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Striptease is an art, Norwegian appeal court rules
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Striptease, the tantalising dance pioneered by
Salome in the Old Testament, is an art form that
ranks with opera and ballet, according to a
Norwegian court. As a result, strip clubs will be
freed from paying the country’s hefty 25 per cent
VAT.
The ruling has been a triumph for the young women of
the Diamond GoGo Bar in Oslo who had complained that
they were being disadvantaged compared to tax-free
sword swallowers and stand-up comics.
The last straw came when they heard that tickets for
the Chippendales, a male strip act, were exempt from
Value Added Tax because of their artistic merit. The
Norwegian Council for the Equality of the Sexes took
up the strippers’ cause.
"I believe that stripping clearly is an art," said
Julianna Skartland, a stripper who appeared as an
expert witness during the hearings. "We strippers
work hard and many have a solid background as
dancers and have to succeed in auditions in order to
be hired." |
A stripteaser performing at a club. A Norwegian appela court has ruled that striptease was an art and should therefore be exempt from VAT. |
The case has been
bouncing back and forth between the courts after a
district court ruled in favour of the strip club in
May 2005. The state of Norway appealed to the High
Court - and this week lost again.
"Striptease, in the way it is practised in this
case, is a form of dance combined with acting," said
the judges who ruled on the matter, thereby
comparing the act to other stage performances which
are exempt from VAT.
The Norwegian state is considering whether to take
the matter to the Supreme Court.
It was not clear whether the three judges had
conducted field research before reaching their
verdict. Certainly they made a clear distinction
between "banal and vulgar" striptease - in which
there is physical contact between dancers and the
audience - and artistic dance.
"It can hardly be questioned that striptease is
entertainment," said the High Court verdict. "Most
people would characterise striptease as an artistic
activity."
The question of the artistic value of striptease has
been raging since the late 19th century. The first
professional stripper was a Parisian, Yvette, who in
1894 stood on a music hall stage and pretended to
undress for bed. The artistic content came in the
act of undressing rather than in the nudity, which
was often brief and incomplete.
The American Burlesque theatres borrowed striptease
acts from the French. The most daring acts showed
Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils - complete with a
papier-mache version of John The Baptist’s head - as
if to underline that striptease had respectable
roots.
There has always been tension between strip clubs
and the law, with strippers constantly searching for
ways of outwitting eagle-eyed undercover policemen.
In 1923 New York ruled it illegal to reveal a breast
while in motion. This forced strip clubs to try out
various avoidance strategies.
The Oslo ruling could create a renaissance for
striptease in time for Norway’s long dark winter.
"This will mean a lot economically for all those
working in striptease," said Miss Skartland. "It
will be cheaper to visit strip shows and the
customers will pour in."
--Times Online
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