A “MINOR LEAGUE EQUIVALENT TO THE EIFFEL TOWER AND THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING”: VANCOUVER’S PENTHOUSE NIGHTCLUB by Mary Shearman Master of Arts, Simon Fraser University, 2007 Bachelor of Arts, University of Ottawa, 2005 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Mary Shearman 2016 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2016 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. APPROVAL Name: P. Mary Shearman Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: A “Minor League Equivalent to the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building”: Vancouver’s Penthouse Nightclub Examining Committee: Chair: Jen Marchbank Professor Lara Campbell Senior Supervisor Professor Mary Lynn Stewart Supervisor Professor Emerita Peter Dickinson Supervisor Professor Department of English and School for the Contemporary Arts Ann Travers Internal Examiner Associate Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Annalee Lepp External Examiner Associate Professor Department of Gender Studies University of Victoria Date Defended/Approved: December 14, 2016 ii ETHICS STATEMENT iii ABSTRACT The Penthouse is rumoured to be the oldest continuously operating nightclub in the land we now know as Canada and is without a doubt the oldest exotic nightclub. Owned and operated by an Italian family who emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, The Penthouse has survived numerous waves of moral crackdown in the city as well as many offers to buy the prime location in the face of aggressive development. A staggering number of nightclubs in Vancouver, exotic or otherwise, have not shared the same fate. Through conducting an institutional history of The Penthouse I locate it within changing local politics related to feminist activism, policing, and the sex industry as well as larger shifts in cultural attitudes towards sexual labour and sex workers’ bodies. Further I assemble a social history of the dancers, looking at their experiences in the club and their perception of the intersections between feminism, identity, performance, and sex. Feminist theory, women’s and gender history, and performance studies inform this multi-method project, which includes results and analysis from archival research and oral history interviews conducted with dancers employed at the club from 1978-2012. Overwhelmingly, the narrators reflected on their time as dancers as valuable to their lives in a myriad of ways, including helping to foster healthy relationships with their bodies and sexualities. Nevertheless most felt that the stigma they faced as sexual labourers impacted their lives in a negative way and was in conflict with the way they experienced their work themselves. This ongoing stigma was often a driving force for abandoning striptease for more ‘square’ or respectable work. Others continue to work in the sex industry. Eleven dancers shared their stories for this project, as did one member of the serving staff at The Penthouse, booking agent Randy Knowlan, and current owner/operator Danny Filippone. These stories offer a history of the Penthouse which places it as a central part of Vancouver’s history. At a time when conventional striptease seems to be in decline and other facets of the sex industry seem to be under attack by new forms of criminal regulation, the interviews with dancers, staff, and the owner/operator suggest that future possibilities for Vancouver’s contemporary striptease communities might lie in the evolving local neo-burlesque scene. Keywords: Burlesque; Nightlife; Sexual Labour; Sex Work; Striptease; Showgirls iv DEDICATION To hot bitches everywhere, especially Christy M. - miss you muffin v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has taken a turn to support me as I have wrestled with this project. There have been all sorts of surprises lurking around every shadow and corner- as always. In particular, thanks must be given to my ever patient and supportive committee who never questioned when a draft dropped out of the blue. Also, I want to acknowledge the inspiration I received in the early phases of this project talking about ideas with Becki Ross over coffee in the West End, where I remember at first walking in feeling very unsure about this whole Penthouse idea. From the Simon Fraser University Library, I want to thank Moninder Lalli, liaison librarian for the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, who is a search engine sorceress. Additionally, I want to thank the three thesis assistants I have checked in with while working on this project, Penny, Joanie, and especially Dave who was particularly supportive and encouraging. Finally at Simon Fraser, I want to thank Kathryn Hunter and Roberta Neilson in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies: I never made an appointment with either of you and you always answered my questions when I strolled in randomly. Thank you for your flexibility, I needed it. This project was financially supported by the Pacific Century Graduate Scholarship and via my full-time work where I have the great pleasure of spending everyday with some of the strongest and fiercest women I know. I say vi some, because not every narrator I interviewed was affiliated with my work. Without these women willing to share their stories of dancing at The Penthouse this would be a very different, and probably really boring, project. Thank you for giving these important ideas life and meaning. Finally, I want to thank the formal and informal reading/writing groups that formed for a meeting or a semester because I do not do well working in isolation all the time. ‘Something feminist’ as well as the llama (of anti- oppression) and (fictitious) donkey, need a special mention as two of the groups that lasted a little longer and really kept me focused for a minute there. To my friends, family and those who have drifted in and out of my life while I was working on this: thank you for listening and being along for the ride, can’t wait to see where we end up next. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval .............................................................................................................................. ii Ethics statement ................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ............................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 1 Theories and Literature Review ......................................................................................... 10 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Outlines ................................................................................................................ 37 Chapter 1: The Origins of Joe’s Penthouse (and this Project): 1937- 1974 ............................................................................................................ 41 Early Days on Seymour Street .......................................................................................... 42 Early Days on The West Coast Circuit ...............................................................................52 Where the Dancing Happens ............................................................................................. 55 The Local Scene ................................................................................................................ 64 Evolving Performances at The Penthouse ......................................................................... 71 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 2: “A Supermarket for Hookers”: The 1975 Penthouse Raid, Three Year Closure, and Community Regulation of Sex Work .................... 76 Anti-Sex Work Politics ....................................................................................................... 77 The Penthouse on Trial ..................................................................................................... 80 The Penthouse Closure, Street Sex-Work, and Community Politics in Vancouver’s West-End .................................................................................................................