The Story
Sex Workers' Art Show In Review
The Sex Workers' Art Show drew crows and sold out tickets Monday at the University Center. Courtesy of sexworkersartshow.com.
“Sometimes it’s exhausting to be an ambassador of goodwill to the non-sex worker population,” said performer Kirk Read with a sigh at Feb. 4’s Sex Workers’ Art Show.
The job was no doubt made more exhausting by the protestation of the show and the restrictions placed on it by the College, but the effort of Read and the other performers was definitely appreciated by those who attended the eye-opening and entertaining evening.
Annie Oakley, founder and director of the show, hosted the event, livening up an already riveting show with her biting sense of humor and powerful statements about conditions in the sex work industry.
In her opening remarks, she described how, despite the fact that sex work is a $12 billion a year industry (revenue that is more than what pro football, baseball and hockey bring in combined), sex workers have “no voices in mainstream culture.”
In America, Oakley said, we “prefer our products to remain anonymous.” The show, however, helps to “bring out the labor side of the [sex industry] products and services we consume voraciously.”
The show gave voices, faces and names to this anonymous and often exploited labor force but managed to maintain a light and highly entertaining mood.
It’s hard not to be entertained when a sparkly gay man strips down to lacy blue panties, purchased at “Cross Dress for Less,” according to Read. As a gay teen who came out in a small Virginia town, Read told of how he changed his high school’s prom policy and was disappointed the principal approved the change without protest or controversy, denying him his dream of appearing on Oprah.
“The protesters [outside the UC] are 20 years late…but it’s like a wet dream for me,” he said.
The energy of the show continued to build from there, with performances by famous burlesque dancer Dirty Martini and The World Famous Bob, a dime-a-dance girl turned self-proclaimed “worst dominatrix ever” turned performance artist. Bob (she renamed herself after The Cure front man Robert Smith) performed an exhilarating striptease to the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Erin Markey, a Brooklyn-based performing artist and writer, performed an excerpt from her solo musical Puppy Love: A Stripper’s Tail. Markey showed off her hilarious wit, as well as her pole dancing and singing chops, as she captivated the audience with the story of her journey from college grad to Chuck E. Cheese reject to an amateur stripper with the stage name “Bridget.”
Lorelei Lee, a porn performer, student and writer, quieted the mood with her story “Drive,” a lonely piece accompanied by photographs that touched on the darker side of the porn industry. For a long time she hid her profession because she was afraid of what people might think, but now she is more open and said she was “really grateful to be here.”
Another highlight of the show was Mistress Keva, a dominatrix who was recently accepted into graduate school at Berkeley. Mistress Keva turned a male College student into her submissive pony boy, gave him a name in her native Cantonese and made him whimper on command. She spoke of how she exploits Asian stereotypes and fetishes with her clients, pretending to say dirty things in Cantonese when actually she’s asking how much the yellow purse costs.
Acclaimed author Chris Kraus performed next, reading a story about her days as a topless dancer in New York City.
The night ended with fireworks - literally - with the performance of Krylon Superstar, a legendary performance artist who danced to a patriotic anthem with the words “F*** Bush” taped to his chest. He finished with a flourish by placing a sparkler in his butt and lighting it to the shock and applause of the audience.
Judging by the reactions of the crowd, the majority of the members of the College in the audience supported and thoroughly enjoyed the show.
“I really liked it,” said Carolyn Shinn (’11). “I think it’s necessarily to learn about this side of American culture.”
Sarah Rybarczyk (’11) said the show was “commendable,” and she was “really impressed with the way they were able to present it.” She went to the show because “college is the time to have these experiences and see something you couldn’t ordinarily.”
Christopher Barnewolt (’11) liked the “firsthand, realistic accounts” of life as a sex worker.
Although it is the Sex Workers’ Art Show, a theme that crystallized as the show went on was the fact that every performer is not only a sex worker but also a student, a teacher, a writer, an artist, an innovator, an actor - the list goes on. While “sex worker” plays a role in each person’s identity, it does not define him or her.
Brian Story (’09) was on the staff of the show and saw it for the first time last year. “The message of the show is very important for everyone to hear, whether or not you agree with it,” Story said. “It’s their form of art.”
As Oakley said, that message and that art is not one that glorifies the sex industry, but merely presents a “whole picture of the range of experiences” of sex workers.
Despite obstacles, the show succeeded in transmitting that message to the audience through performances that pushed the envelope in funny, sexy, reflective and, above all, honest ways.