A Scots stripper on a mission to reveal the truth about what goes on in adult venues says she's been fat-shamed by customers. Rain World says she deals with creepy customers on a daily basis, including 'crazed' men who can't cope with being surrounded by women in their underwear.
She told the Daily Star that the job isn't as glamorous as some might imagine, with many dancers the subject of unsettling comments from punters on the regular. Rain, who is in her twenties, says the mean comments are the hardest to take when she goes to work in Glasgow.
She has been called "not pretty enough", or mocked for her figure, or for wearing glasses. She said: "Being in a room full of so many half naked beautiful women can make people act crazy. Every shift probably [creepy comments are made].
"I'm usually fine with 'creepy' comments, my only problem is when the guy hasn't paid me. Creepy is manageable, it's mean comments that are the problem. I've been called fat, not pretty enough, and told that my glasses are 'terrible'. They're usually just broke or jealous though."
Rain has used social media to share the less glamorous aspects of exotic dancing as a job. In a video posted to video-sharing site TikTok, she revealed she lost £70 in a night while working in a London club after paying a £90 'floor fee' to work the club and making just £20 from a cheap customer.
She continued: "There's so many ways to be the worst customer. There's guys that promise you they'll pay you lots if you sit with them but then just pay you £20 or their card gets declined, guys that try to touch you all the time. Then there's some really mean and judgemental guys who are so insecure they need to take a pretty girl down to feel okay."
Rain is one of a handful of strippers speaking out about the problems in the industry. Lola Dalvia, 31, is all too familiar with creepy men: one 'admirer' flew 4,500 miles from the US to the UK just to watch her dance.
The French beauty, based in London, was not impressed when she found out about his journey – doubly so when he followed her to Helsinki, in Finland. To make matters worse, he didn't even cough up the cash.
She said: "I thought it was disrespectful, you can't just follow me around and look at me half naked on stage and then not even pay me. He travelled to London first and he told me he just wanted to meet me.You feel flattered at first but it was a bit creepy and intense."
Pamela Carmen, 21, says spinning around on the pole and dealing with men is not an "easy job". Like Rain, she hopes that shining a light on the industry via social media will help women to make an informed decision as to whether it's a career they want to pursue.
She said: "It's not an easy job and the money is never promised. It is definitely nowhere near as easy to make money as other dancers on TikTok make it seem.
"It's not a glamorous job but it definitely has changed my life for the better. Don't be shy and never have a preference when it comes to customers everyone has money, always know that you are in control and when you say no it means no. Your body, your rules."
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