"Live Nude Girls Unite" Review

The documentary film “Live Nude Girls Unite” is about the struggle of “peep show” exotic dancers who try to unionize and obtain workers rights. The main concept pushed by the women in the film was that being a “stripper” was a personal choice and a valid occupation and should be provided the same rights and protections other workers in the labor industry, like say steel workers. I also felt like the film showed the women in more perspectives than just sex workers which had a humanizing effect. One major argument presented by the film was that the assumption that exotic dancers are exploited regardless, due to their occupation, is false. They argue that exotic dancers are exploited due to the oppressive and discriminatory practices used by clubs and owners to control workers. For example, calling in sick would result in them being fired, not given their prescheduled raise, or automatically reduced in wage. Essentially, the women felt that it was the practice of management to prevent them from reaching “top wage.” Women were classified and written into the schedule based on hair color, race and breast size, which they felt was discriminatory and illegal. They also claimed that some clubs classify sex workers as independent contractors to avoid paying wages and unemployment taxes, and constantly ratchet up “stage fees” which is essentially requiring dancers to pay to work. This pressures them to do illegal acts to make the same amount of money. These are the exploitations that the women seek protections from by unionizing. Another argument made in favor of sex work is that it supports families and puts people through college. But it really comes down to personal choice, and whether or not society should be allowed to dictate what people do with their body. I believe “Velvet” said it the best, “this is my body and these are my reproductive organs and I’m going to do with them as I please.” I find this to be the most convincing argument in the film. If an individual wishes to do sex work, and there are people who want the service, it’s really their choice, and they shouldn’t be allowed to be exploited more than anyone else. That being said, I would find it hard to condone a daughter of my own (hypothetically) stripping.  This is not based on the actual validity of sex work, but rather the reality of the stigmatization of sex work, that is I wouldn’t want my child to be stigmatized by society. But if my daughter, or son, made such a personal choice I would want them to be provided the same rights and protections all other workers are.

I would say that the least convincing argument, at the risk of sounding like a sexist pig, would be the complaint about women being scheduled based on breast size, hair color, skin color etc, basically what they look like. Jennifer Wesley states that “dancers must capitalize on the sexual objectification of their bodies. Consequently, money and body are linked in a transactional relationship.” Thus if you are a dancer and you are in effect selling your body (or viewing of it), or allowing another to sell the viewing of your body, it is not unreasonable that bodies that sell more would be scheduled more. In other words if customers are willing to pay more, or visit more often to view a particular breast size, hair color etc, It would follow that people bring more customers in are given more hours. If you were the owner of a stadium and one music act, Metallica, sells more tickets than another band, Tool, why would you book the band that sells less tickets? That really wouldn’t make much business sense. As the women in the film often point out that they are in the industry to make money doing what they see as a valid occupation, so are the club owners. The reality is that some types of music or products, or in this case the image of a nude body, are worth more than others. It could be argued that club owners are merely responding to the demands of the market. If you have a society that values white, blonde, large breasted women, over black, black haired, small breasted woman discrimination in the sex industry is hardly a surprise. What’s more important to point out are the social constructions of what we as society view as the ideal women or man. It is this narrow definition of what an ideal women should be that causes the discrimination. If everyone truly valued each other and all types of people as equal, this problem would not exist in the sex industry.

I would like to be clear, I am not saying that sex workers are objects that you can do with as you please. Using the music example, if someone buys an album, they purchasing the right to listen to the band, they are not purchasing the band, or permission to record the band and sell the recordings. Analogous, if someone pays for a lap dance etc, they are not purchasing the person, or permission to fondle or film the dancer. I think many people have difficulty, in the sex industry, separating the service provided from the one providing the service. Which is how many of the women in the film feel, what they do is just a job, a way to make money like anyone else. The societal construction of sex as a sacred act makes it difficult for many people to separate sex acts from individuals who perform them. This causes stigmatization of the industry which forces people into situations where they are solely seen as objects and not the nuanced people they really are. For example, Dr. DeMello notes that when sex workers are victimized the media focuses on the individual’s occupation as a sex worker, not as a mother, daughter or anything else.

DeMello, Margo. “Humanizing Sex Workers?” Sociological Images. The Society Pages. 12 Oct. 2011.Web. 08 Apr. 2012

Wesely, Jennifer. “Exotic Dancers: Where Am I Going to Stop?” Readings in Deviant Behavior. Ed. Alex Thio, Thomas Calhoun, Addrain Conyers. Boston, MA: Hanson 2010. 203-206. Print