THE PROFESSION may often be perceived as being one for people without better career prospects, but academic research has shown that a significant number of British lap dancers are far more than a pretty face.

Researchers from the University of Leeds have shown that at least one in four women working as lap dancers or strippers in Britain holds at least a university Bachelor’s degree.

Not only that, but a clear majority of those working as dancers thoroughly enjoy their work – not least because they can earn up to £48,000 (€58,300) a year – with many reporting to have chosen the work because it was amenable to their regular working hours.

Women aspiring to become actresses, models and artists “use exotic dancing as a career strategy which fitted alongside their other work, training or studies”, according to the British Independent newspaper.

Unemployed newlygrads had also entered the career because they couldn’t find full-time jobs, and because dancing was a more lucrative sideline than alternatives like bar work.

Dr Teela Sanders, who led the research, said that young dancers “do not buy the line that they are being exploited, because they are the ones making the money out of a three-minute dance and a bit of a chat.”

Sanders admitted she was surprised at what she termed an “endless supply of women” apparently queueing up to join the profession.

“These women are incredibly body confident. I think there is something of a generational cultural difference,” she said.