YAS Podcast: Izzie Pop #20 Transcript
Izzie and AM have some things in common. They are both strippers and they are both amputees. Izzie Pop is a below the knee amputee and talks to AM about what it’s like being a disabled stripper and going to work on crutches. With a looming below the knee amputation for AM, the two get intimate about what it’s like. Warning: At minute 29:50, Izzie recounts a story where a man followed her and became verbally aggressive toward her. This may be triggering for some people.
*This transcript was auto-generated and may contain minor errors.* Begin transcript after opening credits.
AM: Hi everyone.
Welcome to another episode of Yes, a stripper podcast. I’m your Queen AMD, and it’s another day of quarantine. Very exciting stuff. I think my favorite thing about quarantine and doing this podcast is I get to interview people from all different areas of the world because we can’t be in the studio, so why not, right?
Um, so. I wanted to talk a little bit about what’s been going on in my world lately. Um, I am in, I have been in the process of making a very hard decision lately, um, and it required me to do a lot of research, a lot of talking to people, and a lot of reaching out to new groups of people that I never had before.
And I just wanted to talk about what that process is like. I feel like in. Mo in almost all of our lives, there’s gonna come a day when you have to make a very big life altering decision. And the experience that I’ve had recently, I just like wanna make sure that everyone [00:01:00] like that you really take the time to do all of your research and create a pros and cons list.
Like, I’ll give you an example. My brother and sister, um, I’m sorry, my sister and my brother-in-law are, uh. You know, I have been talking about having a baby for a really long time, for like about three years, and they have a pros and cons list and they talk to their friends about the pros and cons and they’re really like analyzing the situation and doing their research on what, how their lives would change if they had a baby.
And I just really love that logical approach to it. Um, uh, because it is a life altering thing. And so this is just more of like a PSA from me to you basically saying like, when it comes time for like. For you to make huge decision, especially one that’s based on like. Your overall survival in life. Just like really, really take the time to listen to yourself and meditate, listen to the universe and like trust yourself and [00:02:00] do the research and talk to people and don’t take very large decisions lightly.
Um, and you know, that’s. Pretty much it. And you know, throughout this conversation on this podcast, you’ll kind of get an idea of what that decision, um, that’s something that I’ve been thinking about is and what that’s like for me. And, um, our guest here on the show today, uh, is a dear friend of mine, Izzy.
And she’s someone who has definitely had to make, um, some pretty big decisions in her life, uh, in, in the recent past. So, hi Izzy. Can you say hello to everyone?
Izzie: Hi everyone.
AM: Thank you so much. So Izzy, it’s so funny because I opened up with saying like, I get to talk to all these people over the world when you only live 10 minutes from me right now.
I
Izzie: know,
AM: yeah. Yeah. I thought
Izzie: obviously it was special. We got to hang out yesterday and see.
AM: Yeah. That was such a treat. I think we spent [00:03:00] like a solid two hours with each other yesterday and it was just an absolute so nice. Yeah, it was so nice because before that, the last time we hung out was like three months ago, right?
Where we were just like hopping all around Franklin Village.
Izzie: So fun. I, I got the photos developed. They’re super dark, but I, I think I haven’t sent them to you yet. There’s some, we like set them up and like took some time. Photos
AM: was outside of that.
So we’re with Izzy’s friend Alexa, and Alexa, this mansion party, and we’re like, um, duh. We wanna go to a mansion party. And we get all the way up to Mount Olympus in front of a house that like, there’s nobody. There
Izzie: not a soul,
AM: not a soul there, and we’re just standing outside this fucking stranger’s mansion and not yet, I think the conclusion we came to is like the guy was like fucking with her, just trying to get her to come over or something.
Izzie: Yeah. I, I don’t even, I [00:04:00] think it was just like, we didn’t even know him, just like on a whim, like, let’s see. But we ended up having a great night.
AM: Yeah. We did have a really great night ended with karaoke. Um, yeah. Which I’m not a huge fan of karaoke, but it was fun watching my friends. Embarrass themselves.
Izzie: Yeah.
Always.
AM: Yeah. So, um, what, what is going on in your world, uh, as far as like how you’re surviving quarantine, like, and, and being a, you know, a sex worker slash stripper? What, what’s that like for you right now?
Izzie: I mean, it’s, it’s tough because, um, and I’m sure a lot of us in this industry can relate, like I’m a super social person.
I, I’m an extrovert for the most part. I love people. I love interactions. So it’s been hard to not have that like, human connection in a lot of ways, you know? Um, so [00:05:00] I don’t know. I’ve, I’ve, it’s definitely like a roller coaster, day by day, up and down. Yeah. I miss I, uh, dancing is what I love to do, you know?
AM: Totally.
Izzie: And it’s hard to not have a pull to just like, you know, it’s hard to self-motivate when you’re stuck in the, the same house all day.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. I feel that.
Izzie: Um, yeah. But it’s been nice, uh, to be a part of these virtual strip clubs.
AM: Clubs, yeah.
Izzie: Clubs. Yeah.
AM: So what are you when you’re on the virtual strip club?
Are you, because last time I did one and I was just rolled around on the floor in my bed. Yeah,
Izzie: that’s cute.
