https://www.instagram.com/p/BaTDjggnxsA/?taken-by=thegizellemarie

The other day, I stumbled across a meme that said Cardi B. was the only one who could settle the beef between strippers and bartenders. I assumed this was some long-standing, generally understood beef between the two parties, something I just didn’t know about because I don’t happen to frequent strip clubs.

But today, I discovered it’s much deeper than that. And even Cardi B. with all of her wondrous powers, might not be enough to fix the problem.

So what is the issue? Bartenders are now competing with the strippers. In today’s strip club culture, bartenders are wearing provocative clothing and doing a little shake. In doing so, they’re distracting patrons from the actual strippers on stage who are much more athletic, more trained and who are doing the job which they were hired to do. Furthermore, as people who rely on patrons spending money on them, men giving it to the bartenders, who are already being paid and tipped for their service, is taking money out of their pockets.

That’s the first layer of the issue.

Secondly, the bartenders are often lighter skinned women who are either racially ambiguous and not Black. Colorism has affected virtually every other industry, it only makes sense it would show up in the adult entertainment world as well.

Here are a few women explaining the problem.

There is some NSFW language included in these videos. Use headphones if you’re at the office.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BanXkqtnl-H/?taken-by=thegizellemarie

Cardi B spoke about this same issue before as well.

It’s a problem. One that didn’t just begin, according to New York DJ Kay Slay.

As a result, the women in New York, arranged a strike. Tonight women from various clubs are meeting in the Bronx to discuss their demands.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BarBfjtHZOI/?taken-by=thegizellemarie

We’ll keep you posted as this story develops. Seeing as this is an issue that affects every industry, it’s particularly necessary that they spoke out.

Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and on Instagram and Twitter @VDubShrug.