Sex In The City -- Let's Talk About Strip Clubs, Sex, Breasts and More

As I discussed briefly Friday afternoon, there are some fundamental “house rules” regarding this discussion – let’s be mature, let’s be light-hearted, let’s keep the commentary PG, and let’s stay on point in any response comments.  And if possible, folks—let’s try to be reasonable and use common sense here.  ;-)  Also, this is the first post in a two post series.  This post is focusing on strip clubs in general.  The later second post is going to specifically address the Bleu Diamond and Club 44 matter from two weeks ago.
 

This first post is incredibly long because it addresses a lot of issues regarding strip clubs, issues surrounding the exposing of a woman’s breast in a public/open to the public setting, a discussion on breast feeding in public, human trafficking and sex slavery, money laundering and organized crime, a brief tutorial on how and why organized crime comes to be, differentiation between sexual rape and sexual victimization, rapists and rapists subsets, sex as a weapon, why most men don’t rape and why others don, Alpha males versus Beta males,  the “naughty parts” of the Bible, rapists versus pimps (and why pimps don’t make good business operators), how strip clubs can be used as gateways to sexual slavery, sexual slavery as part of organized crime (and the different male roles), why women turn to stripping, how strippers become prostitutes, how prostitutes become sex slaves, how strip clubs maximize their profits while minimizing their liabilities (especially within the framework of human trafficking), what can and cannot be done about strip clubs (and who is lying to you about what), what should be done about strip clubs (and what new regulations should be legislated and why), and finally a special message to woman about consenting to sex.

I cover a lot in a way that is mature, full of common sense, and I inject some humor where appropriate to keep the conversation on these serious and very intertwined topics light-hearted where possible. 

Historically, my posts contain a lot of references so my information can be checked for accuracy.  In this case, I have foregone doing so. In part, because it would add additional length to this already lengthy and much needed discussion.  But in larger part because there are 9 legislators sitting on City Council and they need to start doing some of their own research.  Far too many City Councilmen are relying upon others—particularly City attorneys or boards/committees that are created so that Council can avoid responsibility and accountability for making decisions that go against the wishes of the greater community.  In requiring City Councilmen to start doing their own research and not relying on others, they can be (and will be) held to a higher accountability than before.  No more hiding behind attorneys or boards/committees. 

Now some Councilmen will make statements like “I don’t have time to do my own research” or “I’m too busy with my day job, Council duties, and spending time with my family to do my own research” – and my response to that excuse is this.  If you cannot fulfill the duties of being an informed and self-educated member of City Council, then resign, step down and make room for your successor.  In other words, step up, stop your whining, and do the job that nearly 10,000 taxpaying, electorally-registered city residents selected you to do and are paying you to do with their hard earned taxes.

And so the above noted discussions begin…

 

STRIP CLUBS ARE FUNNY THINGS

You know, I’ve really never understood the “need” for topless strip clubs, especially for men.  Guys—think about it?  You’re going to a place to get charged an entrance fee for the privilege of drinking over-priced watered-down beer to pay some woman to take off her clothes whom you can’t touch, who isn’t going to bed with you, and who isn’t going to have sex with you? No offense, but sounds like marriage?  LOL! ;-) :-D  (To which some ladies out there are saying, “hey that’s not funny”; to which some guys are having a ‘lightbulb moment’ and saying, “Dang, she’s right”; to which strip club owners are saying, “Shhh, shut up about that—we know how ignorant our customers are, but they don’t”). 

 

And why are they sometimes called "Gentlemen's Clubs"?  There is nothing "gentlemanly" about most guys who visit strip clubs.  Foaming at the mouth and panting like dogs in anticipation of new meat.  Yes.  Acting like a gentleman.  Uhm, no.  Really, who are y'all trying to fool?  Just sayin...LOL! ;-)

Also, notice how I say I don't understand the need for strip clubs "especially for men"?  That's because if us ladies want so see a hot, sweaty, topless guy, all we have to do is go to a gym, a beach, watch unsponsored amateur outdoor sporting events, or basically go to any place where guys congregate and compete against each other in hot weather. Or we can go to the local gay bar for their bi-weekly male dance review --- Gay bars, not just for gay men anymore…LOL! ;-) Or on a really hot day, we hire a lawn care worker, a gardener, an exterior painter, have some construction done on the house, or hire a pool boy – whether we have a pool or not. Just sayin…LOL! ;-) And in none of these cases is tucking a buck expected or required, although in some cases I’m guessing it’s appreciated. ;-)  (Folks, just keeping it real here.)

Nor have I never understood the really lame argument that some strip club owners use ---and apparently City of Fort Wayne paid-attorneys and City Councilmen “buy” hook, line and sinker --- of how strip clubs have a Constitutional Right to be treated like every other business operation.  Ok, dumb@sses, let’s get real. (Not you, my loyal friends, but those who get paid to lie to the rest of us—ahem, corporate City of Fort Wayne.) First, yes, a strip club has the right to be treated just like every other business.  I agree whole-heartedly with that. Matter of fact, let me repeat that:  A STRIP CLUB HAS THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER BUSINESS. To which strip club owners, the area’s politicians, the City’s attorneys, and members of City Council are scratching their heads and thinking “OK, where is she going with this?” To which feminists, anti-human trafficking advocates and the anti-strip club crowd are angrily thinking, “WTH?!”  To which everyone else is thinking “Get ready, this is gonna be good…LOL!”

 

GIVE ‘EM WHAT THEY WANT – TREAT STRIP CLUBS LIKE “EVERY OTHER BUSINESS”

I say give ‘em what they want and treat strip clubs just like every other business – and I do mean JUST. LIKE. EVERY. OTHER. BUSINESS!  That, of course, means –right off the bat -- that BANNING TOPLESS dancing/serving/entertaining would be required and enforcing a bikini dress code for female staff (and all so-called “independent contractors”) with penalties of public indecency/house of ill repute for those who fail to enforce such dress code. 

Folks -- Do you see pole dancing instructors at the YMCA or Boudoir Noir teaching topless?  Uhm, no.  Do you see waiters/waitresses at other establishments that serve alcohol without their tops on?  Uhm, no.  Do you see workers at restaurants that serve food working with their tops off?  Uhm, no. Do you see workers at liquor stores serving their customers without their tops on? Uhm, no.  Do you see any other establishment that provides entertainers at any of the restaurants, bars, taverns, coffee houses, art galleries, etc. “entertaining” with their tops off?  Uhm, no.  Do you see anyone in retail working with their tops off?  Uhm, no.  Not even those who sell adult toys and novelties. 

Do you see any government worker with their tops off?  Uhm, no.  Thank goodness for that one!  Imagine someone like FWPD’s Marty Bender with his top off?? No offense, but no thank you. (And some of you thought I was going to throw Mayor Henry in that example didn’t ya?  Guess what—I didn’t have to ‘cause you already went there…LOL!  In sincerity, I may not respect the fiscal and social public policies of Mayor Henry, but I do respect the Office of Mayor, which is why I didn’t go there.) 

I could just go on and on here with example after example --The point here is that there is no other industry anywhere in the City of Fort Wayne or the County of Allen or the State of Indiana that requires or that is allowed to have their workers go topless. And as a society, we are grateful for that---to a point. (Let me get to the “a point” in a moment.)  No offense, but some people shouldn’t be permitted to run around working with their tops off---and currently, I’m one of ‘em.  (Hey, just keeping things real here.)

 

SIDEBAR #1 – FOR THE FEMINISTS AND ANTI-STRIP CLUB CROWD (and worth a read by the general public)

I know I’ve just enraged some of you who believe women should be allowed to be topless in public when it comes to breast-feeding their infants, I agree with you.  Mothers meeting the nutritional needs of their innocent babies in the way God and nature intended should be allowed the right to feed their children in public without penalty. Even if it means temporarily exposing a breast to do so.  Which is why I wrote “…to a point.” But this also raises a question for you ladies – Why do you “protest” in support of this right in a public park in front of the Courthouse – where every other supposed “protest” in this town takes place – on a Saturday morning to afternoon – where traffic counts from the street department will show is the lowest time of the week for traffic at that location – instead of protesting in front of or right beside places that commercialize the exposure of women’s breasts for profit? 

