gentlemen's club, with "a gorgeous interior, high-end food and drinks, and of course stunningly beautiful women in sexy gowns. Prior to that, live adult entertainment in New York consisted largely of seedy peep show-type places", according to adult industry veteran Joe Diamond. San Francisco's Lusty Lady became known in the 1990s and early 2000s as the first strip club in the world to successfully unionize and the first to become a worker's cooperative.
When entrepreneur Shigeo Ozaki saw Gypsy Rose Lee perform, he started his own striptease revue in Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood. Teitoza was the first club to open in Shinjuku, on 15 January 1947. The first act was titled "The Birth of Venus". Each performance lasted for fifteen seconds and was modest by modern standards, incorporating veils, panties and a bra which covered much of what would be shown today. The woman on stage stood in a stationary pose, similar to shows in Britain. The show ran until August 1948. Theaters in Asakusa had fully nude displays, also featuring no motion or stripping. As this style of theater spread, the removal of clothing on stage was integrated into the process.
Over time, as regulations were relaxed, a variety of acts developed with shows presenting a variety of movements, such as taking a bath in an outdoor washtub. One of the most famous variants had audience members given magnifying glasses for close up views.
During the 1950s, Japanese "strip shows" became more sexually explicit and less dance-oriented, until they were eventually simply live sex shows. The strip shows in Tokyo during this time remained low key, but Osaka and Kyoto were pushing the art of striptease in Japan into new territory. In 1956, Osaka became the first city in Japan to have pubic hair on display during a strip show. Dotonbori is a well known red light district in Osaka, Japan, that has featured entertainment theaters and prostitution for hundreds of years. The strip clubs of today are the latest incarnation of its temptations.
Peeping clubs, which feature peeping rooms (nozokibeya), are businesses similar to western peep shows. Customers in peeping clubs view a female model through a hole from their own private cubicles, and then pay to watch her strip, pose, and masturbate. Kabukichō, a red light district in Tokyo, had 13 nozoki-beya in the early 1980s. The sex industry became so pervasive in Asia that by the 1990s, Kabukichō was described as a "warren of peep shows, strip clubs, and massage parlors" and Bangkok, Thailand, attained a reputation as the sex capital of the world.
Regardless of size, name, or location in the world, strip clubs can be full nude, topless or bikini. Where offered:
For any of the three types of clubs, there are exceptions based on the individual dancer and management. The use of pasties can alter the legal interpretation as to whether a performance is topless or not and whether a business is sexually oriented.
A club might also hire or broadcast forms of entertainment other than striptease (such as pay-per-view events), for which it earns revenue via premium fees. Some clubs have also moved into providing chat and broadcast services via the internet, including live video feeds. Beyond this more passive entertainment, some clubs' dancers offer additional services, such as or trips to the champagne room, for a set fee rather than for tips. This fee will typically include a set fee for the room, for a fixed amount of time. Lap dances may also be offered during lingerie modeling sessions. During a lap dance, the dancer dances above and around the customer's crotch while they remain clothed, in an attempt to arouse or, in the case of "extras" with contact occurring during grinding, to bring the recipient to climax. Touching of strippers is not permitted in many localities, however, some dancers and clubs allow touching of dancers during private dances. In some parts of the U.S., there are laws forbidding the exposure of female nipples, and thus dancers must cover their nipples with pasties to comply with those laws. Such clubs are known as pastie clubs.
Striptease involves a slow, sensuous undressing. The stripper may prolong the undressing by making sure that the sensual build-up has been properly done using techniques such as the wearing of actual clothes or putting clothes or hands in front of just undressed body parts such as the or genitalia in a sensual and playful manner. The emphasis is on the act of undressing along with sexually suggestive movement, rather than the state of being undressed. In the past, the performance often finished as soon as the undressing was finished, though today's strippers usually continue dancing in the nude.Lara Clifton (2002) Baby Oil and Ice: Striptease in East London. The costume the stripper wears before disrobing is part of the act. In some cases, audience interaction can form part of the act, with the audience urging the stripper to remove more clothing, or the stripper approaching the audience to interact with them.
Unlike burlesque theater, the modern popular form of strip theater can minimize the interaction of customer and dancer, reducing the importance of tease in the performance in favor of speed to undress. Most clubs have a dancer rotation where each dancer, in turn, will perform for one or more songs in a fixed sequence that repeats during a shift. Less formal clubs will have dancers take turns when a stage becomes empty or have a free flow of entertainers where the stage has any number of entertainers who wander off and on at will. Featured entertainers are not usually part of the rotation and they generally have set times when they will perform that are advertised throughout the shift. If a DJ is present, they will "emcee" the rotation and typically announce the current dancer(s) on stage and possibly whom to expect in future sets.
