Go Go Girls From Brazil in New York
The main focus of this series was a girl named Betina. Betina was 32 years old, and told me that she had always known that she would one day 'end up dancing in her underwear in America.' Many women from Betina's favela in Brazil had made to the U.S. the same way, it was a career choice, a way out, and one she had aspired to since she was a little girl.
Until the mid 90s, strip clubs were mainly a destination for girls who wanted to make money dancing topless, entertaining the costumers while they got drunk and even going to bed with them if they both agreed upon it. Betina had to pay to the owner of the club 30-40 US dollars per night in rent for using the place to dance and earn her money. Today, Strip clubs are frequently a destination for trafficked girls and the deals are between pimps and strip club owners, in which the girls have no say but must simply obey.