AM: And I, we have poles here. I could have used them, but I’m just like, for, you know, we’ll get into it later, but I’m like, I’m not gonna be on my feet tonight. So like, what, what would you do then, is like a living room or bedroom?
Izzie: Um, there’s like a second kinda level in our bedroom, so we just like. Moved some furniture and I just [00:06:00] rock out mainly on the floor. Um, for those of you, probably a lot of you don’t who don’t know me, I am an amputee, uh, below the knee and it’s been causing me some pain.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Lately. So, um, a lot of floor work for me, which I like to shake my ass and be sexy on the floor, so.
AM: Yeah. Yeah, it’s
Izzie: fun, you know.
AM: Yeah. So you identify as a stripper? Yes.
Izzie: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. Um, and you, since your amputation, you still worked as a stripper, right?
Izzie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
AM: So when, how long ago was it that you had your amputation?
Izzie: So it was December 8th, 2016.
AM: Okay,
Izzie: so about four years. Yeah. And a half.
Um. And it is definitely been a journey to get back up. I’m now back down, but that’s kind of how it goes. Um, [00:07:00] but I did have a privilege to dance. Um, you know, when I moved to LA at Sam’s and at Cheetahs, um. Throughout different stages. There were stages of me when I could walk and I had my prosthetic and I was able to dance.
And then even, um, there was times at cheetahs when I was on crutches, bandaged leg, you know, not able to use a prosthetic. Um, and they still let me dance.
AM: So you, yeah. Wow. Okay. I did not know this. So you were working at cheetahs with your amputation on crutches.
Izzie: I was just one leg. Like on crutches. No prosthetic just, and I just crawl.
I would crawl onto stage and then like. They had like the two poles at each end, you know?
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: So I like do a little pole work, then just like crawl across the stage to the next end and like do boil work and then do like floor stuff the whole time again, you know.
AM: So on your [00:08:00] standing leg, were you wearing your stripper heel while on crutches?
Izzie: Yeah. Oh my God. So I would like send my crutches to be like super tall.
AM: That’s amazing. Yeah. Okay. So did you find that you were making good money then? Because did people put you more because of that, do you think? Or was that weird for them? Like how did people react?
Izzie: Um, I have to say, like, I always felt so welcome at cheetahs.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Like, Sam’s was a different story for me. Um, I, even with my, I only dance there only when I could walk and had my prosthetic on.
But like, it was just not really, I don’t know, not really the vibe, but cheetahs everyone, like the, the everyone that worked there and everyone that came in was super, um, you know, just made me feel comfortable about it. And I would say [00:09:00] maybe not, like, I don’t think people, I was making money basically, like sympathy, you know?
I think it was more so like people like. Sick. Like, oh my God, like, you’re totally still out here doing this. You know? Yeah,
AM: yeah. And that’s kind of what I would imagine their, their reaction would be is like, wow. Like you’re, like, kudos to you. You’re, you’re still here and on crutches and you’re still killing it, you know?
So like, I definitely would, would give you all my money. Also ’cause I totally love you, so, you know, but, um, but yeah. Um, yeah, I just think that’s so tight. I’ve, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stripper on crutches at work before.
Izzie: Yeah.
AM: Ever.
Izzie: It was like, yeah. Yeah, it was fun. I have a, a, a friend took a photo of me.
It’s on my Instagram, but I don’t, you can’t really tell that I am, I think you can kind of see my crutches in the back and I’m like counting money. [00:10:00] It’s just like my torso.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: And if you look closely, you can see like, I’m not wearing my leg and stuff.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: It was, that was a fun time.
AM: So how long was it after your amputation that you, um, got back to stripping?
Izzie: It was, it was a while because I had so many complications, um, as many of us amputees do.
AM: Mm-hmm.
Izzie: I, um, I couldn’t even walk for like a year and a half after my amputation. Like I was still on crutches for a long time, so.
AM: Mm-hmm.
Izzie: I don’t think it was until Right. It was right when I moved to California. Um.
Which was in, uh, uh, March of 2018, I think. Okay. So right when I moved here is when I started dancing again, and I could walk then.
AM: Okay,
Izzie: so that was like, you know, two, [00:11:00] about two years later.
AM: Yeah. And so, okay, so full transparency, you guys. Um, this, by the time this podcast comes out, this will probably already hap have happened, but I made the decision today after talking to my last doctor.
Oh, wow. That, yeah, that I’m getting a below the knee amputation within the next 30 days. Um, and. I say that to say it’s really, really important to me and Izzy knows this to be able to wear the shoes that I wanna wear, specifically stripper heels. And so I’m bringing that up because Izzy and I went to a prosthetics doctor together yesterday.
Um, it’s Izzy’s prosthetics doctor to talk. And one of my things about you, Izzy, um, appearance.
Prosthetic stripper shoe, foot shoe thing. [00:12:00]
Izzie: That’s pretty amazing.
AM: Yeah. So can, and it’s, it’s something that I aspire to have and be like you when I grow up. So can you tell our audience, like what that shoe looks like and why it’s very special and how it’s specially designed and what it was like for you to like, um, for, to work with?
You know, your prosthetics doctor to create this thing for you.
