The Pug isn't the only bar getting into the fundraising habit. The Friday Palace of wonders plays host to HIPSxotic, which will benefit HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive). HIPS is a local harm reduction organization that focuses on sex workers. In addition to condom distribution and counseling, the group also provides other services. You can red more about them on their website. Here are the vitals:
Where: Palace of Wonders (1210 H Street)
When: Friday November 16th starting at 8pm
Why: Belly dancing, burlesque, drag kings & queens, erotic poetry, sideshow acts & more.
How Much: $15 Cover (all proceeds go to HIPS)
Who: Anyone 21 years or older
24 comments:
I spent some time outside the "Palace" recently (calming a baby during dinner at Granville Moore's). I'm a little disturbed about this place, both as a parent of small children and as someone who works in the anti-human trafficking movement.
The front window was covered in highly suggestive advertisements for "burlesque" shows. Now, you can call it burlesque and pretend its quaint, but the intention is clear: these guys make money off of treating women as sex objects. If your three year old asked you what those women were doing, how would you explain it? Does sexual exploitation cease to be sexual exploitation when you give it a quaint name? Was forced prostitution just harmless fun back in the twenties?
Look, there may well be women who "like" to make money off of men treating them like an object. But it is simply a fact that many many women in our country are forced into this work: through physical threats, drugs, emotional manipulation, loan-sharking, and other forms of coercion. When you are watching your quaint little burlesque show, how do you know whether the woman before you has "freely chosen" to be your sex object?
Perhaps some of the people who are so worried about the "bad characters" that come to our neighborhood to buy single servings of alcohol or get payday loans should also consider whether we want to rebuild H St. based on striptease.
(Incidentally, none of this is to speak against the "harm reduction" movement, which provides resources to women trapped in the sex industry, and which the "HIPSxotic" show claims to support. I'm just saying that it's a bit ironic to claim to help sex workers while you promote sexual exploitation, or for a place that makes money exploiting women to claim that it is helping women. And I'd like to raise the question whether striptease is really the direction we want H St. to go.)
Eric,
I think your concerns are a bit misplaced here. We are not talking about a strip club. These shows are about the performance, not about objectifying women. Perhaps the following link (all of the photos are 100% work safe) explains it better than I could:
Lobsterboy.
Also check out people's photos of what really goes on the bar.
Finally, I'd like to point out that these shows are 21+, so you won't have any children wandering up anyway. No one performing in shows at the Palace of Wonders was forced into this work. For many of the performers this is just a part-time gig. I know that some of the belly-dancers, side show people and burlesque performers absolutely have real jobs that pay the bills. They get involved in this stuff because they enjoy it and think it's fun.
Eric, Palace of Wonders is a great place, and the most unique bar you'll ever find in DC. The burlesque shows aren't like what you find in the nudie bars in DC. I suggest you check a show there out first hand before acting as the puritan police.
I don't really agree with much of what Eric says about the PoW, but before we all pile up on Eric, I would like to commend him for bringing his family (and three year old) to H St. I think its great for H St. if we can all find the balance to protect a child's innocence and respect a person's legal civil liberties. That should be our goal. I also commend Eric for respecting those dining around him to take his crying child outside. Thank you Eric.
"thank you eric", "thank you eric".
ok, i really think i'm gonna puke.
jeezus i hope that eric and the sympathizer don't work in government...
either way, it's clear that the post was a joke. someone is just trying to rile things up. unless it really is one of those ebenezer freaks. which i doubt. don't they shun the internet?
i chalk this up to a smart ass.
if not, wow! i can't wait to go off on this idiot!
ERIC, if you're for real, please come back and say so. PUHLEAZZE!
cuz i don't want to waste my time if you really are just friggin stupid or joking. scary shit...
but great post.
it's inspiring me to write some scarey, crappy shit as a legitimate comment.
btw, i spend your tax dollars combating trafficking of women in countries around the world.
clearly, you've never left your back yard - if you're real.
this is so whacked! i dunno whether i should laugh or cry!
if you're real, btw, my wife thinks that your post is totally a machismo point of view. so take that, inbred.
i wonder if there was a poster of a male burlesque show, eric would have written his post.....
yeah, eric, we women are so exploited.
we have no intelligence whatsoever.
we are physically and mentally incapable to see that "guys make money off of treating women as sex objects". ALL women are that stupid...
Do you really think that the women at PALACE are forced into dancing otherwise they would not get their fix?
