1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,399 Speaker 2: your weekly reminder that there's a podcast and it's called 4 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 2: Cool People Who Didical Stuff and you listen to it. 5 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 2: I am your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and with me today 6 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 2: is my guest Rachel Angelie. Hi. 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 3: Hello, I'm happy to be back. 8 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 2: Yay on this totally now, I've got to stop pretending 9 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 2: like it's a different day. 10 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 3: All right, I'm totally glad to still be here. 11 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've learned this really important trick where I eat 12 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: before recording now instead of slowly running out of energy 13 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 2: as the recording goes on. Also on the call is 14 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 2: Sophie ray Lichtmann. Hi, Hi, what kind of tree do 15 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 2: you hope that gets named after you? Because we have 16 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: the plaque already. 17 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: Oh god, that's a really hard question. Something that bears fruit. 18 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 3: It's a good answer. 19 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: I mean, I kind of have always wanted to be 20 00:00:58,920 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: a lemon tree. 21 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 2: You'd be a good lemon tree, you could see that, or. 22 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: Like a guava tree or a mandarin trees. 23 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 4: I think I'm going citrus. 24 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 2: Okay, have you seen those the citrus, the oranges that 25 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 2: have like huge thorns? 26 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 3: Yeah? 27 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 2: I like those. 28 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think maybe I've seen those. 29 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:21,759 Speaker 4: I also love a kara kara orange. 30 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know those. 31 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: It's like if an orange was even juicier bread maybe 32 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: a little a little bit darker. Yeah, okay, I'm not 33 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: a grapefruit. I don't love grapefruit. 34 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 2: I like grapefruit. I like you have the little ritual 35 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 2: like I don't like grapefruit. When you're just eating a grapefruit, 36 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 2: I like to like cut it in half. 37 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: I don't dislike grapefruit, but I like you have to 38 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: commit to the grapefruit flavor. 39 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 3: It's like that, I make a grapefruit smoothie with grapefruit 40 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 3: and friz and pineapple and ginger, and it's very delicious. 41 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 4: Okay, I'm gonna try that. That sounds amazing. 42 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 2: Okay, the other really port in question. Have y'all seen 43 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 2: the new Star Trek negative Fine, y'all don't have to 44 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 2: watch it. I started Okay, here's my take that you 45 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 2: all don't care about. 46 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't care, but I want it. 47 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 3: Give us your nerd take. 48 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 2: Okay, So I started watching Star Trek Academy, and the 49 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 2: first two episodes so didn't work for me that I 50 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 2: was like pretty sad and then I made myself keep watching. 51 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 2: It's so good. I love Woke Trek. Woke Trek is amazing. 52 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 2: I wasn't convinced because it was doing Woke Trek in 53 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 2: a way that I didn't like because it was space 54 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 2: Hogwarts and I don't like anything Hogwarts in fool me once. 55 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 2: But it's really good and completely on Hogwarts. And I'm 56 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 2: so sorry to everyone that I doubted. That wouldn't have 57 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 2: known that I doubted you because I hadn't said it 58 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 2: to anyone, but now I've said it into a microphone. 59 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 2: So this is part two of a two parter in 60 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 2: which we are talking about the Lusty Lady and sex 61 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:03,399 Speaker 2: Work Organizing. And in part one we talked about everything 62 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 2: except the Lusty Lady, and so in part two we're 63 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 2: going to talk about the Lusty Lady. 64 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: Yay. 65 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 2: I don't even actually plan one episode context, one episode subject. 66 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,519 Speaker 2: I just write the entire script and then I find 67 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,839 Speaker 2: the halfway point and it's always this how your brain were? Yeah, 68 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 2: Oh totally, that's amazing. The building that eventually became The 69 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 2: Lusty Lady is ten thirty three Kearney Street, and it 70 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 2: was originally probably a swingers club and before that it 71 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 2: was the Barbary Coast, so who knows what was there, 72 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 2: but probably vice. Then in nineteen seventy six, the Lusty 73 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 2: Lady was opened as a porno theater, I actually think, 74 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 2: but I'm not harmed so certain, because it's by confusing 75 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 2: to look up two clubs that both have the same 76 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 2: name and two different cities. The owners that actually started 77 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 2: the Lusty Lady in Seattle first but that we're not 78 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 2: really going to come back to that, and so then 79 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 2: they went down and started the Lusty Lady in San 80 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 2: Francisco in the North Beach district that was full of 81 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 2: various sex shops and things. And in this Lusty Lady 82 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 2: you could watch sixteen millimeter films of people doing sex 83 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 2: stuff and you could watch in a private booth by yourself, 84 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 2: or you could bring a friend. Sixteen millimeters like the DIY, Well, 85 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 2: real super DIY would be eight millimeter film that's like 86 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 2: absolutely tiny, but sixteen millimeters, like what like student films 87 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 2: and independent films was often filmed with as compared to 88 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 2: like thirty five millimeters and larger, which would be Hollywood. 89 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 3: Got it. 90 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 2: Porn is as old as film. Well, it's actually way 91 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 2: older than film. But film porn is as old as film, 92 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 2: a fact that surprises nobody. There are fucking cave paintings 93 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 2: in France that show fertility rights, as anthropologists like to 94 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 2: call it. Hmmm, and I couldn't find the source for 95 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 2: it just now, but I remember reading about how there 96 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 2: were basically peep shows that would show pornographic kinetoscopes, like 97 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 2: before it was even projected f film, when it was 98 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 2: just like a series of moving images or series of 99 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 2: images showed to you very quickly. 100 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 4: That's so fucking cool. 101 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 2: I know. Actually the word peep show comes from before 102 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 2: it being like about sex. A peep show is like 103 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 2: you go and you pay, and you're like you look 104 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 2: into a little thing and you get to see a 105 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 2: picture of something. 106 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 5: And then they were like, what are the pictures boobies? 107 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 5: What if the pictures boobies? That is a great question, 108 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 5: I mean, what a great surprise. I wonder how that 109 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 5: transition was. Was it like, could be flowers, could be boobies, 110 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 5: and then suddenly it was all. 111 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 2: Booby Yeah, I just I don't know. Yeah, yeah that. 112 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 3: Would be fun if you know whatever age. 113 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 2: If you're an adult, yeah, yeah, exactly. And film is 114 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 2: depending on how you're defining it. It's from about eighteen 115 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 2: ninety five. So in eighteen ninety six there's multiple porns. 116 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,559 Speaker 2: There's The Bridegroom's Dilemma, which is considered the first porn, 117 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 2: and it only came after a year after the invention 118 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 2: of film itself, and we only have pieces of it, 119 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 2: and it might not have actually shown explicit stuff, but 120 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 2: I think we only have two minutes of it. I 121 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 2: suspect that they did, but I don't actually know. And 122 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 2: then also in eighteen ninety six, truly scandalous, an eighteen 123 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 2: second movie was released called The Kiss, and it showed 124 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 2: two people kissing, Oh my gosh, yas they kissed each other. No, 125 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 2: they were fully dressed, but they kissed each other on 126 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: the mouth. 127 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:23,440 Speaker 3: WHOA. 128 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 2: The Catholic Church kind of likes to get mad at stuff, 129 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 2: So the Catholic Church got mad about that one. There 130 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 2: are kind of snowflakes. I just gotta go ahead and say. 131 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 3: That I appreciate and understand, like the cave paintings existed. 132 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 3: But so much of the anti porn like rhetoric is 133 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 3: that porn teaches people to be violent, Like oh, okay, yeah, 134 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 3: there's a famous quote by an anti porn feminist from 135 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 3: the eighties that Robin Morgan said, porn is the theory, 136 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 3: rape is the practice. And so this notion that if 137 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 3: you ban porn then sexual violence would end or something. 138 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 3: But it's so interesting to hear this time that we 139 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 3: know was you know, an era where maybe slavery is 140 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 3: in mind. And I'm always like, do you think sexual violence? 141 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 3: And when people are like porn makes commodities out of 142 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 3: human beings, I'm like, do you know what else made? Like, 143 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 3: do you know what made commodities out of human beings? 144 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 3: So just this idea that porn is the cause of 145 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 3: people doing violence is just so ridiculous. So to think 146 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 3: about what was this eighteen second video of a kiss 147 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 3: teaching people? Yeah, terrible things. 