It seems to me that if you, as a group, were truly serious about your right to breastfeed in public, you would be at the forefront of protesting those who make money from the very acts that you are prohibited to do for free in public.  If a mother nursing her child exposes her breast in public, she can be penalized and fined for indecent exposure. But if a woman exposes her breasts inside of a building, accessible to the public, where men have to pay an admission fee to gawk at women that they have to also pay directly or indirectly to expose their breasts, no one gets penalized.  To which the feminists groups are now scratching their heads and thinking, “Wow, we owe Gina an apology for being angry.  She’s right. We’ve totally missed our mark.  We should be protesting in front of or beside strip clubs during their busiest times to gain our right not to be penalized for exposing our breasts to meet the natural, nutritional needs of our babies.”

To which strip club owners are now confused about how to react to this --- Do we laugh? Do we cry? WTF@#%!? My response to the strip club owners is this – If you want to protect your business interest of having the right to showcase the breasts of women to men desperate enough to pay, then perhaps you should have supported these feminists and helped them to gain the right to breastfeed their babies in public without risk of penalty.  Afterall, both you (strip club owners) and them (feminists groups) want the right to be able to expose breasts without penalty?   Heck, if I was a strip club owner, especially one hiding behind “Constitutional Rights,” I would have gotten ahead of the matter and offered the feminists groups my public, financial and/or legal support when they launched their “low-key,” media promoted, ineffective, unproductive protest at a public park instead of waiting for them to protest at my business where their naked, exposed breasts would seriously hinder my business operations.

Afterall, why should men have to pay a strip club to see naked breasts inside a building that they have to pay to get into if they can see the naked breasts of feminist protesters for free outside!?!?  To which strip club owners are saying, “Hey they can’t protest on our private property.  We have private property rights. We’ll call the police.”  To which my response is – Go ahead and call the police and have them arrest mothers for trespassing, I’m sure they’d appreciate the media coverage for expressing their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to free speech for the sake of feeding their children.  Afterall, we must think of the children. (And just where is “Right to Life” on this matter? Shouldn’t they be standing with and protesting along with and in support of these women for the sake of children just born or about to be born.  Surely depriving a child of its mother’s nutrition outside of the womb is just as important as a depriving a child of its mother’s nutrition inside of the womb, right? And if I’m wrong, then YOU folks have just proven that you are NOT “pro-life” but are merely “pro-birth.”)

Back to my response to the strip club owners – Hey, guys.  Guess what?  Protestors have CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS too – real ones.  They have the same right to Freedom of Speech and Expression as you do.  (To which the City’s lawyers and “legislators” are either smacking their foreheads, cr@pping their pants and/or saying my name in vain about now.)  This means they have the right to launch a protest on adjacent public properties, such as the public right-of-way access points flanking the vehicular entrances of your business property. Also, your private property rights really don’t mean a hill of beans when you operate a business that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. (rubbing temples) Oops?!

But, in fairness to strip club owners, if they did that—supported womens right to expose their breast in public—then strip club owners also risk creating unbridled competition by creating opportunities for women to freely and openly expose their breasts where any man –-desperate or not---could freely and openly gawk at.  Strip club owners, like any other business, HATE competition. Have you ever wondered why you never see strip clubs operating next door to a fitness center?  Why would guys pays a weekly admission fee to watch a bunch of hot, sweaty women dance when it’s cheaper (and more respectable) to go next door to the fitness center to pay dues and watch hot, sweaty women work out? Worse for strip club owners, especially bottom tier “budget-friendly” clubs (you know the kind with food specials that offer 2 tacos for $6) – they usually end up hiring sleezy managers/relatives that are cheap and abusive instead of professional, whom actually know how to manage -- they’d lose control over their dancers.  Imagine a strip club manager mistreating a dancer to the point she gets fed up and quits.  A smart dancer would join the feminists cause, maybe even put on a lil’ public strip tease as a fundraiser in support of the cause – doing whatever it takes to lure that club’s paying customers outside of the club…and in support of a “good cause.”  For the children!! It’s called “Revenge of the Dancer.” LOL! ;-)

SIDEBAR #2 – TO ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING ADVOCATES AND THE ANTI-STRIP CLUB CROWD (and worth the continued read by the general public)

I know that many of you were angry before the above SIDEBAR #1 and are probably confused as of this SIDEBAR #2.  We, as a community, need to understand that strip clubs are many, many things.  But they are NOT the CAUSE of human trafficking.  And folks, on their own – they aren’t.  But strip clubs blur the lines between the acceptable and the unacceptable---be it public nudity, what constitutes entertainment, what constitutes “a lil fun,” what constitutes an illegal act, etc.  For that reason strip clubs can be --- and often are --- GATEWAYS TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  When gateways like this pop up – it’s a sign of a growing underground, illegal, robust/highly-profitable black market that is rising to the surface to create a legal cover for the illegal operations. 

Now some of you may be wondering why a legal cover needs to be created by and/or for someone whose running an illegal operation such as sexual slavery/human trafficking?  Afterall, wouldn’t that draw attention to the very thing you are trying to operate on the down low and keep quiet?  Why risk exposing your illegal activities to law enforcement, like excise officers (tasked with making sure your alcohol records are accurate and that you aren’t serving minors)?  Or to law enforcement officers, like FWPD detectives, who might go undercover as a regular guy, with regular money, acting like “one of the guys” in the hopes of ensnaring a stripper-turned-prostitute? Why risk that?  And that is a really great question.  I wondered that too.

BEING RESPECTABILITY WHLE LAUNDERING MONEY IS VERY “TAXING” – UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZED CRIME

The answer is surprisingly and incredibly simple.  Because you can’t look all “mack daddy” with your gold rings, gold high-end watches and jewelry, expensive multiple homes, expensive multiple cars, take expensive vacations, etc. without someone --- from the IRS to the next-door neighbor to your spouse and kids (or in-laws) --- wondering just how you are able to afford all of that.  It’s really hard to be a drug dealer or a pimp when Lil Johnny or Lil Janie wants you to come to school on “Occupation Day.”  No parent wants their child to say, “This is my Dad.  He’s a pimp.  He has the biggest stable of b*tches and hoes this side of the Mississippi. And you wouldn’t believe who he is friends with….(dad covers child’s mouth and slowly backs out of the classroom).” 

And no parent wants their child to say, “This is my Dad/Mom.  He/She is a drug dealer.  You should see all the different drugs they sell to people all over the place.  They’ve got non-addictive, illegal weed and they go highly-addictive, illegal heroin.  You wouldn’t believe whom they’ve got selling their drugs and whom their customers are.  But they have this really cool game of how they “fool” the cops when someone “accidentally” gets busted --- they make sure to show the cop the weed and make the cop look for the heroin.  Some cops are really good and they find the heroin, but some cops aren’t as good and they don’t even bother looking for the heroin.  Oh, oh, and do you know how they get the weed, the heroin, and all the other drugs shipped to them? First, they pack their drugs into containers you would never suspect like….(parent trying to cover child’s mouth)…and then they put these containers into semi-trucks that look like….(parent trying to cover child’s mouth)…or sometimes they pass the drugs out at….(parent clamping hand over child’s mouth and slowly backs out of the classroom.)” 

See what I mean?  It’s awkward sometimes to be a successful drug-dealing, woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneur.  The more successful you are, the more money you make, the more money you have to hide. 

And if you are a really smart and really successful drug-dealing, woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneur, then there’s a really good chance you’ve networked with other successful drug-dealing, woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneurs.  Before long this informal network has gotten so organized that it inadvertently creates a business association of sorts.  Soon, someone gets the really savvy idea of formalizing this business association.  That way everyone can dump their illegal black market monies into their legal business operations and when the legal business operations get questionably “too profitable” than those excessive monies can get dumped into this business association.  But if all the excess monies get dumped into some business association, then how’s a successful drug-dealing, woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneur supposed to use that money to enjoy the good life?  Afterall, just like any other business operation, what is the point of being in business if you are either aren’t making profits that you are eventually able to enjoy OR are making profits that you can never enjoy? 

Hmmm, so how do successful drug-dealing, woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneurs who own legitimate businesses and have formed a legitimate business association whom they are dues-paying members of?  How does one remain a “respectable” business man while laundering illegitimate money?  (And that my friends is a topic for another day --- sorry, but that topic strays too far away from the main theme of this post.)