Izzie: Um, yeah, it’s, I mean, I think it’s interesting, but I am, you know, I’m an amputee, but it, I try to think back, like before I had one leg before, I, like, I have learned so much. There’s so much that I didn’t know about prosthetics.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: And, you know, I like.
Even when I got my leg amputated, I wasn’t for sure that Sure that I was gonna be able to wear a shoe like this, you know? Um, so that’s a hard thing for us. Amputees is, uh, [00:13:00] without, without feet. And, and I know that you have trouble wearing shoes now, too, is Yeah. We don’t have an endless choice like we used to, you know, so we’re down to like, lots of times sneakers or like comfortable, lightweight stuff, you know, when it’s just like.
I want boots, I want like cowboy boots. I want you to heel, I want something strappy. Like, everything like that. Um, but I’ve gotten what I think is pretty close and I, you saw a lot of examples yesterday of that. Um,
AM: yeah,
Izzie: so working with my pro, my, my CPOs, um,
AM: what’s,
Izzie: it was actually, that’s a, that’s a pr prosthetist, a person that makes the legs.
Okay. You call him CPO
AM: for sure. Okay.
Izzie: It’s like a doctor’s like, you know. And there’s like MD and then like da dah da. Oh, okay.
AM: I didn’t, I didn’t know that. Yeah. Ccp,
Izzie: yeah, cpo.
AM: Nice.
Izzie: Um, so the, so I had told her, you know, I’m a, I’m a [00:14:00] dancer, da dah, dah, dah, and it’s really hard with insurance to get all these components that you need and you need so many components for tic.
Yeah.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Um. But she was able, my first, um, CPO was able to write my leg. As, you know, I’m a dancer. I need it for work. I also, you know, I tour and I do all this stuff, so. Amazingly, she wrote it off and I had used the pleaser model, um, because I, you know, grew up with them. That’s my, I’ve never not worn pleasers to dance, you know?
Uh,
AM: yeah. And for our audience too, if you’re a cian, you don’t know what pleasers are. There’s the number one, uh, stripper shoe brand. They pretty much have a monopoly, um, on stripper shoes. Uh, about 95% of the time when you. See a stripper wearing shoes, they’re most likely pleaser brand. Uh
Izzie: mm-hmm. Yeah. So comfortable.
AM: Yeah, exactly.
Izzie: You gotta be in those shits all day. Yeah. [00:15:00] So, and the cool thing about them too is even though the platform height changes, the arch height stays the same.
AM: Yeah, totally.
Izzie: So the arch height is like four inches. So I told her we got all this information. She was able to have this foot manufactured, um, that it’s, how do you say it?
It’s like static, it’s like stuck uhhuh at the four inch arch, you know, it’s like, so it’s like
AM: a permanent Barbie foot basically.
Izzie: Yeah. Permanent barbie foot like that.
AM: Mm-hmm.
Izzie: But at least, you know, I have the options now of wearing any shoe that is, that fits the same height, which is pleasers or, I mean, I’m trying to find other stuff right now, but, um.
So that was really fun and, and, um, I mean, I just, I remember the look on everyone in the office face when I put it on and put on the six inch heels and like started walking. Everyone was just like, like, they had never seen [00:16:00] anything like it, you know?
AM: Yes. I loved it. So
Izzie: good. Um, but you know, you, you’re, you’re gonna have a lot more options now and I’m super excited for you.
AM: Yeah. Thank you. And one of the things that, you know, I just like to mention about your prosthetics doctor, and it was a, like a really driving force in, in my decision making is that like he asked me, and I know that he’s done the same with you, is like, what is your purpose? What, what is it that you want your life to be?
And you have, you know, you have to make a choice around the functionality that you aim to have in your lifestyle, and so that was most likely, yeah. I’m assuming a conversation that you all had. It was like, I need this shoe because I need this lifestyle.
Izzie: Yeah. Yeah. And shout out of Artan. He is amazing. And it’s always from the minute, the minute I saw him, I was unable to walk [00:17:00] again.
My leg, I started having problems again. And he, you know, it’s that bond and that, you know, having that connection and being that like open with your. Person that’s making something that’s so special and intimate for you, you know, is really important. Someone, they, you know, you wanna feel like you’re being cared for in a, in a certain way.
So that’s like super important.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. It just made me think about, ’cause I was talk, I used in, in my example in the beginning of like how my, my sister and brother-in-law are, are like how they’re dealing. Deal handling things around having a baby. And it, it reminds me that like, similarly, like you wanna have a connection to your doctor, you wanna have like these conversations and these intimate details and like, you know, it’s just, at the end of the day, it’s like huge decisions about your body.
And um, I guess like for me, before all of this, I never even [00:18:00] considered. Like having to make that kind of huge decision and like being confronted with that, just like really put things into perspective Also like. I’ve been going like this, like, oh, what did you think? That you were just going to skate through life Perfect.
Your whole life. Yeah. No else ever. No, ever. I’m just over here fucking cruising, man. 20 years, like yeah, fucking right. You know? Yeah.
Izzie: I mean, it’s, it’s a part of it. It’s a part of this journey.