148 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: And it's just so funny because like porn, especially in 149 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 2: the nineteenth century before film, when you photographic porn, it 150 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 2: was like naughty, you know, it was like like people 151 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 2: would have little tiny At a steampunk convention, you might 152 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 2: still run across people would have like original of these 153 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 2: be like a little ring and if you look in 154 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 2: the ring, there's a tiny crystal so that it magnifies 155 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 2: what you see, and then it would be a picture 156 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 2: of like boobies or whatever. And I'm saying this as 157 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 2: like comically as possible because it was like titillating and 158 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 2: it was like, oh, you know, like there's a penis 159 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 2: in there or whatever. 160 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 3: So much of porn today is still really still like 161 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 3: it's silly, right, and everybody's in on the joke, I 162 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 3: mean not, you know, there is a difference. 163 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: Obviously, there's yeah, yes, there's people committing crimes and filming it, 164 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 2: and that is a different thing. 165 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 3: It's a different thing. 166 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 2: And then there's bad labor practices, which is a labor 167 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 2: practice issue which will find in every field. 168 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 3: Exactly. 169 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 2: By nineteen oh seven, you have the first known hardcore pornography, 170 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 2: although some people claim it's actually from the nineteen thirties 171 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 2: and from a different country, but overall people tend to 172 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 2: think Elis Satario the Satyr from Argentina, and this is 173 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,440 Speaker 2: straight up porn. This is very recognizable as modern pornography. 174 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 2: It is a man in a devil mask fucking somebody 175 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 2: like sixty nine yen everything, and it is the first 176 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 2: known hardcore pornography. I suspect that this probably happened sooner 177 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 2: and just wasn't commercialized, like I suspect the first person 178 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 2: who had a care was like, hey, honey, come here, 179 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 2: I got an idea, you know, because like and. 180 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: He was probably wearing a double mask, yeah, totally, or 181 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: it was just a man. Yeah, well, like, I suspect 182 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: the vast majority of pornography created in this world is 183 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: individuals for their sake and for their like partner's sake, 184 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,560 Speaker 1: you know. And so as soon as there's cameras, I'm 185 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: sure people were like, oh, I've got an idea, right, 186 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: because we're like, we are humans, and people have different drives, 187 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: and you know, like people learn to draw and then 188 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: are like, I'm drawing people fucking people learn to write 189 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: and are like, but what if my characters from my 190 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: favorite show were having. 191 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 3: Sex people play with barbies and make. 192 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 2: The best learn what sisoring is? Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah. America, 193 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 2: North America This Time gave the world its first videoed 194 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 2: threesome that we know or film threesome in nineteen fifteen 195 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 2: with a free ride. And this is like even the 196 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 2: plot of modern porn like El Satario is kind of interesting. 197 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:09,599 Speaker 2: It's like a bunch of naked girls prancing through the 198 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:10,920 Speaker 2: woods and then one of them gets like, oh, no, 199 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,959 Speaker 2: I'm trapped by the devil and I'm having sex with them. 200 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 2: A free ride is just a guy who picks up 201 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 2: two women who are hitchhiking and then he watches them 202 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 2: piss and then they all fuck all right, And I 203 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 2: have a really hard job. And the production studio is 204 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 2: Gay Parie. Like the title at the beginning, it's amazing. 205 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 2: It stars jazz girls, and it's directed by a wise guy. 206 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 2: It is photographed by will be Hard, Oh my gosh, 207 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 2: and the titles are. 208 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 3: Will she Oh that's amazing. I thought they were having 209 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:55,559 Speaker 3: a blast. 210 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. Like and again obviously there's like serious labor 211 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 2: problems in parts of the porn world. 212 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 3: Of like, of course, yes. 213 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 2: Sex work is work, and work sucks, yes, yeah. 214 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 3: But sometimes when you're filming a little video and it's 215 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:11,679 Speaker 3: just like, oh, this was silly and fun. Also that 216 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 3: like just like any job, sometimes it's fun. 217 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 2: Amazing, Yeah, totally. Yeah. So The Lusty Lady, they're not 218 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 2: breaking new ground here. They show films and private booths, 219 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 2: and then in nineteen eighty three they added live entertainment 220 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 2: the whole like you're in a booth and can watch 221 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 2: a viewer through glass. I believe it's like a mirrored 222 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 2: room so that you can kind of see all the 223 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 2: angles and watch if someone does stuff in a room. 224 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 2: And this has got to be a hard job. It's 225 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 2: a twenty four hour establishment. If you've ever worked in 226 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 2: anywhere that has a twenty four hour I worked at 227 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 2: a place that was open till three in the morning 228 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 2: and then open again at eight, and that was too much. Yeah, 229 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 2: even though it like I'm not working that whole time, 230 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 2: but you still are like, oh, we better close down 231 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 2: and get everything clean because it's about to open again. 232 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 2: The idea that you don't get the downtime. It's hard work. Yeah, 233 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,599 Speaker 2: but workers, the dancers tended to appreciate that there was 234 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 2: a glass between them and the customer versus other strip 235 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 2: clubs in the area. I am unsure what the janitors 236 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 2: thought about it, though, MM and conditions in legal sex 237 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,439 Speaker 2: work establishments have always been rough because legalization makes the 238 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 2: whole thing so fussy and ripe for exploitation of the workers. 239 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 2: In the nineteen nineties, labor conditions at strip clubs got 240 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 2: worse and worse, to quote the site found sf quote. 241 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 2: Clubs eliminated minimum wages, overtime pay, and social security for dancers. 242 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 2: This is like when they start getting like, they're like, oh, 243 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 2: I've got an idea. These aren't our employees. These are freelancers, 244 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 2: you know. And back to the quote. Instead made them 245 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 2: pay increasingly expensive stage fees and work exclusively for tips. 246 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 2: More places started saying everyone's an independent contractors and labor protections. 247 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 2: And one guy bought up the North Beach strip clubs 248 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 2: to get himself a monopoly and fuck everyone over. And 249 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 2: I believe that guy, but I'm uncertain is Roger Forbes 250 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 2: Who's going to soon be the villain of the week. Okay, 251 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 2: there was a union that I want to know more 252 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 2: about called the Exotic Dancers Alliance that was trying to 253 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 2: unionize there. They started working in the strip clubs in 254 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 2: the area, but they never unionized a place successfully. Then 255 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: the Lusty Lady started unionizing two and their own write up, 256 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 2: The Lusty Ladies write up of the history is fun quote. 257 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 2: Things went reasonably smooth for some time until the summer 258 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 2: of nineteen ninety six, when the companies pensioned for hiring 259 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,199 Speaker 2: intelligent and worldly women began to backfire in the form 260 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 2: of a unionization drive. It's a notoriously exploitive game in 261 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 2: the adult entertainment world, and it began to be a 262 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 2: bit stereotypical, what with the random firings and pay cuts, 263 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 2: ambiguous shift policies, and other unsavory business. And I love 264 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 2: this the like, oh, it's fine for them until they 265 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 2: realized that we're smart. Right, didn't work out great after that, right. 266 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,200 Speaker 2: And one of the issues that ties in it's very 267 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 2: similar to the issue at Sherry's Ranch, the technological development 268 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 2: that's happening in the late nineties. The windows to the 269 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 2: booth are often or maybe always, one way glass, so 270 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 2: it's easy for people to film the dancers without their consent, 271 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 2: and with the rise of internet porn, this became a 272 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 2: more serious concern than before. And so, yeah, a lot 273 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 2: of sex worker unionization and organization has to do with 274 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 2: this thing where your image is exploited. On top of 275 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 2: you know, you're like not getting paid extra for that, 276 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 2: you know. 277 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, I've always thought that of all the kinds of 278 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 3: sex work, dancing would be the hard. That's the one 279 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 3: I have not done. I have not done that, And 280 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 3: it just seems so hard for all of these things 281 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 3: that you're naming. 282 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems like I've also not done this kind 283 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 2: of work. Well, I've done even less related to those 284 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 2: kinds of work, but like it's so hard physically, and 285 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 2: then also you're yeah, the constant work of hustling. Yeah, 286 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 2: the constant like charisma checks. You got to roll over 287 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 2: and over it again to try and get twenty bucks 288 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 2: out of people. 