The Strip-Tease Strategy

The other night at a dockside nightclub in Cape Town, a prostitute jumps on a table and performs a provocative strip tease for the club's enjoyment. Showing no inhibitions, she shimmies a denim mini down her legs, pulls her halter-top over her head, and unclasps her bra. With only leopard print heels and a flesh-toned g-string as adornment, she prances from table to table, pantomiming a stripper's routine.

All of the ladies around the club laugh. The men stare.

Such naked extravaganzas are rare at the dockside clubs. Though all of the club ladies are prostitutes, few are exhibitionists. In fact, most are quite conservative—wearing blue jeans, t-shirts, and takkies. Almost none wear the stereotypically sexy couture we associate with pros. And of the women at the club, only the strip-teaser arrives in a mini.

This lady—a veteran part-time prostitute who comes to the clubs for kicks and some extra bucks—clearly enjoys her performance. After showing off on the tables, she moves around the club, draping her naked bod over the backs of the sofas and chairs, daring the seamen to look and slip a R100 in the g. When I ask the other ladies who she is and why's she doing this, they just shrug: "oh, she's an old-timer who pops in sometimes. She does this every time she comes out."

But the stripper not only dances for personal satisfaction. She uses her strip-tease as a unique and potent solicitation strategy. By exhibiting her curvy sexuality to all of the men at once, she excites their interest, hints at future pleasures, and ignites a sense of urgency amongst them. Since they've all seen her at the same time, they must act fast if they are to beat their rivals to her. She places the burden of the chase on them.

When she finally (reluctantly) puts her clothes back on, she has her pick of guys. She chooses a young Indonesian crewman who looks very pleased with his luck. He can't stop smiling as they sway together on the dance floor.

She, meanwhile, is already dreaming of the next table-top routine she'll perform when she comes to the clubs again.

Who's Your Daddy?

The primary purpose of Cape Town's dockside nightclubs is to part sailors from their money. And everyone in this racket has an angle. The club owners sell alcohol at exorbitant prices. The cabbies charge outrageous fees for short hauls. And the prostitutes develop ingenious solicitation strategies to access the seamen's cash.

One particularly devious technique is when women tell multiple seafarers that they're pregnant with their baby. Sometimes they're not pregnant at all—phantom pregnancy—but just want to create a jolting emotional connection to inspire the mark to hand over wads of bills. But other times, cell division is indeed taking place.

So why tell lots of guys they're the papa?

First, the women often do not know who the father is. So by directing responsibility at multiple clients, they hope to secure at least one believer. It's a practical measure to deal with their uncertainty. Since seafarers can easily dismiss prostitutes' paternity claims, the women hedge their bets by telling many guys at once. Perhaps one will take the bait. Perhaps even the real father!

Second, though sailors usually doubt they're the father of a prostitute's baby due to her professional promiscuity, he can't be sure. There's always doubt, a fact which she exploits. Moreover, she manipulates his ego with such a claim, because it proves that he is virile and masculine. A man. If he craves such ego gratification, he may accept paternity. But if the baby represents more of a burden than a joy, he'll probably deny it. (And if he hears she was with someone else around the time of conception, he'll be difficult to persuade.)

Third, even if one or two of the sailors accept that they're the father, their care for the child will be minimal. Very few foreign seamen truly take responsibility for the children they have with South African prostitutes. The children grow up without fathers, essentially. Their financial support rarely lasts more than a few years, if that. Once he's back in his home country, he goes back to his own family and forgets about his Cape Town kid. But by getting multiple guys to pay toward the child in the early years, the woman can at least get some money to cope. For a brief moment.

What should be a wonderful moment—pregnancy—is rarely greeted with joy amongst dockside prostitutes. It's really a burden. But it does open up new solicitation opportunities which the women use to maximum advantage.

Sailors, Prostitutes & Karaoke Culture

Cape Town dockside social life is dominated by east Asian sailors who love singing karaoke. Two dockside nightclubs installed karaoke facilities expressly for the Asian trawlermen who love belting out the ballads. Indeed, every time I go to the clubs, I'm waylaid by syrupy sweet Chinese love songs, bubble-gummy Filipino pop, Islamicized Indonesian melodies, soft Taiwanese rock, and lilting Korean classics. And they're all sung through the raspy vocals of drunken sailors.

