So what´s al the fuss about? The owners of established clubs, like Ódal and Maxim´s, treat their dancers with respect (at Ódal, bouncers even peek behind the curtain to make sure no hanky-panky takes place) and the seedy side of the industry drugs, prostitution seems to absent. Yes, dancers work a brutal schedule, Yes, dancing appears to be the only choice for those that come from low-income areas in Eastern bloc counties.
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But at least in Iceland they´re not sex slaves, and they´re making oodles of money.
Regardless of the money, though, Halldórsdóttir says those women lose their dignity when they are forced into selling sex even the idea of sex because no other opportunities exist. If we want to offer families from poor regions opportunities in Iceland we should do it in different ways where they have the opportunity to keep their dignity while earning money, says Halldórsdóttir.
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The MP insists that these clubs appeal to the shadowy side of human beings, the dark side of culture. Yet she´s the first to say that calling them all pornographic is difficult, admitting that she´s in a grey area as far as defining what is pornographic eroticism is not pornographic. Men and women performing a sexual act hehind a curtain isn´t necessarily pornographic. But when money is exchanged... and alcohol is incolved, that makes the difference.
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