289 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 3: Exactly, yeah, exactly, the athleticism. I mean, I'm just like 290 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 3: always so I feel like I'm watching the Olympics when 291 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 3: I go to club yeah, which I go to some 292 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 3: I mean, I don't need to moralize this. I could 293 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 3: go to clubs for any reason, but I wrote to 294 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 3: support my friends. Yeah, and yeah, it's just like stunning 295 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 3: to see what they do on those polls. But then 296 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 3: it's always so cold and they you know, have to 297 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 3: walk around and play with guys, and it's late at 298 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 3: night and it smells like smoke sometimes, and I'm like, 299 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 3: that's a lot, that's a lot. 300 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 2: No, it seems miserable with people are like, oh, easy money, 301 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 2: and I'm like, yeah, sometimes my friends leave with one 302 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 2: thousand dollars. Sometimes they leave with one hundred dollars. Sometimes, 303 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 2: like I had to pay the house fee and I 304 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 2: didn't make any money, right, right, Yeah, and so the 305 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 2: Lusty Lady they begin to organize and they work with 306 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 2: the SEIU, the Serve Employees International Union, and theoretically, at 307 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 2: least according to the IWW write up I read, also 308 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 2: they get help from friends of the POD, the Industrial 309 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 2: Workers of the World of course. Yeah. It's one of 310 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 2: those things where it's like I think the IWW often 311 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 2: it doesn't end up. They're like always the bride's maid, 312 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 2: never the bride. 313 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 314 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're like, you know, some of the workers are like, oh, 315 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 2: I heard were these cool radicals and then they're like, okay, 316 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 2: but I want the union that like is large. But 317 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 2: I'm not one hundred percent sort about the wobbly involvement 318 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 2: in this one where or the other I'm listener, let 319 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 2: us know. Yeah, the owners did a bunch of bullshit 320 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 2: and they locked the workers out, which is illegal, and 321 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 2: the workers picketed and in April nineteen ninety seven they 322 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 2: voted to unionize with a vote of fifty seven to 323 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 2: fifteen and created the Exotic Dancers Union within the SCIU. 324 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 2: And they were part of a vibrant sex workers organizing 325 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 2: scene in the city. It wasn't just this like like 326 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 2: pickms or something, you know, where they're like, oh, we're 327 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 2: unionized and everyone else is like doing bad stuff. They 328 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 2: are like they had learned from other people doing all 329 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 2: of this shit. They like talked constantly about how like 330 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 2: they're working with different people on this. M h And 331 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 2: some of the Lusty Ladies went to other venues to 332 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 2: try and organize, and they went as like salts where 333 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 2: you go and get a job at a place specifically 334 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 2: to try and unionize. 335 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 3: Mm hmm. 336 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 2: A club called the Regal show World was on the 337 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 2: verge of unionization, but then anti union lawyers were like, oh, 338 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 2: we can just literally shut the entire place down and 339 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 2: put it under new ownership and then you have to 340 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 2: like start all over again. In San Diego. This is 341 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 2: the one that I found like one line about in 342 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 2: San Diego Pacers Showgirls International did manage to unionize in 343 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety three, but the union was destroyed in nineteen 344 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,679 Speaker 2: ninety six and they it was like decertified. That's all 345 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 2: I've found about it, even though I've read all this 346 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 2: stuff that's like the Lusty Lady the first organized trip club, 347 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 2: and I'm like, well, theoretically, there's this one three years 348 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 2: earlier that I found one. 349 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 3: Sentence about that's really interesting. 350 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm always skeptical of any time I read something 351 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,360 Speaker 2: that's like the first blah blah blah, right, like even 352 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 2: like I was like talking a porner earlierly, the first 353 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 2: hardcore porn. I'm like, man, I bet the first person 354 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 2: who made a camera made hardcore porn. Right after the 355 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 2: Pacers Girls had their union busted, the Lusty Lady kept 356 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 2: the flame alive. But if you want to keep the 357 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 2: flame alive, are we sponsored by anyone that does that? 358 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 4: I hope? 359 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 2: So all right, Well, I don't know whatever comes next 360 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 2: is really good for sex. I'll just say that on 361 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 2: the record. Oh god, I actually thought about that. No, 362 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 2: don't assume that. And we're back. Wow, thank you, thank you. 363 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 2: I really I wasn't doing so good first episode, you know, 364 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 2: brought it back. They thought they had us in the 365 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 2: first half. 366 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 4: But that's what we call a hill Mary. 367 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. So they unionized, and being unionized was, 368 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 2: to put it, really simply good. It was better in 369 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 2: every appreciable way. It was better even from a pure 370 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,639 Speaker 2: the club. It's high water mark. It started to go 371 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 2: down a little bit because of the Internet. It's high 372 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 2: water mark was a year after unionization nineteen ninety eight. 373 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,920 Speaker 2: What is high water what is oh so like? Sorry? 374 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 2: The year they brought in the most moneys from a 375 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 2: pure capitalist point of view. Sorry, yeah, I. 376 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 3: Don't know that capitalist terminology. 377 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 2: You must look be I am well, I mean it 378 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 2: could be high water mark of any Yeah, yeah, I 379 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 2: got checked. 380 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,959 Speaker 3: I don't know those bourgeois terms. 381 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I bet the two of us are the 382 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 2: only people who are listening to this who could spell bourgeois. 383 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 3: No, I cannot. I'm all wrong all the time, all 384 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 3: the time. I think I have like teeny tiny mild dyslexia. 385 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 2: I think it's bo urge iOS, but it might be ois. Fuck. 386 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 3: What's the other one? You made a good tweet about 387 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 3: this bourgeois and for the Marxists, and then what can't 388 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,720 Speaker 3: we spell hierarchy? Hierarchy? Yeah? 389 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, totally Yeah. I once made this pin that I 390 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 2: deeply regretted. Actually some caught me. I made this pin, well, 391 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,959 Speaker 2: one inch pin. I had a like a little drawing 392 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,919 Speaker 2: from the nineteenth century of a man in a machine 393 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 2: gun nest or whatever, and it says death of the 394 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 2: capitalist bourgeoisie. I'm really original. What everyone's always saying about me. 395 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 2: But I had spelled bourgeoisie wrong in a way that 396 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 2: spell check thought was correct because I spelled it with 397 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 2: just an e at the end, not an ie, which 398 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:24,840 Speaker 2: meant death to the rich women. 399 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 3: I mean, it's complicated. 400 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, maybe it was a transman behind the machine gun. 401 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 2: I don't know. Yeah, So anyway, they get unionized. A 402 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,479 Speaker 2: black feminist author named Chavn Brooks was one of the 403 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 2: only black women working there at the time. Black women 404 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,800 Speaker 2: had to work in the private booth section of the place, 405 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 2: and she complained to management and they told her black 406 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,080 Speaker 2: women don't bring it as much money, so she went 407 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 2: through the union to complain against racial discrimination, and the 408 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 2: club started hiring way way more black women and again 409 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 2: ties into the high water mark. So whatever, m fuck y'all. 410 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,719 Speaker 2: But porn theaters and peep shows were in trouble by 411 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 2: the end of the nineties with the rise of internet pornography, 412 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,479 Speaker 2: and then in nineteen ninety eight or two thousand and one, 413 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 2: depending on which source you read, because why would books 414 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 2: agree with each other, our villain of the week, Roger Forbes, 415 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 2: bought the building it was in and became their new landlord. 416 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 3: Can I jump in. Yeah please, Yes, the rise of 417 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 3: internet porn, but also so much of the end of 418 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,439 Speaker 3: peep show, strip club kind of culture. And this is 419 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 3: really true in New York is gentrification and tech is 420 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 3: so much a part of that. And Sam Delaney, which 421 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 3: is maybe a name you know from your sci fi land, 422 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 3: but he's also like an incredible culture critic and his 423 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 3: book Times Square Red, Times Square Blue talks about like 424 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 3: the desecration of the sex culture in Times Square with. 425 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 2: That's the one where one of the most prominent science 426 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 2: fiction officer of twentieth century admitted to having sucked hundreds 427 00:21:58,560 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 2: of dicks. 428 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 3: Yeah exactly, Yeah, yes, I saw. 429 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 2: I'm reading an excerpt from this. This is one of 430 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:04,680 Speaker 2: the high points of my like fandom. 