Blog 5, Is stripping morally wrong?

Dancing is an art form. It is a form of expression that exists within all cultures and through all known history. Dancing styles vary widely do to differences in cultures and socioeconomic states within each of those cultures. Like any art form, dancing may be regarded differently by individuals, but should not be judged by society as a whole. Strip dancing is one type of dance that is criticized and viewed as being morally sinful. Why is stripping seen as such a bad action? Why is dancing sinful when your a stripper but not a ballerina? The body is nothing to be ashamed about, it is a beautiful thing. God made us the way we are for a reason. Strippers are just expressing themselves through dance, they may be naked but no other sinful act is happening. Strip dancing is not a sin, but the actions and culture that surround it are.

Many people think that it is fine for a woman to get money but they feel that stripping is the wrong way to get it. Stripping is not prostitution. The dancers are not having intercourse with the men that come to the clubs. People often judge what and who they don't understand. The girls are not forsaken devil women who hate their mothers. Many girls dance to pay their way through college, or to support their families. Plenty of these women are married with children or have a boyfriend, a handful of these girls are happy with what they are doing and feel good about themselves. “I am the most unapologetic stripper in the world. I love what I do. I’ll scream it from the rooftops because I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with women being topless or even nude. Stripping is freedom. It’s full-fledged freedom. I am an independent contractor and I schedule my work shifts, giving me time to write and go to school full time.”(Caitlin Thomas) Girls like Caitlin Thomas feel empowered on stage and get a thrill form owning the stage. Not to mention that the girl on stage has complete control. In most other occupation woman to not have that much control over anything, that sense of power really makes woman feel strong. How can people judge somebody that is doing what they love, and not harming anyone? Piety may have something to do with it.

People might look at the girl on stage and characterize her due to stereotypes. They think “this poor girl must have been abused as a child” or “she must have daddy problems” or even “she has terrible self-confidences and this is the only way she can feel good about herself.” “There are women all over the place who have been through these issues. Some feel they work through these issues with stripping as it allows them to control their sexual situations and feel strengthened by that control. They take back that control and own it. Every woman has a different story and has diverse reasons for being on the pole.”(Caitlin Thomas) A general statement that strippers heir all the time is “how could a women objectify herself like that?” “You say objectification? Look around, film, music, ads in magazines — all we do is objectify women.” (Caitlin Thomas)  If stripping is just one more way we objectify woman than who is really at fault? The Bible tells us to not judge. The lord does not judge. These girls are not sinning, they are not going against the 7th commandment, they are not committing adultery. The dancers are just using the beauty of their bodies that god gave them.

Stripping itself may not me a sin, but the activity that surrounds it is. Lust is a sin. Stripping is a appealing to men and some woman. If people didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be a huge industry. “Stripping, besides porn, is the biggest gateway to lust on this planet.”(Study the truth) “Lusting, in God our father’s eyes, is just like having sex. Jesus lets us know this in Matthew 5:28 That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Study the truth)

All in all, stripping is not a sin but lust is. The girls that dance have to deal with judgment and criticisms because of stereotypes. “I also find it extremely unbalanced that the customers aren’t judged at all. Interesting, eh?” (Catlin Thomas) If the customer is lusting over the woman on stage than he is sinning and isn’t that punishment enough? Society is influenced massively by ignorance. What people do not understand they judge witch can be said for both stripping and religion. The girls are simply dancing.

Works Cited

"A Dollar for All Strippers." Study the Truth. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://truthbydefault.com/dollar-for-the-strippers/>. 

 Thomas, By: Caitlin. "Opinion: Stripping Gets Bad Rep, Is Actually Liberating and Powerful | The Nevada Sagebrush." The Nevada Sagebrush - The Student Newspaper of the University of Nevada, Reno. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2011/03/28/opinion-stripping-gets-bad-rep-is-actually-liberating-and-powerful/>.

A Dollar for all strippers is not a credible source it was a blog or a twitter cite but I felt that he guy writhing had some very strong opinions against stripping. He also talked about the bible and how stripping and everything around it is a sin. This was a cite that was the opposite of the message of what I was trying to say but I felt that he had good points. The news paper article from Caitlin Thomas was a good justification for strippers. She knew what she was talking about because it was all personal. She was speaking form experience.