Private dances in the main club zones most often take the form of , lap dance, and bed dances among others. An air dance is a particular form of private dance where little-to-no contact between the dancer and customer occurs. This class of dance spans the different categories listed above, and some dancers may perform air dances when more contact-heavy forms of dance were expected and paid for. Club management may set standard prices for the various dance services, but individual strippers, where permitted, will negotiate their own prices, which may be higher or lower than the advertised rate. Table dances are distinguished from other forms of dances in that they can be performed where the customer is seated, on the main floor. Table dance may also refer to a form of minimal-touch private dance where the performer is physically located on a small table in front of the customer(s). Table dances should not be confused with table stages, where the stripper is at or above eye level on a platform surrounded by chairs, and where there is usually enough table surface for customers to place drinks and tip money.
Where offered, lap dances are performed in all manner of locations and seating, ranging from plain stools and kitchen-grade chairs to plush leather armchairs. They can also be performed with the customer standing in these designated areas. A service provided by many clubs is for a customer to be placed on stage with one or more dancers for a public lap dance. Occasions for this type of performance are bachelor parties and birthdays, among others. Bed dance areas require more space because they are designed for the customer to be prone with the entertainer(s) positioned on top of them. Bed dances are the least common of the three, and in many clubs are a more expensive option than a lap dance because of the novelty and increased level of contact between customer and service provider.
Dancers, in an attempt to acquire a tip or monetary reward, may be selling more than just attractiveness and fantasy. They portray feelings of intimacy and emotional connectedness for their customers, and most of the time, these portrayals are overstated or false. The stage persona is different from who they are backstage, even if it does mirror aspects of their true personality. Within the context of the strip club, dancers might sometimes give the impression that they are revealing private (or backstage) information to customers in order to play a confidence game for increased profit. Dancers use props such as make-up, clothing, costumes, and appealing fragrances to complete their character and maintain their "Persona" while in the club. Customers rarely, if ever, see the preparation of these props, since they are denied access to the backstage of a dancer's performance space by the layout of the club. A customer often wants a dancer to "drop the act", which makes them feel special and desired. This girlfriend experience can involve increased intimacy up to and including sex acts. Dancers are commonly aware of this customer desire for increased confidence, and may allow the impression that a customer is seeing their true selves. In reality, it is often just part of the act with little to no emotional attachment for the dancer.
Dancers may tie their state of undress to the number of songs played. This could correspond to a bikini performance for song one and topless for the second. In a fully nude club, the sequence could be topless-to-nude over two songs, or any one of a number of other variations. In the United States, clubs are classified based on typical performances, zoning regulations, and advertised services. Zoning regulations in the U.S. can prove a challenge, with clubs needing to be a certain distance away from schools and other areas where children are known to congregate. These restrictions are meant, ostensibly, to curb exposure to activities that could negatively impact social development of children, and to protect nearby real estate properties not tied to the industry from devaluation. These are known as "secondary effects". The validity of secondary effects has been disputed, with the counterargument that clubs have been forced through zoning into "seedy neighborhoods". Elsewhere in North America, the Zona Norte red light district in Tijuana, Mexico, has a number of legal brothels which are modeled on strip clubs and feature U.S.-style striptease performed by its prostitutes.
Higher-end gentlemen's clubs have features that cost millions of dollars to install and maintain.
All clubs are configured differently. A small club can have a single room, with an improvised stage for the striptease show. Many clubs have more than the basic amenities. Larger clubs have clearer designations of areas. The different areas within a club could be separated by a physical step, railing, platforms and levels, doorways, distinct rooms, and entirely separate floors, and they can also be formed by different carpeting, placement of seating, or physical such as a rope or other physical marker.
Many stages have actual railing built on or around the stage to function as the tip railing, in addition to indicating where customers should position themselves relative to the performance zone. Customers take turns tipping the dancer. They may also line up to tip popular performers. If physical railing is not present, the tip rail is the edge of stage or defined performance area. Other common tip methods are to insert the dollar into the stripper's cleavage from the hand or mouth, to simply place it or toss it on stage, or to crumple bills into a ball shape and throw them in the entertainer's direction. Each club and dancer has different tolerance levels for customer interaction, including tipping. Some clubs have multiple stages on the premises. Tipping etiquette varies between countries and cultures. In Eastern European and Asian clubs, it is customary to agree on payment upfront for a certain amount of time or dances, for stage performances and any private sessions.