431 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 3: Incredible, Yeah, and like the magic of that and yeah, 432 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 3: like the he talks about contact, which you know, this 433 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 3: this notion of like people being in the world together 434 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 3: instead of like alienated on the tech machines. And so 435 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 3: just to like another real quick tidbit about this. Yeah, 436 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 3: another group that was really prominent in New York trying 437 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 3: to get all of like peep shows and strip clubs 438 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 3: and porn theaters shut down were the anti sporn feminists 439 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 3: of the eighties. They went by the name Women Against 440 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 3: Pornography aka WOP for people who remember the hit song 441 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 3: what as Pussy. It's just a fun little little, uh 442 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 3: little tidbit purpose I don't know, I mean, maybe that'd. 443 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 2: Be cool, I hope. 444 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,680 Speaker 3: So so that's just a fun thing to read in 445 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,560 Speaker 3: the history books and just keep saying WOP for this 446 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 3: group that is like detests sex in so many ways anyway, 447 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 3: so you know, just just to name like yeah, I 448 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 3: mean yeah, internet porn, but also like thinking about who 449 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 3: are the tech companies profiting off of internet porn and 450 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 3: who is really doing the bad stuff in the world. 451 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,719 Speaker 3: And it's like the people shutting down the humans having 452 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 3: you know, I don't. 453 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 2: Know, no, no. This is one of the things that 454 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 2: was named by some of the workers was that gentrifications 455 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 2: fucking with this club. Rich men were moving to town 456 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,880 Speaker 2: and wanted like an elite experience and not a beautiful, 457 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 2: strange dive bar keep show, you know. And this guy, 458 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 2: Roger Forbes is also part of the destruction of this 459 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:35,240 Speaker 2: air of culture because he is one of the founders, 460 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 2: one of the three founders of Deja Vu, which is 461 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 2: the largest strip club chain in the world that currently 462 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 2: operates more than two hundred clubs under a bunch of 463 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 2: different names. And they pioneer, I mean, honestly, some of 464 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 2: what I've read says that, like the modern strip club 465 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 2: going back to the seventies kind of comes from their work, 466 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,360 Speaker 2: less him but one of the other founders. But they 467 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 2: pioneer treating workers like shit. That's like their fucking thing. 468 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 2: They're like, well, if we get a monopoly and treat 469 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 2: workers like shit, And that's the guy who buys their 470 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 2: building in nineteen ninety eight or two thousand and one, 471 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 2: so it's not looking good for him. He then more 472 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 2: than doubles their rent. It's like twelve thousand dollars a 473 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,360 Speaker 2: month or something, thirteen thousand dollars a month or something 474 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,679 Speaker 2: at this point. But they they keep going for several years, 475 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 2: and then in two thousand and three, the owners of 476 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 2: the Lusty Lady were like, fuck it, we give up. 477 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 2: There's no profit in this industry anymore. And the workers 478 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 2: themselves were like, we think there is. We want to 479 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 2: keep going, and so they bought it from the owners, 480 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 2: not the building but the business for four hundred thousand dollars. 481 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 2: And interestingly, this is one of the main ways that 482 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 2: businesses go cooperative. The owners decide that they want to sell, 483 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,800 Speaker 2: and if they're not like garbage people, when the workers 484 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 2: are like you sell to us, the owners are like, well, 485 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 2: I like work with you and like you, so yeah, sure, yeah, 486 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 2: you know, And there's this whole like in a cooperative movement, 487 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 2: there was this hope for like a silver tsunami as 488 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 2: all the boomers started selling their businesses as they retired 489 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 2: because their kids didn't want them or whatever. To get 490 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,719 Speaker 2: people to sell to their workers. Right now, there are 491 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 2: various cooperative finance organizations that can help people get the 492 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 2: capital to buy from owners and to work with new 493 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 2: worker owners about how to run a successful business. That 494 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,679 Speaker 2: infrastructure was less built up in two thousand and three 495 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 2: as best as I can tell. Yeah, but San Francisco 496 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 2: is San Francisco. So a few other cooperatives helped them 497 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,880 Speaker 2: sort everything out, including there's a worker owned sex toy 498 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,640 Speaker 2: shop called Good Vibrations, so they're like, yeah, of course 499 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 2: we'll help you. But also Rainbow Cooperative Grocery shout out 500 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 2: to the hippies. I assume I've probably even been there, 501 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 2: but I just assume it's called Rainbow Grocery and it's cooperative. Yeah, 502 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 2: their hippies. 503 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 3: It's fine, for sure. They have an excellent, amazing bulk section, 504 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 3: I'm sure. 505 00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and you can probably get nutritional and call 506 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 2: it cornmeal. Oh I mean, but you would do that 507 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:07,679 Speaker 2: at co op. Yeah, no, you do that elsewhere. So 508 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,199 Speaker 2: I bet you didn't know this. Selling sex makes it 509 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 2: really hard to deal with traditional financial institutions. Really, yeah, 510 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 2: I've discovered this uniquely. This is a thing that people 511 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 2: have been complaining about for a long time now, because 512 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 2: it's a really major problem. That is why I'm making 513 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 2: a joke of it. There's a reason organized crime is 514 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,680 Speaker 2: involved in the sex industry, even the legal sex industry, 515 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 2: because of bullshit moral nonsense about how you can get 516 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 2: locked out of credit card transactions for doing perfectly legal 517 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 2: business like pornography. So in the end, it was the 518 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 2: previous owners who agreed to finance the buyout. Basically, I 519 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 2: believe that they couldn't find anyone to finance the buyout, 520 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 2: and the owners were like, fine, give it to us 521 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 2: some installments. And it wasn't just the dancers who bought 522 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 2: the place. Of course, keep Show has janitors and technicians 523 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,920 Speaker 2: and I believe the janitors and counterstaff were like one 524 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 2: and the same people. It's very gender divided in that 525 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 2: the counter staff janitors were men and the dancers were women. 526 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 2: And they all join a cooperative which is called looking 527 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 2: Glass Collective, at least according to a single place I 528 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 2: could find that reference and nowhere else. But they probably 529 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 2: have a legal institution called looking Glass Collective that they create. 530 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:29,159 Speaker 2: And if the union was good for workplace conditions, worker 531 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,640 Speaker 2: ownership was amazing. I found a quote that I forgot 532 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 2: to put in the script that was someone being like 533 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 2: I have died and gone to hooker Heaven. One dancer 534 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 2: Kathy said about it, quote, all of the things that 535 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 2: felt oppressive about sex work vanished when you stepped through 536 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 2: the doors of the Lusty. You know how much you 537 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,440 Speaker 2: were getting what you were doing, and you had face 538 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 2: to face contact with other women. You were clear on 539 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,199 Speaker 2: the expectations, You're clear on what can get you fired, 540 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 2: You're clear on what can get you hired, what the 541 00:27:57,720 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 2: boundaries are between you and the customers. 542 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:01,360 Speaker 3: That sounds amazing. 543 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. Another dancer, Barana said, quote, after a few weeks 544 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,359 Speaker 2: at the Lusty, when I walked down the street, I 545 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 2: felt less threatened by the men talking shit to me, 546 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 2: my posture changed. If it wasn't liberating, it was certainly uplifting. 547 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:19,879 Speaker 2: Who would have expected such from a peep show? 548 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: Not me? 549 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 2: Then again, to dismiss the idea that vulgarity and uplift 550 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 2: can coexist side by side is to deny the degenerate 551 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:30,919 Speaker 2: magic of San Francisco. 552 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:37,639 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, I literally want to sob enjoy. What 553 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 3: a beautiful sentiment. 554 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, oh and just like that, like my posture changed. Yeah, 555 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 2: it's such a like as three words and you're like, yeah, 556 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 2: I know what that means. 557 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 3: You know, like, oh, I love that, And it's just 558 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 3: such a true I mean, who sex workers are just 559 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,600 Speaker 3: we are not a monolith, and there are shitty people 560 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 3: who do sex work and you know, et cetera. But 561 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 3: like the sex work organizing community, sex workers you know, 562 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 3: who are part of radical political projects are truly like 563 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 3: the best people I know. So it's just I feel 564 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 3: like I can relate to that feeling of just being 565 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 3: around spaces where sex workers are being badass and it's amazing. 566 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 2: I love that sometimes, Like I don't have this with 567 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 2: sex workers, but I look at things from like twenty 568 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 2: thirty years ago, and I'm like, oh, fuck my people, 569 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 2: you know exactly, and like like watching you experience that 570 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 2: is so nice, right, You're like you're like we could 571 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 2: drop you in there and you would be like, hey, 572 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 2: what's up? Yes, you know, oh, because you have like 573 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 2: similar understandings and like like. 574 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 3: It's just it's really beautiful. 