Exotic dancer slams calls to ban strip clubs in Australia claiming X-rated venues ‘teach men to respect women’

A stripper has responded to an MP’s call for a pause on new adult entertainment venues by claiming that those environments teach men respect for women.

Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley told Channel 10’s The Project on Sunday night that she wanted to put an end to new strip clubs “to investigate the effect venues like these have on the way young men in particular view their attitudes and respect towards development for women’.

“Haven’t we moved beyond buck’s night, the 18-year age of objectification and commercialization of women?” asked Ms Ley as she battles to stop a strip club from opening in her electorate in the south-west border town of Albury.

However, exotic dancer Frankie Fatale claims the proposal is “a very bad idea” and that Ms Ley is a “misunderstanding about how strip clubs work’.

“When we’re at the club, you can’t disrespect us,” she said.

“If you’re derogatory, if you’re disrespectful, if you touch us and we don’t want to be touched, there are so many systems we can use to get rid of you.

‘In that environment we teach men to be more respectful.

“I don’t know many jobs that do that if you’re disrespected by a male customer.

“Implying that sex workers and strippers create disrespect towards women is the definition of being disrespectful towards women.”

When challenged about documented cases where strippers and sex workers had been exploited, Frankie argued that a ban is still not the answer.

“If we wanted to protect women in sex work, we would legalize it and provide better services and better protections for the women in those sectors, like unions for example, instead of just saying, ‘Well, we find it degrading, so we are going to stop.” you earn a living,” she said.

She argued that exploitation happens in every industry, but when it happens in the sex industry “it becomes exaggerated because of the stigma behind it, and then it comes down to a discussion about whether it should exist at all.”

In her case, she said stripping gave her an economic independence that most jobs wouldn’t have.

“You work when you want and earn the money you want,” she said.

‘I love being naked, I love being the center of attention and being the life of the party.

“It gave me everything I wanted in life.”

Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley has called for a pause on new strip clubs to investigate the welfare of strippers and the effect they have on men

Ms Ley said she doesn’t judge those who perform in strip clubs or do sex work “but I don’t want them to run any personal or financial risks.”

“I’m not proposing that we close clubs,” she said.

A development application has been submitted for an adult entertainment venue to Albury City Council in Ms Ley’s Farrer electorate.

The applicant, Platinum Lounge, described the proposed licensed venue as a venue where ‘striptease or exotic dancing’ is performed for customers who can ‘relax and relieve themselves of stress’.

The venue would operate ‘like a shopping centre’ where dancers would pay a fee or ‘rent’ to work at the club.

The application stated that there would be a ‘house mother/employee’ at the secure location who would be responsible for the ‘well-being’ of the dancers.