Exotic (2016) - full transcript

- Everyone gets extremely freaked out

when you say you're gonna
go somewhere and travel.

And dance.

- I had gone to like California, Texas,

some other places.

- Texas, Seattle,

Portland, and in here.

(rock music)

♫ Same dreams built in different city

♫ Road divides for miles in between

♫ This time it's a long walk home



Ain't honestly nothing like it.

- I figured out what they
were doing pretty fast.

- You can't have a
conversation, you can't do it.

- You do have to be a
certain type of person

to feel like, oh, Guam.

Where is that?

Okay, let's go.

♫ Even though I may not be

♫ Lost is the art

♫ Of faithful conviction

♫ Too many words lost

♫ In self premonition

♫ I'm a sucker for your heart and soul

♫ But my mind's too young



♫ And my way's too old

- I started dancing because you know,

I graduated from school,

I didn't really have any opportunities.

And I kept getting stuck
in these really shitty

just retail jobs.

You know, I got treated like shit.

I made shit money.

And I just got tired of it.

And so I decided to start dancing.

I had this long term
friend who went to Guam,

came back, she loved it.

It was a great opportunity for her.

She made a lot of money.

And she kept bugging me and
bugging me to go to Guam.

I was like, where the fuck is Guam?

- Hello, ladies.

My name is Chris Fernandez,
and I'm the manager

of the world famous Club G Spot.

Located on the U.S.
tropical island of Guam.

And I invite you to come join us.

- There were two clubs interested in me.

One club was to hire me
almost within two weeks.

Once I signed all the contracts,

then the club buys you a plane ticket

to go over and come to Guam.

(lively music)

- Yup, 100% U.S. American soil.

Or rather, sand, that is.

Guam has miles and miles of
beautiful white sand beaches

for you to come play on.

You see, if you're living and
working on the island of Guam,

you're living and working on U.S. soil.

Making it a safe destination.

- I got off the plane.

Picked up by another dancer.

And I took a quick nap.

And I was scheduled to work that night.

And I didn't have any of my
make up, any of my stuff.

So I immediately walked into the club.

And I was told to go straight
back to the dressing room

and get dressed as quickly as possible.

I got in the dressing room
and the owner was there.

And he took one look at
me, looked me up and down.

He was like, we need to talk.

Drags me to the private room.

And tells me,

you know, I know who makes
money here and who doesn't.

And I don't think we really have a place

for you here right now.

And he basically told me,

that he was gonna sell my
contract to another club.

His bar manager drove
me to this other club.

They didn't even bother
to tell this second club

that I was coming.

I just was thrown out their door.

And the owner couldn't hire me.

Had no use for me.

So that night, the same night
I got driven to a third club.

And the first club had driven by,

packed up all my stuff, and
delivered it at the door.

I didn't even have an
opportunity to go back

and pack up my things.

They ended up hiring me.

Thank goodness.

I don't know what I would've
done if they wouldn't have.

It's even scary to think about now.

Like I really didn't have a place to stay.

I didn't have you know,
hundreds of dollars saved up

just in case, in the bank.

I don't know how I would've gotten home.

- Hiking, waterfalls,

scuba diving, or all
sorts of water sports.

Or just plain old laying on
a beautiful tropical beach.

Guam is the perfect destination
for any exotic dancer.

(light music)

- Women have been doing erotic dance

since the beginning of women.

You know, that story Adam and Eve,

Eve was probably a stripper.

No. (laughing)

I've seen styles change,
decade to decade, radically.

When I first saw strippers,
they had theme costumes

and acts.

♫ Put the blame on me

- When I started dancing,
it was burlesque.

It was wine stone jewelry
and feathered boas

in long gowns, sequin gowns.

And capes and like Vegas style.

- Of course, porn influenced
the stripping business too.

A lot.

And I saw a certain point
dancing getting very boring.

(rhythmic music)

- In the early 90s, clubs figured out that

they could stop paying dancers to work.

Stop paying a wage and the
dancers would still make

enough money in tips
to make it worth while.

Then they realized that they
could start charging dancers.

(rhythmic music)

- The girls started get really
nasty and raunchy on stage.

Started doing things
like being fully splits

with no bottoms on.

So I said no, I'm hanging
up my g-string for life

because there's no way I'm
gonna compete with these girls.

And they're 19, 18, 20 years old.

And they're full doing,
fully those things on stage.

I just couldn't get my, no.

(rhythmic music)

- Dancers are classified
as independent contractors

by the clubs.

And in most clubs, dancers
actually pay to work.

They don't get paid wages at all.

They have to pay a house fee.

Which can be anything from
like maybe $10 a shift.

In small like kind of divey bars.

To clubs would charge like $300 a shift.

And that's all that dancers are paying out

before they even start working.

The labor violations are pretty intense

in the strip club industry.

In general.

- I've been very involved in
prostitutes rights movements

since 1975.

Trying to decriminalize sex work.

