Any body out there that remembers how this shit got started?
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
First it was GO GO dancers. Then it became topless bar maids. Then it became bottomless entertainers. I remember my best friend telling me about a club in Bellflower CA that was now going nude. He had a side business of cleaning beer taps. He took me along to this first nude club as his assistant. I got in free. The place was packed. Standing room only. Why? To watch the naked dancer. I got to watch the show. She swang on a swing over the bar, wearing a micro mini skirt and nothing underneath. I couldn't see shit but the customers loved it.
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You and I may be the only two old enough to remember Burlesque.
I also remember that when I was a kid in the 40s and 50s the touring carnivals had side shows that included strippers but I was too young to see them so I don't know what they were doing but it was probably pretty tame by comparison to today. I also recall that in those days prostitution was pretty common and nobody much cared. I'm guessing that strip clubs didn't really become commonplace like they are today until cities and towns started cracking down on prostitution. Until then the only strip clubs were in large cities.
The building, I remember well, is still there, but now a second hand tire shop.
I can remember visiting El Ranchita in La Paz, Mexico back in the early 70's. We were just expecting a Mexican whore house. But it was much more. Besides the strippers (prostitutes) they also featured singers, ventrilokists (sp) jugglers and comedians. We were the only two Americans there. We had a great time without partaking of the girls. BTW this club is still listed on TUSCL.
FONDL is older than me. LOL...
Oh, wrong thread, was thinking about the South Carolina politicians thinking it's ok to have new laws that would turn strip clubs into bikini bars.
I vaguely remember a local place not far from where I live that used to have some Burlesque. I read that at least. I think showing some leg was considered exciting a long time ago. I guess it still is in Saudi Arabia.
FONDL's point is well taken. Though I don't think it has much to do with any proliferation in strip clubs, prostitution is pretty much an underground industry in this day and age. Street walkers and whore houses do still exist. Nowadays you have to look for them on the internet...
Strip clubs have always existed in downtown areas. The growth in the last 40 years has almost all been in city fringes, small towns and rural areas. And Yoda is right, the sex used to occur outside the club, especially in the parking lots.
I don't think raids on places like massage parlors or their equivalent were nearly as common years ago. As people have become more upscale there's less tolerance for such activities. Years ago people minded their own business much more than we do today. We've become a nation of busybodies - everyone thinks they have the right to tell others how to live.
In the HBO documentary "Pimps Up, Ho's Down," there are interviews with committed black pimps who have worked their girls and the streets from the time before crack cocaine and now do so afterwards as well. Very interesting viewing. It's a 2-parter, and (IIRC) the sequel is better than the original.