AM: Totally. And something I find really interesting that you said is like. You know, they had never seen an amputee like put on an eight inch heel.
But my, my friend was just talking to me about a video she saw of an amputee. Surfer, and we see them all the time. Like the surfers, the hikers.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: The, um,
Izzie: snowboarders.
AM: Snowboarders. Yeah. But like then you don’t ever consider, like, we have a very, [00:19:00] very active lifestyle. So what happens when we get amputated?
Izzie: Yeah. I mean, the thing is, is like we’re now setting those examples.
AM: Yeah,
Izzie: we are doing that now. Just because we didn’t have that really before whatever. Like now. Now it’s our turn, I think.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. I think so too. And I’ve seen other pole dancers that are amputees, but they’re not
Izzie: definitely,
AM: but they’re not stripping.
Izzie: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
AM: Yeah. So the shoes aren’t as important, but like, you know. I can’t live a life without wearing the heels I want.
Izzie: Yeah.
AM: And I, and
Izzie: you shouldn’t. Yeah.
AM: Yeah. And you feel the same. Yeah.
Izzie: Yeah. Yeah. And, and that’s, I mean, people like say to me a lot like, I don’t know, stuff like, oh, like I can’t believe like you’re doing, you’re dancing again.
Or like, how incredible a human back to this. And I, I’m [00:20:00] genuinely very lucky that. I, I’m, I am well enough to be able to do it, so, you know, but also, like, I could not, I just like think when they say that kind of stuff to me, like, like, I couldn’t not. I live my life and be happy and be a dancer and like do that, you know,
AM: yo, it just kind of dawned on me something.
I wonder if it’s because the, it’s just such like common general thinking that we want to find an out. From this job, you know? Whereas like if let’s say we were snowboarders, it would be like, well, of course they’re going back to snowboarding. But strippers we’re like, well, of course I’m going back to stripping.
And they’re like, oh,
Izzie: whoa.
Like,
AM: not understanding that we love what we do just as much as someone who snowboards
Izzie: right
AM: clothing.
Izzie: But I mean, uh, [00:21:00] that’s the, the issue like. I’ve run into my whole life. Even when I wanted to start dancing in the first place, I had a therapist and I liked her for the most part, but when I told her, you know, I’m like thinking about becoming a stripper, da da da, she, it was just like she turned and it was just like, oh, it’s horrible.
You’re gonna get raped. Like you’re gonna like dah, dah, dah, dah, and all this stuff. And I was like, whoa. And then I. Still did it because all also I’m like, fuck you. And then I did. I’m like, I’m gonna do it harder now.
AM: You gotta strip even harder now.
Izzie: So I went and did it and it was like for the first time I was working with like a group of like women of all shapes, sizes, colors, like together, like we owned this shit.
It was a woman runs like a female owned strip club. Like it was like for the first time, like I had never. In my years of modeling or serving, or like a hostessing, I had [00:22:00] never had that kind of a female community, you know? And like of course there’s ups and downs, like there is with everything. But for the most part I’ve had a, a pleasant experience with what I do.
AM: Yeah. And you were dancing up north, right? Can, can you share more specifically? Because that’s really a unique situation that it was all female run.
Izzie: Well, yeah, it was, when it first started out, it was, um, owned by a, a woman who used to be a dancer, um, in the, in the Seattle area. And then she was smart with her money and bought this property outright.
So she had, um, it was like one building, but in, um, Washington, you can have alcohol. You can’t have alcohol and nudity so. They don’t even do like how they do it out here. They just do no booze and full nudity on one side. And then the, the cool thing about this building though is the other side was a bar and um, food.
So [00:23:00] you could like go drink and then you just have to like go outside and go to the club.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Um, but yeah, that was from when I was like 18. I was like 20. And its full nudity there. Completely different scene than here. Um,
AM: right.
Izzie: So it’s full nudity, which I don’t know, I think because it’s, you know, it’s not like you’re Portland or you’re LA where like there’s, we’re drinking we’re, it’s a party, like girls are coming in, guys are coming in, that kind of thing.
It’s like more, um, it seems to be a little bit, uh, oh, I was just gonna die. Hopefully it stays, seems to be a little bit more people coming in to solicit sex a lot of times. Okay. If that,
AM: where you were
Izzie: at? Um, just everywhere in, everywhere in Washington.
AM: Okay.
Izzie: Everywhere. Yeah. Got it. Doesn’t matter if you’re in Tacoma or Everett or like, whatever.
AM: Okay.
Izzie: Um, [00:24:00] which, you know, the only thing that’s concerning in that case really is just safety and whatnot. Um, but, uh, so it’s very d. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s because of also Seattle’s super depressing and, but there’s, I feel like, you know, we were just ended up starting to deal with like, a lot of drug problems with girls and
AM: yeah,
Izzie: it’s hard because it’s a safe place for people to come to, you know?
Um, I actually started managing the place for a little while and so I have like different, you know, views and sides of everything. Um, yeah. But I was super lucky when I started out to be with like a really fun group of women and we were really close, um, and all worked together and stuff like that.
AM: Yeah, yeah.
But I, I, yeah. You’ve told me a little bit some stories about. How it [00:25:00] got pretty, it can get pretty intense up there with, um, the drug abuse and, and the sex work. And do you think that has something to do with like the area itself or the state itself and like the overall vibe there?
