Porn by any other name: women's consumption of public sex performances in Amsterdam

Abstract

This paper draws on ethnographic research conducted in Amsterdam, exploring the ways in which women tourists engage with public sex performances, drawing comparisons between these types of shows and other types of pornographic materials. Empirical data collected in Amsterdam, focusing on women's visual consumption of public sex performances at a well-known tourist sexual theatres that features live sex (including vaginal penetrative sex and oral sexual encounters for/by men/women, as well as masturbation and other highly sexualized acts), suggests that sex shows are positioned as legitimate sexual entertainment for men, women, and couples, and that a wide range of tourist women from different backgrounds visit these shows in substantial numbers. By attempting to unpick the ways in which women visually consume public sex performances, and thinking about this in relation to broader discussions around pornography and the literature around women's consumption practices, this paper will argue that many of the current understandings of pornography consumption as an androcentric activity fail to recognize women as active sexual, visual agents. Women's engagement with sex shows in Amsterdam complicates the various ways in which visual consumption of pornography might occur, and opens up questions about the social and gendered practices of watching sex.

Keywords:

• Female gaze
• public sex performance
• Amsterdam

Notes

1. The fact that I was on my own in this setting was not unusual. In Thailand (at ping-pong shows in all four of the research sites: Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Phuket) and in Amsterdam, tourists almost invariably visited these shows in groups. It was unusual to find any tourist, male or female, who went to a sex show or ping-pong show on their own. However, in Amsterdam the safety of the tour group meant that single people (men and women) often went on tours by themselves, and this opened up the possibility for them to explore the setting and the shows in a group dynamic.

2. It is useful to point out that there have been lesbian couples performing at the Casa Rosso in previous years, and there are gay-male venues in Amsterdam that provide some form of live sex – although the author was not allowed into these venues and so cannot provide comment on the nature of these venues.

3. Burlesque is a notable exception to this, particularly in London and elsewhere the United Kingdom where a substantial proportion of audiences at burlesque shows is comprised of female audience members.