All kinds of stereotypes are leveled against the women who work in the strip club industry — assumptions about using drugs and abusing alcohol, providing “special favors” in the VIP Room, and being generally devoid of basic, all-around self-respect. But rarely are they accused of being artists. Questions is — in their own way, are they?

I got invited to a good friend's bachelor party last week (I know, I know). Anyway, we took a veritable tour of some of the best, or at least the most interesting, Charlotte has to offer in adult entertainment establishments: the Men’s Club, Club Onyx, Carousel, and some outfit called Nikki’s near the airport.

Watching the girls sway from the rafters of the ceiling, literally in one case, and then work their way effortlessly down to the floor, I found myself wondering, “How does she do that?! I didn’t even know I had muscles in that region of my body.” My guy friends all seem to think this is art indeed, but I imagine that it’s for reasons very different from my own. Seriously, what these girls do is pretty athletic and can be downright creative. My thighs and glutes start burning after just a few squats and lunges at the gym. But these women squat, lunge, pop it and drop it for at least the duration of a song — what’s that, about 4 minutes straight? Impressive.

As with many industries that involve some level of competition, there was apparently a huge stripper contest at the Perry Mann’s Exotic Erotic Strippers and Hustlers Ball last Labor Day weekend; the event is actually touted as “celebrating stripping as an art form”. It;s a national competition national competition with over $20,000 in cash and prizes toward crowning America’s #1 stripper. The categories, yes, categories, were Best Body, Best Dancer and Best Pole Dancer. It was even broken down into semifinals and finals rounds. Pretty organized stuff. And there’s a bunch more of them where this one came from. Proof, I suppose, that in at least some corners of the world, this form of entertainment is considered art.

I found out the hard way that, at the very least, the act is definitely much harder than it looks. My girls treated me to a pole dancing class as part of my bachelorette party a couple years ago. So, I go into it thinking, “This will be a breeze. I got rhythm. I’m flexible.” Uh, not so much. Considering my very lame attempt at whirling gracefully around the pole, which ended in me breaking my high heel, I apparently possess neither of the aforementioned abilities. So, it’s not my cup of tea, but for many more women, it has become their way of life.

Many stories have come out about white-collar women finding themselves laid off from their jobs and entering the stripping industry to earn a living. I ain’t judging. From what I can tell, these girls can rack up a good amount of tips on a good night. So, do you. But know this, just because you can walk in high heels at the office all day absolutely does not

necessarily warrant your entry into this particular profession. There may not be any paintbrushes, pianos or playbills involved, but from what I can tell, stripping takes practice to perfect — like most any artform I’ve ever heard of.