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN RAPE AND VICTIMIZATION

Now by now, some of you are probably wondering why I’ve been using the phrase “woman-raping/woman-victimizing entrepreneurs”?  I know the anti-human trafficking crowd and the feminists groups would prefer that I use the term “rapists.”  And here’s why:  Rape is about having the ability to consent and being denied the right of consent.  Rape isn’t about sex.  It’s about control. 

Sex is the weapon of choice.  As a weapon, its cheap, portable, always available, easily accessible, very seldom malfunctions and for the perpetrator – it’s physically pleasurable.  As a weapon, the only problem with sex is that you generally can’t (and tend not to) want to dispose of the “weapon.”  

All perpetrators love money.  All perpetrators love sex.  All perpetrators love control.  But not all perpetrators enjoy raping women.  Sometimes—albeit rare---women are the perpetrators, but it’s rare for women to rape other women.  I’m not saying it never happens.  I’m saying statistically speaking a woman is a lot more likely to be raped by a male than a female.  But not all men enjoy rape. 

NOT ALL MEN RAPE

Nor do all men rape. For some men, it’s a moral line they won’t cross because it separates them from lower animal species.  For some men, it’s a line they don’t cross because NOT crossing that line makes them less of a criminal and more of a business owner.  Some men won’t cross that line because they are Alpha males who know they can get any woman they want  with enough time, patience and skills of seduction --- for them, crossing that line is an epic fail and reflects very poorly on their masculinity.   Then you have the rapists – Creatures who not Alpha males.  Matter of fact, these are typically creatures – and I call them creatures because they are not men, nor are they animals, they are vile, disgusting _____ unworthy of being referred to as Men.  Rapist are usually incompetent in some part or in the whole of their existence. 

 

WHY RAPISTS RAPE?

Instead of dealing with that incompetence by taking ownership of it and learning how to improve that area of their existence, they choose to act as cowards – blaming others for their mistakes, usually someone weaker than them --- like a woman.  Once they find some vulnerable woman – maybe she’s drunk, maybe she’s alone, maybe she’s too “hot,” maybe she is too “ugly,” maybe she is acting too “slutty,” maybe she is acting too “prudish,” maybe she isn’t wearing enough clothes, maybe she is too “confident”/too “uppity,” maybe she is wearing the wrong shade of the color blue on the first Tuesday of the last month of the lunar new year, etc.--- a rapist will blame  that woman for their incompetence, then the rapist will go about punishing that  woman for their incompetence, continue punishing her for their own selfish gratification, and then use the reason for choosing their victim as the reason to victimize their victim. 

“She was looking sooo ‘hot,’ acting sooo ‘slutty,’ wearing too few clothes, and not just any clothes but the most erotic shade of blue.  How could I the rapist control myself?  Afterall, it was first Tuesday of the last month of the lunar new year.  Can I help it if she was alone?  Is it my fault she was too drunk?  She shouldn’t have been drinking.  She shouldn’t have been alone.  She shouldn’t have been wearing that shade of blue.  Besides, she was so drunk and acting so slutty, that she was coming onto me.  If anything, I’m the victim.  She took advantage of me.  I don’t know how my uncontrollable d*ck popped uncontrollably out of my uncontrollable pants and uncontrollably into her?  I’m just as confused as  anyone.  But she wanted it though. Yep, that is the one thing that I absolutely, most assuredly know and have no confusion about at all.  She wanted it. And because she wanted it and because of everything else, this is all her fault. She should have known better/She knew what she was doing.” (If there are any rapists reading my post, first—get the heck off my Facebook wall.  Second, do you realize just how dam STUPID  you look.  Putting aside the morality and criminality of your actions for a moment, if you are going to do the crime, then stop being a coward.  At least man up and own your actions.  Yes, you’ll likely go to jail faster, but then again you knew that was a natural consequence to begin with.)

Btw, this is why REAL MEN really don’t like rapists.  It’s not necessarily because rapists rape and victimize women – although for some REAL MEN that is enough by itself --- but when a male pulls the kind of BS that a rapist’s pulls, it makes REAL MEN look bad.  First, it makes it look as though no man can get a woman without resorting to rape.  Next, it makes everyone look just as incompetent as the rapist. 

RARE RAPISTS SUBSETS

Also, I think it’s important to understand and acknowledge---and folks, I really lament doing so here---but there are two smaller subsets of rapists that exist in our community. These are a very small, very rare breed of rapists that I feel obligated to acknowledge but don’t want to spend a lot of time or content discussing.   The first subset is the foul creature who murders a woman after raping her.  In most cases, this is to avoid getting caught for the rape.  A woman who is raped is disposable, like trash or yesterday’s news.  And then there is the even rarer subset of murdering rapists—those who get paid to rape and murder women. 

 

Examples in our town include Sharon Lapp, the writer of a neighborhood newsletter and host of a weekly cable call-in show who routinely questioned city government projects, spoke out against pornography and encouraged others to report illegal dog fighting (1985) and the wife and daughter of News~Sentinel reporter Dan Osborne (1983), someone who had the habit of reading neighborhood newsletters for journalistic “scoops” and networking with those who wrote interesting stories found in neighborhood newsletters.

The reason we can theorize that these women, especially Sharon Lapp, were raped and murdered by someone(s) for hire was because of what was done to them.  Or perhaps, more importantly—what wasn’t done to them.  Lapp wasn’t just raped and viciously murdered.  Her body was put on display in plain view in front of an upstairs window, naked with an inanimate object used to sodomize her still in place.  (Members of Osborne’s family were also found in plain view in front of windows. His wife, Jane Osborne, was visible through the front window of the first floor of the family home.)  Also, keeping in mind that this horrific rape-murders/murder-rapes occurred during the infancy of DNA testing, why would a rapist use an inanimate object to perform sexual assault? Think about it folks -- In doing so, he deprives himself of the physical pleasure that results from the rape.  And what criminal purposefully leaves behind the weapon used in any crime? In this case, the inanimate object used to sodomize Lapp.  This isn’t exactly a case of some gangsta wannabe “leaving the gun and taking the canoli.”  The rapist took the murder weapon and left the weapon of rape behind.  Literally.   And I’m stopping here because this is getting way off topic from the original theme, but publically acknowledging these rare subsets of rapists exist was a necessity.

UNDERSTANDING THE BETA MALE – NOT AN ALPHA BUT ALSO NOT A RAPIST

So I had to distinguish rape from victimization and Alpha males from rapist and rapist from REAL MEN to have the discussion that is really, REALLY important to understand from a human trafficking perspective within the strip club framework.  (I’ll get into the need to discuss the rapists subsets in a moment.) And here’s why.  Beta males – guys who aren’t quite Alpha males but aren’t rapists either ---  which is most of the guys out there --- generally prefer two types of women, the sinner and the saint.  Or the classic lady on the streets and a freak in the sheets syndrome.  These are the kind of guys who love fellatio and whole bunch of other dirty, naughty sexual deeds and really don’t mind how slutty their lady acts, as long as it’s in private.  Cause hey, no guy wants a bunch of other guys to know just how freaky he is or isn’t.  Generally speaking.  With some exceptions. Well… at least until the children come along.  Then a lot of these guys don’t want the mouth that kisses their children good night to be the same mouth that….uhm……..”dusts off” the “family jewels.”  (Hey, you try keeping this PG…LOL! :-P :-D)

SIDEBAR #3 – IT’S WORTH A GOOGLE

And dear God, if you are one of those people who just had to google “fellatio,” then do you and your spouse and/or lover a favor and google cunnilingus as well.  That’s C-U-N-N-I-L-I-N-G-U-S.   

And to the most religious and spiritual of my friends as well as to you Bible thumpers, before getting mad and unfriending me for daring to reference oral sex – please read Songs of Solomon in your Bible, talk to your priest, and prepared to have your  minds blown.  And when you do --- you’re welcome! LOL! ;-) :-D :-D  

Ahhhh, yes, Catholic education – teaching students how to read the bible one chapter at a time, and skipping a few along the way….LOL! “I’m a Catholic educator.  I teach kids how to read the Bible.  I discuss the Old Testament.  I discuss the New Testament.  If I don’t discuss it, don’t make ‘em read it, and don’t test ‘em on it, then they will never learn on their own what the Bible says they can and can’t do sexually and I’ll avoid all sorts of uncomfortable, awkward questions from my students.  Kids don’t like to read the Bible.  They’ll never wonder why THAT chapter was skipped over.”  Folks—This is what you call an epic classroom fail….LOL! ;-) :-D :-D

Ok, folks, I switched gears to lighten up the mood for some of you….now getting back to the main theme of this post…

RAPISTS DON’T MAKE GOOD BUSINESS OPERATORS

 
Now let’s switch gears for just a moment and use a different side of our brain to do some math.  ;-) If 20% of the men are Alpha Males and another 20% of the male population are rapists, then 80% are REAL MEN and 60% are Beta Males.  In fairness, I don’t know what statistics are and just made those numbers up.  But the point is that if X% of the whole of a community is Beta Males, then any given subset of the whole community --- like an illegal underground network --- is also likely to have X% of their population as Beta Males too.  In simpler terms, if 80% of the population likes vanilla ice cream, then 80% of women who go to church probably like vanilla ice cream too. 

