Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Research Update on “Boob Jobs in the Share Economy”


My study, "Boob Jobs in the Share Economy," focuses on 74 cases involving exotic dancers (all but one involve women). In these cases, the dancers are suing for wages (including overtime). The problem? Clubs don't pay them anything, and treat them as independent contractors. They work for tips. Dancers win more than 90% of the rulings. Why care about them? Apart from objectification of their sexuality, women are often forced into “landlord-tenant” relationships in order to rent dressing rooms and also stage time. Some pay a fee to enter the club each night. They frequently are required to pay tips to house moms, DJs, emcees, bar tenders, and bouncers. In other words, they don't earn wages and they are forced to pay their co-workers! Some earn "negative wages" (quote from a lawsuit) on a nightly basis.

I argue that this exploitation is indicative of a growing phenomenon where businesses shift costs to workers while avoiding employment taxes and other legal duties that are part of the formal employment relationship. In other words, the strip club is a more advanced form of Uber-style exploitation, where a woman’s body is treated as a just-in-time corporate asset to be shared with paying customers. Will you be the next asset who is objectified in a work relationship?


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