575 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. On their own site, the workers wrote about themselves 576 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 2: there's it's long gone, but it's on archive dot org. Quote. 577 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 2: It's not all roses. There are decisions to make and 578 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 2: votes to count and seemingly endless meetings and discussions to 579 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 2: be had. If we want something done Employee Manual's new 580 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 2: carpet a soda machine, we have to do it ourselves. 581 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 2: But the beauty is we do somehow. The decision gets 582 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 2: made and the new idea gets implemented, and we get 583 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 2: the new carpet. We figure out the problem, and we 584 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 2: move on to tackle the next one. We fight like siblings, 585 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 2: and when the smoke clears, we realize how lucky we 586 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,040 Speaker 2: are to be fighting over hopes and dreams and plans 587 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 2: for a business that is actually ours. 588 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 3: Beautiful Yeah, and. 589 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, I've been in the like you fight 590 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 2: like siblings is such a good way to describe collective organizing. Yeah, 591 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 2: you know, because no one fights like siblings, you draw. 592 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 2: I would never. 593 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 3: I'm an only child, so I can only guess what 594 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:51,480 Speaker 3: that's like. But I think I get it. 595 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaker 2: My sibling and I, who I fought with the most, 596 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 2: are real close. Now we were not. I'll just go 597 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 2: with that. There's the idea of I forget what's called. 598 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 2: But two cultures will decide to become exactly the opposite 599 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,719 Speaker 2: of each other. They're like, I'm not doing what that 600 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 2: guy does. That is literally why I don't know musical theater. 601 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,760 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you just hurt yourself with that one. 602 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,120 Speaker 2: I absolutely did. This is to my detriment how much 603 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 2: I fought with my sibling, who I don't think listens 604 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 2: to this, but if you do, high anyway, for better 605 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 2: or worse. They remain unionized through the SEIU after they 606 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 2: all become owners, and this is messy worker cooperatives and 607 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 2: labor unions. While they're not wholly incompatible, they struggle to 608 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,200 Speaker 2: share the same room sometimes and not in a sibling way, 609 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 2: but in a literally like we're both trying to do 610 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 2: the same thing in very different ways. Yeah, because they're 611 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,280 Speaker 2: both about taking power, but labor unions are on some 612 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 2: level kind of antagonistic to the owners. It is collective 613 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 2: bargaining of the employees, but when the employees are also 614 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 2: the owners. And some work are cooperatives, not all employees 615 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 2: or owners. A lot of worker cooperatives, Like most people 616 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 2: are owners, but some people are owner track jobs, but 617 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 2: they're you know, you got to work there for a 618 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 2: couple of years or six months or whatever it is. 619 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 2: And then like I used to wash dishes at a 620 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 2: worker owned restaurant in Baltimore called Red Emmas, but I 621 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 2: just went as a sub. I did not want to 622 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 2: go to meetings. I did not want a regular schedule. 623 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 2: I wanted to go in, sit in the dish pit 624 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 2: and wash dishes after place named after Emma Goldmand and 625 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 2: get paid and it ruled. 626 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 3: You know, yeah, it's the hard part. Like for the 627 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 3: people who don't want the sort of responsibility of being 628 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,920 Speaker 3: a worker owner, that could be cool, but then people 629 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,520 Speaker 3: who do and are denied that it can get it 630 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 3: can get ugly. I have heard about. 631 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 2: This absolutely, and so it's complicated, and so like some 632 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 2: places will have unions for their non owners, right, and 633 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:03,240 Speaker 2: like unions have unions, right, Oh yeah, like the staff 634 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,240 Speaker 2: of the union might be unionized through a different union. 635 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 2: It's complicated, it is. 636 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 3: I've dated a lot of union organizers, some who went 637 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 3: from staff to you know, boss for all intents and purposes, 638 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 3: and it's yeah, a lot of existential ethical conundrums. 639 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 2: I believe it. Yeah, And the Lusty Lady had a 640 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,320 Speaker 2: real hard existential conundrum around being a business that is unionized, 641 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 2: worker owned, and in a world based on patriarch and capitalism. 642 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,680 Speaker 2: So the worker owners, they elect a board of directors 643 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,360 Speaker 2: from themselves, and then that board of directors signs the 644 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 2: union contract every year. But when employees are also owners, 645 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:47,000 Speaker 2: you get fights. And the lusty Lady had a labor dispute. 646 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 2: That's fun alliteration, and it just makes me sad. This 647 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 2: is the sad part of the story. But also all 648 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 2: of the news about this is like salacious little bit, 649 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 2: even if it's not really trying to be so. It 650 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 2: like I think, is exaggerating the level of conflict that happened, 651 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 2: because they absolutely survive this, but there's not as many 652 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 2: like follow up articles. The news is never like, oh, 653 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:17,360 Speaker 2: the problem resolved itself and everyone's good. Now they don't 654 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 2: bother writing that article, you know, right, Okay, So the 655 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 2: Lusty Lady had a reputation of hiring more diverse performers 656 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,000 Speaker 2: than the average peep show. It was like where you 657 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,880 Speaker 2: go and like more people are tattooed, right, Like in 658 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,480 Speaker 2: clubs this is a big issue where like, you know, 659 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:39,479 Speaker 2: some places hire women who are only white and thin 660 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,399 Speaker 2: with no tattoos, and often even only blonde or willing 661 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 2: to wear a blonde wig, and other places aren't like that. 662 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 2: Lusty Lady had a reputation for diverse performers, including women 663 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,839 Speaker 2: of color, people with tattoos, and larger women, and occasionally 664 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,480 Speaker 2: the club would do BBW Knights Big Beautiful Women Nights. 665 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,239 Speaker 2: All of the performers on stage at any given time 666 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 2: were larger, and occasionally customers would complain about it. Boo yeah, 667 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 2: most or maybe all of the dancers were women, and 668 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 2: most or maybe all of the counter staff slash janitors 669 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:18,640 Speaker 2: were men. One of the counterstaff guys collected some customer 670 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 2: complaints about larger dancers after a BBW night and sent 671 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:27,840 Speaker 2: it what he was supposed to be a confidential email 672 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:32,360 Speaker 2: to the board, basically saying, like we're losing customers, and 673 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:34,800 Speaker 2: everyone's pay is tied to the success of the business 674 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 2: since they are all owners, and so there's this terrible 675 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,400 Speaker 2: incentive to police themselves and it comes to a head, 676 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,040 Speaker 2: but again in a way that I think is played up. 677 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 2: The email itself was probably rude and or bigoted, but 678 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:51,080 Speaker 2: I haven't read it. I've read different outlets that present 679 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:53,760 Speaker 2: it in different ways and use selective quotes with different 680 00:35:53,760 --> 00:36:00,000 Speaker 2: biases around it. It's fun, but the email was probably rude. Yeah, 681 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,520 Speaker 2: So one of the dancers on the elected board who 682 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:07,480 Speaker 2: gets this email is really fucking pissed off by it, right, 683 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 2: you know. It's repeating all of these like pretty hateful 684 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:15,280 Speaker 2: things that the customers have said. And so the person 685 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,640 Speaker 2: on the board prints out the email and puts it 686 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,840 Speaker 2: in the dressing room for all the dancers to see, 687 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,719 Speaker 2: including the ones who are being attacked in the customer complaints, 688 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 2: and this set off a massive conflict. A board member 689 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,839 Speaker 2: said to the IWW quote. Everyone flipped out, people were 690 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 2: crying in the dressing room, and the mail staffer got ostracized. 691 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,080 Speaker 2: It's great what we at Lusty think the standards of 692 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 2: beauty are, but the reality is we're in the adult 693 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,880 Speaker 2: entertainment business, and this is like one of the positions 694 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:49,440 Speaker 2: being offered, right, that's just like really fucks with folks. 695 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,279 Speaker 2: Some folks want to fire the larger dancers. Others want 696 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:55,960 Speaker 2: to fire the counter staff guy. Some wanted to fire 697 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,400 Speaker 2: the woman from the board who printed out the confidential email. 