Since you work in the anti-trafficking movement, your perception is jaded. Not all dancing, burlesque or not, naked or not, is an exploitation. so don't go off on PALACE.
you are just generalizing.
on that note (and after reading your post), all men
are stupid...
you are comparing the ladies at the burlesque show with the crackheads, rapist and robbers that roam around MY neighborhood....
oh, no...please, do not tell me that having a burlesque show in our neighborhood is the cause or result of me finding condoms on my street, prostitutes using my alley to service their johns, my neighbor being held at gunpoint for his blackberry...
yes, the burlesque show is the culprit...as such i'm a woman, exploited, stupid, poor me...
and poo poo, don't say bad things about ebenezers...just order your coffee without jesus...
ps eric: i am a mother, and when my child asks me what those women were doing i would tell the truth:
"honey, they are dancing"
Inked, has PooPoo ever offered anything positive on your blog? He seems to highjack every post with some type of negative sarcasm. He seems to enjoy himself and I guess he's good for stimulating conversation.
Oh come on Sarah, the posters are very suggestive of come have sex with me. They are much more than just "dancing". Prehaps we are so used to seeing sex and booze selling happiness that our view is "jaded", not Eric's. His comment is thought provoking. No reason to feel threaten by it.
not from kanaas
Anon 8:36-
Hmmm...you see, I am from Kansas, and by referencing my home state as you did, you're actually exhibiting the same stereotyping narrow-mindedness that you accuse us of. Pretty sure that makes you a hypocrite. My guess: I'm better looking and smarter than you are.
Sincerely,
Shoe-less Country Bumpkin
Guys, let's all be nice here and give people the benefit of the doubt. Eric was clearly trying to make a point and express his point of view. I disagree with him on this one, but I often disagree with viewpoints posted here. His post may have come off as a bit condescending (and I think part of the issue might be not fully understanding what's going on inside Palace of Wonders, there were rumor about the place before it opened), but he wasn't being rude or mean about it (but Eric, you should do maybe do some more research before having a knee jerk reaction). For that reason I think it would be better if people could discuss how they agree or disagree with him, rather than just attacking him.
I thought the 3:54 comment raised a good point about families on H Street. More and more people do bring their kids out (although I mostly see this during the day) and that is a great thing, and something that is still pretty new on H Street for many people. I hope that, as we move forward, the Street can continue to offer places that appeal to a wide range of interests and age groups. But not every place is going to appeal to, or be appropriate for, everyone who comes to H Street. Diversity of ideas and places is a good thing, and I am certain that we are not "rebuild[ing] H Street based on striptease."
A formula that I find really useful when reading comments on this blog is:
'poo poo said...' = [keep scrolling]
I emailed this blogger about posting the event, so I want to first take time out to thank you, Frozen Tropics, for including this event.
I am actually one of the performers; a drag king to be exact. One of the crucial points you have missed, Eric, is actually reading the flyer and realizing that this show includes a multitude of performance styles and burlesque is only one of them. The Palace puts on a variety of shows, some of which include burlesque performances, which are different from strip shows at strip clubs, although there is some overlap. The argument that the Palace is a strip club is a huge leap, weakens your overall point, and just makes you sound hysterical, diminishing your overall credibility.
The interesting thing is that we are discussing burlesque, stripping, prostitution, and sex work as if they are all the same things. Sex work is a politicized, umbrella term used to refer to a variety of activities that involve the exchange of something sexual for money or other gains. Sex work may include prostitution, stripping, and performing burlesque, but you’d have to ask the individuals engaged in the labor to know what it means to them. For the sake of this post, I will consider all three as part of sex work but try to mind the specificities of each profession out of respect for those who work in those fields.
The most fundamental problem I find with your post, Eric, is that it is sex-negative. While I understand that you cannot remove something from its context, to strategically essentialize for a moment, sex is inherently good. That is not to say that there aren’t exploitative situations with unhealthy power dynamics that cause people physical, emotional and psychological harm, such as trafficking and abusive relationships. However, for the most part, the fundamental act of being sexual/having sex is intrinsically good (a lot of this depends on how those involved, including the State, define sex and sexual acts).
If you start from the premise that sex is good, then what’s wrong with sex work that isn’t coercive or that is “freely chosen” as you chose to write? All labor in predominantly capitalist system is exploitive and depends on a degree of coercion, as well as consent (look up the concept of hegemony). If an individual wants to offer intercourse, erotic dancing, flogging, massaging, dirty talk or anything else that can be construed as sexual by the participant(s) in exchange for something of value, I don’t see anything fundamentally wrong with that. I understand the arguments in favor of describing our current status quo vis-à-vis sex work as inherently misogynist, exploitive of women, etc, ad nauseum. I find them patronizing and presumptive. Speak to someone who engages in sex work-be it prostitution, stripping, burlesque, pro-domming, etc. There are a multitude of complex reasons why people choose the professions they do and if we are speaking about “choice” here, I find it interesting that some of the same people who bemoan sex workers’ choices have little to say about exploitive labor practices elsewhere, say with undocumented immigrants, people of color, and any members of the American underclass.
