“Live Nude Girls Unite!” is a documentary film directed by Vicky Funari and Julia Query (also a dancer) that chronicles the efforts of dancers at The Lusty Lady peep show in San Francisco to unionize and advocate for improved working conditions in their workplace and for workers in the sex industry more broadly (www.imdb.com). The overall theme of the film is the one we have covered in class as well and that is the dehumanization on sex workers. The workers in the film were often at risk of being fired without notice, had to pay extreme “stage fees” simply in order to work, and were even open to becoming victims of violence as one dancer recalled a shooting incident at The Lusty Lady.
The main arguments supporting the thesis of the film, is the deplorable working conditions many workers in the sex industry face. These conditions are experienced by underground sex workers such as prostitutes, as well as those working in the legal sex-industry such as exotic dancers and pornographic actors and actresses.
In this video, the dancers touch on the progression of the sexuality of their profession, which may at first seem like an illegitimate point, considering they work in the sex industry. However, when you hear the workers themselves talk about the pressures to be physical with customers, the line between exotic dancer and coerced prostitute becomes blurred. This is the heart of the issue for the workers in the film, because they work in the sex industry, their rights, views, and feelings are often overlooked in the name of maximizing profit for the owners of the Lusty Lady.
The thesis of “Live Nude Girls Unite!” relates to our course in a number of ways, chiefly, the way the dehumanization of sex workers leads to great obstacles in their struggle for rights, and more generally, how individuals classified as the “other” are often stigmatized to the point of violating basic human rights. In “Exotic Dancers: ‘Where Am I Going to Stop?’” Wesley describes the effects of the stripper stigma on young dancers in his study, stating, “…the initial experience of stripping for a living was extremely difficult for many of the women. Apparently, the stigma of being a stripper challenged their self-identity as a conventional person like everyone else” (204). This highlights the inherent guilt many dancers feel about their occupation, a guilt that is only worsened when basic human rights such as the right of workers to feel safe in their workplace is violated, which is very common thing in the sex industry. This phenomenon is illustrated on film when co-director and narrator Julia Query struggles to tell her mother (a sex worker activist) that her occupation is a dancer the Lusty Lady. The stigma created by society is so intense, that even amidst the backdrop of a powerful fight for the furthering of her own rights and the rights of her friends, Query cannot bring herself to tell her mother until the situation becomes unavoidable. Therefore, it stands to reason that the strength of the inherent stigma of sex work furthers the ability of abusers to violate the rights and bodies of workers in the sex industry.
In a broader sense, the thesis of the film also relates to our course because it depicts the broader dehumanization of those in the sex industry. Dehumanization takes many forms such as the working conditions at the Lusty Lady, to increased rates of violence towards sex workers, and government policies that negatively impact the lives of the individuals in the sex industry. In “Humanizing SexWorkers?” Margo DeMello talks about an ad campaign aimed at humanizing workers in the sex industry for the purposes of bringing to light an often shunned occupation. DeMello argues that despite extremely high chances of victimization, many people are unable to see past the master status of “sex worker” and therefore steps that could aid victims of the sex industry are ignored (“Humanizing Sex Workers?”). DeMello’s last line of the blog post states, “Let’s hope that Stepping Stone’s campaign does some good, making us think about sex workers as people, rather than punch lines and faceless victims” (DeMello). This resonates because as is illustrated in “Live Nude Girls Unite!” as well as in our course lectures, the dehumanization of any group sets a dangerous precedent in society.
I found many arguments of the film convincing, and when presented with a list of rights abuses faced by the dancer’s it is hard to argue against the unionization of exotic dancers. Of the most disturbing issues faced by the dancers in the film the one’s that stand out to me are the following:
· Stage fees (paying the owner for time on stage) – these can be up to 200$ per night
· The racial hierarchy experienced by dancers, where African American dancers are seen as less marketable to management.
· The pressure to have sexual contact with customers bridging dancing and prostitution
· Lack of general benefits such as sick leave, and vacation.
· The threats of violence such as stalking, rape, or murder.
· The threat of non-consensual video-taping and the resulting embarrassment or exposure.
· The basic dehumanization of being paid to be sexually objectified.
One point I found difficult to rationalize is the feminist component of the film; there is something inherently contradictory between making money as a sexually objectified woman, and being a feminist. However, I acknowledge the power over one’s own sexuality is a prominent tenant of feminism, and as a man, I question this from a perspective of male privilege.
Overall, I enjoyed “Live Nude Girls Unite!” as it provided the depth and seriousness needed to tackle a topic as rich as the marginalization of sex workers. The film itself portrayed many women that do not meet the traditional definitions of “beauty” in American society and illustrated their personas of strength and sexuality. Additionally, the film touched on a topic that is bigger than the Lusty Lady, and that is the dehumanization of workers in the sex-industry, the true size of which is most likely impossible to determine. For further research, I would propose to follow up on DeMello’s glimpse into the ad campaign aimed at humanizing sex workers. I would propose to examine attitudes of a stratified random sample of individuals within the communities the ads have been implemented in order to see if the ad campaign has been successful in altering the attitudes that individuals have towards sex workers. I share DeMello’s hope that further humanization and legitimization of sex work and sex workers will lead to greater health care for prostitutes, and improved working conditions for sex workers more broadly. Hopefully, as the ad campaign aims to do, society will learn to see these individuals as mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, and friends.
- Steve
Works Cited
DeMello, Margo. "Humanizing Sex Workers?". thesocietypages.org. October 12, 2011.
Funari, Vicki and Query, Julia. "Live Nude Girls Unite!" Film. 2000.
Wesley, Jennifer. "Exotic Dancers: 'Where Am I Going to Stop?'. Readings in Deviant Behavior.
Pearson Education Inc. 2010.
Videos taken from www.youtube.com
Images taken from: www.imdb.com and thesocietypages.org
God blessa youse -Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL
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