Kathoey working in a go-go bar in Bangkok's Nana Plaza entertainment neighborhood

A go-go bar is a type of business establishment where alcoholic drink is sold and dancers provide entertainment. The term go-go bar originally referred to a nightclub, bar, or similar establishment that featured go-go dancers; while some go-go bars in that original sense still exist, the link between its present uses and that original meaning is often more tenuous and regional. Speaking broadly, the term has been used by venues that cover a wide range of businesses, from nightclubs or discotheques, where dancers are essentially there to set the mood, to what are in essence burlesque theaters or strip clubs, where dancers are part of a show and the primary focus.

United States

The term go-go bar is often used for certain sorts of strip clubs. In regions where the term is used, go-go bars are considered lower in class when compared to gentlemen's clubs, which offer a more coordinated and show-centric experience. In these bars:

  • There is no champagne court.
  • Dress codes are more relaxed for both patrons and performers.
  • There are no staging, choreography, or special effects considerations.
  • A House Mother monitors activity and assists performers in the dressing area.
  • Feature performers usually do not perform at go-go bars.

East and Southeast Asia

The phrase go-go was adopted by bars in the 1960s in Tokyo, Japan. It gained a lesser reputation when it was abandoned by a majority of clubs and appropriated by bawdy burlesque and striptease establishments, which in turn became known as go-go bars and the women working there known as go-go dancers.

During the Vietnam War the United States Seventh Fleet was based at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the city of Olongapo in the Philippines. The city had 500 go-go bars used by US servicemen.[1] There were also many go-go bars in Saigon, South Vietnam,[2] to entertain U.S. troops. A synonym used in Vietnam for go-go dancing is "table dancing".

There were many such bars in Thailand during the Vietnam War and they continued (on a smaller scale) after the war ended in 1975.[3] During the 1980s, Thailand became a leading center for sex tourism[4] with go-go bars located in the red light districts catering to foreigners.[5] They are part of Thailand's sex-related entertainment industry, along with massage parlors.[6] Go-go bars have hostesses and/or dancers[5] who perform on stage, sometimes pole dancing. They typically dance wearing bikinis, lingerie or fetish costumes. Occasionally they perform topless but rarely nude[7] and the bars do not usually offer striptease,[5] although sex shows are sometimes performed on stage.[7] Many of the bars are found in Bangkok in Patpong, Nana Plaza,[3] and Soi Cowboy.[8] Soi Twilight is Bangkok's main street for gay go-go bars.[3] Unlike Thailand's many open-fronted bars, go-go bars are not accessed directly from the street.[9] Instead they are indoor bars[5] located in closed buildings. The participants are not visible from the outside so that passers-by cannot congregate to view the dancers for free.[7] Dancing is typically used as a form of solicitation for prostitution.[7] After dancing for the customers, the bar girls who work there often leave with them to provide sexual services once the customers have paid a bar fine.[9] Such bars can also be found in parts of the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia.[10]

Etymology

The origin of the term go-go dancing goes back to a 1949 British film Whisky Galore!. This film tells the story of the sinking of a ship loaded with whiskey. The French title of this film was Whisky à gogo !, "à gogo" being Parisian slang for "galore".[11] During the period that this film was showing in France, discotheques were just introduced as a new form of entertainment. Due to the success of the film and the snob appeal of drinking whiskey in France, a number of discotheques were given the name "Whiskey à Go-Go".

The first Whisky à Gogo nightclub opened in Paris in 1947,[12] drawing the "Whisky" part of its name from the whisky labels that lined its walls.[13] In 1953 it became the first discotheque.[14] The club was franchised, first in Chicago in 1958 and then in Los Angeles in 1964.[15] In May 1964 the Los Angeles club was featured in Life magazine and by 1965 clubs called Whisky à Go-Go (or Whiskey à Go-Go) had appeared in Milwaukee, Washington, San Francisco and Atlanta.[16] In the Los Angeles club a new style of dance was taking place, as go-go dancers in short, fringed skirts and high boots danced in a glass booth above the patrons. The first recorded occurrence of topless go-go dancing was in the Condor nightclub in San Francisco in 1964, and topless go-go dancing quickly became a part of the adult entertainment industry.[17]

During this time, several dance styles were becoming popular in which dancers danced separately from their partner or with no partner at all. American discos, often using the same name (“Whiskey A Go-Go”) as their French predecessor, introduced young women dancing alone in these new styles as a form of entertainment, creating the concept of a "go-go dancer".[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Harubi, Tono; Yumi, Tsukamoto; Naoka, Iyori (Winter 1987). "For a Song: Female Sexual Slavery in Asia" (PDF). Trouble and Strife. No. 12. p. 10.
  2. ↑ Fay, Kim (2008). To Vietnam with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur. ThingsAsian Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 9781934159040.
  3. 1 2 3 Finlay, Leslie (6 April 2018). "A Guide to Bangkok's Red Light Districts". The Culture Trip.
  4. ↑ Reyes, Cazzie (8 October 2015). "History of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Thailand". End Slavery Now.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ditmore, Melissa Hope (2006). Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 57. ISBN 9780313329692.
  6. ↑ Ghosh, Lipi (2002). Prostitution in Thailand: Myth and Reality. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 112. ISBN 9788121510271.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Weitzer, Ronald (2023). Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia's Premier Erotic Playground. NYU. p. 95. ISBN 9781479813438.
  8. ↑ "List of activities and businesses allowed to operate and those remain closed in Bangkok". Pattaya Mail. 16 June 2021.
  9. 1 2 Sorajjakool, Siroj (2013). Human Trafficking in Thailand: Current Issues, Trends, and the Role of the Thai Government. Silkworm Books. p. 44. ISBN 9781631021947.
  10. ↑ van der Velden, Leo (1982). Tussen prostituée en maitresse: de hospitality girls van Ermita, Manila [Between Prostitute and Mistress: the Hospitality Girls of Ermita, Manila] (Thesis) (in Dutch). Universiteit van Amsterdam.
  11. ↑ Lovatt, Edwin A; Hérail, René James (2005). Dictionary of Modern Colloquial French. Routledge. p. 264. ISBN 9781134930623.
  12. ↑ Brewster, Bill; Broughton, Frank (1999). Last Night a Dj Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Grove Press. p. 50. ISBN 9781555846114.
  13. ↑ Mitchell, Claudia; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (2007). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia [2 Volumes]: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 328. ISBN 9780313084447.
  14. ↑ Clark, Lamont (2013). DJs: A Children's Guide to the Origins of Hip Hop. The Five Elements of Hip Hop. Vol. 2. 70 West Press.
  15. ↑ Moore, Jennifer Grayer (2015). Fashion Fads Through American History: Fitting Clothes into Context: Fitting Clothes into Context. ABC-CLIO. p. 275. ISBN 9781610699020.
  16. ↑ Wald, Elijah (2009). How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780199753567.
  17. ↑ DeBolt, Abbe Allen; Baugess, James S., eds. (2011). Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture. ABC-CLIO. p. 253. ISBN 9780313329449.
  18. ↑ A.O. Aldridge, American burlesque at home and abroad; together with the etymology of go-go girl, in: ;Journal of Popular Culture, 1971, V, 565-575
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