I am also particularly sensitive to the comments about burlesque dancers because I consider myself a member of the larger DC performer community. I am a drag king, but I have also performed femininity as a feminine role in performance numbers (though never as a burlesque dancer, but give me some time). There is quite a bit of cross-collaboration between the drag king community and the burlesque community in DC as well as with the larger performer community in general. This is reflected in the HIPS line-up and it makes me so happy to be in DC and to be a part of it all. Tremendous thought, effort and preparation goes into these numbers. You should talk to performers about how they conceptualize their routines. To name one example, a burlesque performer used the premise of taking off your clothes to construct a routine in which she was water a wilting plant, it wouldn’t grow, so she started removing clothing and suddenly it came to life and sprouted. How clever is that? I don’t want to just praise burlesque performers -it takes time, energy and effort to do any job well, particularly sexual acts. Think about the muscular development strippers undergo to be able to hold themselves up on poles for eight-hour shifts. How many people are horrible dancers? Why not praise strippers for being able to squat in stilettos and remove their clothing in time to the music? And as for sex workers, well it takes good communication to find out what sexual partners want and then there is definitely good technique and bad technique when it comes to execution. Unless you’re having vanilla, missionary, heterosexual sex (in which case I’m so sorry for you), sex takes talent and skill. And not to be too judgmental of the type of sex that is traditionally though to correct and yield children, that takes skill as well-if it is to achieve its purpose, which is making people feel good.
I added the bit about children to address Eric’s point about what kind of environment to raise children in. Frankly, I’m sick of us collectively prioritizing children over adults. I’m also not convinced that what is considered prioritizing children really accounts for their best interests. I also find it ironic that Eric takes the same patronizing, protective, machismo attitude towards women as he does children. Because really, females just need to be protected and taken care of. Clearly. But I digress. Children are not going to die if they see naked people, even eroticized, naked people. Children do not need to be protected from sex, they need to be educated about it in an age-appropriate, sex-positive manner that will allow them to make healthy, informed decisions about when and with whom to become sexually active. They need this information to prevent unwanted pregnancies, to prevent STI transmission, and most importantly, to have good, pleasurable sex. Now I’m not saying you should take your 3-year-old to a burlesque show. But I think walking by the Palace is not going to traumatize them. If they have questions, maybe you need to check your own prudishness, repression and insecurities and find out how to explain it. Maybe something like: Oh this is a bar and sometimes they have performances; that’s why there is a picture of a woman in pasties in the window. Well, the woman in pasties is a burlesque dancer, which is a type of performance that usually involves performers taking off most of their clothes. Well, they take off their clothes because it is exciting and the audience enjoys it. This is just a suggestion, or what I would say to my 3-year-old. God I can’t wait to babysit your kids.
Lastly, about gender. As a gender performer and someone who is gender non-conforming I resent the assumption that all burlesque performers are women and that all those watching burlesque performers are men. Yes I’m one of those people-you can’t neatly categorize me as “man” or “woman” and that’s going to make your 3-year-old die. Or crossdress. Often, the crowds at shows are very mixed and actually include people who aren’t men or women (like me!). In fact the most salient points of your agreement rest on this assumption. Since your assumption is false, your argument is fundamentally weak and simply incorrect. What you have posted invites a critical reinterrogation of gender dynamics, economics, and power. What does it say about gender, class and power when women “consume” sex work from other women? I would recommend the book Female, Chauvinist Pigs. I’m sorry for singling you out, Eric, as your arguments reflect the sentiment of too many people, but you commented on the post. Hopefully my post has given those reading it some food for thought. –Manny Nuff aka Aubrie
Aubrie, Hear hear! As a woman who enjoys watching burlesque, as well as stripping, pole dancing, etc, I find your last point particularly valid. See you this evening, I'm volunteering at the event.
Cheers
(Manny, you're so hot!) And thanks to Inked for posting the announcement about tonight's show at Palace. I'm not performing in this one, but some of my friends are, and I am so excited to go out and support them (including Manny - if you haven't seen him perform, you should get your butts over to PoW tonight! You're missing out!!). It's going to be a great show, at a wonderful venue, for a good cause, with a lot of different kinds of performance from drag kings to burlesque dancers, to sideshow acts. What more could anyone ask for??
