Vancouver strip club dancers battle stigma, misinformation amid COVID-19 fears

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver’s strip clubs are cleaner than your average restaurant, according to two of women who work in the industry — one of whom performs at Brandi’s show lounge.

The club reopened late Wednesday night after patrons were possibly exposed to COVID-19 in late June, shutting the business down.

A stripper, podcaster, and sex work advocate who goes by the stage name Danica Darling, says the stigma against strippers and sex workers is only being fuelled by misinformation.

Dancers say Brandi’s has a plan in place for its reopening that goes above and beyond VCH guidelines, contrary to what some reports have suggested.

They add they were disappointed to see media reports and comments online assuming it was a stripper who was ill when it was a patron who brought the disease to the club.

“Another thing, too, is strip clubs are adamant about screening people when they come in, they swipe I.D., right? So at any given time, the strip club should be able to report exactly who came through the doors that day,” Darling explains.


“And that’s more than you’re going to see in any other establishments that I know of. You know, when I’m going out to nail salons, they’re not checking I.D. the minute you walk in the door. And even at the restaurants, it’s voluntary if you want to provide your name and your phone number. So that’s another way, I think, that the strip clubs are really, kind of, one-up on other establishments right now.”

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