The Flat Hat

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Sex Workers’ Art Show shocks

Honestly, I went for the sex.

However, the Sex Workers’ Art Show turned out to be so much more than that. Its performers ranged from a gay prostitute/stand-up comedian to an actress-turned-pole dancer to a transsexual stripper with sparklers sending bits of light exploding out of her ass. It featured all kinds of foreplay to form a brilliant, provocative, shocking and often hilarious exploration of the humanity of an industry stigmatized by objectification and disgrace.

Jack hohman — The Flat Hat. The Sex Workers’ Art Show, at the low ticket price of $2 for students, sold out both its 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. shows at the UC Commonwealth on Monday.

The show was a hodgepodge of different performance styles. Artists of all kinds combined their talents into a hilarious, horrifying night of tastefully tasteless entertainment, at times socially and politically conscious, and at other times mocking anything close to good taste.

The show started out with an effeminate gay male comedian and (I assume) former prostitute. His stories about coming out of the closet in a conservative area, trying to act manly for a former customer who was a West Virginian blue-collar worker and his trysts at truck stops where he would go to get picked up and “abused” by truckers, brilliantly blended humor with sadness. My macho, straight-guy side couldn’t help but giggle at his painted face and girly garb, but his humor and wit were abundant and thoroughly enjoyable. His removal of layers of underwear to show his different roles as a prostitute succeeded in making the audience uncomfortable, but certainly did not fail to amuse.
Other acts, such as the poetry reading by a former porn star, proved to be, ironically, in good taste. Audience members were offered a fascinating glimpse of the sensitive, almost innocent side of a starlet whose past includes flicks such as “Gang Bang My Face.” Acts like these were a great contrast to, and a nice break from, some of the more shocking acts. Well, except for the humorous porno title.

The climax of the show — a dance performed by a transgendered stripper who had “Fuck Bush” taped on her chest — was disappointing. The political message was hackneyed and unimaginative as a feeble attempt at biting commentary. The performer’s shouting was inaudible. Presumably the muffled words casted aspersions against anyone anti-gay, anti-liberal, pro-Bush … blah, blah, blah. All of this seemed meaningless when the stripper finally shut up and lit a sparkler stuck in her ass. In that moment, the confused and muddled purpose of the act was finally made clear: an outrageous clincher to a provocative night of entertainment.

Perhaps the most shocking thing to consider when thinking about the show is the fact that adult entertainment is a $12 billion dollar industry, which, according to those in the Sex Workers Art Show, is more than sports and (normal) entertainment combined. Millions of Americans indulge in this guilty pleasure every year, yet state government officials went to great lengths to censor a show put together to demonstrate that adult performers are real people.

Some of the performers are university graduates, others respected art critics, yet all have had to deal with sub-human levels of respect. Contrary to the opinions of outspoken conservative pundits on campus, the show was a fantastically entertaining celebration and exploration of a prevalent element of American society. In opposition to anything typically considered high entertainment, the show proved that low art can be used for lofty aims.