At this point, some of you are questioning what is the point of the Alpha male versus Beta male versus rapist convo?  And what does this have to do with victimization and strip clubs?  And that’s a great question.  And here’s your answer:

A woman isn’t raped if she willingly gives consent.  (mind blown?)

Let’s repeat that – A woman is NOT RAPED if she willingly GIVES CONSENT.

(Ladies – please see a special note at the very end of this long post just for you as it concerns consent.)

SEXUAL SLAVERY IN ORGANIZED CRIME – UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF PIMP

A Beta male doesn’t want to rape women. Neither does an Alpha male.  Only rapists want to rape women and only a cowardly subset of rapists want to murder women.  Rapist might make for good pimps or in a larger criminal organization, good “enforcers.”  (And I’m going to be honest folks, I’m not really sure what that means—the “enforcer”??  Again, you can only learn so much from google.) The purpose of a pimp is control.  Think about what P.I.M.P. stands for – Players In Management Positions. Control of what?  Product/services (sex) and the providers of said product/services (women being used as outlets for sex).  Some pimps rape the women they are prostituting in the beginning to gain dominance and compliance. But after awhile rape by a pimp becomes ineffective. Thinking about it – he’s selling her body to some other rapist(s).  Repetition of any action – positive or negative – makes that action ineffective. 

If we were to simplify this – You want ice cream.  I get you some ice cream.  You want some more ice cream.  I get you some more ice cream.  If you can get ice cream any time you want and you know that I will be the one to get it for you, sooner or later ice cream is going to lose its appeal and me getting that ice cream for you means nothing.  Why would you care if I got you ice cream, if you didn’t want any ice cream to begin with?  

 

Now let’s apply the concept to the pimp/sex slave dynamic, from the sex slaves perspective – I don’t want to have sex with you.  You tell me to have sex with you otherwise you are going to rape me.  I don’t want to have sex with you.  You rape me anyways.  I don’t want to have sex with you.  You continue to rape me and lend me out to others who rape me.  I don’t want to have sex with anyone.  You tell me to act like I’m enjoying having sex with stranger otherwise you will rape me again.  At this point, what difference does it make if I “act” like I’m enjoying some I’m not – you are going to rape me no matter what.  I have no incentive to “act” like I’m enjoying something I’m not.

But let’s take it a step further.  This time you say, either act like you (the sex slave) enjoy having sex/put on a good sexual performance/participate in your raping with the customers (paying rapists) or I kill you.  Maybe that will serve as an incentive?  But what if I (the sex slave) don’t care to live anymore if that is the only way the raping will end? 

 

Cr@p – now the sex slave has become a liability.  So what’s a pimp to do?  Maybe threatening the people she cares about or is close to in some way shape or form --- yeah, that’s a brilliant idea.  Let’s threaten to kill her family and her friends if she doesn’t agree to participate in her raping.  Maybe that will serve as an incentive.  And let’s go rough up a family member to show her we mean business.  But what if I (the sex slave) realize that the only way to keep my family and friends safe and to end the raping --- the only way to make all of this end --- is to get you to kill me or to essentially suicide?  Or what if I (the sex slave) turn the tables and look for a way to kill you (the rapist pimp).

 

Cr@p, cr@p, cr@p!!!!  Now the pimp has “managed” to make the sex slave an even bigger liability.  She’s a threat to the pimp.  And if it’s a larger criminal enterprise ---say part of a “stable of sex slaves” or is part of an illegal drug distribution ring --- then she becomes a symbol of defiance among the other sex slaves as well a threat to the pimp and the whole illegal operation.

If I’m the pimp, I’m going to cut my liabilities and murder the sex slave.  Making her an example to the other sex slaves of what happens if you defy the system.  And maintaining the stability of the illegal operations, lest I—the pimp---get killed for failure to perform my “management” job, especially if my failure leads to the destruction of the whole criminal enterprise.  Someone has to pay for those lost revenues.

SEXUAL SLAVERY IN ORGANIZED CRIME – UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF “INVESTOR”

If I’m an “investor” – that is the man who started this highly profitable illegal/quasi-legal operation, worked hard to expand it, worked hard to run the legitimate business side of the operation, and worked hard to obtain the mantle of respectability (evidenced by my being called a “pillar of the community” in some news story somewhere or being given some trinket in recognition of my earning a special recently-created community award or earning some jacket that other respectable “community pillars” get to wear) – I’m going to be pretty pissed off if any of that is threatened. 

Matter of fact, as an “investor” -- I’m going to be absolutely furious.  I’m older now, I’m not the young guy full of p*ss and vinegar who could afford to be a hot head ‘cause they had nothing to lose.  I have a lot to lose.  An absolutely wonderful lifestyle, a beautiful wife and kids, an amazing home (here and elsewhere), lots of cool cars and loads of neat, neat, neat gadgets and gizmos.  Not to mention a good reputation.  People actually look up to me with respect and admiration---and a growing amount of that is real, genuine and authentic, and I am helping others.  Helping others feels really good and feeds the image of me being this good and outstanding community pillar.  Not to mention that “contributing” monies to non-profit groups that contribute monies to other non-profit groups that contribute monies to non-profit groups I control is a great way to legitimately siphon off excess monies that neither my legitimate for-profit business nor my business association can legitimately account for.  I’m creating jobs, helping out the community, and living the life I’ve always wanted.  From this vantage point, nobody is getting hurt.  Ok, yes, some women may be getting hurt because they really don’t want to have sex, but is having sex when you really don’t want to have sex really hurting anyone?  Who doesn’t derive some pleasure from sex even when they really aren’t in the mood for sex?

Oh, but if this lifestyle of mine (the “investor”) is threatened, then somebody has got to pay.  Should the woman who doesn’t want to be raped be the one to pay?  Or should the jack@ss pimp of mine – who apparently can’t seduce a woman -- be the one to pay?  How many times do I have to tell the pimps – don’t rape the sex slaves, seduce them. Create an environment that makes the sex slaves vulnerable, creates some need, and then let sex slaves work to fulfill that need.  Is it really that hard?  Its soo difficult to find good pimps these days.   

Now, somebody is going to have to die so my enterprise and lifestyle isn’t threatened.  The sex slave probably should be killed—afterall, she is becoming a symbol of defiance to the other sex slaves.  Once one woman starts thinking for herself and figures a way out of her situation, it won’t be long until the others get the same idea.  And instead of making money, I’ll be losing money and trying to find sex slave replacements, which takes time. Time is money.  So dammit, I’m losing money.  Twice!

And that is why my incompetent jack@ss of a pimp needs to die as well.  The organization cannot afford to tolerate that kind of incompetency. There is too much at stake and too much money to be lost.

But murder for hire is expensive.  And murder for hire times two is twice as expensive.  And murder for hire to eliminate a woman for not wanting to be raped – even more expensive.  Not to mention the extra advertising that one of my companies or one of the companies associated with the business network is going to have to pay to make sure local media promotes some diversionary community event. 

 

Cr@p – there isn’t any pre-existing community events to act as a distraction to cover up the murders for hire.  Dammit, that means I (the “investor”) now have to spend even more money to create a community event --- at least that money will come back to me, especially if I hold it at one of my venues and have it catered by one of the restaurants owned by somebody in the business association (a member of the original underground network) and have the entertainment provided by someone else in the business association (a member of the original underground network) or I can have those items---the venue, catering, and entertainment---provided by legitimate businesses with no underworld connection and reach out to members of the original underground network for sponsorship of the event.  Heck, maybe they have problems they need to eliminate too. 

