Shown Above: Male Stripper by Marlene Dumas 1999
I had sex with a male stripper today. Now, get that manure munching look off your face and continue reading. Yes, you read correctly. That, however, is not the point. I make no apologies. I say the things that need to be said. Think what you will, I am now a firm believer in the saying "strippers need love too".
After what has seemed like way too long, I decided to allow myself to let loose and have a little responsible fun. I met a stripper (dancer) who I will call "Peter". I think that's appropriate. Peter and I met via a social network app; but that's not important either. What is important is that I got a first-hand look into the life of one of these mythical creatures. These unicorns of night-life. What I experienced left me a little sad and abundantly pensive.
I met a beautiful yet lonely soul. I saw a man who was clinging to boyhood. I witnessed someone with hardly a friend in the world. He was a person who, on the outside, was desirable beyond words; with eyes that could entrance anyone. I saw someone who is an object of lust for many men...and a few confused women. I met an individual who couldn't see his own worth. This man had so much, yet not nearly enough. I wondered, how does a person get to this point? I could speculate for days. I won't though.
What I will take away from this experience is that there are many people in the world who are in desperate need of a loving influence in life. Some people go about finding this in all the wrong ways. Some spend the majority of their lives seeking this in the eyes and words of strangers. Some, wade in the pool of familiarity, seeking the very same affirmation and love from those they know. If one doesn't love one's self, one can quickly become none.
The Bottom Line: Sex with strippers may be shocking, laughable, or perhaps even disgusting. I never back away from my decisions. I never make excuses, nor do I have the desire to justify my very grown up life. I will say that it turned out to be way more than hot sex. It was a lesson in the power of love and the devastation that having no love can inflict. Life is short. Love yourself. Don't get lost in another's eyes.