Izzie: Well, yeah, that’s what I was thinking.
Like Seattle’s just so depressing. Yeah. Like, you know, I mean it was like rainy and dark and most of the time and stuff, so I mean, it’s the highest suicide capital. It’s,
AM: yeah.
Izzie: Super common for people to have drug and alcohol problems
AM: there, you know. Did you, did you hear of things like similarly happening in other clubs in the area or in the state?
Mm-hmm. Or, yeah.
Izzie: Yeah, because we have so many, I mean, we would, we would have like, you know, 400 dancers contracted. Like
AM: at this one place?
Izzie: Yeah, like a, like a ton of girls. I mean, we wouldn’t have 400 in the building at one time, but we of course [00:26:00] we could have like 130 or something like that. That’s a lot.
Yeah. Like a lot, you know? Yeah. Um, and then so you hear, and you know, it was like really in close competition there with the other clubs and when I was managing, I really found out a lot more about that. Um. And so, you know, you and, and as a dancer, I would go to different clubs sometimes and you would see the same thing.
And there was not at, not at the club I worked at obviously, but um, like really like abuse of power when you think of the dirty, uh, owner that like makes you suck his dick. Like
AM: that was happening.
Izzie: That was happening, like that kind of thing. So that, that was a constant scare for me. I mean, we constantly had like.
In the parking lot and like all, we are always having to like be very, we like
AM: yeah.
Izzie: Always have to be very [00:27:00] aware of everything.
AM: Yeah. I’m okay. So I’m really glad that this came up because actually this ties into another topic that I wanted to talk to you about, but like, so have, I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie Bombshell or Not yet.
Izzie: Oh. Um, with Char Therein.
AM: Yeah, I think
Izzie: I saw that one.
AM: Yeah, well, you know, they were also in a similar situation where they were being exploited and there was an abuse of power and they were being, you know, like intimidated and forced into like sucking the boss’s dick also. Mm-hmm. You know, and the reason why I’m bringing that up is because it is kind of a, a running stigma and like generalization put on us as sex workers and strippers especially.
Um. Or actually sex workers in general, um, that, you know, that yeah, there’s like that slimy boss’s like, will suck my dick. Like that’s even like something that the boss on, um, Showgirls does at one point. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then, you know what’s really funny about that character is towards the end, they turn him into like this really lik likable [00:28:00] character at the end.
Yeah, like totally like trying to gloss over the fact that he was like, definitely
Izzie: ma.
AM: Yeah, definitely like making his dancers suck his dick and then at the end it’s like, isn’t he so nice? And we love him now. You know, it’s like, okay. Um. But I, I say that to say that, um, you know, we are as women and workers oftentimes treated similarly, um, either in an office or like a huge media corporation setting or in like a strip club in Washington State, you know, and, um, and then, yeah, we were talking the other day yesterday about how you had been treated.
One day as a street sex worker and treated very poorly, a definite way not to treat a street sex worker. But can you tell the story because, and then I’ll like kind of tie in [00:29:00] later the whole point of this, and actually I’ll say now the point I’m trying to make is that when you treat sex workers like shit, it all trickles down into everyday women.
Izzie: Right? Yes.
AM: Yeah. So tell the story of what happened to you.
Izzie: Okay. So when I first moved to Los Angeles, I lived in, um, like a art kind of, uh, warehouse on Skid Row. And if you don’t know about Skid Row, it’s a very, uh, heavily populated, I think like almost the most in the United States. Actually, Seattle’s pretty bad too.
Um, but. Of homeless people and a lot of them, a lot of the times that comes with mental illness, drug addiction, all of that. Um, so I lived right on seventh and town, which is right in the middle of it. And, uh, one night I had just, I, I was on easing my prosthetics. I was able to walk and I had just gone to McDonald’s and got like a [00:30:00] big Sprite and like some fries or something, and I parked my car and as I get out of the car.
This car comes up and the honks at me and I know the drill. Like I get, like you’re always getting honked at when you’re down there. It’s like pretty normal. So I just like, I always just like, don’t even like look at them. Don’t make eye contact, don’t make anything seem like, and this is my head like, like I want anything to do with them, you know?
Yeah. Just like completely. They could not even be on this planet earth right now. I don’t even know, you know?
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Start, like walking, go to hit like the cross, the street button pulls up closer to me, honks again. I was like, Ugh. I was like, you know, those days you’re just really not in the fucking mood.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: That was the day.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: The wrong day.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: And so I was just like, Ugh. So I like, like just Jay walked and ran across the street. And because I had just hit the cross the [00:31:00] street button, the light changed. So the guy that was honking at me pulls up alongside of me honks. Again, to this point, I’m just out of my mind.
So like, like, are you insane? I, you’ve honked at me so many times. I literally haven’t even looked you in your direction. Like,
AM: yeah,
Izzie: I was just not feeling it. So right. He pulls up alongside me, rolls the window down, and is like, Hey, sexy. And I had like a massive Sprite. Didn’t even take one sip out of it and just chucked it, and it just went poof and just landed all over his like dashboard.
