# In the US, do all topless and bottomless dancers have to wear pasties & G-strings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150 "2004-06-13T18:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/1 "2004-06-13T18:05:10Z")
We are discussing this at this end, but since we are all basically Bible-toting Fundies, we have no actual experience to rely on, and must consult the Teeming Millions. The question at hand is, are there places/jurisdictions in the U.S. where so-called “topless” and “bottomless” dancers are actually completely, totally nude, minus even pasties and G-strings? Or is it pretty much understood everywhere you go that even so-called “nude” dancers are actually always going to be wearing pasties and G-strings? And no, we don’t need actual locations, we’re not looking for travel hints and tips ( " :rolleyes: 😃 "), we just want to establish what “topless” and “bottomless” actually entails. Just exactly how nude is “topless” and “bottomless”, technically speaking? And I’m not talking about private parties, I mean commercial establishments, “HOT GIRLS EXXXOTIC DANCERS TOTALLY TOPLESS”, etc. If you go in there, expecting to see actual nipples and pubic hair, what are your chances? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/2 "2004-06-13T18:08:58Z")
In North Las Vegas (a seperate city) there is a place which offers totally nude dancing and sells alcohol as well. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/3 "2004-06-13T18:11:44Z")
There are plenty of places where the girls are really topless. All-nude is a lot rarer. Usually only at places that don’t serve alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/4 "2004-06-13T18:13:31Z")
In every city I’ve lived in, “topless” is just that, no tops but they are wearing g-strings. And all-nude means no clothing of any kind. You can se pubic hair but most establishments have strict rules about hygiene and trimming. I’ve never seen a club that used pasties. Heck, just turn on HBO’s G-String Divas. Whole lotta topless going on there… ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/5 "2004-06-13T18:14:30Z")
Many places in Tampa, FL have all nude shows. I used to have a friend that worked at several of them. Even in Birmingham, they’re not required to wear pasties anymore. I think that stopped around the late seventies. Of course, here, there aren’t any nude shows. Not in public, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Gamaliel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gamaliel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gamaliel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/6 "2004-06-13T18:27:52Z")
The rules are a result of whatever the local laws are. Tampa is a bit infamous for its strip clubs and every couple years or so the religious right tries to ban them, but usually just succeeds in getting a minor, inane restriction passed. This is from memory so I might get some details wrong. The rules differ here depending on whether or not the club serves alcohol. Alcohol free clubs can go all nude, while clubs which serve alcohol cannot. Additionally the latter are subject to some pretty silly rules involving the exact size, shape, and color of nipple coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/7 "2004-06-13T18:29:52Z")
In South Florida, they are totally bare-assed naked, and alcohol is served. I was in San Francisco 10 or 12 years ago, and me and my buddy went to a strip club where they were totally naked (and did nasty things with clear acrylic dildos! :eek: ) but IIRC alcohol was not served. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/8 "2004-06-13T18:39:15Z")
Oregon is all nude, no pasties or G-strings. The Oregon Supreme Court, god bless them, has ruled that nude dancing is protected under the state constitution’s free speech clause. I think Oregon has more nude dancing clubs per-capita of any state. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/9 "2004-06-13T18:58:23Z")
Heh, I’m lucky: the Spearmint Rhino is a two minute walk from my workplace. Excellent place to spend lunch hour… and yes, it’s all bare-ass lip-spreadin’ hip-grindin’ goodness. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/10 "2004-06-13T19:07:26Z")
Well **Duck Duck Goose** , as you can already see by the previous responses, exotic dancer restrictions are regulated by local laws only. Where I live in central Illinois it’s 100% nude. In Wisconsin some areas are nude, some not (Northern Wisconsin tends to be more open than in Milwaukee). I could include other locations, but it’s been too long and the local laws may have changed since the 1980’s. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/11 "2004-06-13T19:37:42Z")
> [@Gamaliel](#): > > The rules are a result of whatever the local laws are. > > Tampa is a bit infamous for its strip clubs and every couple years or so the religious right tries to ban them, but usually just succeeds in getting a minor, inane restriction passed. > > This is from memory so I might get some details wrong. The rules differ here depending on whether or not the club serves alcohol. Alcohol free clubs can go all nude, while clubs which serve alcohol cannot. Additionally the latter are subject to some pretty silly rules involving the exact size, shape, and color of nipple coverage. As I understand the rules as they currently stand: Tampa/Hillsborough has nude dancing but no alcohol. Nude means nude, and patrons and dancers can touch each other, but not directly with hands to the “naughty bits”. Clearwater/St. Pete/Pinellas has nude dancing (but it’s not as common as Tampa) and no alcohol. I think that it’s also no touching. There seem to be more alcohol and pasties places on this side of the Bay. Pasco County now has nude dancing with alcohol. They also seem to have some other shades of dark grey sort of places with pay as you go nudism. I saw some signs for these on the way back from a Dopefest, but didn’t go in to do any research. Maybe some more adventurous Dopers up north of me could let you know. I’m not sure these aren’t more “massage parlor” versus “nudie bar” anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/12 "2004-06-13T20:15:38Z")
Detroit has topless dancing, but no all-nude stuff. You can get that across the river in Windsor, Ontario, however. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/13 "2004-06-13T20:45:58Z")
There was completely nude dancing with liquor at a bar on an Indian reservation in upstate Wisconsin about 20 years ago. Can’t say what the law is off the res. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/14 "2004-06-13T21:23:30Z")
Regardinf S. Florida…why do you need bars? Just go to a local beach…the girls are wearing next to nothing anyway! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/15 "2004-06-13T21:27:19Z")
Some yeaars ago, here in St. Paul, MN, voters in one ward elected such a conservative woman to the City Council. Though never a customer herself, she was quite upset that other people in the city were patronizing bars featuring fully topless dancers. So she introduced a city ordinance to require at a minimum pasties & g-strings on performers, and it was passed by the City Council. Unfortunately, she wasn’t careful enough in drafting this ordinance, and the version passed required that female nipples and genitalia be covered with a _transparent_ covering. (I think she meant _translucent_, maybe.) But that was the way it went into law. So the bars promptly complied with the ordinance, and provided saran wrap bras & pantied for their dancers. Apparently their customers approved. This ordinance was eventually revised, but it took some time. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/16 "2004-06-13T21:45:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Spearmint Rhino That would be a great name for a brand of toothpaste. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/17 "2004-06-13T21:52:36Z")
> [@Duck Duck Goose](#): > > The question at hand is, are there places/jurisdictions in the U.S. where so-called “topless” and “bottomless” dancers are actually completely, totally nude, minus even pasties and G-strings? Or is it pretty much understood everywhere you go that even so-called “nude” dancers are actually always going to be wearing pasties and G-strings? One of the jurisdictions that permits “all-nude” dancing, without pasties or g-string, is our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/18 "2004-06-13T21:56:59Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Oregon is all nude, no pasties or G-strings. The Oregon Supreme Court, god bless them, has ruled that nude dancing is protected under the state constitution’s free speech clause. I think Oregon has more nude dancing clubs per-capita of any state. Really? I knew there was a reason I wanted to move here 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/19 "2004-06-13T23:05:29Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > One of the jurisdictions that permits “all-nude” dancing, without pasties or g-string, is our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. This is one of those times - lamentably rare of late - that I am genuinely, truly proud to be an American. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150/20 "2004-06-13T23:06:40Z")
In Anchorage, some are topless, others are nude, and The Great Alaska Bush Company is a gynecology lesson. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-do-all-topless-and-bottomless-dancers-have-to-wear-pasties-g-strings/250150.md?page=2)