Sorry I didn't get to add this before the edit box closed. The link to the above thread (Warning- Some of the members user photos show some illustrated nudity.) is
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/showthread.php?174859-Missing-girls-in-new-Orleans
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respectfully snipped by me.
Thank you for posting this link. I went to it & spent way more time on that forum than I intended. I learned all sorts of things about stripping as a profession (and stripping in New Orleans) that I never knew & that make it look so much less glamorous. I know some of you on this thread know all this info & can explain it better than me, but here's what new info I took away from that forum:
Dancers are kind of like stylists at salons who have to rent their chair/space from the salon. What I mean is, dancers pay the club to dance there. They have to pay a "house fee" to get on the floor (although if you get there early enough in the day, some clubs won't charge this). Sometimes they have to give the club a percentage of the tips. Often the dancers have to tip (and there's usually a minimum tip amount) the doormen, the house mom, and maybe even the DJ. In New Orleans, they also have to pay the doorman (some of them charge $10) to walk them to their cars when they get off (obviously, a stripper leaving work at night alone with cash is a huge target; on Bourbon St especially, workers cannot get picked up in front of the club due to the traffic restrictions, etc.) I get the impression that not only is this a smart idea in theory (as long as the doorman isn't some creep like TS) but it's also almost required by the club that dancers do this. Also, if Jaren recognized TS as the doorman from another club, I feel she'd be more likely to go with him since due to his job, she figured other girls had been accompanied alone to their cars by him many times & yet nothing happened to them while they were alone with him.
If a night is slow, a dancer can come away with very little money or in theory, end up owing the club/other workers money. This sounds extremely discouraging, as I believe stripping has got to be really hard work, especially when it's slow. I have so much respect for what hard workers dancers are now. Aside from dancing on stage (a physically demanding job), they have to really push lap dances to make any money and that's got to be a pain to convince guys to spend however much for a dance & choose you out of the other dancers. They also have to make sure to maintain their physical appearance (of course, I know not all strippers are "tens" but I've never seen an overweight - not that all are super-thin - or grossly unkempt dancer on Bourbon Street). Maintaing your body is probably for some a constant "job" as far as watching what you eat, etc....it would be for me, anyway. Personal grooming (hair cuts/style/color and waxing etc) can cut into your budget (even a little if you do it yourself if your budget is very limited). Shoes & dancers' clothing aren't cheap either. It sounds like a really tough, physical job where you're almost like a door-to-door salesperson (selling lap dances). I'm sorry I ever thought dancing was "easy money."
That forum's New Orleans threads have posters basically screaming over & over again that dancers will NOT make any money in New Orleans during the summer and to try to avoid working there in the slow season (travel somewhere else to work and come back during the winter-spring when there are events going on). The last big spring event in the city is Jazz Fest, which is over the first weekend of May.
Jaren went missing in June, during the slow season, a time when other dancers on that forum are adamant you won't make any money in New Orleans. Combine this with having to pay house fees & tip other workers, and it's likely she was bringing home very little money. Also consider that she took a cab to work & back from where she was staying (which isn't cheap & adds up quickly) and that she and her boyfriend were staying at a hotel that charged $50/night (meaning their "rent" was about $1500/mo, which is more than my mortgage payment & utilities combined). I believe Jaren was the only one working, so she was supporting (feeding, clothing, etc.) her boyfriend who stayed at the hotel with her. She was likely very strapped for cash. When she didn't return home from work the night she was murdered, her boyfriend couldn't pay $50 for the hotel & was kicked out of their room that day.
I say all of this because I often wondered why Jaren went with TS & MAS when I read over & over again on the dancers' forum about never leaving with clients (most dancers made it sound like girls leaving with clients is pretty uncommon because it's so risky & that the posters themselves would never ever do it). But learning about New Orleans' incredibly slow off-season for dancers and the amount of the dancers' money that goes back to the club & other workers at the club makes me understand. Jaren was in a desperate financial situation. She was desperate enough that she took the risk to go with MAS & TS. She was hanging on by a thread when it came to money. She knew she and her boyfriend wouldn't even have a place to stay if she didn't bring home at least $50 that night (and of course, they'd also have to eat, she'd need cabfare to get to/from her next shift, etc). It makes me incredibly sad that anyone in the richest country in the world would be in a position where they felt they had to take on such a risk (like leaving a club with MAS & TS) to just to keep a roof over their heads. I know it probably happens a lot and most are not killed, but still....Jaren's situation makes me really sad. Poor Jaren.
Sorry for this long rambling post. Hope it makes sense.
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