He had like some electronics, like everything like him, everything was soaked. It was like, I was like the most amazing shot I’ve ever thrown. I couldn’t
AM: believe it.
Izzie: And so like walking away like this, this, that. And he, he like [00:32:00] parks the car and gets out and is like raging. And he was like, what the fuck, bitch?
I’m undercover lap D. And I was just like, the fuck you are? Yeah. I was like, what the hell are you doing? Honking at me? And he is like, it’s my job. And I was like, the fuck, it’s your job following women around. That’s your fucking job. I was like, I was like, oh, I was so pissed. And he’s like, you need to come and fucking clean this up.
And I was like. I was like, you’re, you think I’m gonna get into your car?
AM: No sir.
Izzie: No, you psycho. And so I was just like, Uhuh and started like walking fast and like getting my keys out. And then he got super mad to the point where he was screaming, I’m gonna beat the shit outta you. I’m gonna beat the fucking shit outta you, running after me.
And I’m like running and like unlocking my door. And he. I was so, I was like, literally ter, I mean, I’ve never been so scared.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Never been so scared. Um,
AM: [00:33:00] yeah,
Izzie: because he was like a big fucking dude and I couldn’t tell, like he did have like a, I couldn’t tell if he had a badge or like what was going on.
Like, there was definitely something going on. I dunno if he was like impersonating an officer or if he really was undercover or like, what? But like, it was so insane. I called, I tried to call 9 1 1. Um. For like the next three hours. They never answered.
AM: Right.
Izzie: It was like so, so, so out control.
AM: Ah, I’m so sorry that happened to you.
Um, as a woman, I do know what it’s like to also be mistaken for. A worker. Worker mm-hmm. When I’m not working, um, I’m just outside being a person. Mm-hmm. Um, and sometimes it’s disrespectful and sometimes it’s curiosity, um, on their part ’cause they’re just trying to [00:34:00] figure out, um, and, but when it’s disrespectful and scary like that,
Izzie: yeah.
It’s,
AM: he obviously thought you were working.
Izzie: Yeah.
AM: Um, and you weren’t. And so that’s why I was saying first of all, even if you were working, that is the absolute ter. It’s terrible. You had
Izzie: a good way to go about it.
AM: It’s terrible. And my point in you and like sharing this story, is that because it’s okay to treat sex workers horribly, a lot of men.
Can’t discern or distinguish what everyone’s boundaries are and therefore their poor behavior gets dumped out onto any woman. And because they’re, because society has this message of like, oh, dead hooker in the trunk of your car. Or, [00:35:00] I don’t wanna ever want my child, I failed at life if my child is a stripper.
Like sex workers are garbage, basically, but sex workers, majority women. And so then they’re just mistake because it’s okay for them to treat sex workers poorly. Then they mistake a woman who’s not a sex worker and then they also feel. The ramifications of that.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: And how do we fix that?
Izzie: Yeah. I mean, I mean, even, even, yeah.
Like you’re saying, even if I was a woman down on Skid Row working, like
AM: that’s not how you treat them.
Izzie: No. Like there’s still people with, with feelings and
AM: Right.
Izzie: You know, things going on. But again, like. Women are such objects all the time.
AM: Exactly, yes.
Izzie: So like, yeah, I mean, sure you can talk to either be like, do whatever, you know, like to something, to an object and you can throw a pillow over there [00:36:00] like
AM: right.
Izzie: Women can be pretty like disposable I think.
AM: Right? And, but I had this epiphany the other day. I think that women are disposable because it starts with like this classification issue that we have as a society, and it just trickles into every walk of life at that point, if you can. Right. Choose a marginalized group of people and fuck with them and shit on them, then that there’s so much gray area and it just starts to expand through throughout humanity.
Izzie: Right.
AM: So it’s like a larger human issue that I see.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: Personally,
Izzie: no, a hundred percent. A hundred percent.
AM: Yeah. Um, do you have any, because I have ideas of how I think it could. Do you have any idea
Izzie: please? No, you, you go first.
AM: Okay. Um, I think it starts with educating children. Um, sooner about not just how to have sex, [00:37:00] like the actual anatomy of it, but, um, like consent and how to communicate around sex.
Mm-hmm. Um, like I had, I was texting with this dude that I met on Hinge for a day, and he is like, I just had to have the birds and the bees talk with my daughter. And it was like the emoji with the monkey covering his eyes. And I’m like, why does it have
Izzie: to
AM: be like that?
Izzie: Because, well, I feel like when dads have it too, it’s always like, um, it’s always like, uh, uh, I, I don’t want, you know, my little girl.
Like, you know, like all like that. Like, no man, come near me. I’ll get my gun. Something. Yeah. When I mean, and that, like we, we were also talking about this yesterday with like how we don’t really learn consent in school. Like, it’s like, yeah, we learn anatomy, but I mean, I didn’t grow up with that and you know, I’m sure it would’ve really helped [00:38:00] Yeah.
To be like, to really be, um, explained. You know how to have sex and be intimate in a healthy way.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that introducing people who really need. Help to, like these types of conversations will also help improve. I mean, I just had, um, a friend of mine that, you know, we’re Instagram friends and I’ve never met him in person and
Izzie: mm-hmm.
