INDIANAPOLIS — Once a month, Sarah Daniel and a group of volunteers visit local strip clubs with gift bags in hand.
Each bag contains a card with contact information for finding additional support.
Daniel, a graduate of Knightstown Community High School and Indiana Wesleyan University, attended Brandywine Community Church in Greenfield as a teenager. Today she is CEO of Unconditional, an organization that offers support and encouragement to women in the adult entertainment industry.
Ahead of next month’s Stiletto Stories, Unconditional’s annual vision night, she took time for an email interview with the Daily Reporter.
How did you become aware of the opportunity to build relationships with women in the sex industry? What resonated with you about this?
I grew up as a pastor’s kid in a small town and was very sheltered. This created a perfect storm for my already pretentious attitude to become a very self-righteous jerk.
When I was in college, God really started to work on me. I started to volunteer at The Boys and Girls Club, and I had several kids I worked with whose mothers worked in the industry. At first, I was very judgmental of them. And then God showed me, those moms are just these kids grown up. How am I going to sit here and judge them, but love their kids?
The summer after my sophomore year of college, I was able to shadow an outreach in south central Los Angeles that reached out to street sex workers. They walked the same track every week just building relationships with the people working there. At midnight, they’d have a church service in the 7 Eleven parking lot with pizza and whoever wanted to join.
I saw people feel comfortable and known in a way they never would have felt walking into a church. I fell in love with the idea of showing people love right where they are. It also showed me the deep pain the church has caused to so many through judgment and harshness instead of compassion and love. It’s hard to unlearn, but slowly God has shown me to see people how he does.
Growing up in the church, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve never been a sex worker. But I do know what it’s like to mistrust Christians, to question God and to know pain.
Women I’ve met in the clubs have become some of my closest friends, and some of the people who most inspire me every day. We’re all so much more similar than we think.
Have you noticed any common stereotypes or misconceptions people have about the industry and those who work in it?
The most common misconception is that people think they don’t know anyone in the industry. They definitely do, but often those people in their life don’t feel safe disclosing that information. In my experience, people also tend to either overglamorize or overdemonize the industry, when the truth lies in the middle. A strip club can save someone’s life, while simultaneously ruin their life.
For example, the vast majority of women in our programs have been emotionally and financially independent since they were minors. Stripping was the only way they were able to survive. This saved them from homelessness, or ending up in a more dangerous part of the industry. However, it ruined their life by exposing them to more trauma, or a distorted self image, addiction, etc.
Our motto around here is that it’s complicated. There are no easy answers … Each person is impacted by the industry differently.
Another misconception is that everyone who is in the industry is being trafficked, with a pimp in control of them. This is simply not the case.
A stereotype is that all women who work in the industry are on drugs, or are dumb, obsessed with sex, and so many more. Almost every TV show at some point makes a joke about strippers, and it usually has to do with these stereotypes.
Women are in the industry for hundreds of unique reasons … lack of affordable child care to work a 40-hours-a-week day job; needing money quickly; health-care costs; to provide for children or siblings; to escape domestic violence; to escape sex trafficking; or they were trafficked as a minor and this was their transitional job out of that situation; no options after aging out of foster care; and so many more.
Not everyone is trying to quit her job. There are pros and cons of dancing, and it is imperative to never think you know more about someone’s life, the reasons they have made the choices they have, and what their dreams are than they do. They are the experts in their stories. We are just here to offer support in any capacity they may want. The minute I make an assumption on what someone needs, I am contributing to stereotyping.
What are the various ways women connect?
Women get connected with us through meeting us at the club, seeing our info online, but most common, through a friend. Word of mouth from other dancers is powerful, because it has built a strong trust in the dancer community that allows women to feel safe coming to us.
Women are able to get support through several programs that include:
-Compass: case management and resource navigation, including access to our food, clothing, and baby pantries.
-The Bridge: a holistic housing assistance program that includes financial assistance, mentorship, and classes
-Club 180: our weekly support groups
-What’s Next: our weekly career and life skills development class
-Mom Squad: direct support in their home to help clean, cook, and learn new parenting skills
-Survivor Assistance: emergency financial support for survivors of the industry.
Most of all, we offer unconditional friendship and support. Everything we do is based off relationship, and building community. Our mission is to encourage, empower and equip women in the adult entertainment and sex industries. Real, authentic relationships are our secret sauce that make all of these programs work!