Novelty acts (such as shower shows, fire shows, and oil wrestling) can be presented on dedicated stages, temporary staging on the floor, or on the main stage itself depending on the club. The main stage, if used, must be prepared and possibly covered to prevent damage, as accidents and injuries have been reported during these types of striptease performances. When dangerous materials such as fire are used as props, a license may be required to be compliant with . Novelty acts are typically performed by feature dancers or by select house dancers during a featured performance. Shower shows require special equipment, so they are more likely to have a dedicated stage in the club with house dancers performing in the show. Optional staging can be present on the main floor or in dedicated rooms throughout larger clubs.
Consumption of alcohol is often facilitated via direct sales in strip clubs where such sales are legal, appropriately zoning, and Liquor license. Some clubs that are not licensed to serve alcohol will work around the restriction by implementing a BYOB policy and a juice bar. Juice bars have the appointments of full bars but only serve non-alcoholic beverages such as water, fruit juice, and flavored carbonated beverages. Such a bar could double as a service counter for the storage of BYOB material and offer ice and mixing services to create mixed drinks using the customer-purchased ingredients. Where waitstaff are present, they may serve as an extension of the bar service; providing and refreshing drinks while maintaining the cleanliness of the seating areas.
VIP seating adjacent to the main floor is often more comfortable. For example, these areas may include arm chairs, couches, or booths with service tables. The area typically has a clear line of sight to the main stage. Reserve seating gives a customer a sense of importance and demonstrates prestige. In higher-end clubs, VIP seating might include balconies and other overlooks, which might also include smaller stages for a private dance if the customer wishes, at an additional fee. VIP seating can also act as lap dance booths, where a higher lap dance price would apply than in the general area.
VIP rooms are partitioned areas in a club that are typically enclosed by fixed walls and can have doors that close completely. For such rooms that do not offer solid doors, there is usually some type of system to screen the room from view with Bead stringing, , or other devices. Couch rooms, private dance rooms, and lounges are also forms of VIP zones. VIP rooms have seating that is more plush than the general admission zones and the VIP seating adjacent to the main floor. Often, purchase of access to the room includes customer time with the dancer(s) of their choice. Some rooms are outfitted with props and appliances, such as showers, hot tubs, and various types of bedding.
A champagne room (also called a champagne lounge, or champagne court) is a specialized VIP Room service offered by gentlemen's clubs where a customer can purchase time (usually in half-hour increments) with an exotic dancer in a private room on the premises. Depending on the quality of the club, these rooms, which are typically away from the hustle and bustle of the main club, are generally well decorated and usually appointed with a private bar. Clubs sell champagne by the glass or by the bottle for both the dancer and the customer. Some clubs also offer food or cigar service. News media outlets have reported incidents of champagne room charges into the tens and hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars for a single visit.
Dancers use dressing rooms to prepare for performances, rest between performances, and stow any of their belongings not secured by other means. It is customary for disputes between club personnel to be handled off the floor and out of sight of patrons. Dressing rooms are commonly used for performer-only mediation, though this could shift into other areas of discussion if management is involved. Clubs are experimenting with granting greater access to restricted areas via technology. The service includes a live view into part of the backstage dressing room and paid access enables the website user to interact live with dancers at the club. Security of club and personnel are a primary driver for limiting access to these zones. If surveillance equipment for the club and grounds is present on site, the monitoring locations for the Audio-visual Video feed will be directed to management. In less frequent cases, such feeds could also be accessed from off-site.
Strippers can sometimes be contracted for performances outside the strip club environment. Strippers with ready access to the Internet away from work have also adopted social media and social networks as a less intrusive way of maintaining direct connections with customers. Others use the internet to generate revenue by performing via webcam, recording premium content, or running their own subscriber-based web site. Online erotic content is pervasive and generally classified as pornography. Much like activities inside the club, different dancers have different comfort levels for services they provide during private parties. Aside from advertising for striptease services outside the club, an unknown percentage of strippers also work in other aspects of the sex industry. This can include erotic and nude photography, pornography, Escort agency, and in some cases prostitution. Outside the U.S., the use of strip clubs to facilitate sex-for-hire is much more common and stripping in those settings is viewed as advertising for sexually oriented business that will be performed in either private areas of the club or off-premises.