Still, there’s some pretty big risks.  Murdering a woman just never sits well with the community.  Neither does murdering a man, unless he comes from that part of town where most of the other murders take place.  Then his murder is easier to explain.  It’s just a bad neighborhood where gangs and drugs run rampant.   But that not as easy of a sell job where a woman is concerned.  Dam women and their natural innate intuition to keep ‘em safe.  Also, murdering this woman doesn’t guarantee that the other sex slaves will become compliant. The opposite could happen. It may make them more difficult for the next pimp to handle.  Let’s face it -- His hands are already going to full because of that incompetent jack@ss. 

 

Ok, so I (the “investor”) am going to proceed with murdering the jack@ss and hold off on murdering the woman.  Let’s let the other sex slaves know she’s still alive, but let’s take her out of circulation for now and isolate her until things can be figured out.

SEX SLAVE TRADE 101 – CREATE VICTIMS AND MAKE STRIPPING AN OPTION

 
So how do you get women (prostitutes and sex slaves) --- whom you (as “Investor” or “P.I.M.P”) as an Alpha male (“Investor”) or Beta male (P.I.M.P.) may or may not want to have sex with--- to consent to having sex with strangers and in such a way that you---the Alpha or Beta male---can run a successful and profitable business in the black market and/or up top in the legitimate market? 

By creating victims or helping to create victims.  That is by making women vulnerable or helping to make women vulnerable.  By leveraging something a woman needs ---usually but not always financial --- to put her in a position where she is willing to do whatever it takes to get that need met.  Need examples:

Are you a woman with children but can’t make enough from two minimum wage part-time jobs to put food on the table and afford childcare – stripping becomes an option. 

Are you a woman so addicted to heroin but smart enough not to overdose that you can’t finance your needs --- stripping becomes an option. 

Are you a female college student who can’t make ends meet and don’t want to give up on school but won’t be able to without working somewhere with flexible hours and the possibility of really good pay – stripping becomes an option. 

Are you a woman who lost her house and her job in 2008, who hasn’t caught a break, whose run out of couches to “surf,” and is wandering the streets of Fort Wayne because there isn’t enough beds for women like you in local homeless shelters --- stripping becomes an option.  (Btw, how was it that in 2014, we had 8 strip clubs, 1 “swingers club,” and 4 adult toy and novelty stores, but no homeless shelters open to single women who were without children, without addictions and/or mental defects, and who weren’t Veterans?  And how is it that in 2017, there are still 8 strip clubs, 1 “swingers club,” and 4 adult toy and novelty stores – but only SEVEN (7) beds available to unsheltered homeless women on an emergency basis?  Up to 5 beds are available at the Rescue Mission’s Charis House.  And up to 2 beds are available at Just Neighbors.  And how is it that NONE of the homeless shelters, especially the ones for women, want to publically reveal the number of beds they do have available for women in general?  I get protecting privacy by not revealing names, but there is no privacy being protected in releasing the number of beds available.  That’s a situation ripe for an audit, but the public can’t audit private entities.  That’s convenient?!)

SEX SLAVE TRADE 201 – GET THE VICTIMS TO STRIP

And folks, anytime stripping becomes an option, so does prostitution -- especially when revenue women earn from stripping doesn’t provide the means to solve the problem of unmet needs.

As a community, we have to face certain realities.  First, no little girl dreams of growing up to be a stripper or a hooker.  Second, very few women working at a strip club have other options.  On occasion, you will find ladies who are very proud of their bodies and will dance at a strip club because it gives them a sense of empowerment.  But that is very rare.  Its more common to find women who have worked at a strip club to get their immediate financial needs met, leave the strip club to work at a more respectable legitimate job and then occasionally come back to moonlight at the strip club because the money is better for them.  Women with children will usually do whatever it takes to give their children a better life.  And women, with or without children, will definitely do whatever it takes to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and make sure the basics needs of primal survival are met.

This is why I said much earlier that that strip clubs are NOT by themselves the CAUSE of human trafficking.  They are a gateway.  Stripping isn’t the CAUSE of human trafficking.  But it’s often a symptom of it.  It’s a gateway.

 

WHY USE STRIP CLUBS AS A GATEWAY?

Honestly, and I don’t know this to be fact or not, but it would seem that strip clubs, from a purely business perspective, would make the perfect, most ideal cover for human trafficking operations.  Earlier I said that strip clubs blur the line between what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in our community.  But that isn’t the only line that gets blurred.  The number of women coming and going from these places gets blurred.  You have legitimate workers – the few who enjoy stripping and actively seek it as a job; the majority who through whatever series of events are victims seeking to make ends meet and stripping/prostitution is that necessary means to an ends; and the few who are being trafficked by someone and have been forced into sexual slavery.  And are trapped.  With so many women coming and going, who can keep track? 

And with the way many strip clubs are set up, dancers have to kick back part of their earnings to the strip club by way of stage rental fees, fees to the DJ for playing music, splitting monies with the wait staff for any lap dance fees earned off-stage, splitting monies with the “house” for any lap dance fees earned in the private VIP rooms, paying a fee to the “House Mom” who stays in the dressing room to keep men out and keep the dancers from sabotaging each other’s ability to earn money (limited audience with limited money means limited earning potential per dancer), fees paid (or sexual favors given) to club managers for premium stage times/working hours (Friday “pay day” dancers have better chances of making money over Monday “back to work” dancers; some sleezy club “managers”/pimps take that fee in sexual favors only), and I’m sure there are other fees I don’t know about.  (Hey, there is only so much you can learn on google.) 

This means if you are a women desperately in need of money and you are ignorant of all these fees --- then you need to dance more frequently, get a better shift, and/or find an alternative way of making money.

 

SEX SLAVE TRADE 202 – FINDING THE PERFECT STRIPPER TO PIMP

Women not making enough money as strippers are the perfect women to pimp.  These women are already desperate, very needy and they can’t see any other option but prostitution.  So not knowing what else to do -- they might turn to a co-worker who is making money prostituting and enjoys it.

And I know that just blew the minds of some of you reading this.  While no little girl dreams of becoming a stripper or a prostitute, some women get addicted to the relatively easy money.  Maybe they have (or had) a nice pimp.  Maybe they have a few regular clients supporting them and are working hard for the money (i.e. are pimp-free).  Maybe they are sex addicts.  And maybe they just have a truly insatiable sexual appetite marked with a high libido. (Did you just have to google that?  LOL! ;-))  The point here is that for whatever reason, to these rare women, strip clubs are great for spotting potential new clients.  Basically, these women act as a pimp—their own pimp.  These women are pretty much liberated and pretty clear of being ensnared by a pimp or by a new pimp.  They already know how to make money from selling sexual favors, have their own customer base, and usually have their own form of personal security.  Their needs are met.  They aren’t as vulnerable, except maybe to law enforcement.  Unless, of course, these ladies have brokered a deal with someone in law enforcement --- maybe the undercover detective or excise officer?  Maybe the bail bondsmen? Maybe the jailer?  Maybe the judge?  They tend to be confident, know their sh*t and have their sh*t together.  That combination makes them very hard to control and not worth the time and aggravation of most pimps.  Unfortunately, these women also help to legitimatize the strip club and make it harder to detect women who don’t want to be strippers or prostitutes, especially those who have been forced into sexual slavery.   

Some women, once they become prostitutes --- still need the money but also need to glamorize how they are earning that money, making it better than what it sounds like or what it really is.  It’s a psychological self-defense mechanism.  Basically, these women have convinced themselves that being a prostitute isn’t so bad under certain conditions and then they set off trying to convince other ladies the same thing, which is sort of a way to create “group think” and reinforce the idea of glamor to the original prostitute.  This works great for the pimp – his prostitutes are essentially recruiting new strippers for him.  And guess who will train ‘em too, show ‘em the ropes?  The recruiting prostitute.  And the first “customer”?  The pimp.  Purely for “training” purposes, of course.  (sarcasm)

Now some strippers don’t turn to co-workers.  Maybe they can’t stand their co-workers --- it is, afterall, a pretty catty dog-eat-dog environment.  Maybe they are too ashamed of what they feel they have to do.  Again, no little girl dreams of growing up to be stripper or a prostitute. And so these women try to strike it out on their own.  They often start acting as their own pimp by offering services to strip club customers. Maybe it’s a “quickie” in the private VIP couch or VIP room. Maybe it’s a “special arrangement” after work.   