AM: Um, he’s a very, very respectful person. I keep in contact with a few respectful cis men that I meet on Instagram. Mm-hmm. And um, and he was like, I listened to all of your podcasts and I’d realized. Some pretty terrible things that I’ve done and said in regards to women in the past.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: And so he’s like hearing these conversations and he’s like, oh, I’m guilty of that.
Yeah. And he’s like finding ways now to like, it’s like opening his eyes, you know? [00:39:00]
Izzie: Oh, I mean, that’s amazing. That’s what you would hope for, right?
AM: Yeah. Like
Izzie: even just one person or whatever. Anyone to take a second and self-reflect, I mean. We’ve all made mistakes and, and we can always learn. So that’s good that, that he is taking the time to actually do that himself, you know?
AM: Yeah. And I think that we all make mistakes and like do these horrible things because we’re like trained from childhood
Izzie: conditioned. Yeah.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Mm-hmm. A hundred percent
AM: or not trained.
Izzie: Right.
AM: It just, and I just don’t understand this lack of conversation around sex. The one and only reason we exist
Izzie: here Yeah.
AM: Is through sex. But we can’t talk about it. We can’t enjoy it. We can’t pay for it, and we can’t get paid for it without just a rain [00:40:00] of hell fire coming down on us. Day, oh
Izzie: my God.
AM: Day.
Izzie: If you want to see, see something interesting, you should follow. Um, if you have Facebook, uh, Christians Against Science.
AM: What?
Okay.
Izzie: It’s so wild. But
AM: it sounds like it’ll be funny.
Izzie: It’s, I mean, I think people, some people are there for the satire, but like the people that run the page are very serious about it, like so serious about it. And it’s some crazy stuff. Like, I’ve never even heard of like. I was just like losing my mind on it the other day.
Like, I mean there was a lot of like, oh, like a women’s place is like sex is only to recreate God’s children and it’s not for pleasure. Like, not even for the man. They were saying it like,
AM: interesting.
Izzie: But is it on
AM: Instagram?
Izzie: No, it’s on, uh, Facebook. It’s a Facebook group.
AM: Oh, it’s a Facebook group. Is it private?
Izzie: Yeah. Yeah. But you just, if you request, [00:41:00] it’ll accept you.
AM: Okay.
Izzie: I didn’t, I’m gonna, it’s so entertaining.
AM: Remind us all of the name of it again so we can,
Izzie: yeah, it kind of makes me feel tongue tied. Um, Christians against. Science.
AM: Got it. I can’t wait
Izzie: to got a list.
AM: I’m, I’m hell looking this up. I can’t
Izzie: wait.
It’s, I was just like, screenshotting it and then you read the comments and then you just like, keep going. And what’s amazing is like the majority of these people that believe this, like really, I mean like this, this like really extremely religious stuff.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Are none of them can spell. I’m noticing, um, like.
I, I feel like it’s a very uneducated group of people, you know?
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: Which is kind of scary and sad at the same time, in my opinion.
AM: Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. I’m gonna take a look. I’m really curious about it. Thank you for [00:42:00] pointing that out.
Izzie: Yeah, but there’s a lot about like, I mean, it just seems like so crazy unhealthy views about sex.
I
can’t
AM: wait to see it. Yeah. ’cause I like to see, I like to know what’s going on on the other side. I wanna understand that.
Izzie: Right.
AM: I went down a rabbit hole within cells once. I was like, what’s up with incel? Like why are they, I dunno what incel are. It’s uh, it’s involuntary celibates, which means that they wanna have sex with women, but they’re, but women will not have sex with them.
And so therefore it’s involuntary on their part. And, um, they’re typically, uh, white males, um, that still live at home, um, are, can be like. Just not very good looking, which isn’t necessarily a requirement for me, but I think there’s all these other factors for them. Um,
Izzie: right.
AM: Yeah. And so I looked into it like, I’m not saying this based on having no [00:43:00] knowledge.
Like I, I went into the group, right. I read their grievances, you know, and I read about their hatred towards women, and I just, I actually have,
that’s
Izzie: a good way to get laid.
AM: Yeah, but I also have compassion for them because I do believe that they are a product of, you know, commercialism and, um, pressures from society to be a certain way and to expect their lives to be a certain way based on what they see on television.
Just like we are expected to be a certain way, um, due to commercialism, like maybe it’s Maybelline or like covergirl, this and like lose weight here that, you know. And so similarly, like we have to look at the opposite end of the. Spectrum, what’s happening to the men who aren’t fitting into the idea of what’s being shoved in our faces on a regular basis?
Izzie: Yeah, that’s a good point.
AM: Yeah. So I wanted to understand them and so I’m gonna look up this Christian group because I wanna understand where they’re coming from.
Izzie: Yeah.
AM: Yeah. Yeah,
Izzie: it’s a curious, I mean, something I don’t, [00:44:00] I don’t know anything about, you know?
AM: Yeah. Let’s go down a rabbit hole.
Izzie: Yeah.
AM: A non-science Christian rabbit hole.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: Sounds like a new favorite. Yeah.
Ad: Wanna be fabulous. Just like these strippers. Pay attention. It’s stripper tips.
