Under guidelines in San Francisco, for instance, strip clubs such as Gold Club that offer food are able to reopen, but strippers and patrons must keep their masks on. Revenue in the industry is estimated to have decreased 17.4% in 2020 and is forecast to fall another 1.5% this year, according to research by IBISWorld. “It’s just not fun anymore.”Īs some of the United States’ estimated 3,821 strip clubs start to open up again, women who work as strippers are confronting a transformed industry.
“A lot of times you'll see a lot of girls just sitting around,” said Brittney, who started stripping around two years ago to supplement income from two other jobs. An hour of that four-hour shift was spent just waiting for customers and she earned $150, less than a third of what she would have made pre-pandemic. This is just so, so sad,” said Brittney, who asked that her last name not be disclosed to protect her 6-year-old son. SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 (Reuters) - When California stripper Brittney, 26, walked into San Francisco’s reopened Gold Club stripping venue again in April after a year, she was confronted with masked-up dancers and just a clutch of patrons.
