Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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I’ve been working my way in and out of a depression this week. I’m overwhelmed by the lack of quality higher level sex education in my country. The ridiculous assumptions people make when I mention my desire to further my sex education have been grating my nerves, and I was recently chastised for being sexually responsible and honest. I’ve spent the weekend in a funk.

Luckily for you, I watch movies when I am depressed. I start out with dramas that deal with death (suicide, homicide, funeral preparations). I figure it’s better than actually being suicidal, or homicidal, or preparing dead bodies without a license. So I start with death and end with documentaries (cultural, musical, social) to lighten the mood. That is how I came upon the Live Nude Girls Unite! documentary.

Live Nude Girls Unite! is a documentary that follows the workers of San Francisco’s Lusty Lady nude theatre. According to the Live Nude Girls Unite website, the Lusty Lady is not a strip club. It is “a peepshow--a mirrored box of naked women, writhing and undulating behind glass for masturbating voyeurs.” Surprisingly it is touted as being one of the more feminist and worker friendly establishments. Clearly, the documentary shows a business that is not friendly or feminist, yet while watching the film I did think that this projected reputation was what drew this particular group of women to work at the theater, and what eventually made the Lusty Lady the “only unionized nude theater in the country”.

People fight for their rights when they feel as though they deserve proper treatment, when their expectations are not met, and when they know things can’t get much worse. What I loved about the women of the Lusty Lady was that they really believed in their right to fair treatment. You could hear it in the way they spoke, and see it in their actions. Without this mentality and sense of unity, I don’t know that they would have been so effective in a culture that has so much hostility towards sex and sex work.

Society makes many false assumptions and biases against sex workers, but their need for safe and fair working conditions is no different than any other type of worker. While I definitely believe in sex workers rights, it’s not surprising that they are lacking some of the most basic liberties. We live in a society/country/world where sexuality is constantly demeaned and distorted for profit and power. The fact that the policies at the Lusty Lady were both sexist and racist, didn’t come as any shock to me, but some of the policies were definitely outside of my expectations of how a nude theatre is run. However, it wasn’t all bad news. The resolve of the women was inspiring, and yes, there were actually men and patrons who supported the workers union. I don’t think men should get special treatment for relating to women’s struggle for equality, but it was still nice to see the support of both sexes portrayed in the film.

There are a lot of things to identify with in this film, from “coming out” to your parents to being an oppressed and fed up worker. I recommend this film for anyone who’s interested in the subject, but especially for those of you who have been working in, or have been wanting to work in the sex industry.

I've posted the movie playlist here. You can also watch the film online at Netflix. For more information please visit the Live Nude Girls Unite website.