This is where is can get dangerous for these gals.  If they don’t get busted by an undercover officer, then who knows who or what situation these women will find themselves in.  Will their customer be “nice” and easy going?  Will their customer be VD-free/STD-free/AIDS-free?  Will their customer pay what he promises?  Or will he beat her up – she is, afterall, now disposable.  If she goes to report her “john” beating her up, who gets arrested?  She does for sure.  Maybe the “john” does too? If he can be found and if anyone actually goes looking for him.  Maybe the “john” is actually a pimp – and he’s taking the “goods” for a test drive.  Maybe the “john” is a serial killer and plans to “pump and dump.”

Some women – especially ones with a demanding pimp and/or ones who are truly sex slaves in the sex trade – may encourage other strippers to join “the sisterhood.”  Why?  Sometimes they are told that they can get out of the trade if they find a replacement prostitute – which they have to recruit, train, and make sure the substitute prostitute is an “acceptable” replacement.  Yeah, and how often do you think that really happens?  Sometimes, the sex slaves themselves will propose such a barter.  That works out even better for the pimp—cause its not his idea.  Hence, no criminal intent.  That’s a sweet deal…for the pimp.  

And strip club managers – they may know all of this is going on at their club.  Heck, some of ‘em may even be getting kick backs in the form of stage rental fees or other creative fees, like “merchandising” fees.  Afterall, who can keep track of all those dollars floating around the club.  For that matter, who can keep track of all the “drama” created by the strippers – who could possibly keep track and know whose pimping whom and why??  And that’s the strip club manager’s “out.”  Afterall, he is not a babysitter and his job isn’t to look after the well-being of the strippers.  His job is to make sure the strip club is a “cool,” fun, happening place full of paying customers. 

 

SEX SLAVE TRADE 301 – PROSTITUTION AND ADVANCED PIMPING

So if I’m a pimp, why not take my “ho” (using meaningless or derogatory words helps objectify women) to the local strip club.  Sure I pay an admission fee and yes she has to pay all these other fees, but if she blows the right guy, gets the right hours, etc.---while she is on display (stage, lap dances) I can network there with those guys who have to pay a woman to get her to take off her clothes.  Maybe I (the pimp) can arrange a few “private parties” after my “ho” is done “slutting her stuff on stage.”  Maybe even arrange a few “quickies” in one of those private VIP rooms. 

The strip club doesn’t care.  They’re not in the business of caring.  They are in the business of making money and they don’t care where those “house” fees come from. 

MAXIMIZING PROFIT IN A STRIP CLUB

Matter of fact, savvy strip club owners capitalize on the opportunity every which way they can.  Why serve alcohol at a strip club? To help everyone—dancers and customers --- lose inhibitions.  Why serve food?  To help customers avoid “whiskey d*ck” --- customers who can’t get aroused somehow have an easier time leaving the strip club with more money than the customers who can get easily aroused. 

From a business perspective, if I’m a strip club owner, the profit formula looks something like this:  lots of ladies (men need and want variety; pimps need a circuit; “investors” --- networked “legitimate” business owners need a rotation of women as cover for their money laundering purposes) – highly attractive ladies are best, but really anything that has a pair of breasts attached to a heartbeat will do;

PLUS a building (privacy and control);

PLUS various seating arrangements in the club (to offer various levels of privacy in increasing pricing mechanisms);

PLUS booze, lots of booze (to lower everyone’s inhibitions);

PLUS food (to keep male customers aroused);

PLUS loud music (forcing people to have to lean into each other to hold conversations, making it really hard for undercover law enforcement to eavesdrop on any “private parties” being arranged);

PLUS low lighting in the audience and bright lighting on stage (bright lighting hides body flaws and makes everyone look younger, low lighting in the audience decreases the ability to see the person next to you---unless you are nearly on top of each other—and increases privacy; also having one area of the room light draws everyone’s attention to that part of the room and away from the dark parts of the room, acting as a well placed distraction); 

PLUS ____ ???? I’m sure there are other things needed that I don’t know about. Again, you can only find out so much information on google.

 

WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE DONE ABOUT STRIP CLUBS

Over the past two weeks, we’ve heard the City attorneys, Councilman Russ Jehl, and Council Tom Didier try to sell the premise that “there’s nothing we can do.”  Or my fave – strip clubs are protected by the Constitution.  Judges have rules…(blah, blah, bah).   You’d have to watch the City Council meeting that occurred right after the Bleu Diamond homicide and the “coming out” of Club 44 or the most recent “Fort Report.” 

Folks – these guys are lying to you.   Do you understand.  Lying.  As in not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  The benefit of not telling the truth --- at least from a City Council perspective --- is that saying “there is nothing I can do” absolves members of Council from trying to do anything.  It also serves to lower your expectation of holding them accountable.  Afterall, there “isn’t anything they can do.” Oh, please -- there is plenty to do as it pertains to raising the operating standards of local strip clubs, cleaning ‘em up, and pursuing industry-wide reformations.

And just how do we know they are lying….or not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?  First, the City attorneys are talking.  Really, do I need to say more there….LOL! (teasing)  In sincerity, the City attorneys are talking in extreme vagueness.  They don’t cite Constitutional sections, don’t city any state or federal statutes, nor do they cite any federal or state case law.  And there’s a very good reason for their vagueness.  They are lying to you.  Not outright lying.   That would be a punishable ethics violation by the Bar Association. Oops!  It’s more of an “expanded interpretation” of their “expanded understanding” of the ruling of some case they won’t cite, lest someone correct their far-reaching interpretation and call ‘em out for their bullshit.  Once an attorney gets called out, then they can no longer use the phrase “to the best of my understanding…” or “it’s my interpretation that…”  Ethics – can’t lie with ‘em; can’t practice law without ‘em.  LOL! ;-) :-D

The “constitutional” matters being referencing generally do not even deal with the OPERATION of a strip club.  Strip clubs do have the right to be treated like every other business.  And as I said in the beginning, they should be treated like every other business. Beginning with the banning of topless dancing and the enforcement of a bikini uniform for the female staff. Just like every other business in every other industry.  (Ahem, ahem….Councilman Jehl and Councilman Didier…and Councilman Paddock, Councilman Arp and Councilman Ensley—whom all have strip clubs in their districts….and Councilman Barranda, Councilman Crawford and Councilman Freistroffer – whom have strip clubs in 5/6 of their districts…really, there is “nothing” ANY ONE of you “can do”??)

Most lawsuits involving strip clubs and the Constitution deal with Freedom of Speech and Expression matters.  Over the years, the interpretations have pretty much remained that same and can be simplified as follows:  Political speech or speech of political value (i.e. BREAST PROTEST – that is the exposing of breasts in front of a strip club to protest the inequality of who gets penalized for exposing their breasts – mothers versus dancers/strippers) is protected; sexually-based speech not designed to create arousal and/or not intending to create arousal is protected (i.e. BREAST PROTEST); sexually-based speech designed to create arousal and/or purposefully intending to create arousal is not protected; and neither is speech that a reasonable person would find to be vulgar or offensive.  

 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT STRIP CLUBS

Fort Wayne should treat strip clubs like every other business.  Let me emphasize that point again:  Treat ‘em JUST. LIKE. EVERY. OTHER. BUSINESS!!  And that starts with enforcement of pre-existing statutes, ordinances, and regulations.  Next, new legislation should be drafted and local City ordinances passed.  Both of these are discussed as follows:

 ENFORCE PRE-EXISTING RULES

 Are they registered with the Indiana Secretary of State and is their registration still active?  If not, shut ‘em down.  Just like you would any other business.  Are they serving food?  Do they have proper permits, food handlers license, etc?  Is everything up-to-date?  Have they had a recent health inspection?  Did they pass?  It not, shut ‘em down.  Just like you would any other food-related business.  Do they have exercise equipment (i.e. dance poles)?  Has the equipment been inspected for cleanliness?  Safety? Did they pass inspection?  If not, shut ‘em down.  Just like any other health- and/or exercise-related business. 

Now, some of you entrepreneurial spirits and strip club advocates would probably—and correctly---counter how strip clubs can get around a lot of these requirements by not serving food or drink, not serving alcohol, and not utilizing dance poles. To which I say, go for it! But let’s be honest here – a bar can survive without topless workers, but can a strip club survive without serving alcohol?  To which strip club owners are again saying, “Shhh, shut up about that—we know how ignorant our customers are, but they don’t.” 

