Filmmaker, writer and activist Julia Query is fighting for the social justice of nude dancers.
"My message is about empowerment and workers' rights," Query said last night during the presentation of her documentary film, Live Nude Girls Unite!
The film chronicles the struggle of nude dancers to unionize at a San Francisco club, the Lusty Lady.
In front of an audience of about 65 at the Annenberg School for Communication, Query contrasted the empowerment of nude dancers with the objectification of women in the mass media.
Her presentation concluded an ongoing film studies series undertaken by Communication professor Katherine Sender's "Politics of Representation" class. The class studied the ways in which different groups in society are represented through film.
"Film is one of the most evocative mediums you can work with," Query said. "Film is more effective ... [in] allowing viewers to take in the reality of the people."
She explained that high-quality documentaries display people in their appropriate context, reducing the potential for biased conclusions.
Query said dancing is "empowering" because it allows women to feel attractive even if their bodies do not reflect the ideal image projected by the media.
By portraying only one body image, the media has objectified women more so than the sex industry does, according to Query.
In her documentary, Query warns that the corrupt practices of club owners threaten this empowerment.
At the Lusty Lady, work shifts were delegated based on looks and race. For example, black dancers at the club received fewer hours and were not featured in VIP rooms because they were judged less desirable by the management.
In addition, male patrons of the club illegally filmed the peep shows and distributed them to the general public.
When the dancers demanded that this be stopped, management officials challenged them to go work somewhere else.
These reasons convinced Query and her fellow dancers of the need to unionize.
After many months of negotiations, the Lusty Lady became the first unionized club in the sex industry.
"I believe [unions] are capable of shifting the way sex is perceived," Annenberg graduate student Josh Ratner said. "If unions get more publicity, the sex industry" will be more respected by Americans.
The film won the audience award at the 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival.
