Keyword: strippers
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Exotic dancers banned from performing at funerals in China
By Clifford Coonan and Asian Sex Gazette staffAugust 26, 2006
A striptease show is not what most mourners would expect at a funeral. But the more people that come to a funeral in China, the better the deceased is likely to fare in the afterlife, which is why some families have taken to hiring exotic dancers to keep attendance figures high.Now Chinese officials are cracking down after the state broadcaster, CCTV, ran a report about two groups of strippers performing at a farmer's funeral in the eastern province of Jiangsu. The next day, police
arrested the organisers and five women for "obscene performances". Local
officials were told they must submit plans for funerals within 12 hours after a
villager dies. Exotic dancing is off the menu - and residents can report
"funeral misdeeds" on a special hotline for a reward of USD $ 35.
In China mourners wear white, not black, and funeral processions are led by men clashing cymbals and playing musical instruments. Other mourners set off firecrackers. The local people believe that the more people gathered at a funeral, the more luck it will bring to the family and offspring. So some families hire striptease troupes to attract more people, the report said. This stripping spectacle has reportedly had become one of the town's most popular nighttime events, especially among migrant workers. Some local residents even hosted a rival shows with two performances on the each side of the street close to the mourning hall and their houses to attract viewers. With a competitive atmosphere, the dancers and singers on each side try their best to attract people's attention, the report said. Some strippers even take off the trousers of male viewers and persuade them to join in the dancing, while others bathe in public or perform nude with snakes. Dozens of troupes operated stripteases in the small town, which reportedly brings in a great fortune. A troupe boss told a CCTV reporter that he earned more than 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) last year, while a male singer in the troupe said he had purchased three apartments, one in town, one in Lianyungang, a port city of Jiangsu Province, and a small one in Nanjing, Jiangsu's capital. Most of the dancers are local women, who perform for an income of 200 yuan per show, the boss said. For USD $180, dancers will stand on top of a van singing and dancing. Once the van gets to the cemetery, the women strip off. Two years ago, a family in the southern province of Fujian paid a dance troupe US $150 to take part in a funeral service for their 70-year-old grandmother. Five women danced around in their underwear and attracted an audience of about 20.
