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Strip joint, gentleman’s club, nudie bar, burlesque houses, and the rest of the euphemisms are all are concerned with the same thing: people paying to watch other people get naked. For money, of course.

The atmosphere of any such establishment can cause simultaneous feelings of shame and titillation in the heart of any young man. It’s really the same sensation every 13-year-old gets stockpiling porn and lingerie catalogues under the mattress, in a shoebox, behind the bookcase, or ... you get the picture.

In visiting four area clubs, Deja Vu, the Gay 90’s, Schiek’s Palace Royale, and the Lamplighter, I wanted to see what these clubs offer and exactly what draws men into the clubs themselves.

In high school, I can vividly recall guys eagerly awaiting their 18th birthday so they could stock up on porn, cigars, scratch-offs and a trip to the Vu. And, hanging out in there on a Saturday night, I came to realize that not much has changed in the years since high school.

Deja Vu is located in downtown Minneapolis at 315 Washington Ave. and may be the best-known strip club in the metro area. The Vu, part of the national Deja Vu strip chain, is able to attract a wider clientÅle due to its less restrictive 18-and-over door policy.

Even though this rules out any alcohol at the bar, the facility itself is quite impressive: two floors of entirely nude dancers with Texas-style couch, coffee table, table-top, and bed dancing, along with photo opportunities with showgirls. The Vu further advertises “very special on-stage VIP treatment for birthday boys, bachelor and divorce parties with a featured magazine model or video starlet.” Slick, corporate environs aside, the Vu holds its own as a prerequisite to more advanced stripping excursions.

The Gay 90’s, in Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis, isn’t a strip club in the classic sense. With a reputation as a notorious stomping ground for gays and lesbians, the 90’s fails to discriminate and offers a place for almost anybody to hang out in comfortably. Another large complex, the 90’s consists of eight bars, two restaurants, a drag lounge, a male strip show, and a strictly leather bar, in addition to three huge dance floors. According to a bloke there named Bruce: “This place is the Mall of America of gay bars.”

The strip shows here aren’t Vu standard fare. Rather, they offer a male revue geared towards the 90’s core constituency, as well as a highly regarded burlesque-style drag show. All in all, a most interesting establishment with some fine people-watching opportunities.

Next: Schieks.

One word says it all for Schieks Palace Royale: classy. This place goes to great lengths to live up to the title of a “gentleman’s club.” Housed in a building that looks like an architect’s mess of an art museumąmeetsąpost office, Schieks strives to create an aura of opulence. The most common complaints people seem to harbor against the Palace are how spendy everything is and the rather staid atmosphere that engulfs the club. Ultimately, if getting a lap dance in the James J. Hill House is your thing, then by all means Schieks Palace Royale is the place for you.

Near the corner of Rice and Larpenteur sits the Lamplighter Lounge in our very own St. Paul. The
Lamplighter stands out immediately on this list, since its the only one without a cover charge. Almost the complete antithesis of Schieks Palace Royale, the Lamplighter is the everyman’s strip club.

Decent drink prices and table dances from $5 to $20 set the Lamplighter apart from the exorbitant pricing schemes of joints like the Vu (eight bucks for a Coke?). Although grittier and cheaper, the Lamplighter offers a salt-of-the-earth venue for the working stiffs (excuse me) who just may want to see a show or two on their lunch break.

Before continuing, it’s necessary to put into context our cultural attitudes towards stripping and sex in general. It’s been said time and again, but America is somehow obsessed with sex and almost equally revolted by it. The holdover of Puritan values and contemporary desires for personal freedom are a conflict at the heart of this land. Yet this is no essay on the decline of morality or the fate of individual liberties; this is about strip clubs and what allure they hold for certain people.

The male perspective on the strip club is as it seems; after all, it’s a strip club. Men flock to these sort of establishments for all kinds of reasons: to escape from a loveless marriage for a few hours, to knock back a few drinks with friends, to unwind after work, or whatever. Guys ultimately seem compelled to visit strip joints because of the combination of titillation and socialization opportunities.

Finding someone to talk to at strip joint isn’t particularly hard, as long as you find the intoxicated group of guys making the most noise. Of the different gentlemen I spoke with, both drunk and sober, most point out the obvious enough reasons for coming.

Eric, a patron of the Lamplighter, planned an entire weekend trip of driving four hours from Fargo to drink and see firsthand the strippers of the Twin Cities. Eric and his associates, when I spoke with them, had visited three other clubs (including the Vu) and had no intention of stopping.

“It’s the thing to do,” Eric explained. “Come to the Cities, go to strip clubs. There’s women, booze, and a place to hang out.”

The attraction of seeing someone get entirely disrobed before your eyes seems to be something that countless men enjoy. Is it degrading and exploitative abuse perpetrated against the women and men who perform? It certainly can be, but it’s also a job and a business like any other, except that this one elicits giggles from middle-schoolers and furrowed brows among the morally self-righteous. Nevertheless, the strip club is as much a part of the American landscape as the strip mall.