Exotic dancers give stage shows for both male and female patrons, typically demonstrating “tricks” on stationary or rotating poles, lap dances, and acts in private rooms. On a good night, a dancer can make two thousand dollars or more. Popular media has long characterized strip clubs as gritty dens of depravity and ill repute, but there are many dimensions to the story. Exotic dancers are highly competitive athletes; they are consummate actors; they are young mothers paying off student loans.