But the performances are not bad. When Asians sing karaoke, they mean it. Unlike middle-class Westerners who perform with irony and self-mockery, the Asian sailors do their best to imitate the original version of the song. They honor it with fidelity. So too do the working-class coloured prostitutes.

(When I first sang karaoke at the clubs, I performed in a comic-ironic manner. But nobody thought I was funny. They just looked at me like I sucked, pitying me...and themselves. But when I started actually trying to sing the songs properly, everyone applauded. Now I'm a regular on the mic. Watch out Bon Jovi, Lionel Richie & Duran Duran!)

For the sailors, karaoke is just an amusement to pass the time and inspire male bonding. But for the nightclub prostitutes, it offers yet another avenue for solicitation. Classic solicitation techniques revolve around sexy dancing, pleasant conversation, and gentle caressing, but the karaoke microphone allows women to grab all the seamen's attention at the same time. Her voice is able to soar above the crowd's. So it's not a surprise when one of the women lets loose on a familiar pop song.

More impressively, some of the women sing songs in the sailors' languages! Many have mastered one or two of the seamen's tongues, so they enjoy showing off their linguistic skills through music. This certainly gets the attention of the seafarers. Once a lady has demonstrated that she can entertain the sailors in their own language, it's not long before they wonder how else she might entertain them.

It is one of the most striking cultural aspects of the dockside nightlife: listening to working-class coloured prostitutes sing Asian love songs in flawless Mandarin, Tagalog, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese.

Solicitation in Different Prostitution Sectors

Prostitutes spend more time soliciting than actually servicing clients. Solicitation has a major impact on the experiences women face in sex work. But each prostitution sector is structured differently. I will briefly compare solicitation features of the various sex sectors in South Africa so that we gain a more complex understanding of the industry.

My previous post on dockside solicitation strategies reveals some of the key features of that niche. I showed how solicitation is the primary work of dockside prostitutes, that it is socially complex, that it is done in nightclubs, and that it focuses on a unique clientele—transient foreign seamen. If we compare the dockside to other sex sectors, we see that each niche is quite unique.

LOCATION: Dockside solicitation contrasts to streetwalkers who stand on sidewalks, to truck-stop women who hang around transport corridors, to courtesans who advertise through the internet, to agency ladies who solicit through newspaper ads, to 'beer prostitutes' who sit in working-class taverns, and to brothel women who wait for clients in the brothel's lounge.

Space is complicit with solicitation. Streetwalkers congregate on sidewalks that are publicly known for solicitation: their status is unambiguous due to the context of their loitering. Brothel women also work in spaces that are known—at least in certain circles—for prostitution. But the fact that they work indoors helps protect them, and to a certain degree, their clients from public view. Dockside women work at seamen's nightclubs, a space that is both "straight" and known for prostitution. However, since locals stay away from dockside dives, the women and the men are assured of a certain modicum of discretion.

A general rule is: the more that a space is known for prostitution, the less socially intensive solicitation will be. For streetwalkers and brothel women, solicitation amounts to "showing up" in the right space. They might dress sexy or make provocative gestures from the curbs, but solicitation in these contexts is often little more than "being available" for clients who have already made up their mind to buy sex. At nightclubs or tourist bars, the men are not yet clients, but "potential clients," because they may be there for other pleasures—drinking, dancing, socializing—not prostitution. For women who work from these "open" establishments, they must use a variety of social skills to entice a man to become a client.

DISCRETION: The more discretion a prostitute employs for solicitation, the greater status she will enjoy as a sex worker. Hence, streetwalkers—who offer almost no discretion—rank lower in the sexual services hierarchy than agency ladies or courtesans who rarely advertise in a way that protects their identities and the clients'.

Each niche is characterized by a certain standard of discretion, revenue, legal exposure, vulnerability, and violence (for both the prostitutes and the client). According to this formula, the hierarchy of South African prostitutes might be (from lowest status to highest): streetwalkers - truck-stop women - beer prostitutes - brothel women - dockside sugar girls - massage parlor ladies - agency girls - courtesans.

This is not an exact list—and some women move between these sectors during their careers—but each sector provides increasing layers of discretion for the seller and the buyer. The ability to provide discretion is usually linked to the class and education background of the women, their dependence upon drugs, their sense of autonomy, and their level of financial desperation.

CLIENTELE: Each prostitution sector is determined by the needs and constraints of an occupationally similar male clientele. It is they, not the women, who ultimately determine the shape, structure, and logic of each sector.