698 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 2: And everything is reporting this really salaciously, and I really 699 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 2: struggle to figure out what the fuck happened here. In 700 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,680 Speaker 2: the end, the board member was fired. Both people were suspended, 701 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 2: one for sending an email and one for being like, hey, 702 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 2: you weren't supposed to print that out and put it 703 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 2: in the dressing room. The counter guy was eventually offered 704 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,319 Speaker 2: his job back, but he didn't take it, and the 705 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,000 Speaker 2: board member was fired went to the union and was like, 706 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,719 Speaker 2: I have been fired unjustly and basically made it a 707 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 2: labor issue. But also the counter guy tried to make 708 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,040 Speaker 2: it a labor issue through the union, even though he 709 00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 2: was actually anti union, but not in the way of 710 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 2: like I hate unions, but I what are we doing here? 711 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:44,760 Speaker 2: We're all the owners. Yeah, the National Labor's Relations Board 712 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,640 Speaker 2: agreed with that man, not necessarily about his position, but 713 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 2: they basically were like, you're an owner. None of this 714 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 2: applies to you, and it begs the question, and it 715 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,279 Speaker 2: begs the question there what is the union doing there 716 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 2: at all? But so there's this push to deunionize, but 717 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,440 Speaker 2: it gets like gendered where the men want to deunionize, 718 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,560 Speaker 2: the counter staff want to deunionize. But I think that 719 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:13,800 Speaker 2: this is played up because there's no follow up reporting 720 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 2: that I was ever able to find. And they survive 721 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 2: this conflict, they keep going. There are men and women 722 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,359 Speaker 2: who work at this place and our owners together. There 723 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 2: is like I'm sure there's informal hierarchies going on with 724 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,800 Speaker 2: all of it, right, but there's like everyone is level 725 00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:35,920 Speaker 2: in this worker own business. And yeah, so I tend 726 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 2: to think that that was a bit of hype. Yeah, 727 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 2: but I don't know. I wasn't there, and it just 728 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 2: makes me sad. The reason I bring it up is 729 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:43,680 Speaker 2: because it makes me sad. It makes me sad that 730 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,400 Speaker 2: you like, whenever I want to like paint the utopianism 731 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:52,359 Speaker 2: of worker ownership, like they're operating within capitalism and patriarchy. Yeah, 732 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:53,840 Speaker 2: and like I don't know. 733 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:57,040 Speaker 3: And those things, you know, and those interpersonal conflicts will 734 00:38:57,040 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 3: also happen even if we get to the most utopic 735 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,760 Speaker 3: conditions possible. I mean, humans are going to have conflict, 736 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,799 Speaker 3: but yeah, no, that's very real. It's always I mean, 737 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:10,440 Speaker 3: the world in this moment is certainly helping me remember 738 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,359 Speaker 3: that there are really really really bad men out there. 739 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:16,759 Speaker 3: And obviously I know that, but like what's interesting is 740 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,520 Speaker 3: that my experience and sex work and my algorithms and 741 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:24,799 Speaker 3: my sex worker organizing community, like it is to me 742 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,200 Speaker 3: it's evident that there are people who do not like 743 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:32,160 Speaker 3: I see the most diversity in you know, I'm not 744 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 3: on Twitter anymore, thank goodness, but like sex work, Twitter 745 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,359 Speaker 3: used to be like amazing, just like a delight, yeah, 746 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 3: and it was the most most body diversity, racial diversity 747 00:39:41,239 --> 00:39:43,919 Speaker 3: like ever and you would you know, things you would 748 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,360 Speaker 3: never see in Hollywood and people like really famous with 749 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 3: huge followings and people who love them, and it to 750 00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 3: me it was like this is evidence that this like 751 00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:55,360 Speaker 3: normative standard of beauty is actually like not that entrenched 752 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,200 Speaker 3: and like people actually like different things and that is 753 00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:00,400 Speaker 3: my experience and those are my algorithms and and like 754 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:05,840 Speaker 3: yeah there are like really normative horrible maga shitty yeah, 755 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:08,120 Speaker 3: people of all class levels. 756 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,920 Speaker 2: But you know, no totally and like one of the 757 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,320 Speaker 2: articles that I read cited another article. I couldn't find 758 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 2: that then, because again I'm looking at news from twenty 759 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,799 Speaker 2: years ago, but that says that the numbers of what 760 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 2: they brought in month to month was like not really 761 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,680 Speaker 2: affected by any of this, yeah, And so like, yeah, 762 00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:32,960 Speaker 2: a bunch of guys stormed out and were like, I 763 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:36,280 Speaker 2: don't like this, and everyone was worried it would affect 764 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 2: their bottom line. It doesn't look like. 765 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,200 Speaker 3: It did, okay, yeah, yeah, but. 766 00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:43,920 Speaker 2: I don't know. And then even if it did, what 767 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:44,840 Speaker 2: do you do about that? 768 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:45,359 Speaker 3: Right? 769 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,120 Speaker 2: And that's like up to y'all is a culture and workers, 770 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:52,600 Speaker 2: you know, Yeah, And I certainly don't think you fire 771 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,160 Speaker 2: people for it. You just make less money. I don't know, right. 772 00:40:55,239 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 3: Well, And that's the other thing, Like the same thing 773 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 3: would happen in like the restaurant industry. You know, there's 774 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,160 Speaker 3: like the I don't know if there's any Girls watchers. 775 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,160 Speaker 3: I know you're not supposed to, like Leana Dunnam is 776 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,120 Speaker 3: so full of problems, but there was a great like 777 00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:09,920 Speaker 3: bit on like one of the characters. They were like, oh, 778 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:11,319 Speaker 3: you could totally get a pretty person job. 779 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 2: There's a show called Girls. That's what I've learned great, 780 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:14,840 Speaker 2: ye okay. 781 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:17,320 Speaker 3: And the character they were like, you could get a 782 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:19,959 Speaker 3: pretty person job like a hostess, and you know that's 783 00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:24,120 Speaker 3: just like that stuff exists like lookism, and that exists 784 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:28,440 Speaker 3: literally in everywhere, and so yeah, just another note of 785 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,560 Speaker 3: you know, sex work is not always so exceptional in 786 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:35,640 Speaker 3: the ways that bodies are scrutinized. There's just like more 787 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,279 Speaker 3: transparency about it, and sometimes that's really refreshing, you know, 788 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 3: compared to when you were being scrutinized by a professor 789 00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:48,280 Speaker 3: when you're a young professor and being asked why dress 790 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:52,239 Speaker 3: in particular ways which I might be sharing from experience. 791 00:41:51,719 --> 00:41:54,680 Speaker 2: So you know, no, you're right, like something about it's 792 00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:57,360 Speaker 2: just being blunt where you're like, we sell sex. We 793 00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:58,880 Speaker 2: have to be able to sell sex, so you have 794 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,839 Speaker 2: to be sexy enough to sell We have to find 795 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:04,000 Speaker 2: who the audience for you to sell sex to is, 796 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:06,960 Speaker 2: you know, like it is right, yeah, yeah, but do 797 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:08,600 Speaker 2: you know who is willing to sell you anything? 798 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:11,759 Speaker 3: The people who are going to advertise to your listeners. 799 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:14,960 Speaker 2: Right now, absolutely, they don't care as long as you 800 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:19,440 Speaker 2: have money or don't have money, depending on they might 801 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,280 Speaker 2: be trying to stop you from having money if they anyway, 802 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:29,080 Speaker 2: here's ads. You can listen to them or not enter back. 803 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:33,719 Speaker 2: So the other thing I think is worth noting about this, 804 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:39,839 Speaker 2: like you know, wacky diverse group. They lasted longer than 805 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,320 Speaker 2: other people doing this right. Their business was a failed 806 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:46,919 Speaker 2: business as a standard business, and then made it ten 807 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:53,359 Speaker 2: years further into gentrification and internetification of the city. They 808 00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:57,359 Speaker 2: outlasted the other lusty lady in Seattle that closed its 809 00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:00,239 Speaker 2: doors in twenty ten. And there's actually do you a 810 00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:04,640 Speaker 2: specific worker owned businesses? People present them as like, oh, 811 00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:06,879 Speaker 2: I don't know, it's probably not as profitable. If it's 812 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:09,279 Speaker 2: done right, it's literally more profitable because you just don't 813 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,560 Speaker 2: have another group taking all your money away from you. Right, 814 00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:15,000 Speaker 2: There isn't an owner who siphons up your money with 815 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:16,799 Speaker 2: a vacuum cleaner at the end of the day. I 816 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:19,839 Speaker 2: think that's how Marx described it. And the other thing 817 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:22,720 Speaker 2: is that worker owned businesses are more resilient in hard 818 00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 2: times because like during twenty twenty I worked with Steed Comments, 819 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:30,600 Speaker 2: I talked about this all the time as a cooperative 820 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:34,480 Speaker 2: finance organization, and they worked with a ton of worker 821 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:40,560 Speaker 2: owned restaurants and cafes and restaurants and cafes died like 822 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:45,520 Speaker 2: the plague during twenty twenty and never returned. And during 823 00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,600 Speaker 2: the year or so of twenty twenty, not a single 824 00:43:48,719 --> 00:43:52,160 Speaker 2: one of these places closed for good because they were 825 00:43:52,239 --> 00:43:54,600 Speaker 2: worker owned, so they were more resilient because they could 826 00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,880 Speaker 2: sit around and say, like, all right, who are we 827 00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:59,719 Speaker 2: going to lay off of ourselves? Right, and they could 828 00:43:59,719 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 2: collect actively make these decisions, being like who can afford 829 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:04,719 Speaker 2: to collect unemployment instead of working for the next like 830 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:08,680 Speaker 2: six months, you know, and like just literally were able 831 00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:11,800 Speaker 2: to respond to things better. And so it doesn't surprise 832 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:15,000 Speaker 2: me that they held on so long. 833 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:15,680 Speaker 3: Yeah. 834 00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:19,040 Speaker 2: As for why they closed, they closed in twenty thirteen. 835 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:21,920 Speaker 2: The Sex and poor An economies really had changed fundamentally 836 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:24,480 Speaker 2: in the twenty first century. The economy of the city 837 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,960 Speaker 2: had changed fundamentally, the area of the neighborhood had changed fundamentally. 