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5 Reproducing Cyber Desire The Role of Technology and Desire Industries Sometimes they use Mexican women who are made to look White, like with blonde hair to advertise the club. —Spice (reflecting on advertising techniques in a San Francisco male-managed club). Another way erotic capital is marketed within desire industries is through club Web sites that advertise upcoming dancers, display images of club settings, and show pictures of women, who really may not work there, to represent the types of dancers employed at the club. Race is a central aspect in this advertising of erotic capital because it is a signifier of dancer attractiveness and desirability, and Web sites are geared toward a target audience based on race, gender, class, and geographic setting. Advertising erotic capital via the Internet is evident on the Web sites of Temptations, Conquest, and Girlielicous. The following content analysis of the Temptations Web site is from 2006 when the Web site had images of mostly White women, and 2007 when the club changed its marketing techniques, resulting in a new Web site showing Black and Latina women, who are representative of the women who worked there. However, although the second Web site is more diverse, like the first one, it supports the valuing of symbolic White erotic capital, and the marginalization of dark-skinned Black women. On the 2006 Temptations home page, White and light-skinned Latina women (with the exception of two light-skinned Black women) are used to represent dancers at the club, activities, themes, and the type of customer who patronize the club. The White women shown have blonde hair and are thin, and the Latinas are olive- to fair-skinned with dark hair and slim bodies. There are six photos featuring women: one blonde woman is dressed as a dominatrix wearing leather and holding a whip. Below the words “After Game Party,” one woman with black hair, who could be Latina, sports a New 71 72 Unequal Desires York Yankees logo on her hip, wearing a black- and white-striped thong, with a blue background, and the words “admit one” in red across her bare chest. Below the thong is the name of the club in red, white, and blue. The photo positioned diagonally below it shows two Latina women (one brunette and one blonde) in two different positions. The brunette, who is facing the camera, wears a red top; the other photo is of her posing from a side view wearing a red bikini. The blonde is wearing a red leopard print top and red thong, and the other photo shows her topless with red dice surrounding her pelvic area. The background is red with the caption in gold letters reading: “Temptations Cabaret. Attention Dancers: Yankee Season is Back at Temptations. Make from $500 to $2,000 during game days . . . night and day shifts available. Call Today and Start Making Money Now.” The photo next to it features a topless, olive-skinned Latina woman with dark hair. She is wearing a pink leopard print bottom and is standing against a pink leopard background. The words “Customer Appreciation Party” are printed next to her. The photos indicate a certain working-class status of the club; the dice and gold letters give the advertisement a “bling”1 effect. This effect can lower a dancer’s erotic capital because the ad suggests a relaxed environment, offering more interaction with dancers, and resulting in a degraded club status, and a lack of standards regarding touching of the dancers. Another photo features two women who could be White and/or Latina. They both have dark hair and are wearing black bikinis. They are positioned against a blue background containing pictures of women wrestling in erotic positions. The women also are in a pseudo-lesbian pose. The capture reads: “Oil wrestling Wednesday is back: Jump in the ring and wrestle with a beautiful Temptations girl. Wednesday May 17th.” A last photo advertising a link for party services features three flashing pictures of women who appear to be either White or light-skinned Latinas.2 One photo is of a blonde woman wearing a nightgown with stars covering her breast. She is holding a glass of champagne; the second flashing photo is of three White women kissing and undressing each other, and the third is of two White women who are topless. They are standing side-by-side; one wearing a pink skirt and heels, the other an open white vest and white bottoms. These...

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