Docksiders cater to foreign seamen; courtesans look for international businessmen and tourists; truck-stop women go with long-distance truckers; 'beer prostitutes' hang out with mineworkers; agency ladies treat local middle and upper class professionals; streetwalkers handle local guys; and brothel women cater to a mix of local and foreign middle-class types.

This helps us understand why solicitation—and vulnerability, exposure, likelihood of violence, and stigmatization—differs from sector to sector.

Dockside Solicitation Strategies

One of the key aspects of my upcoming book, Sugar Girls & Seamen, concerns solicitation strategies employed by dockside prostitutes. This blog entry offers a brief look at what's involved.

Dockside prostitution is a specialized niche in the sex trade. This is because the clientele—transient foreign seamen—face different constraints than the clients of other sectors (streets, brothels, truck-stops, and agencies). Prostitutes must cater to these salty waifs in unique ways, taking into account their transience, foreignness (legally & culturally), and social needs (for male-bonding & female companionship). This blog entry highlights some of the solicitation strategies used by Cape Town & Durban sugar girls.

First, imagine the scene: a South African dockside nightclub. On any given night you'll find dozens of foreign sailors sitting around enjoying themselves with beers and whiskeys. They sit in booths, at tables, or at the bar. Every club has a dance floor, a pool-table room, and a couple of them have karaoke rooms. They meander between them throughout the evening.

From 8pm, prostitutes start to stream in. In Cape Town, they tend to be 'mixed-race' coloureds and in Durban they're mostly provincial Zulus. When they arrive, they greet their friends, ignore their rivals, and order up their first drink from their favorite spot. They chill for a few minutes, usually in pairs or small groups, and survey the scene.

As they talk, they establish what kind of action is available for the night: Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Croatians, Germans, Senegalese, Samoans, etc. Then they chat about what ships are supposed to be in the harbor and whether this will impact their evening's activities. Perhaps a returning client is on one of the ships. That would definitely raise hopes.

After awhile, some of the girls head to the dance floor to show off their curves and availability. They make sure they're visible to any promising clients. Other women head straight for a table to join a group of men, asking for a light to initiate the connection. Then they're able check them out up-close and personal. Others sit alone at the bar, looking mysterious, above the fray. If a sailor likes a challenge, he'll be enticed by the seeming disinterest such aloof women display.

This is only the first move, part of a marketing campaign to get the attention of the seamen. Once contact is established, a woman will usually settle in at a booth with a sailor and his mates. They'll greet and incorporate her into the group, offering her drinks and cigarettes. She'll oblige.

For the next 3 or 4 hours, the woman will work hard to keep her man's attention. AND she will continue checking out other options while gauging whether this guy is worth the time. Throughout the evening, she'll make provisional claims on a number of men—with one guy typically being the primary—while the men also make make claims on multiple women. A promiscuous flirtation saturates the flitty relationships at the clubs.

Conversation, dancing, drinking, smoking, and touching fill the hours. But throughout, a woman guides the sailor toward a negotiation for a sexual contract after the club. For even if the seaman treats her to drinks and cigarettes, maybe even proffering 'taxi fare' or some cash for the good times, the real money is made through a sexual rendezvous. She might score some 'taxi fare' (R30/$5) or a hundred rands ($16) for the companionship but if they can the chance to provide sexual services, they can demand R200-300 ($30-50) for poorer crewmen and R500-1000 ($80-160) for wealthier officers.

Most sailors resist the offer, stumbling back to the bosom of their ships instead. Many go to the clubs for male-bonding with their mates or for some casual comfort and companionship from a lady. Drinking is crucial too. And if they're not very well-paid crewmen, then they may be even more reluctant. But most sailors do, at some point, take advantage of the sexual services provided by the port sugar girls.

Thus, even though many women go to the clubs 6-7 nights per week, they may average about 2 or 3 post-club hook-ups. The rate is higher for Durban because the women deal with overnight container-ship sailors while Cape Town women deal mainly with long-stay fishing trawler seamen. In other words, Durban provides more sailors for shorter durations, allowing for more potential clients. In Cape Town, the fewer sailors tend to stay longer. But, even though Durban women get more clients, they also charge less, making monthly earnings between the C.T. and Durban women about the same.

In conclusion, solicitation takes hours, requiring a range of social skills. Conversational abilities are important, foreign language skills can be a big plus, willingness to touch and caress on the spot is crucial, attractiveness is a bonus (but not necessary), and savvy clientele choices are de rigeur.