Waitstaff are also employed to assist with providing drinks, and in some cases meals, to customers on the main floor and others areas of the club. Shooter girls are specialized waitstaff that carry pre-prepared drinks in shot glasses, that customers can conveniently purchase. Depending on the local ordinances, these shots may involve some erotic part of the body of the shooter girl, typically her cleavage, in the delivery. If a club has a policy of setting a drink minimum per visit or per hour, the floor staff also assists in enforcing those rules. Dancers may also be required to generate a certain number of drink purchases per shift and as part of their rounds, the waitstaff may ask customers if they would like to buy a drink for the dancer seated with them. If a kitchen is present and if premium fare is offered, the club may also employ a chef to prepare and cook food items.
Parking lot attendants can include people who simply coordinate where to park and how much to pay or they may also include formal parking valet, who will park a vehicle and keep track of the driver's keys while he or she is in the club. Some clubs require paid or valet parking to be used if keeping cars on the premises, to generate revenue and help regulate patron behavior. Bathroom attendants monitor the restrooms on behalf of management; primarily watching for policy violations and potential liability concerns. In strip clubs, policy enforcement can range from watching for drug use, sex, fighting, and other activities the club would prefer to see done off the premises. The attendant will also attempt to keep the restroom area clean, assist with the washing of hands, and if available, provide by request an assortment of cologne, mints, and other disposable items.
In Britain, the number of strip clubs rose over 1,000% between 1997 and 2010. In 2008 alone, a strip club opened there almost every week. One factor in the proliferation of British strip clubs is Britain's 2003 Licensing Act, which introduced the one-size-fits-all premises licence, which meant that strip clubs in Britain no longer had to receive special permission for nudity. In 2005, revenues for the UK strip club industry, one of the fastest growing sectors of its leisure industry, were estimated to be £300 million. Revenues for 2006 in Scotland alone accounted for £20 million of the UK total.
Two strip club companies are publicly traded in U.S. financial markets and listed on NASDAQ: VCG Holding Corp. (VCGH) and RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RICK). In February 2010, the two clubs agreed in principle to merge, with Rick's Cabaret acquiring VCG Holding. The estimated purchase price, according to the statement of intent, was for the acquisition using RICK stock to be at a value of US$2.20 to US$3.80 per share. The US$45 million deal fell through after the statement of intent expired on March 31, 2010, with Rick's Cabaret unable to enter into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of VCG's outstanding stock. A third publicly traded company, Scores Holding Company, Inc. (SCRH), licenses its brand to strip club operators but does not own or operate any club properties itself. Publicly reported earning statements for U.S. companies operating strip clubs have not provided guidance on how they define their market segment, non-public competitors, or overall industry revenue.
The largest operator of strip clubs internationally is Déjà Vu, which has over 130 locations worldwide.
Strip clubs which practice Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) typically report negative working capital, where current liabilities exceed current assets. Clubs receive immediate cash payment for sales, while inventories, , and other current liabilities normally carry longer Payment schedule. The practice is believed to increase Net profit provided by operating activities. Service revenues include entertainer payments to perform at clubs, customer admission fees, customer payments for tabs and tip charges, dance dollar payments, and suite rental fees. The economic downturn, which accelerated in 2008, impacted clubs at all levels, and even higher-end gentlemen's clubs in some parts of the U.S. and elsewhere adjusted their business practices to compensate for reduced revenues.
Among clubs, there is a variety of different ways to deliver entertainment, and fee structures commonly differ between clubs. A cover charge (entry fee also known as a door charge) is customary at many clubs, the amount of which can vary by factors such as day of visit, time of day, gender, and other factors. To make the charge more acceptable to customers, some clubs include bonus items in the admission price, such as that can be redeemed once inside. Some clubs also have drink fees tied to interaction with performers. The bigger the drink, the longer the time permitted with the dancer. This practice is more common in European strip clubs and African or Asian . Champagne Room pricing (where time with an exotic dancer in a private room on the premises can be purchased) is a variation on that same theme.
