Peepshow Gone Creepshow, 1997, Acrylic on Bristol, 28"x30"

Around 1994, San Francisco strip clubs began charging dancers $10 a shift to pay for stage fees and for advertisement. Dancers rebelled by working at other clubs. But soon all the clubs started charging, and within months, stage fees rose to $100 a shift. At that level, it was hard for all but a few dancers to make enough to pay for the stage fee. Girls started leaving the business altogether when they realized that in some cases they could make more waitressing than stripping. To entice girls to stay, strip clubs began building private rooms with dimmed lights. This allowed the girls to charge more per dance to make up the difference, but this often implied going beyond just a simple lap dance. When the dancers protested, the club managers hired street prostitutes to work at the club. Their presence made it clear to many girls: put out or leave. Girls had to compromise their integrity to fulfill the demands of the strip club.

This piece entitled “Peepshow Gone Creepshow” is a political commentary about the greed and exploitation of strip club owners in San Francisco.

I have gone to hearings at the Commission for the Status of Women in San Francisco to testify against the strip clubs. At the last hearing, I heard long time sex worker activist Daisy Anarchy, who has worked as a prostitute and exotic dancer, testify that the O'Farrell Theater is now charging over up to $350.00 a shift and that sexually assault in private booths is rampant. San Francisco is now the worst city to work as an exotic dancer.