Bargirl

A bargirl is a woman who is paid to entertain patrons in a

A bargirl should not be confused with a bartender, who serves drinks in a bar but is not expected to entertain customers individually or to dance.

Bar dancers

Bar girls typically work as a bar hostess or bar dancer and often also provide sexual entertainment such as

Bar girls in strip clubs in the United States often entertain on stage as "exotic dancers", attracting male customers through the use of nudity and suggestive postures. They are not required to have professional training or experience as dancers.[2]

Bargirls often receive a commission on drinks bought by their customers, either a percentage^[7] or a fixed amount added to the drink's price. This is frequently a bargirl's main source of income,^[8] but other sources of income can include a salary, tips (often the main source of earnings), and a percentage of any bar fine. They may also be given a periodic quota of drinks.^[9] Salaries may be increased for bargirls who have more sexual encounters, as they are thought to attract more customers to the bar. Deductions are sometimes made from earnings if the bar provides food and accommodation for the bargirl.^[10]

Bargirl prostitution in Africa

In Ethiopia in the 1970s, bargirls were common in drinking establishments. Those working in the larger bars were provided with board and lodging and a small salary, in return for their work attracting, serving and entertaining customers. Typically they also provided sexual services to their customers, the terms for which were negotiated separately with the customers. Some bargirls had many sexual encounters, while other restricted their sexual services for specific men.^[10]

Screening carried out in the 1990s in Malawi indicated that about 80 per cent of bargirls carried the HIV virus. Research carried out at the time indicated that economic necessity was a major consideration in engaging and persisting in sex work.^[11]

Bargirl prostitution in Asia

In the popular cultures of East Asia in the twentieth century, the bar girl and teahouse girl became archetypical characters associated with prostitution, replacing the traditional courtesan in that role.^[12] In postwar Japan, bar girls were to be found in the jazz clubs which provided a place for US servicemen and prostitues to meet.^[13] During the Vietnam War, a system of military-endorsed prostitution allowed bar girls to provide sexual services to US servicemen.^[14] Vietnamese bar girls wore western clothes, unlike most Vietnamese at the time.^[15] In the Philippines, the role of bar girl has become stereotyped and stigmatised due to its association with prostitution and the US military.^[16]

It is a common practice in Asia for bargirls to also act as

In Japan an "entertainers visa" was introduced in 1981 allowing migrant Filipina women to work in Japanese nightclubs. The work included dancing in strip shows, socialising with male guests, and in some cases prostitution.[19]

In countries such as Thailand, where bargirl prostitution is common, it is technically illegal but widely tolerated.^[20] Some bargirls in Thailand are employed by a bar^[9] but most are self-employed, deriving their income from dancing, persuading bar customers to buy drinks, and prostitution. Where bargirls work as prostitutes, they may take multiple "short time" clients or accept "long-time" clients overnight or for a few days.^[21] The most successful bargirls become entrepreneurs, in some cases travelling abroad with their foreign boyfriends.^[22]

Prostitution in China was eliminated during the period of Mao Zedong's leadership, but it subsequently returned. In the 21st century there are nightclubs where bargirls earn tips and solicit for prostitution.^[23]

Bar fines

A "bar fine" is a payment made by a customer to the operators of a bar that allows a dancer, hostess, or some other employee of that bar to leave work early, usually in order to accompany the customer outside the bar. The bar fine is usually kept by the bar in lieu of lost income, but in some larger bar chains the bargirl may receive a portion of the bar fine, with much of the remainder being used to pay for STD and HIV testing for the bargirls.^[24] The portion of the bar fine paid to the bargirl is often around half, though this may be less if the bar supports its bargirls by providing them with food and accommodation.^[8] Although not universal, bar fines are frequently associated with venues offering prostitution to foreigners—especially in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand^[25][26][20] and the Philippines.^[27]

Working conditions

The majority of the women who work in Thailand's go-go bars and beer bars (outdoor

B-girl activity has declined in the U.S.[35]^[a] but it still occurs. Because prostitution is illegal in most parts of the U.S. and is restricted to licensed brothels in those parts of Nevada where it is legal, B-girls who act as prostitutes are breaking the law. The practice of accepting drinks for pay is specifically outlawed in many localities.^[36]

Bars have been raided and closed down for "B-girl activity".

It was once common for modestly dressed B-girls to pose as secretaries who had stopped at the bar for a drink on their way home from work. The male customer, under the impression that he had found a "date" for the evening, would buy her one expensive drink after another, only to be jilted afterwards.^[32]

A 1984 report by the US Internal Revenue Service described bar girls soliciting for prostitution in bars, hotels and restaurants. The report said that they earned more for sex work than streetwalkers and typically offered more varied services. Bar girls sometimes paid commission to the establishment where they worked. In some cases they used hotel rooms for sex, typically provided by the hotel management or by a client. The report suggested that police attempts to suppress the activity by arresting bar girls had rarely been successful.^[39]

In 2014, city officials in Kenner, Louisiana (a suburb of New Orleans), where the practice is illegal, replaced the word "B-girl" with "B-drinker" in their liquor laws to avoid gender discrimination.^[36]

In popular culture

• tea-and-sodas before her companion catches on.^[40]

• Darlene, a character in John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, works as a B-girl in the Night of Joy bar.^[41]

• In the M*A*S*H season four episode "Deluge" Hawkeye tells Father John Mulcahy: "You look just like a 'B' girl I knew in San Diego". Father Mulcahy jokingly responds that "It's quite possible. I worked my way through divinity school as a 'B' girl in San Diego".^[42]

• In the television film Young Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Peacock's Eye, Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) becomes involved with a woman named Lily (Jayne Ashbourne). When they first meet, Lily is working as a bargirl on the island of Java. They meet again, after Lily has had all her money taken from her, been placed on a ship and told to never come back (implying she has been kicked out of town for prostitution).

See also

• Jilt shop
• It girl
• Meshimori onna
• Prostitution in Thailand
• Table dance
• Taxi dancer

Notes

References