And finally -- Do they meet all ADA (disability) requirements for their customers (i.e. parking spaces, entrance/exit ramps, ADA restrooms, and wide-enough pathways within the facility for customers to travel unencumbered from the entrance to the restroom, and tables high enough to give wheelchairs clearance but low enough for practical use by those who are wheelchair-bound) and their workers (i.e. dressing/changing rooms for the dancers that can accommodate wheelchairs—and yes, those in wheelchairs can dance, just ask the Fort Wayne Ballet, Gymnastics in Motion, etc.---ramp to the dance stage to accommodate dancers in wheelchairs, and  wide-enough pathways within the facility for wheelchair-bound workers, including dancers, to travel unencumbered from the entrance to the dressing room--for dancers, to the kitchen--for cooks, to the bar –for bartenders, to the customers tables from the kitchen – for the servers, and from all the aforementioned work stations to the restrooms for all workers). And if they don’t meet all these requirements, then shut ‘em down.  Just like any other business that fails to meet ADA requirements.  (Btw, to some of you strip club owners that read my posts—ahem, Club 44 and Shangra-La West---don’t be playing the game of marking ADA parking spaces when your entrance won’t accommodate wheelchairs.  Really??  Cannot believe one of you played that game…LOL!)

Now some of you are thinking, “Oh, come on…it really can’t be that simple.”  And my response is this – Not only is it that simple, but surprisingly if all of these measures were taken within the next 24 hours---a significant number of strip clubs in Fort Wayne would be caught off-guard and could be shut down, even if only temporarily.  Just like every other business.

DRAFT NEW LEGISLATION

But treating strip clubs just like every other business doesn’t end with the uniform and consistent enforcement of pre-existing rules.  New legislation needs to be drafted by City Council and voted into law creating new ordinances that can be enforced.  I would propose the following as a starting point:

RE-DEFINING STRIP CLUBS:  Instead of calling them strip clubs, we should be calling them Adult Entertainment Venues (AEV).  Why?  Because it helps to emphasize the entertainment value and diminishes the sexual value.  To purpose of this is to usher out the old connotation associated with these sort of venues that this is “the place you go to” if you are willing to or wanting to pay for sexual favors.  Plus it creates a new designation that can lead to licensing and licensing fees to underwrite inspection costs and ensure compliance.

DESIGNATING AND LICENSING AEVs:  By redefining these venues, you also create a way to license them.  Why is licensing important?  Because right now, anyone can operate a strip club out of their home.  Think about it?  What is a strip club?  A place people gather to watch other people disrobe.  What’s preventing the guy next door for inviting people into his home, but then charging a fee for unlimited non-alcoholic beverages in his basement while women of any age and any level of attractiveness run around in the basement “exercising” on a dance pole before or after getting out of a shower?  People can’t pay-to-play for sexual favors as that is prostitution.  But there’s nothing preventing people from pay-to-play to see someone in a state of partial or full undress.  For all we know, this could be the very reason why the City’s 6^th District doesn’t have any strip clubs??  Really – the highest rate of homicide (averaged over the past decade) but nearly equal to every other district in terms of non-homicide crimes.  How is it they don’t have a strip club??

And for City’s pre-existing strip clubs who wanna cry foul here – look, you aren’t being eliminated and you aren’t being told you can’t operate your business.  You are being told that you can’t operate your business without a special license or permit.  This is required of tattoo parlors, nail salons, and a whole slew of other businesses.  Long story short – you are being treated just like every other business. If anything, you should be welcoming this change as it cuts down on any illegal competition to your business.

And to members of City Council who are balking at this – uhm, why?  It’s provides a revenue source to underwrite inspections and compliance. Personally, I’d set the fee at X number of hours of time for the different city and county departments to come in and inspect the premises once a quarter for compliance, so that those different city and county departments can be reimbursed.  This could be treated like a variation of the liquor license enforcement.

RESTRICT DISTRIBUTIONAL LOCATIONS OF AEV:  Grandfather in the pre-existing 8 strip clubs.  And decide whether or not to include the one “swingers club.”   (Personally, I wouldn’t at this time.  Only because “swinger clubs” bring a whole other level of complexity as they encourage sexual acts on the premises and operate under the radar as a hotel, with beds, linens and such, but aren’t regulated as hotels.  And they probably should be.)  Make the grandfathering subject only to the Distributional Locations of AEV and nothing else. 

The distribution of AEVs should be limited to one Adult Entertainment Venue per City Council district.  Maintain all other pre-existing location restrictions as it has to do with schools, churches, and other AEVs, but also include an additional location restriction as to hotels, motels or any other place with known overnight accommodations (like Bed & Breakfasts, permanent and/or temporary).   The reason behind this is that (1) the closer a bed is, the more convenient it is to convert an act of exotic dancing into a pay-to-play sexual act – longer distances will give women in bad situations the opportunity to give what they might be about to do a second chance; and (2) this creates a cushion in the future as it pertains to how City Council might handle “swingers clubs” in the future. 

Currently, AEV’s are not permitted within X feet of each other.  Adding hotels to that mix is a way to preserve that distance if “swingers clubs” get treated like hotels in the future.  Or at least it keeps that option open.

By grandfathering in the existing 8 strip clubs, you allow them time to adjust and comply with the new regulations, but if they fail to adjust and comply – then they get closed until they are in compliance.  But once they re-open, then they lose their grandfather status. That means, that if they get closed down a second time, they will only be able to re-open if there are no other AEV’s operating within the geographical boundaries of the City Council District the AEV is located.

And to the City’s pre-existing strip clubs who wanna cry foul here – Look, you aren’t being eliminated and you aren’t being told you can’t operate your business.  You are being told that if you choose to not meet the new regulatory standards – standards that reduce your overall competition and from which you benefit from – and if you choose not to stay in compliance, that you will be shut down, just like any other business.  And if you choose to avoid compliance after being shut down and being permitted to re-open, that you may lose the option you currently have of being able to operate as an AVP, due to the new licensing limitations – just as any new, non-grandfathered business in your industry will be.  The new licensing limitations are what reduce your competition and from which you benefit from.  If you lose your ability to operate as an AEV, it is because you have chosen to be in non-compliant. 

You still retain all your business holdings, which include the ability to re-open as a bar, a restaurant or any other number of business ventures.  Just not a business venture that can attain an AEV designation or licensing until the last  AEV in your City Council district  – or in another district-- shuts down.  This acts as an incentive to ensure the grandfathered-in strip clubs and all future AEVs become compliant and remain compliant.   

BANNING TOPLESS DANCING:  Banning topless dancing aligns current strip clubs and future AEVs with the current business practices and business standards of every other local business enterprise – all of whom require their workforce to wear tops.  Again, treating AEVs just like every other business.

And to the City’s pre-existing strip clubs who wanna cry foul here – Look, creating and enforcing a bikini dress code for your female staff still provides pretty of titillation for your paying customers.  No one else in the City is currently using that dress code so your industry still has a unique competitive advantage as an industry.  Plus, please bear in mind that this proposal could be stricter still --- each of you could be assigned a certain color of bikini tops, just as local taxi cabs are.  Again, treating your industry just like every other local industry.

MANDATING A MINIMUM AGE FOR WORKERS:  Taverns, bars and other places that serve alcohol are not permitted to have anyone working on their premises under the age of 21, except for entertainers.  But no other local industry permits their workers to physically interact with their customers in a way to create arousal and desire and no other local industry permits lap dances.  Being 21 years old is not an unreasonable age requirement, especially when that age requirement is primarily targeting ladies who may be performing in the laps of drunks.

And to the City’s pre-existing strip clubs who wanna cry foul here –Allowing ladies who are a little older, able to drink and gain experience dealing with drunks before lap dancing is not only reasonable, but responsible as it pertains to the health and safety of AEV workers.  Good corporate neighbors wishing to rise up to new standards, to higher standards, to classier standards should not have a problem accepting this small safety-oriented requirement.  Those who do have a problem should re-evaluate whether operating as an AEV is for them.  Perhaps, they would be better off operating as a bar or a restaurant.  In the end, no one is forcing anyone to operate as an AEV.   

 

 

DANCE POLE INSPECTIONS:  Dance poles represent a unique worker safety issue.  They need to be securely attached at both ends and able to bear a stated amount of weight.  (We may need to add Dance Pole Requirements.)  Dance poles can be dangerous and can create safety problems, especially pertaining to falls.  This is why some fire departments across the nation have begun removing similar poles in their fire houses.  This is not a requirement that should be limited to the Adult Entertainment Venue (AEV), but should also include any place that offers dance pole lessons, such as the YMCA and Boudoir Noir.  If the dance pole doesn’t pass inspection, then it should be removed.

