Some teens looking to earn a little extra cash get jobs at Starbucks or McDonald's or babysitting the kids next door. Others can work at strip clubs—and it's perfectly legal.
In Rhode Island, teens can't drive until they're 16, vote until they're 18, or drink until they're 21, but they can work at strip clubs, taking off their clothes for a bunch of men who feed them dollar bills. Scary stuff considering a study that found that 60 to 70 percent of strippers have been sexually assaulted.
So why isn't it against the law? Because no one ever thought about it—until police found a 16-year-old runaway from Massachusetts working at a strip club in Providence, Rhode Island. During their investigation, they discovered that there was no Rhode Island law making it illegal for minors to work as strippers.
City officials are now working to get a law on the books that would fine strip clubs for hiring minors.
Is it legal for minors to strip in your state? Would you ever approve of your minor daughter or son working as a stripper? Is there an age at which you think it would be okay?
