Stripper reveals what it's really like to be a pole dancer

An anonymous exotic dancer gave an insight into her profession in an interview. Photo / Getty Images

A pole dancer has revealed what it's really like to work as a stripper - and her "love-hate relationship" with the profession.

Speaking anonymously the woman, who has been a pole dancer for nine years since moving to the US from Europe, said the best thing about her job was the opportunity to "express herself", the worst, being treated as the "punching bag of society" by "entitled" customers.

The dancer, who also works as a nutritionist and a dog therapist around her part-time shifts at a Hollywood bar, told Refinery 29: "I cannot remember a single shift where I didn't have an unpleasant or 'challenging' experience."

According to the Daily Mail, the woman had originally started out as a yoga teacher, before she decided to work two nights a week at a nude bar following the financial crisis, while continuing her day work as a nutritionist and dog behaviourist.

"A lot of customers feel entitled and think we're just horny pole dancers who want to go home with them when our shift is over," she said.

"We get groped, slapped on the derrière, people say inappropriate things all the time... When you remind customers that they cannot touch you, it'll be blamed on you."

The woman originally trained as a yoga teacher, before deciding to take on two shifts per week at a strip club following the financial crisis, while continuing to work as a nutritionist and dog behaviourist.

She said she was fired as a yoga instructor when her employees found out about her part-time dancing job, but revealed her years in the industry have allowed her to develop a thick skin.

Recalling her innocence at the start of her career, she confessed to trusting no-one as a result of a profession that can leave you "tired, angry and sad".

She said the competitive nature of the work could result in dancers stabbing one another in the back, and that most rely largely on tips from customers due to paltry salaries.

Despite her candid admissions about the downsides of pole dancing, the anonymous woman also acknowledged positive sides to her work, which can be "empowering", she said.