Not too often does the subject of strip clubs ever come up in a judiciary setting. However, a recent case in the state of New York is making headlines. The judicial system in New York state is currently undergoing an extremely unique case that will make history for all the wrong reasons. A strip club in suburban Albany, N.Y. currently owes $124,000 in sales taxes from 2005. These unpaid taxes are from admission charges and couch sales, which basically translates to private lap dances.
The strip club, Nite Moves, claims it should not have to pay these sales taxes because what the workers do at Nite Moves is considered art.
There is a state law in New York mandating anything that is a “live dramatic or musical arts performance” can be exempt from having to pay sales taxes.
This is the same law that applies to ballet and theater. This is the route Nite Moves is taking in order not to have to pay the $124,000.
Nite Moves claims the women’s dances are a choreographed routine not affected by if a woman removes her clothing during the routine or not.
On the other hand, the state of New York argues the tax exemptions do not apply to Nite Moves or any club like it. A state tribunal courts said Nite Moves did not present enough evidence to prove it deserves the same exemptions that apply to ballet and theater.
For most of society, it is easy to assume this is just a publicity stunt by Nite Moves in order to gain more patrons because any press is good press.
Many people, like myself, agree with New York in that removing one’s clothing while dancing provocatively is not, and will never be, a form of art. The sheer fact that Nite Moves’ case has made it to the highest courts in New York shows a lot about how society has changed.
Not too long, people would be much too ashamed to discuss what happened in a strip club. However, now it is a matter of if what happens in a strip club is considered art or not.
The dancers’ artistic fate is ultimately left up to the courts to see if the state of New York or Nite Moves will ultimately win the battle of what is art and what is not.
As for me, the idea of a lap dance considered being art is hard to fathom.
Ballet and theater are respected art forms that take time and years of hard work, dedication and practice to become professionals at.
Even though the women taking off their clothes for money or performing similar acts do not see anything wrong with what they are doing, it is not accepted in society for several reasons.
When a person decides they are going to go to a strip club for the night, they are not going to look at tasteful art but to get aroused by looking at naked women. That in itself proves that there should have never been a case trying to prove Nite Moves should not have to pay its sale taxes for lap dances.
On the other hand, the women who are performing, for the most part, do not consider themselves as art. They are strictly there to pretend to have a relationship with different men so the men will feel a connection with the women and give them more money. Stripping is their work, not their life’s passion.
Additionally, when people views the acts of a stripper often, they no longer see women’s bodies as sacred or something to behold. Women’s bodies begin to be objectified.
People who go to places like Nite Moves for entertainment see the performers as objects and not as human beings.
I realize it is a person’s decision to choose to perform as a stripper or not, however stripping has no benefit for society and only increases moral decadence.
I can only hope  if or when the state of New York judiciary system decides in favor of real art, society will realize the impact stripping has on humanity.