838 00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 2: But as far as I can tell, the reason they 839 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:34,279 Speaker 2: closed their doors is because of monopoly capitalism. 840 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:35,840 Speaker 3: Wow, it's every time. 841 00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:41,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like you address it up however you want. They 842 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:44,279 Speaker 2: closed because their fucking landlord was Roger Forbes. Because they 843 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:48,080 Speaker 2: collectively owned their business but not their building. Yeah, the 844 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:51,040 Speaker 2: asshole who was monopolizing all the strip clubs in the city, 845 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:54,040 Speaker 2: including the one right next door, and he claims up 846 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:55,600 Speaker 2: and down. He has all these interviews with him where 847 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:57,600 Speaker 2: he's like, oh, no, I didn't I didn't close them. 848 00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:01,400 Speaker 2: They just couldn't pay their rent, right, And they're like, yeah, 849 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:04,440 Speaker 2: like eight thousand dollars more a week are no longer 850 00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:07,080 Speaker 2: going to your clubs if they're going here? 851 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:07,520 Speaker 1: Right? 852 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:11,760 Speaker 2: Like right? He refused to renew their lease in twenty thirteen, 853 00:45:12,719 --> 00:45:15,560 Speaker 2: or to put it really bluntly, Tora, a dancer at 854 00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,719 Speaker 2: the Lusty Lady, told The New York Times, quote, our 855 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:22,520 Speaker 2: landlord is a dildo and didn't want to negotiate. 856 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,040 Speaker 3: That just makes me think of another amazing sex work 857 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:31,279 Speaker 3: adjacent establishment called the smitt Kitten in Minneapolis, and they 858 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:35,360 Speaker 3: threw dildos at ice agents or provided the dildos. I 859 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:38,400 Speaker 3: will not I am saying anything on the record. I 860 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:41,680 Speaker 3: just know that maybe some dildos might have come from 861 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:43,560 Speaker 3: the smitt Kitten. 862 00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:44,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and. 863 00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:49,400 Speaker 3: Somehow those dildos ended up near ice agents. 864 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:52,319 Speaker 2: Projected in some ways by the wind, probably by the wind. 865 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:55,400 Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, and like oops. 866 00:45:56,280 --> 00:46:00,000 Speaker 2: Oops, that's the one that was organizing mutual laid out 867 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,719 Speaker 2: of it, right, Yeah, Yeah, they're the best God bless. 868 00:46:04,760 --> 00:46:08,520 Speaker 3: Anyway, So this landlord is a dildo. Probably maybe if 869 00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:11,440 Speaker 3: the wind projected dildos towards him, that would be okay too. 870 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:13,840 Speaker 2: Yeah. I actually couldn't even figure out whether he's alive. 871 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,360 Speaker 2: The problem is that there's a billionaire with his name mmm, 872 00:46:17,400 --> 00:46:20,719 Speaker 2: and someone died I believe last year. Who is the 873 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,120 Speaker 2: right age to have been him? But I'm not one 874 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:24,759 Speaker 2: hundred percent certain, Which is funny though, because there's a 875 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:26,600 Speaker 2: plenty written about him. He is one of the it 876 00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:29,120 Speaker 2: didn't not have been the script, but a Seattle weekly 877 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,760 Speaker 2: paper has like all of these like real choice quotes 878 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,160 Speaker 2: about what a piece of shit this man is. Like 879 00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:37,239 Speaker 2: he is like nationally known as a piece of shit 880 00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:39,000 Speaker 2: as compared to if you read it, you're like, oh, 881 00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:41,480 Speaker 2: our landlord, you know, and you're like, ah, the landlord, 882 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:46,200 Speaker 2: Like no, the man monopolizing sex work is their landlord, 883 00:46:46,560 --> 00:46:49,480 Speaker 2: and they don't work for him. I'm sure he has 884 00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:50,279 Speaker 2: a problem with that. 885 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:50,919 Speaker 3: Mm hmm. 886 00:46:51,719 --> 00:46:53,839 Speaker 2: They decided to go out and style and they held 887 00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:58,200 Speaker 2: themselves a funeral parade throughout the city and it it's 888 00:46:58,239 --> 00:47:00,480 Speaker 2: like kind of a little bit of Alaska of old 889 00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:04,120 Speaker 2: San Francisco in a way. Mmm, and now there's a 890 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:07,360 Speaker 2: historical marker in front of the building marking it as 891 00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:12,919 Speaker 2: the nation's first unionized worker owned peep show. It took 892 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:16,120 Speaker 2: ten years, but another group picked up the torch once 893 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:18,719 Speaker 2: again when the dancers. Have you heard of the star 894 00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:20,880 Speaker 2: Garden topless dive bar in Los Angeles? 895 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:23,920 Speaker 3: I have not, Or maybe I've heard of it, but 896 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:27,600 Speaker 3: not I've not been, or nor do I know a lot? 897 00:47:27,719 --> 00:47:33,040 Speaker 2: Yeah I have, fuck you, the Stargarden topless dive bar 898 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,719 Speaker 2: in Los Angeles, which is a good name. I appreciate 899 00:47:35,719 --> 00:47:39,720 Speaker 2: a five word name for an establishment. Yeah, they voted 900 00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:43,400 Speaker 2: in I believe twenty twenty three, they voted unanimously to 901 00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:47,560 Speaker 2: unionize with the Actors Equity Association, a fifty thousand members 902 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:50,239 Speaker 2: strong labor union for stage actors. Because one of the 903 00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:52,160 Speaker 2: things that sex workers run into is like literally like 904 00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,879 Speaker 2: who will unionize us? Because the same is it's hard 905 00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:58,880 Speaker 2: to get a credit card processing company to run your shit. 906 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:04,360 Speaker 2: You know, the precarious labor is often ignored by traditional 907 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:10,000 Speaker 2: labor unions. That said, SEIU, traditional labor union, Actors Actory Association, 908 00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:13,040 Speaker 2: traditional labor union. I'm not coming for big labor here. 909 00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:16,920 Speaker 2: When I talk this shit, you know, yeah, it was 910 00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:19,439 Speaker 2: easy to convince the workers to unionize, but it wasn't 911 00:48:19,480 --> 00:48:22,400 Speaker 2: easy to get their demands met by their owners. The 912 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:25,880 Speaker 2: campaign was more than a year long. It started, like 913 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,759 Speaker 2: so many of these things do, when inadequate pay was 914 00:48:28,800 --> 00:48:33,280 Speaker 2: coupled with dangerous working conditions. In this case, it started 915 00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:37,600 Speaker 2: with security guards who consistently failed to protect dancers from customers, 916 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:43,560 Speaker 2: which is a common complaint among dancers. There's this theory 917 00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:47,440 Speaker 2: that is I think true at some clubs that security 918 00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:51,000 Speaker 2: guards exist to protect the dancers from the customers. In practice, 919 00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:54,640 Speaker 2: security guards are often there to keep the customers happy, 920 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:58,880 Speaker 2: and so they literally allow sexual assault to happen on 921 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:01,399 Speaker 2: their watch on a regular base. Us, right, because that's 922 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:03,279 Speaker 2: the like when people are like, oh, you know, they 923 00:49:03,280 --> 00:49:06,440 Speaker 2: weren't really protecting us, like yeah, from crime, like from 924 00:49:06,440 --> 00:49:09,880 Speaker 2: like not the crime whatever, from like bad things happening, 925 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:15,319 Speaker 2: you know, m hm. And so they started picketing. The 926 00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:18,279 Speaker 2: dancers did, and I think they didn't even start as 927 00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:20,040 Speaker 2: all like we want a union picket. I think they 928 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:22,480 Speaker 2: were like, this is an unsafe working environment, we want 929 00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:26,400 Speaker 2: these security guards gone picket. But instead of firing security guards, 930 00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:32,200 Speaker 2: the company fired twelve dancers dancers made the picketing into 931 00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:34,920 Speaker 2: a big show. So I did you follow this as 932 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:37,560 Speaker 2: what is happening? Mm hmmm, that's cool. What did you see? 933 00:49:37,560 --> 00:49:39,600 Speaker 2: I'm curious about it because I I was just reading 934 00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:40,680 Speaker 2: about it today and yesterday. 935 00:49:41,120 --> 00:49:43,640 Speaker 1: It was like more of like a word of mouth 936 00:49:43,760 --> 00:49:46,719 Speaker 1: kind of thing as opposed to like formal like reporting 937 00:49:46,760 --> 00:49:50,880 Speaker 1: on it. But it was just it was just like 938 00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:53,520 Speaker 1: a really cool like all of us are going to 939 00:49:53,840 --> 00:49:57,280 Speaker 1: just stand up together and have like these wild different 940 00:49:57,400 --> 00:50:00,319 Speaker 1: like costuming yeah, and like. 941 00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:02,560 Speaker 4: I don't know, just different. 942 00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:04,719 Speaker 2: They had theme nights. That's the word. 943 00:50:04,760 --> 00:50:06,840 Speaker 4: I was trying to think of the word theme. I 944 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:07,840 Speaker 4: couldn't come from. 945 00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:09,319 Speaker 2: Like Halloween costume night. 946 00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:10,440 Speaker 4: Yeah. 947 00:50:10,520 --> 00:50:13,359 Speaker 1: And you know there was like this big story because 948 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:15,920 Speaker 1: a band of whose name I'm forgetting Kate. 949 00:50:15,840 --> 00:50:19,120 Speaker 2: Rage against the Machine, Tomrella tom Morello showed up. 950 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:20,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah cute. 951 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,600 Speaker 3: Tom Morella is always down for a good ticket line. 952 00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:24,760 Speaker 3: And I think he'd been to some other like strip 953 00:50:24,760 --> 00:50:28,120 Speaker 3: club related things earlier than this too. Yeah. 954 00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:30,520 Speaker 1: I don't want to get too excited because I do 955 00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:31,799 Speaker 1: know how this ends. 956 00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:36,879 Speaker 2: Wait, no, they end up with the union, Oh they win? 957 00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:40,440 Speaker 2: I think? Wait? Is there more news that I don't know? 958 00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:42,919 Speaker 1: I thought that the club shut down. 959 00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:47,080 Speaker 2: Oh it did for nine months. 960 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:50,680 Speaker 4: Okay, Oh I don't know the update. 961 00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:54,759 Speaker 1: Yees, because I moved out of Los Angeles and all 962 00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:56,000 Speaker 1: the word of mouth went away. 963 00:50:56,600 --> 00:50:57,640 Speaker 2: No, no, that makes sense. 964 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:03,280 Speaker 4: Okay. Oh I'm excited. Oh cool people who did cool stuff. 965 00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:05,959 Speaker 4: I'm not up behind the bastards. This is not going 966 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:06,920 Speaker 4: to end badly. 967 00:51:08,239 --> 00:51:10,160 Speaker 2: I believe it's still open. This might be one of 968 00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:10,920 Speaker 2: those things where. 