Transnational Desires: Brazilian Erotic Dancers in New York

Index

223 Index adult entertainment business, 62, 207n2 African-descent population (Brazil) Brazilian nation and, 45, 47 moreno body and, 51–54 paid marriages and, 150, 199 relationships with, 169 Sam (African American expat), 178–82 sexualization and, 89 age considerations for erotic dancers, 7, 157 alcohol consumption experienced dancers and, 95 new hires and, 80, 83 Amado, Jorge, 211n2 América (soap opera), 208n2 Anderson, Benedict, 32 Anguished Land (film), 41 Appadurai, Arjun, 32 asphalt (term), 42, 205n10 auditions, 79–80 first time on stage and, 80–83 psychological preparation for, 83–84 auto-exotization, 89 Barão Vermelho (band), 42 Barbara (Brazilian dancer) author’s first encounter with, 2, 12 background of, 18–19, 60 client relationships and, 111, 114, 132– 34, 136–41 on dancing strategy, 86–87 economic crisis of 1980s and 1990s and, 36 exercise considerations, 85 performance preparations by, 81 redefining roles, 198 transnational ties, 162, 165 working in gentlemen’s bars, 67–68 bar scene and gentlemen’s clubs changing nature of, 61–63 dancing strategy in, 86–88 display of dancers, 89–93 dynamics within, 63 money showers, 116, 118, 210n10 smoking restrictions, 209n7 social composition of clientele, 63 specializing in body types, 208n11 structure of, 89–93 See also Manhattan bars; Queens bars bartenders in bar scene, 65 beauty pageants, 48, 206n3 Besse, Susan, 47–48 Black God, White Devil (film), 42 black people in Brazil. See African-descent population (Brazil) Black Venus’s buttocks, 208n10 Blue Diamond (gentlemen’s bar), 66–67, 100, 130 body types (erotic dancers) bars specializing in, 208n11 changes in, 100–101 desirable in bar scene, 69–70 differentiation and display of, 99 investment in appearance, 85–86 North American view of, 53 weight considerations, 84–86 Botox treatments, 25, 86, 157, 165 bouncers in bar scene, 65, 73–74 Bourdieu, Pierre, 32 224 Transnational Desires branca (racial category), 50–52 Brazil carnival as symbol of, 47–48 catching up with First World, 33, 35 drug trafficking in, 43 economy of, 5, 7, 34–38, 208n8 education in, 84, 204n4 exports of, 211n5 historical development, 31–44 laws regarding whitening of population, 46–47 mulata as symbol of, 47–48 racism in, 50, 181–82 rock-and-roll music of, 40, 42, 92 samba as symbol of, 47 transformations in, 189–95 women of, 31–33, 37, 206n2, 210n1 See also middle class (Brazil); specific Brazilian erotic dancers “Brazil” (song), 43 Brazilian rock and roll, 40, 42, 92 breast augmentation, 69, 86 Bronx, 62 Brooklyn gentlemen’s clubs in, 62 migrants in, 207n4 Buarque de Holanda, Sérgio, 47 Bundchen, Gisele, 211n5 buttocks Black Venus’s, 208n10 exposure of, 92–93 Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE), 203n8 Candomblé religious tradition, 19, 210n3 Capital Inicial (band), 42 Carmen (bartender), 116 carnival mulata term usage and, 52 as symbol of Brazil, 47–48 Catholicism, erotic dancers and, 210n3 Cazuza (Brazilian musician), 43 centers of power (First World), 32 Champagne Rooms, 24, 70–71 Chatterjee, Partha, 32–33 cinema novo movement, 41–42 citizenship flexible, 169 racial ideals and, 206n1 Clara (Brazilian dancer) author’s first encounter with, 2–3, 12 background of, 17–18, 59–60 on class and race distinctions, 96–97 client generosity and, 109 cosmetic treatments, 86 economic crisis of 1980s and 1990s and, 37 paid marriage and, 126–27, 130, 150– 51, 154, 169, 210n2 on racial classification, 50–51, 99 redefining roles, 198 sponsors and, 125–27, 130–31, 150 transnational ties, 153–55 working in gentlemen’s bars, 63, 66–70 class systems. See social class systems client relationships accepting presents, 108–9 ambivalent, 123–51 body language while dancing, 105 changes in, 114–15 clients acting as sponsors, 115, 125–31 clients humiliating erotic dancers, 208n7 clients vs. “her clients,” 106–10 corporate masculinity, 15, 102, 110–12 distinctions in, 149–51 dynamics within bars and, 63 friendships, 112–15 identities and distinctions, 130–31 initial encounters, 103–4 lies and truths in, 132–41 in Manhattan bars, 110–12 meeting outside the bar, 108–9 psychopaths, 116–19 in Queens bars, 103–10 seduction of whiteness in, 141–49 as a skin thing, 211n3 touching and, 71, 105, 112 using economic crisis, 105–6 Clifford, James, 3–4 cliques based on class and race, 99, 197 Index 225 based on language, 78, 94 based on nationality, 78, 94, 208n1 demarcation in dressing rooms, 80 role of, 80...