Christian Cane paid for his last year of university by dancing in a strip club, doing internet stripping and working phone sex shifts.
“I’ve always been pro-sex,” says Cane, who began his three jobs in 1999 while attending U of T as a full time student.
Cane, who is referred to by a pseudonym (as are all sources for the article) spent his last year of university alternating between dancing two nights a week, stripping via the internet four nights a week and an eight-hour shift of phone sex about once a week.
As tuition rises and rent increases, many students find that the minimum-wage grind is simply not enough to cover their expenses. To make more money, students choose other forms of work, which contain multiple benefits for some, but pose a tough sacrifice for others.
Stripping and phone sex allowed Cane to fully support himself while getting an education. He says his job enabled him to be creative, meet plenty of interesting people and learn a lot about the world.
The same goes for go-go dancer Diana Hudson. While at a club, Hudson and a friend noticed a sign for go-go dancing auditions. The next week, Hudson received a phone call from her friend, who had signed them up to audition. After simply going to the audition for kicks, Hudson got the job and has been dancing for a year and a half. Hudson, a third year English specialist at U of T, travels for two hours every other weekend back home to Stratford, and then has a 45-minute drive to St. Catharines, where she works. She appreciates her job because it is fun as well as physically challenging.
“It takes a lot of work to last an entire night at full tilt,” she says. “It is not about men looking at you or being a sex symbol of any sort, it is about dancing and enjoying it.”
Cane agreed. “It’s very exciting to have someone paying you to turn them on. It’s very flattering.”
“The best thing that can happen is have someone come up to you during the night and say that you are a good dancer,” Hudson said.
But not all students have the same positive experiences as Cane and Hudson. During her first year studying history at U of T, Stephanie McDonnell began bartending and waiting tables to increase her income. She worked three shifts per week, often until 2 a.m., and ended up having to drop a class.
“It was definitely a hindrance to my academics,” McDonnell says. “It was very difficult to stay focused.”
Through bartending, McDonnell paid both tuition and rent. “I had a substantial disposable income,” she says. “I didn’t live like the typical student, eating Kraft dinner.”
The financial benefits of the job lured McDonnell into the Toronto bar culture that soon became her lifestyle.
“I started working more and going to school less.”
McDonnell’s busy schedule soon took its toll. In first year, she was hospitalized three times before finally being diagnosed with mono. It took her six years to achieve a B.A and graduate in June of 2000. No longer working the bar scene, she is currently working full time as a private investigator and is back at U of T to finish her honours degree.
Although the physical effects of the job and not being able to graduate on time are definite setbacks, McDonnell asserts that the job was not entirely negative. “I’ve met a lot of really incredible people,” she said.
Hudson and Cane said their work didn’t negatively affect their quality of education. By working weekends, Hudson has plenty of time to catch up on her studies during the week. Similarly, Cane remarked that the weekend hours he kept allowed him to have more free time for weekday studying. Aside from some sore muscles and a little Monday morning exhaustion, both maintain that working does not affect their education.
“It enhanced [education] a lot,” states Cane. “I learned a lot about life.” Likewise, Hudson didn’t feel she was sacrificing her education. “It may help, because it is stress relief, and I would not do better in school if I was not working. I do not feel that it affects my schoolwork.”
However, both mentioned the negative stigmas attached to their professions.
“There are a lot of girls that give dancers dirty looks or make fun of us while we are dancing,” comments Hudson. “They tend to think that we are after their men…There is also the stereotype that all of us are easy.”
Cane is quick to point out that he did not choose his jobs as a result of desperation or lack of options. “It was very much a choice for me,” he states. “For many people it’s not a choice. I wanted to do it.”