Oh yeah, I could ask to be treated like an adult. Reading Eric's thoughts on burlesque dancers raised my hackles for a number of reasons, some of which have already been touched on here (I'll try not to repeat), but I thought it might be helpful for folks to hear more about what burlesque means to a burlesque performer herself, rather than how it is interpreted from a very narrow and (in my opinion) patronizing, heterosexist, and misogynistic point of view.
First, a disclaimer - there is a huge variety of burlesque performers and performances (just as there is variance in any sort of sex work "category"). I can't claim to speak for them all. Many burlesque performers would be shocked and appalled to find themselves categorized as a sex worker, many (like myself) might take it as a compliment or point of pride/solidarity (even though I don't necessarily experience my own performances as sex acts), many have been or are currently involved in other areas of sex work as well, and many may not even think about sex work and burlesque as related things. So, to lump us all into one category and say we are all being exploited in the same way for the benefit of some big bad man is a little far-fetched.
Personally, I would probably identify as a "gender performer" before "sex worker." When I'm on stage, I'm there to perform femininity in a way that is a little over-the-top, absurd, and ultra-femme, with the intention of (a) having fun, (b) owning - and playing with - a historically disempowered gender identity in a very empowering way (creating a situation where a feminine person is in control), and (c) pointing out how much of a performance gender categories like feminine and masculine actually are. My performances are an avenue for creativity, playful self-expression, and political statements. They are a major adrenaline rush and a chance to ham it up and put it all out on the line in a space that is safe, supportive, and charged.
I joined the local DC Gurly Show burlesque troupe just a few months ago, and I perform with them once or twice a month. I do it for all the reasons mentioned above, not as a source of income (in fact, I probably spend more on my costume pieces and props than I make in tips on a given night!) This is not to say that there aren't burlesque performers who make their living through burlesque, but I think I am safe in saying that in those situations it is generally on their own terms and as a result of their creative talent - not at the whim of some all-powerful masculine figure. Also, Manny is absolutely right to point out that burlesque performers and audiences do not necessarily fit into a feminine performer/masculine breakdown. Our monthly shows attract a very diverse crowd, with the majority of the audience made up of GLBT and genderqueer folk. Most of the performers in my troupe identify as GLBT, as well.
It is extremely offensive - and even laughable - to hear someone talk about me as being exploited as a burlesque performer. I feel "exploited" as a woman when I walk down the street and men feel they have a right to catcall or make physical contact with me. When I'm on stage, performing burlesque, I feel powerful and sexy and in control. I never worry about being raped, groped, or harassed during my performances (in fact, I dare someone to show up at the spaces we perform in and try that), but those are all things every woman has to worry about as part of everyday life. If anything, I am more "empowered" as a burlesque performer than I am as a woman.
Ultimately, I find it insulting that as soon as I am performing femininity in a way that is fun, empowering, and potentially challenging to normative gender roles, I am swooped under someone's arm as a weak little girl who is being taken advantage of and needs to be both protected and hid from view. Eric, you need to re-evaluate, maybe come to a performance, and get your panties out of a bunch.
By the way, if you want to see more burlesque/gender performance, there are a few more upcoming events: Dr. Sketchy on Sunday evening at PoW, hosted by Bambi Galore and featuring Jezzie Bell Bottoms, and the DC Gurly Show's "Spanksgiving" show Wednesday night at 10 pm at Club Chaos in Dupont Circle.
Lots of love,
Ginger Galore
So rather than a titty bar, POW is a vanilla tits & ass bar?
All I can say is check out the photos and maybe catch a show. The performers do this kind of thing for different reasons. Where I went to college there was a once a semester exotic dancing night at the local college coffee house. The performers were students. Probably at least half of them (by my estimation) were men. It ranged from people doing elaborate acts to people going up on stage and just taking off their clothes (all men, from what I saw). I don't think it's totally out of the ballpark for people to be uncomfortable with the blurred line between burlesque, the "exotic dancing night" that I described above & stripping. But I do think you've got a fundamental difference in the power dynamic between the stuff going on at Palace of Wonders and what I would consider sex work. You can make a slippery slope argument, but Eric asks how we can know if the performers at Palace of Wonders are willingly performing. For me there isn't much of a question there.
I understand Eric's concern, and I'd feel a lot more uncomfortable making that statement if it were an actual strip club (I've never been to one). But it's not, and I do know some of the performers and there is no element of force, or coercion here, so it doesn't alarm me. The slippery slope argument is a valid one, it's also a complex one, and I don't (personally) feel that it belongs here. These performances are pretty tame. Nudity, in itself, isn't a problem, or we'd be banning National Geographic.