Izzie: Don’t send pic.
Screenshot that you sent money to Cash App, Venmo, and then we’ll answer you
AM: then send the
pic three. Simple.
Izzie: Just as easy as that. People just as easy as that. Um, can I say one more tip though?
AM: Yes. Yeah.
Izzie: Okay.
AM: I
Izzie: love, this is gonna be two tips. Uh. I, I would think, like, so I had an experience when I was dancing. Um, [00:45:00] I was, I was like, I was like pretty new, but not that new into dancing. And this customer was like, oh, you know, if you, if you like sat on guy’s lap and called them baby and like talk like this and you know, talk like dah, dah, dah, then you would like make a lot more money.
And I was just like, I had, I remember like having like. Just like thought in my head, first of all, like, that’s very mansplaining, don’t you think?
AM: Yeah, totally.
Izzie: Be like, this is how I should do my job.
AM: Yeah, yeah, totally.
Izzie: I’m doing my job wrong. Um, but like, fuck that, like that’s not me. And I, I understand fully that I have a persona when I am in my work mode, which I do when I’m on stage, when I’m on tour, when I’m.
You know, like, yeah. When I’m performing, I, I have a different, I have a little bit different, but it’s still me, you know? And I think that [00:46:00] that’s like a tip, or I would give, especially to like new dancers is like, just don’t even, like, also men will come in and say crazy things to you like that, but you should not be basing.
Anything off of like anything but yourself and who you want to be. You know?
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: If, if sitting on your, sitting on people’s and calling them babies is your thing, that’s, that’s your thing. That was just not. You know, something that resonated with me, um, and what I was putting out there, and I, I, I have felt pressure, especially from like male customers in the past to like, be a certain way or like do more or, you know, all kinds of stuff.
AM: Lose weight, gain weight, grow your hair, wear more makeup, get a boob
Izzie: job, do that. Yeah. Everything,
AM: every boob. Then don’t get your boobs then. Yeah.
Izzie: Mm-hmm.
AM: Yeah. Do you basically, yeah. I love it. Yeah.
Ad: Get ready for our rapid fire question round. It’s time for four [00:47:00] for one.
AM: Here we go. First question, what’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten from a client?
Izzie: Money.
AM: I wasn’t expecting that.
Izzie: More money. Lots of money.
AM: Money, okay. This one’s pretty, you really have to listen to this one. Okay?
Izzie: Okay.
AM: Have you ever had sex at a party and then soon after, reached into the freezer to grab ice and realized that you hadn’t washed your hands yet?
Izzie: I don’t, I don’t think so, but,
but I don’t know. But
AM: maybe,
Izzie: but maybe, but maybe wouldn’t put it past me.
AM: I love that you, you really had to think about it. That made me happy. Yeah. That you thought, oh, what sister? If you could pick two celebrities to watch make, [00:48:00] who would it be?
Izzie: Um. Tom Hardy and Oh yeah. Killian Murphy or Celine Murphy or whatever his name is.
The one. The one, both of their characters. And um, that show, they did the gangster show.
AM: Did you just make two hot dudes? Straight hot dudes make out.
Izzie: Yeah, it’s
AM: like, it’s like a dream of mine. I don’t, I’ve been saying lately that I’m pretty sure I’m a gay man stuck in a straight woman’s body or a bisexual woman’s body.
Izzie: I think, but also I think a lot of us women are actually like really into that. At least most of the girls
AM: are into straight guys now. I’m, it’s like one of my, no,
Izzie: or even gay too.
AM: It’s one of my common fantasies actually. It’s really, you guys don’t even wanna, I got a couple friends out there that I’ve already heard you guys up in my head, like fins.
Oh my God. [00:49:00] Yeah. Alright, last question. You got a period stain on a customer’s pants. What do you do?
Izzie: I’d be like, I would be like $500 for you.
AM: My blood is expensive.
Izzie: It’s, that’s a, that’s a fucking, that is a very intimate piece of me. You should be so blessed. Yeah, you were blessed by God today.
AM: Oh, that couldn’t have been a better answer to that. Thank you. That was amazing. Um, Izzy, can you please tell everyone where we can find you and follow you and learn more about you?
Izzie: Oh yeah. Um, I’m on Instagram, Izzy Pop Izzi, I-E-P-O-P. Uh, I have a OnlyFans if anyone’s into that. Louisie Louie, LEW, ie. LEW, ie. I go by Louie a lot of times when I’m dancing. Okay. [00:50:00] Um, yeah, that’s probably the easiest ways to find me.
AM: Okay. Word up. I’m so glad that we decided to do this.
Izzie: Me too. Thank you for having me.
AM: Yeah.
Izzie: It’s so exciting.
AM: Yeah, it is. And I can’t wait to see you again in person in the very near future.
Izzie: Yeah. Let’s do nails soon.
AM: Yes. Nail date. Yeah,
Izzie: nail date.
AM: I definitely need them. You can tell. Yeah. Well, that’s pretty much it for today’s episode. You guys, as usual, we launch these shows every Wednesday on Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere that you can listen to podcasts.
So make sure you tune in next week with a new guest. Thanks. Bye bye.