Strip clubs are nearly the same in cities all around the world. The bright neon lights and posters of scantily clad women draw people in, and there’s almost always some creepy looking guy hanging out near the entrance. After paying the entry fee visitors enter the dimly lit “paradise” of gyrating lights, speakers blaring JT’s “SexyBack,” and, not uncommonly, a fair amount of dancers with breast implants.

The physical standards required of dancers vary by club, but at this late-night haven in the Tenderloin district, all the women are beautiful— and most have implants.

While some think club management encourages dancers to get breast augmentations, this is not the case at all. Dancers are contract workers, and all the club does is provide a space for them to dance—the club’s main source of income is the entrance fee.

“The girls get [implants] because they want them,” says Billy, the assistant manager. “They say they’re unhappy with their body and think it will help them make more money.”

“Techno Syndrome” from the movie Mortal Kombat is playing, and like Batman seeing the bat signal, all available dancers stand up and take to the stage. They take turns strutting their stuff while the DJ informs the crowd that they are also available for private shows.

Twenty-four-year-old Nora, who has been an exotic dancer for about a year, crosses the stage. Apart from her double-D breasts— which she had augmented five months ago—her long straight brown hair, big brown eyes, and perfectly tanned skin draw attention. Before getting her implants, Nora was a B cup.
“[With big breasts] it’s easier to get customers,” she says. “I fit my clothes better and I don’t always have to wear a bra.”

Nora also gets all the attention when she’s on stage. Even though a large screen in the back of the club near the VIP booths plays hardcore porn all night, Nora gets steady attention and earns an average of fifteen-hundred dollars per night.

Quite the enthusiastic dancer, eighteen-year-old Roxanne also commands attention on stage. With her milky white skin, ice blue eyes, and perfect posture, her looks are reminiscent of a 1950s pin-up model. A natural C-cup, she doesn’t feel she needs implants and makes a thousand dollars a night.
“A lot of girls make more money when they get them, and they get more confidence if they’re not go-getters,” Roxanne says. “I wouldn’t want to be a grandma with those big boobs,” she laughs.

Jessica, another dancer, says she grew up in strip clubs because her mother was an exotic dancer. She started stripping at the age of thirteen using a fake I.D. She says the method used to insert her double-D implants made a difference in her breast’s shape and feel.

“They went in through my belly button with saline implants,” Jessica explains. “They’re softer, and to get them soft you’re supposed to massage them. Sometimes I would do it while I’m driving and I get funny stares.” She decided to get them as a self-esteem boost following her father’s death and a struggle against depression and weight loss.

“The implants helped with my income. In L.A. I used to make three hundred to four hundred dollars just from the stage,” she says. Jessica spent $8,800 on her implants and purchased a warranty separately for fifteen hundred dollars in case they need to be readjusted.

Josie, a twenty-year-old aspiring student, has only been in the business for about eight months, but is already considering breast implants. The petite blonde with girl-next-door looks currently has a B-cup and makes a little under a thousand dollars a night, especially surrounded by the other women with larger breats. She would eventually like to have a full C cup.

“I see it as an investment, and my boyfriend suggested it. I want them prettier, not bigger,” Josie explains. “I like the shape of implants, and I feel like my breasts are too small for my body. Some girls say it isn’t about the money, but it is.”