Asking what sort of businesses we want on H Street, however, is a very valid question. Perhaps it's one that Eric should also bring up at Tuesday's 6A ABL meeting at Sherwood Rec.
PoW also has lots of shows that don't involve any burlesque, so no, it isn't even a vanilla t&a bar.
Poo-poo -- unmask yourself. Time to unmask poo-poo.
lil' kenny g,
"'poo poo said...' = [keep scrolling]"
since you're so PC, you might have thought a bit more and said something like:
"ya'll should keep scrollin' till ya'll see som'n all warm 'n fuzzy, y'all. heck almighty! oh my lord! if it had poo poo next to it, it can't be good! ain't that in some rules 'n regulations somewheres?".
(that's a joke, dufus)
but i respect your point of view, and truly hope that at least you scroll past my posts.
i've already wasted enough time responding to your arcane logic.
i, for one, will target your posts, not scroll by them. cuz you need to wake up just a bit. as proven by subsequent posts to my original one.
and for the drag king and burlesque goddess, KUDOS TO YOU.
unlike some of the freaks on this blog, i've been to burlesque, strip joints, and artistic performances that involve skin, sex, and the human condition.
i'm so glad you defended yourselves and your art.
i guess this is just dc. there are a bunch of small minded people around the Hill. just look at what the american people voted for as president.
take 'em with a grain of salt. they won't last long here.
they'll soon be back in iowa, SCRATCH THAT, i mean... ummm.... oklahoma (that's for you, hillman)!
if not, i say we turn them in to the immigration folks at the department of homeland security.
plus, they screw up traffic, which really irks me, damnit!
anon 10:40....
funny.
read, in a whiny voice, "poo poo, unmask yourself, signed ANONYMOUS".
pretty ironic (you can look 'ironic' up on dictionary.com, IF you can find someone to type that into what we call a "browser". i doubt you should ask anyone biologically related to you... just ask a friend with a job.)
i am unmasked. i am poo poo!
[end scrolling]bfue
Last night's show was a really good time. PoW was packed. Even if you ignored that the cover charge was going to a noble cause, the performers still made it worth the price of admission. Walking back from the men's room to the bar, I got snared and brought on stage by the emcee drag queen. A first time for everything, I suppose.
As THE burlesque performer from the HIPS benefit show and a regular performer on the PoW stage I find Eric's comment so insulting it made me want to spit, far from my normal demure nature. I actualyl wrote 2 responses yesterday and had to erase them because I was so angry.
First, I am going to address the fact that the fliers in PoW's windows are hardly any more suggestive than what you see on the cover of magazines in your local grocery store. Has his child never seen a Cosmo? The boobs on those women are WAY more out there and wait till the child can read, "daddy, what's a g spot?" There is nothing near that profane that graces the windows at PoW. At most, you might get a pastie, more than likely a corset and some legs. Sorry that the human figure is something so disturbing to you and your family.
Second, burlesque is FAR from exploitation. I have worked in a strip club (not as a dancer but I built relationships with the girls) and I do burlesque currently. Now I cringe when people call stripping exploitive but I understand where it comes from. The girls do do moves purely to please the primarily male customers as they are dependent on the customers happiness to make a living. You are limited in your expressive freedom that way. That is not the way of burlesque. A great burlesque performance is concerned with the audiences reaction but more importantly their own enjoyment. I do numbers based on what I think the audience will like but mainly on what I enjoy doing. I love my body. I am a curvy woman, I am not a stick nor will I ever be, this is the body I was given and I'm not afraid of it.
Eric has obviously never been to a burlseque show because the majority of people who come are women. The people that come up after me and compliement me, who tell me that I give them courage, that I impress them, women. A burlesque dancer is not dependent on the customers to make a living. Many of us have higher educations, many with phds and masters. I work as an accountant in my day life.
It's hard for me to stay on point because its a very touchy subject. I'd love to sit and chat with anyone that wants to, epecially Eric. In fact I'll be at PoW on Sunday hosting a Dr Sketchy event. Come on out, it's free. And don't worry Eric, no breasts.
Bambi Galore
You can also find me on myspace
hey, bambi. nice post. i'm glad you waited to post, because of the anger thing. you made very good points, and i think it makes some of these folks look like they've just crawled out from under a rock.
as to this eric person, i have to admit that he's entitled to his own opinion. i don't agree with it, and think it's absolutely parochial and pathetic, but hey, to each their own.
the important thing is that you came out and wrote your post.
the only way to educate some of these ... ummmm... freaks, is to have folks like you speak to them directly.
hopefully, they'll read your post. you never know with these types. it's hard to read from a computer screen when you're grovelling on your knees to put donuts on the table.
but... here's to hoping!
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