Unlike other sex sectors, it's not enough to just show up and be 'available.' The women have to actively solicit in a competitive atmosphere. The difference between success and failure is hundreds of rands on any given night. Hence, in-club skills makes up the most important aspect of sugar girls' work (more than actual sexual skills). Though it is not formally paid for, solicitation not only makes the sailors feel great at the clubs, but it steers their attention toward the girls for post-club extravaganzas.

These interpersonal club activities have a big impact on the women's social lives, cultural investments, and sense of identity as prostitutes. Obviously their work incorporates so much more than just sex. Their solicitation techniques are socially complex and culturally sophisticated.

The next blog entry will compare solicitation at the dockside to that of other prostitution sectors.

Sugar Girls & Seamen: A book

"Finally," you say, "a blog about dockside prostitution!"

Yes friend, the day has arrived. And here's why:

A few years ago, I interviewed an older coloured woman from District Six who used to "entertain" passing seamen in Cape Town. Her parents ran a "suikerhuisie" (Afrikaans sugar house, ie. brothel) and she and her sisters specialized in providing sexual recreation to West Indian and Black American sailors. That was in the 1960s and early 1970s. Then the apartheid government chucked them out of their homes along with all of the other coloureds, Africans, and Indians. She and her family were removed to the Cape Flats townships, far from the downtown docklands. Her parents gave up the business and she and her sisters went to work at clothing factories.

But today, she is a member of a powerful political party, a stalwart of its Women's League. I asked her: How did you go from being an "entertainer" in the old days to becoming an activist in liberation politics?

She said that the seamen opened her mind to the world beyond South Africa. In their sweaty post-coital embrace, the West Indian and Black American seafarers told her about the Civil Rights Movement, about Black Pride, about dignity and equality for all. In the smokey lounge, they spun smuggled James Brown records on the turntables and spoke of the racial struggles in the Americas. And they told her that, as a black woman, she was beautiful.

When I started researching my dissertation on port culture, I never imagined that dockside prostitutes might become politically conscientized by their work. But it makes perfect sense: their lives are characterized by intimate dealings with a ceaseless stream of seamen who share their cultures, ideas, languages, politics, styles, goods, currencies, and diseases. Dockside prostitutes are, in a way, the ultimate cosmopolitans. The world comes to them.

Over the past two years, I have been exploring dockside social relations. Besides sailing for two months on two cargo ships from Los Angeles to Cape Town and hanging out with all sorts of maritime personnel, much of my time has been spent considering the cultural dimensions of dockside prostitution. I've interviewed many ex-sugar girls, but have also spent countless evenings at the Cape Town & Durban nightclubs, chatting with the ladies, sailors, club owners, cabbies, cops, street urchins, and so on. Though all of these efforts were for my dissertation, I was recently asked to slide even deeper into this slippery world. I didn't say no.

A month ago I was approached by Jacana Press, a leading South African publisher (motto: We Publish What We Like), to write a popular book about the social dynamics of dockside solicitation & sex. Last week, I signed the contract. (They're stuck with me now!) Sugar Girls & Seamen is due for publication next year.

Though I am still busy fleshing out my dissertation—a mammoth task in itself—I could not pass up this chance to speak to a popular readership about my journey into this hidden world. The lives of the women, sailors, club owners, and cabbies are fascinating; my own experiences with them have been memorable, to say the least. Mind if I share them?

Despite the obvious appeal of such a topic—touching as it does on sex, culture, race, money, and bodily fluids—there is little literature available about it for the general public. Perhaps scholars assume the dockside world was scuttled after the Age of Sail or at the end of the passenger liner era. I'm looking forward to showing that, even if the romance of sail has passed, the sailors' romance has not. For a fistful of dollars, they can have all the romance they like!

I created this blog so that I can chart the progress of researching and writing the book and to critically reflect upon the process of literary creation. The blog will offer a glimpse not only into the dockside sex scene—and all of the characters in it—but will also reflect on the research and writing processes. Each week, I will add a new post that explores some aspect of the dockside world and my movements within it.

Just as entertainment documentaries show "the making of" different movies, this blog will offer a real-time exploration of my research and writing of Sugar Girls & Seamen: A Journey Into the World of Dockside Prostitution in South Africa. It will not duplicate the content of the book, but will offer brief snapshots of the dockside collage.

Strap yourself in for a wild ride!