969 00:51:10,719 --> 00:51:12,840 Speaker 3: It's like I got scared because it says closed, but 970 00:51:12,880 --> 00:51:14,319 Speaker 3: it says closed opens at eight pm. 971 00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:21,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, so they start picketing. They turned the whole picketing 972 00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,759 Speaker 2: into a big show and they're like, yeah, customers, you 973 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:26,440 Speaker 2: could go inside, or you can party with us out here. 974 00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:28,560 Speaker 2: What the fuck are you doing going in there? And 975 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:30,839 Speaker 2: they have like costume nights and shit. Tom Morello from 976 00:51:30,880 --> 00:51:33,080 Speaker 2: fucking Rage Against the Machine is there, like posing in 977 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:35,600 Speaker 2: every goddamn photo. I mean, he's actually a really genuine 978 00:51:35,600 --> 00:51:36,600 Speaker 2: man as far as I can tell. 979 00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:40,439 Speaker 3: I've met him. No big deal. Oh nice, Yeah, he's nice. 980 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,800 Speaker 3: He he He just showed up then when like Aunt's 981 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:44,760 Speaker 3: early ant, I wore stuff and I was in Chicago, 982 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:48,200 Speaker 3: and so he was always in Chicago. Yeah, being part 983 00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:48,600 Speaker 3: of things. 984 00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:52,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, like just like genuinely genuine, and they build 985 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:54,360 Speaker 2: up a whole social media platform and they did this 986 00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:55,959 Speaker 2: word of mouth thing. There wasn't a lot of press 987 00:51:56,000 --> 00:52:00,319 Speaker 2: around it, and rather than let the workers unionize, club 988 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:02,680 Speaker 2: shut down and filed for bankruptcy. 989 00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:04,640 Speaker 4: This is where I left off. 990 00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:09,920 Speaker 2: And then after nine months, like a baby, they gave up, 991 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:13,200 Speaker 2: allowed the union, rehired the fired workers, and fired the 992 00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:20,239 Speaker 2: and they still tried to fuck over everyone there was 993 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:22,319 Speaker 2: because they're still I mean, it's still the same owners, right. 994 00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:24,200 Speaker 2: This is the reason why I like worker ownership even more, 995 00:52:24,239 --> 00:52:27,080 Speaker 2: and I like unions, but like, fuck yeah, unions, you know, 996 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,319 Speaker 2: we take what we get and we can fight. We 997 00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:31,920 Speaker 2: fight for what we can get. And when they reopened, 998 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:33,799 Speaker 2: they were like, how can we fuck everyone over? Because 999 00:52:33,840 --> 00:52:37,080 Speaker 2: it's like sex work, like any industry, they're just the 1000 00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:39,279 Speaker 2: owners are just trying to figure how to weasel every 1001 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:42,799 Speaker 2: dollar out of here, right, and so if they can't 1002 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:44,879 Speaker 2: do it in the traditional ways, they're like, all right, 1003 00:52:45,600 --> 00:52:50,240 Speaker 2: we're going cashless, adding a forty dollars cover charge at door, 1004 00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,920 Speaker 2: removing the ATMs. We're making sure that you don't get 1005 00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:56,759 Speaker 2: any money that you're not reporting to us. You know, 1006 00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:01,680 Speaker 2: they want to control everything. The union workers, though, got 1007 00:53:01,719 --> 00:53:04,520 Speaker 2: at least the cover charge lowered. I don't know what too, 1008 00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:08,840 Speaker 2: and my updates are a couple of years old, but 1009 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,799 Speaker 2: as of what I was trying to check, they are 1010 00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:15,919 Speaker 2: the only unionized strip club in the United States right now. 1011 00:53:16,360 --> 00:53:17,440 Speaker 3: Shout out to them. 1012 00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:19,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, good for them. 1013 00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:22,960 Speaker 2: Oh there's a place that calls itself Dive Barnet's name, 1014 00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:25,239 Speaker 2: and there's really good food. And now I'm hungry. Yeah, 1015 00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:27,480 Speaker 2: it didn't even work. I try to eat before I record. 1016 00:53:27,520 --> 00:53:31,160 Speaker 2: I'm just always hungry after recording. Anyway, that's the episode. 1017 00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:35,480 Speaker 2: That's the Lusty Lady and several other attempts to organize 1018 00:53:35,520 --> 00:53:38,640 Speaker 2: and successful and unsuccessful, and lots of stuff. 1019 00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:44,080 Speaker 3: That's really beautiful history about some really awesome people. I'm 1020 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:46,000 Speaker 3: so glad to know more of those details. 1021 00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:48,719 Speaker 2: How do people react when you teach this in a class? Like, 1022 00:53:49,040 --> 00:53:49,880 Speaker 2: how do people take it? 1023 00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:54,040 Speaker 3: Yeah? Different ways? You know, it's changed. So I've been 1024 00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:58,000 Speaker 3: teaching for well over a decade, like fifteen years or something, 1025 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:05,920 Speaker 3: which I don't know how that happened, but the dialectics. Sorry, no, 1026 00:54:06,040 --> 00:54:08,600 Speaker 3: that's that's how we should you know, we should spread 1027 00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:11,799 Speaker 3: that word as in nonsense ways and confuse people even more. Yeah, 1028 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:15,720 Speaker 3: it's been really confronting to me as like a third 1029 00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:20,200 Speaker 3: wave feminist raised. You know, sex positive was like the 1030 00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:23,719 Speaker 3: name of the game sort of in that era of 1031 00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:27,000 Speaker 3: the nineties early two thousands, and I think part of 1032 00:54:27,040 --> 00:54:30,320 Speaker 3: that was because I didn't grow up with porn available 1033 00:54:30,360 --> 00:54:33,120 Speaker 3: to me. Apparently some millennials found it, but I just 1034 00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:36,719 Speaker 3: like I didn't, so it wasn't really a threat to 1035 00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:39,399 Speaker 3: my childhood. I feel like the ways that some gen 1036 00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:43,360 Speaker 3: Z students talk about it, as Billie Eilish sort of 1037 00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:46,080 Speaker 3: famously came out and said, like porn ruined her relationship 1038 00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:49,160 Speaker 3: with sex for you know, after she was exposed to 1039 00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:51,880 Speaker 3: it for too soon, and she's I think she's okay. 1040 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:54,560 Speaker 2: Now, Like she's not swere fece, She's just is honest 1041 00:54:54,560 --> 00:54:56,080 Speaker 2: about her own experience. 1042 00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,600 Speaker 3: Yea, and so and that was the hard part because 1043 00:54:57,640 --> 00:54:59,920 Speaker 3: she's not as far as I can tell, she's not swarf. 1044 00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:01,360 Speaker 3: And so I was like, oh, I have to like 1045 00:55:01,800 --> 00:55:03,560 Speaker 3: take this seriously. And I you know, I've definitely had 1046 00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:06,480 Speaker 3: students and they're very worried about you know, deep fakes 1047 00:55:06,480 --> 00:55:08,520 Speaker 3: and all these things, but this is always the thing. 1048 00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:12,279 Speaker 3: It's like deep fakes and non consensual revenge porn. Like 1049 00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:16,160 Speaker 3: that's that's like different from the question of sex work, 1050 00:55:16,200 --> 00:55:19,960 Speaker 3: where you know, and all of these sort of murky areas. 1051 00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:24,840 Speaker 3: But it's just really it's tricky because there is sexual 1052 00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:29,480 Speaker 3: violence is real, and problems with non consensual porn is real, 1053 00:55:29,640 --> 00:55:34,040 Speaker 3: and it's just really tricky to hold those multiple truths, 1054 00:55:34,040 --> 00:55:36,840 Speaker 3: as we talked about earlier. So yeah, I've I think 1055 00:55:37,560 --> 00:55:39,360 Speaker 3: whereas earlier when I was teaching, when I was a 1056 00:55:39,400 --> 00:55:42,000 Speaker 3: millennial teaching other millennial students, I feel like people were 1057 00:55:42,440 --> 00:55:45,640 Speaker 3: kind of more shrug shoulders about it. And although I 1058 00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:48,200 Speaker 3: did teach, you know, at a very Catholic, like more 1059 00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:50,880 Speaker 3: conservative school for a little bit, and it was I 1060 00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:52,680 Speaker 3: think I kind of like handled it differently when I 1061 00:55:52,680 --> 00:55:56,760 Speaker 3: would teach this history, I was like a little more tame. Yeah, 1062 00:55:56,840 --> 00:55:58,400 Speaker 3: So I just, yeah, I want to shout out the 1063 00:55:58,400 --> 00:56:02,400 Speaker 3: complexity of of all of this stuff. Yeah, and for 1064 00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:04,920 Speaker 3: younger generations too, especially. 1065 00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:08,920 Speaker 2: No, that makes sense. That's like I believe in us 1066 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,080 Speaker 2: that we can hold onto complicated thoughts, I hope. So 1067 00:56:12,320 --> 00:56:14,960 Speaker 2: I believe in us that we can say sex work 1068 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:16,280 Speaker 2: is bad and work is bad. 1069 00:56:16,719 --> 00:56:18,920 Speaker 4: And two things can be true at once. 1070 00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:23,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, and that you know something that's important to me 1071 00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:27,600 Speaker 3: and that I think vibrant sex work communities that feel 1072 00:56:28,239 --> 00:56:30,480 Speaker 3: the ways that that person talked about when she held 1073 00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:34,520 Speaker 3: her shoulders high or changed her posture like it is 1074 00:56:34,560 --> 00:56:38,399 Speaker 3: the reminder that sex is not always already bad, that 1075 00:56:38,600 --> 00:56:42,000 Speaker 3: we are not always already you know, going to be victimized, 1076 00:56:42,120 --> 00:56:45,400 Speaker 3: that it's like good to like remember that, like sex 1077 00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:48,680 Speaker 3: can be fun and silly and pleasurable or sex adjacent things. 1078 00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:54,760 Speaker 3: And I personally think that is necessary to combat sexual 1079 00:56:54,840 --> 00:56:59,399 Speaker 3: violence because otherwise all that we hear is that sex 1080 00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:01,520 Speaker 3: is scary, sex is bad, people are out to hurt you, 1081 00:57:02,200 --> 00:57:05,680 Speaker 3: and you know what you pay attention to grows sort 1082 00:57:05,680 --> 00:57:08,319 Speaker 3: of Adrian ma Ree Brown ask kind of stuff. I 1083 00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:11,920 Speaker 3: just would really love to fill the world with more 1084 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:14,960 Speaker 3: reminders that there there's a spectrum of sex work and 1085 00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:18,840 Speaker 3: sex and you know how we engage with it. That's all. 1086 00:57:19,120 --> 00:57:22,959 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. 1087 00:57:23,120 --> 00:57:26,800 Speaker 2: And do you have like a newsletter that people could. 1088 00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:30,560 Speaker 3: I sure do. Maybe people remember from the last episode, No, 1089 00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:33,440 Speaker 3: they forgot, they forgot. It's called Radical Love Letters. Or 1090 00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:35,240 Speaker 3: you could just google my name. I have an extra 1091 00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:36,920 Speaker 3: E in my first name. 1092 00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:39,960 Speaker 2: So anywhere you want, just put the E in, just 1093 00:57:40,040 --> 00:57:41,880 Speaker 2: like Rachel. 1094 00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:42,800 Speaker 3: Rachel. 1095 00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:45,760 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's Erchel. 1096 00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:50,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a C H E. L. 1097 00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:53,160 Speaker 3: Yeah. Just google me and you'll find my things to 1098 00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:57,000 Speaker 3: buy and support and follow, et cetera. Thank you, thanks 1099 00:57:57,000 --> 00:57:57,520 Speaker 3: in advance. 1100 00:57:57,960 --> 00:58:01,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, take care of each other, ice and talk to 1101 00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:04,640 Speaker 2: y'all next week. 1102 00:58:08,680 --> 00:58:11,160 Speaker 1: Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff is a production of 1103 00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:14,320 Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts on cool Zone Media, 1104 00:58:14,480 --> 00:58:17,680 Speaker 1: visit our website Goolzonemedia dot com, or check us out 1105 00:58:17,800 --> 00:58:20,960 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, app a Podcasts, or wherever you 1106 00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:22,000 Speaker 1: get your podcasts.