In many smaller clubs, multiple staff roles are filled by the same person, such as a bartender and manager. In extreme cases, one person fills all the support functions within a club. Some clubs hire attractive women onto the staff, as bartenders and shot girls, to complement the strippers. They can also double as stage and lap dance entertainers, depending on the club. The positions of paid staff are discretionary. Turnover can be frequent, but standard employment laws do apply and have been enforced through the courts and other regulatory means. A highly publicized 2010 case in the United States concerned a pregnant bartender in New York. She alleged that Cafe Royale in Farmingdale, New York, against her because pregnancy is "unsexy". Hiring of staff and performers in the United States is almost always voluntary on the part of the club and worker. Some strip clubs have hosted job fairs to address staffing needs. While not a common practice in the United States, globally, women are regularly compelled into working as strippers with the knowledge of club management.
U.S. company VCGH, Inc. uses a variety of highly targeted methods to reach its customers, including local radio, billboard trucks, Internet, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and professional sporting events. Its advertising and marketing expenses decreased by approximately 3.9% to US$2,805,260 from US$2,921,327 over the year ended December 31, 2008. Advertising and marketing expenses were approximately 5.1% of their total revenues in 2009 and 2008. The decrease was attributed to a shift in advertising, including using billboard trucks for mobile advertising versus leasing fixed billboard signs. By contrast, in public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rick's Cabaret International reported an increase in its advertising budget from US$2,231,005 in 2008 to US$8,091,745 in 2009, growing from 3.9% to 10.8% of total annual revenue.
In the city of Seattle, Washington, the city's Major League Baseball franchise, the Seattle Mariners, initially sued in King County Superior Court to prevent Dreamgirls cabaret from opening. The team's attorneys argued that the strip club's existence would adversely affect families that visit the stadium. The suit was dropped after the Mariners reached a compromise which included limits on outdoor advertising, window displays, and signs. The compromise specified that the clubs video screens would only show text on kids days at the stadium, and not images of strippers. In May 2010, there was public controversy because the club showed strippers on its large electronic display on "kids' day". Dreamgirls claimed that it is the team's responsibility to tell them when such a display is prohibited.
Elite Cabaret, a Tempe city strip club, filed suit in 2007 against the City of Tempe in federal court. In the settlement that was reached, the two sides ended the legal wrangle amidst a host of stipulations. One clause is aimed at preventing the racy image promoted by strip clubs. The club is not allowed to depict the human body on the exterior of its building. Signs cannot say "nude", "topless", "girls" or similar words. The sign can only have the bar's name and terms like "cabaret" or "gentlemen's club". Strip club advertising and its associated controversy are not limited to the United States. In South Africa, well-known strip club chain Teazers generated media coverage and official complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) over its suggestive billboards.
A widely cited U.S. local ordinance is San Diego (California) Municipal Code 33.3610, specific and strict in response to allegations of corruption among local officials, which included contacts in the nude entertainment industry. Among its provisions is the "six-foot rule", copied by other municipalities in requiring that dancers maintain a six-foot distance from patrons while performing. Fully nude clubs may be subject to additional requirements, such as restrictions on alcohol sales and no-touch rules between customers and dancers. Nude Dancing (from the First Amendment Center website) To circumvent these rules, two "separate" barsone topless and one fully nudemay open adjacent to one another. In a small number of states and jurisdictions where it is legal for alcohol to be consumed but not sold, some clubs still allow customers to byob.
Still, other rules forbid "full nudity" in certain districts, which can vary among different areas within the same town. Some parts of the U.S. have laws forbidding the exposure of female or even , thus requiring female dancers to cover these with pasties. These laws are not, however, known to be applied to the exposure of male nipples. Managers, dancers, and other club workers can be cited or arrested by local or federal authorities for violating nudity, drug, and other violations. In February 2010, the city of Detroit, Michigan, banned fully exposed breasts in its strip clubs, following the example of Houston, Texas, which began enforcing a similar ordinance in 2008. The Detroit city council has since softened the rules; eliminating the requirement for pasties but keeping other restrictions. Both municipalities were reputed to have suffered rampant occurrences of illicit activities, including prostitution, all linked to striptease establishments within their cities' limits. Detroit has also drawn attention from the federal government for incidents of human trafficking in its strip clubs. In 2010, the state of Missouri passed a law similar to that of Houston and Detroit, banning full nudity in strip clubs across the state.
