In this episode of YAS Podcast, AM Davies (they/them) sits down with ASL performer, social worker, and longtime stripper Caroline Blaike (she/her) to explore the intersections of stripping, accessibility, and community care. Recorded from their shared home during early quarantine, the conversation reflects on chosen family, mutual support, and how strippers often act as therapists for both clients and each other.
Caroline identifies proudly as a stripper, with over 12 years of experience dancing in nude clubs on the East Coast and at Jumbo’s Clown Room in Los Angeles. Alongside her career in stripping, she holds a master’s degree from Gallaudet University, a historically Deaf university, where she completed her degree entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). As an ASL interpreter and performer, Caroline integrates pole dance and sign language on stage, creating accessible strip performances for Deaf audiences.
She discusses why cultural access, including music, art, and even strip clubs, matters for the Deaf community, challenging misconceptions about disability and sexuality. The episode also dives into whorephobia, labor stigma, the mainstreaming of pole dancing, and the dangers of separating “pole dancers” from “strippers.”
Caroline shares her plans to launch a nonprofit focused on creative expression for Deaf youth, merging art, mentorship, and social work. With humor and sharp insight, this conversation highlights accessibility, autonomy, and the power of embracing every facet of identity, on stage and beyond.
Read the full transcript