Film Review: Live Nude Girls Unite

1. The main thesis of this film was the work performed by sex workers is valid word and those persons involved in sex work are people and should be treated as such.

2. Main arguments in support of this thesis:
- All women are very educated and intelligent, despite stereotypes of "dumb strippers"
- Being nude and dancing as a job description does not make them less of a person, nor their work any less relevant than any other job in today's market.
- Girls forced to come in sick, unless they could find someone who was the same ethnicity and breast size to cover their assigned shift
- Girls given shifts based upon race and breast size
- One way glass in 3 of 13 windows - Dancers were being exploited and taken advantage of, as customers were taking pictures and/or video recordings of the girls. The girls never knew where the pictures and videos were going to show up
- When the women decided to unionize management fought back by firing one of the dancers. The women danced without opening up their legs in a protest. Management responded by locking out the dancers for three days.

3. The most convincing arguments:
- All segments which showed their lives outside of peep show, such as Julie coming out to her mother as being a sex worker.
-The aspects of their lives which lended to their decision to work at the Lusty Lady and later to unionize such as their education and life experience.
-One of the women stated "sex work is work, the sex industry is an industry". This is very true, but sometimes a forgotten fact when society is lumping these girls into a category of "not really work".
-Classified by one woman as a "healthy, sexual, spiritual service" which goes against the idea that exotic dancers are all sluts and whores

5. The only argument I did not find convincing were the segments in which the male patrons of the Lusty Lady voiced their support during the picketing. In my experience as a dancer, many men would, of course, say they supported the woman's fight for these rights. Had this support come before the lockout protest, it would have carried more weight. This is not to say the argument and support are invalid, only that the timing is questionable.

6. Question: Do the clubs which have attempted to and/or successfully unionized have improved or worsened working conditions?

- This would be studied by observing the clubs/businesses which had unionized or had active attempts to do so without disclosing the purpose for being present in the club. The main complaints are well known and could be observed with little interference.
- Once initial observations were noted, the owner could be asked as to his opinion of the conditions prior to and post unionization success or attempts. The workers would be asked the same questions. Any discrepancies between the owner and workers would be compared to observation notes and readdressed with both groups.