Strip clubs have also received attention in the Americas outside the United States. There have been several attempts to amend the Canadians Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), passed in 2001. The 2009 version of the bill (Bill C-45: An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) contained provisions intended to tighten the issuing of tourist visa to exotic dancers, to combat human trafficking. In August 2009, the city of Rio de Janeiro, while bidding for the 2014 World Cup, shut down one of its most notorious clubs, the Help discothèque. There were plans to bulldoze the club and "replace it with a music-themed museum" with US firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro as architects, backed by Rio's governor Sergio Cabral who was also backing the 2016 Summer Olympics bid. In November 2009, officials in Rio de Janeiro threatened to sue American comedian Robin Williams for disparaging comments made on a late-night talk show. One of his comments on its Olympics bid, "Rio sent 50 strippers and a pound of blow. It wasn't really fair, you know?" was replayed several times on news shows in Brazil and prompted a public response from its mayor. The Olympic Committee for Rio had its lawyers investigate whether there were grounds for a lawsuit, but no charges were filed.
In 2001, the former immigration chief in Cyprus was found guilty of accepting bribes to issue work permits to foreign women (in this case from Ukraine), to work as strippers in clubs, with some forced into prostitution. Throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands, studies have shown that Russian individuals and organized crime groups are importing women from Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Central Europe into the Russian sex industry to work in stripping, prostitution, peep and show club services, and massage and escort services, among others.
In March 2010, Iceland outlawed striptease. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland's prime minister, said: "The Nordic countries are leading the way on women's equality, recognizing women as equal citizens rather than commodities for sale." The politician behind the bill, Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir, said: "It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold."
In Eastern Europe and Asia, common incidents of strip club crime involve customers being quoted a price upon entering a club, only to find out later that management expects a much higher payment before customers are permitted to leave. Intimidation and possibly the threat of violence are used to compel customers to comply.
The Japanese government, similar to Canada and Ireland, had special visa categories for "entertainers". These enabled the trafficking of women for strip clubs and prostitution.
In South Africa, there has been public controversy over incidents of prostitution and violence related to its strip clubs. In June 2010, 17 customers were arrested, during a raid at a strip club in Cape Town, for committing unspecified illegal acts. 35 Eastern European dancers were also arrested for working at the club without the correct documents.
In 2008, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in Sydney, Australia, reported 1,600 people were charged with committing a range of 27 criminal offenses in the state's places of worship. The figures showed only 282 people were charged with the same offenses in premises classified as adult entertainment establishments. A breakdown of the statistical figures showed that 85 people were assaulted in places of worship, compared to 66 at adult entertainment locations. Incidents of both sexual assault and harassing and threatening behavior were also greater at places of worship. The report included churches, synagogues, monasteries, mosques, convents, cathedrals and chapels as places of worship. Premises listed as adult entertainment sites included strip clubs, , , , , casino, and gambling clubs. The bureau's interpretation was that people were just as likely to be assaulted or robbed in the sanctity of a church as they were in sex industry venues.
In Jekyll and Hyde (1997), the character of Lucy Harris (originally portrayed by Linda Eder) works as a prostitute and stripper in a small London club called The Red Rat, where she meets a multi-dimension man named Doctor Henry Jekyll, who turns into his evil persona Mr. Edward Hyde. Lucy performs the song 'Bring on the Men' during a show at the Red Rat (which was later replaced with 'Good 'n' Evil' in the Broadway production, some claiming 'Bring on the Men' was too 'risqué'). In Neighbours (1985), the character of Daphne Clarke is originally a stripper at Des's bucks party, and eventually goes on to marry him. Married... with Children (1987–97) often featured Al Bundy, Jefferson D'Arcy, and the NO MA'AM crew spending a night at the Nudie Bar. In the six seasons of The Sopranos (1999–2007), business was often conducted at the Bada Bing strip club.
Sapphire Gentlemen's Club in Las Vegas has been billed as the world's largest strip club. In 2006, it sold at auction for US$80 million (equivalent to US$ million in ). Tampa, Florida, is well known for its strip clubs, including the famous Mons Venus. Howard Stern, a radio host and television personality, makes frequent mention of 'Rick's Cabaret' which operates in several cities. Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand are world-famous for their go bars offering a variety of extra services.
U.S. style striptease remains a global phenomenon and culturally accepted form of entertainment, despite its scrutiny in legal circles and popular media. Over half of clubs still open from the list are located outside the United States. Popular internet sites for strip club enthusiasts also have Top Club lists calculated from input from their online visitors. The Ultimate Strip Club List has a Top 100 Strip Clubs list, generated by analyzing the ratings for all of its clubs as entered by individual reviewers. Its list regularly includes strip clubs from outside the U.S. and the site details clubs from countries across six continents. The Strip Club Network, calculates its online Strip Club List: Top 100 Clubs, by the total number of views that each club information page has received on their website.
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