It's time to be real about this …

Truth be told, I’ve dated about a half-dozen strippers in my travels around the dating scene — more than times I’ve actually been to a strip club, in fact. It wasn’t that I ever specifically sought out dancers, it just so happened that way. We liked each other, we hooked up, tried to make it work and failed miserably. Those experiences were just like any other coupling that happens to twenty-somethings.

And I got a lot of shit for it, too.

It’s one of those things that, as a guy, you’re not supposed to get into. We’re told they’re “less than” and “carry things that itch.” It's a tired stigma, really, because I've met my fair share of broad personalities everywhere. From eating dinner with seated politicians to running around for skeevy drug-lords, what I’ve found is that there’s good and bad in every group. Strippers are just another industry dynamic, often far more enlightened than others. They see the good and the bad, and put up with a lot from dudes they shouldn’t have to. It takes a lot of strength to be them.

Thick skin is always something I’ve been attracted to, though.

If you even have to ask, yes, of course it’s perfectly okay to date a stripper.

Because:

She’s a Human Being …

Newsflash: that person on the stage dancing nude for your entertainment wakes up every morning, eats the same foods as anyone else, has family, laughs … all the things that make us human. There isn’t any one thing that separates her from you, or from your neighbor, or any one the celebrities we follow online. She’s human, just like the other 7 billion of us floating here on this space rock.

Stereotypes Don’t Exist …

Sure, there might be a few sexually forward drug addicted strippers that will cut you in times of distress out there, but that doesn’t mean they’re all like that. Just as stereotypes don’t exist for any other marginalized group of people, neither do they for strippers. Young, old, funny, frightening, horrendously cheap … the buffet platter is wrought with options. Keep an open mind about it.

Her Chosen Profession Doesn’t Make Her Less of a Person …

You have no idea why she’s up there dancing, nor is it any of your business until she wants to tell you. Dancing for money on a stage without any clothes on is no different than, say, dancing for money on a stage with clothes on. This is what she wants to do, so let her do it. Do you really think folding t-shirts and hocking overpriced wares at the mall is any different? We’re all slaves to the man anyways.

She’s Just Like You …

Maybe she likes video games and smoking weed. Maybe she likes hitting the gym and boiling chicken and potatoes afterwards only to wash it down with a mean protein shake. Maybe she hates Kim Kardashian and shitty drivers like the rest of the free world. As said before, she’s a person, and likely has a lot more in common with you than you might think.

You Presumably Like Her?

If you even had to ask if it was alright for you to date a stripper, you’re probably somewhat into her in the first place. You like her, the hell does it matter if there’s anything else to consider? Give it a shot, who even knows what comes next anymore?

You Shouldn’t Really Care …

At the end of the day, having any kind of reservations about dating someone who gets undressed for money boils down to you being absurdly manipulated by social pressures or insecure in your own ability to be with someone who others see naked. Those are your issues, not hers. Deal with those first and then text her. When you’ve shed ignorance, you’ll realize that you don’t care about popular opinion anymore. And guess what: Now you’re happy and have a beautiful partner to maybe spend the rest of your life with. Drink those tears of the haters, you earned it.