PROOF OF DANCE POLE INSURANCE:  Any business that uses dance poles as part of their programming or for entertainment purposes should be required to have liability insurance that specifically covers dance poles and that insurance should be publically on record. 

RESTRICTING THE USE OF LED SIGNS OR ANY OTHER STYLE OF ANIMATED EXTERIOR SIGNS:  First, the placement of these signs and their general brightness should be based on the general safety of the public.  It’s not good public policy nor is it appropriate to blind drivers with LED lighting.  That’s something that really needs to be reviewed across the board and applied to all local industries.  

While content cannot be restricted, the timing of when content is showed can be.  (Towns in Southern Indiana are doing this, so why can’t Fort Wayne?)

Content advertising food, hours of operation, and food & beverage specials or promoting employment opportunities should not be restricted in any way, even if the employment opportunities are for exotic dancers.   However, no pictures of exotic dancers or their silhouettes should be on display until the appropriate evening hours, as described below.

Content promoting the nature of the sexual nature of the business should not be displayed until after neighboring business operations at, near and/or around Glenbrook Mall have closed for the day or 9 pm, whichever comes later.  This includes the stage names of the dancers.  This same content should cease by or before the time Glenbrook Mall opens for daily operations.

Under no circumstances should the real, legal and/or commonly known name of the dancers are to be promoted and/or published on outside billboards, LED signs, or other animated signs. Stage names, however, may be used. This is not a limitation of Constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression; it is a right to safety and privacy matter.  Failing to protect their identity could pose special risks to dancers, such as making them easier targets for would-be stalkers and guys who don’t know how to take no for an answer.  Protecting dancers is good for business and raises industry standards.

Under no circumstances should photos, images, or other individual likenesses of the dancers to be promoted and/or published on outside billboards, LED signs, or other animated signs. Stage names, however, may be used. This is not a limitation of Constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression; it is a right to safety and privacy matter.  Failing to protect their identity could pose special risks to dancers, such as making them easier targets for would-be stalkers and guys who don’t know how to take no for an answer.  Protecting dancers is good for business and raises industry standards.

DANCER REGISTRATION AND HEALTH EXAMS:  Like any number of medical professionals, an exotic dancer should be required to undergo a physical health exam, including blood work up for hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases.   Just like nurses, dancers work in close contact with the public where the exchange of bodily fluid, primarily sweat, can occur. Unlike nurses, however, dancers don’t have the luxury of wearing gloves to keep them safe from fluid transmissions through skin contact.  The only real alternative would be requiring dancers to wear body suits, and I don’t think anyone would advocate for that—except maybe if the dancer has, indeed, contracted something and still wants to work as a dancer and the club is willing to allow that to happen.  I’d propose the exam be conducted by the Fort Wayne – Allen County Health Department, who would be required to keep the dancers true identity confidential per HIPAA requirements. 

Dancers would be required to register as exotic dancers with the Health Department, so that the Health Department could keep a database of local dancers in efforts to help prevent and monitor local human trafficking situations.  All information, except for stage names and place of dance employment, would be required to remain confidential.  In exchange, exotic dancers would essentially retain a licensing of sorts by registering their stage names.  Duplicative names at different clubs would make human trafficking harder to monitor, so only one dancer per stage name per dancer’s lifetime should be permitted.  Once a dancer retires, so does the stage name, which can be reactivated and used by another dancer only after the original dancer dies and only if that dancer’s estate agrees to the name transfer.  The dancer’s estate will set the value on the name to be transferred and has to be compensated for use and ownership of the stage name before it can be transferred.  This creates a property right for the dancer while eliminating entertainers who dance on a circuit from switching up names and also prevents clubs from using one stage name for multiple women.  Also, clubs do not have the right to create stage names and have no ownership interest available to them in any dancer’s stage name.  This allows the dancer to keep her stage name but dance at different clubs as she chooses.

This requirement is similar to and inspired by those required of Registered Nurses.

Only registered dancers would be permitted to entertain at licensed AEVs.

CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT:  AEVs provide unique services to the community and are part of a unique industry.  However, the industry is plagued with an increasing number of human trafficking incidents.  To clean up the local industry and to create a higher, more professional standard in the local industry, AEV managers are required to take an online Human Trafficking course  and present proof of completion.  A certified manager must be on duty at all hours the AEV is open for business.  This is similar to requirements in other fields, such as City Utilities and automotive technicians.  An AEV will not be eligible for licensing without at least one pre-certified manager on staff at the time of licensing.   AEVs are encouraged to educate non-dance staff about signs of Human Trafficking. Certification is available to any AEV worker, but is not mandatory of anyone AEV worker except for on-duty management.

CERTIFIED FIRST AID ATTENDANT:  AEVs with dance poles are required to have a Certified First Aid attendant on duty at all times.  Dance poles come with a certain risk level and that risk level mandates a certain level of on-site care in case of a fall or other injury.  AEVs without dance poles are only required to have a Certified First Aid Attendant on duty during peak performance times when the number of dancers and dance routines increases to accommodate an increased number of customers.  This standard is subject to a case-by-case review to establish appropriate numbers per AEVs without dance poles. Having a certified first aid attendant is a standard operating procedure in many local industries.  Training and certification to be provided by the local Red Cross.

PUBLICALLY POSTED STANDARDIZED PATRON CODE OF CONDUCT:  Many businesses have signs in plain sight that list what behaviors are expected.  For example, a doctor’s office might have a sign that says “Payment due at the time services are rendered.”  Or an auto repair shop may have a sign that says “Thank you for standing behind the yellow line.”  The point is that many businesses provide their customers with a list of do’s and don’ts. AEVs should do the same as it sets the tone for what behaviors are or are not acceptable and makes enforcement by AEV staff as well as law enforcement easier. 

One standard code of conduct should specifically address what touching by the customers is permissible as it pertains to dancers and the wait staff.  Kissing, fondling and groping should be obvious forms of touching that should be prohibited and cause the offender to be removed from the premises without any refund and not re-admitted for the rest of that day.  Grabbing the tops of dancers or tugging on their g-strings should be another behavior that causes an offending customer to be removed from the premises without any refund and not re-admitted for the rest of the day.

PUBLICALLY POSTED STANDARDIZED DANCER CODE OF CONDUCT:  Having similar signage and similar rules regulating how dancers are allowed to touch paying customers addresses many problems before they can begin.  It also establishes acceptable and unacceptable behavior and makes enforcement by AEV staff as well as law enforcement easier. 

OTHER REFORM STANDARDS:  Most of the above provision came off the top of my head, so I am sure there are other standards that could be utilized in the Adult Entertainment Venue environment. Please feel free to add your ideas in the comments section of my Facebook wall.  

PENALTIES:  Any violation of the above standards should result in a fine and/or other penalty.  Penalties – TBA.

 

 A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO LADIES REGARDING CONSENT *

 

Earlier in this post, I discussed how a woman isn’t raped if she willingly gives consent.  That’s not my personal feeling, but rather a perspective and legal standard taken by many Courts when it comes to the prosecution of rape charges against a perpetrator:  Did the rape victim give consent?  This is an important concept to understand so you can help better protect yourselves in a situation such as this. 

In my view, NO means NO means NO. 

 And I mean that deep down to my core.  I don’t care how “slutty” you are acting.  As far as I am concerned, you can be a professional prostitute by your own choice, a sexual addict, or just enjoy the company of men and enjoy having sex, lots and lots of sex --- If you are in a running around buck naked in a room of 100 men and you voluntarily, willingly and enthusiastically have sex with 99 of them, that doesn’t give Mr. 100 an automatic YES, especially if you say NO.  Sure it will be a blow to his ego, but that’s his problem – not yours.  If you don’t want to have sex with someone, just say NO.  You don’t have to give a reason. You don’t need to have a reason.  All you need is NO. 

 But if you say NO, then you’d better mean it.  Don’t be saying NO and then play some sort of game. 

That sends mixed signals, confuses things for everyone, and hurts your credibility.  

 YES is consent.  NO is not consent. 

 YES is consensual sex.

 NO is no sex, or alternatively…it’s rape.