It’s Showtime
The oldest strip club in Waco and now the last club left standing in our city is closing. Here’s what I want you to know: commercial sex doesn’t go away because we shut down strip clubs. This may close an avenue, but sexual exploitation, trauma and trafficking don’t stop when you limit points of sale. Like water, sex for sale finds a new pathway. Showtime shutting down might take commercial sex out of plain sight, but it doesn’t stop. It goes underground. Women will still sell their bodies anywhere and everywhere they can when demand for their bodies to be sold for sex still makes money. And this won’t stop because we’re living in a world fixated on women’s bodies rather than their whole being. Furthermore, trafficking doesn’t stop because traffickers exist and traffickers exist because demand exists.
We know this, I know this. Women know that if they wanted to, they could go online right now and make quick money by taking off their clothes for strangers. The global commercial sex industry makes more money than the MLB, the NBA and NFL COMBINED! Who sees most of that money? Not the supply chain but the companies and the individuals in charge of the sale. Porn feeds the demand and the tech companies, porn companies, pimps, clubs and traffickers simply feed the demand.
So, the Showtime club is shutting down. “Hooray!”, the church and the moral police cheer! And what about the women who will be driven into deeper poverty. “Could it be a way out though? This is her chance to escape!”, the religious choir sings. Sure, it could be. So will you hire her? Will you open your home to her AND her children ? Will you understand her mental health issues and provide insurance for her? When she starts to work at the job you recommend, begins making a livable wage and all her benefits cease and she’s now considered the working poor, are you still going to let her live with you longer? What about a car? Oh, and her doctors appointments, she hasn’t seen a good doctor in ages and they’re telling her now she is pre diabetic and has high cholesterol. She needs meds and doesn’t have RX coverage. Oh, and the dentist - she has abscessed teeth and is chronically in pain. Dentist says she needs to have them all pulled and dentures. Insurance doesn’t cover that. Will you help? Her kiddo is a really talented athlete but she doesn’t have money for extracurriculars and he’s started getting in trouble a lot. Teachers say he needs therapy. Insurance doesn’t cover that and if it does the waitlist is 6 months.
Showtime club is closing, Waco, and it’s your time to show up. There will be roughly 25 women needing transitional help. Some are immigrant women, some are pregnant, some have only worked in clubs since they were 18 (maybe younger). Some are potential trafficking victims who don’t know they are. Some want to leave it all behind and start over.
It’s showtime - indeed it is. Time for us to show up and show out with support, care, partnership and love that breaks every chain.
Our goal is to provide each woman impacted by Showtime’s closing with gift cards and next steps coordination to resources. Our small staff and trained club team are here to support and care for women who desire this but we will need more hands on deck.
Do you want to be a part of showing up when Showtime is closing down?
Donate: funds collected for this effort will be assessed and distributed for short term, transitional help.
Volunteer: our club team will function as survivor advocates and alliance partners will be available for relational support and mentoring.
Community Partnership: if your org, business or church can help in some way to connect, care for or employ let us know!
Love is a village!
Emily Mills