To me, definitely stripping
is a form of sex work,

although I think it's a
self identified thing.

- Sex work is an umbrella
term that is used to describe

a lot of different kinds of sexual labor.

Including prostitution, stripping,

fetish work, porn
performing, phone sex work.

- Grab your make ups, fix your hair.

Prostitutes are everywhere.

- A lot of strippers don't like
to identify as sex workers.

Because stripping is already
stigmatized in itself.

But there are other strippers
who embrace the term

sex work.

And feel that strippers need to fight for

rights and have solidarity with
other kinds of sex workers.

(upbeat music)

- The incentive is, in Guam,

you actually get paid a salary.

And the salary is $75 a night.

So if I go to work, no one shows up,

nothing happens, end of
the night, I still get $75.

- The club usually holds your
first three weeks of pay.

So girls don't just go there
and then lay on the beach

and be like, oh, I'm here to not work.

You know, thanks for the plane ride.

- They take the money for the plane ticket

out of your salary.

They will give it to you
as a bonus once you leave.

But a lot of girls never
ever complete their

three month contract.

They get fired, they gain weight.

They you know, get depressed out here.

And so I haven't heard
that happen normally.

- There is a base pay.

But if the club does not like you,

they will watch your every
move, and they will fine you.

And by the time it's
time for you to get paid,

your check will be so short,

because you've been fined for
this, this, that, and that,

and just be like, they don't,

I don't even know.

- If we're late to work,

even by a minute, it's a $35 fee.

If you know, we're not wearing
high heels or something,

but there's also a lot of control,

a lot of strings that
come with that salary

that just don't exist in these days.

Whatever we make on the stage, we keep.

You don't have table
dances or lap dances here.

You sell drinks.

And that's more like the
Japanese Asian style thinking.

If you like a lady,
you buy a lady a drink.

And then that lady can
keep talking to you.

- I honestly seen nothing like it.

We didn't sell drinks,
we sell private dancers.

Or a chair dancers like, I'm sitting here,

customers see me walking by,

he'd be like, hey, how you doing?

And like, he'd be like, bring a dance.

That's $10.

I stand right there,

and I just take my little thong off,

take my top, push it over to
the side and jiggle jiggle,

bend over, jiggle jiggle.

Whatever.

All right, thank you.

You want another one?

Okay, thank you, thank you.

And then go on to the next.

I don't have to sit there,

i don't have to touch him.

I don't have to ask him
what the fuck his name is,

'cause I don't really give a fuck.

I don't have to do none of that.

You know what I'm saying?

He don't wanna know mine, he
just wanna see some ass shaking

in his face and some pussy.

You know?

You there, you gotta sit there,

what's your kids name,
what's your dog name?

You know, what's your
grandma, uncle, sister name.

You went school?

Just, I really don't give a fuck,

just give me some money.

- They're a lot touchy too.

So I mean, if they wanna
put their arm around you

or cuddle with you.

Or have you sit in their lap,

it's like, now they're getting
some of the physicalness

with that conversation
that creates some kind of

intimate level.

- What is that?

I'm not about to marry you.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm not about to date you.

Out here it's just like,
get to know the person.

Get 'em to come back.

Get 'em to like you.

Get 'em infatuated with you.

- It's more kind of like being

someone's girlfriend for the night.

It's expected that you
give your good customers

your phone number because

they want this girlfriend experience.

You know, of course you're gonna text 'em.

You're like, oh, hey honey, how you doing?

Come see me tonight at work.

Back in the States, it's like,

you strip for freedom.

You make your own schedule.

They ask you when you wanna work.

Here it's like, I always
feel like the clubs

are like the girls' keepers.

(rhythmic music)

- The karaoke bar is so,

it's a lot better.

Like, I sell drinks.

I sell private karaoke rooms.

I get to dress up.

I get to have my diva status going on.

I don't have to get sweaty.

I smell good all night.

My makeup is always intact.

My hair is always intact.

It's almost more respect there.

Like, I'm not taking my clothes off.

Everybody's not seeing me
for a dollar a nothing.

Everybody's not trying to touch me.

Guys have bought me like little outfits

or something like, I
wanna see you wear this.

And I've only been there
like three weeks, okay?

(indistinct talking)

- I didn't understand the
concept at all at first.

But I caught on pretty
quickly and no one trained me.

And they used to yell at me.

And they're like, you sit too long.

And you're not getting them
to buy you enough drinks,

just sit and talk.

You need to sit there, get up,

walk around, take orders.

Sit back down.

It's not that it's easy money.

But it's not to the point
where you're gonna be

really uncomfortable.

It's just talk, having conversation,

if you can't have a
conversation, you can't do it.

- Now the classy bars, like down in Tumon,

like with the tourists,

they want you to sit there
and just sing an entertain.

And just serve them drinks

and stuff like that.

And you just sit there
and look pretty and drink.

They're not really egging you on

to drink or anything at all.

They just want you to
sit there and look good.

But the other bars,
the other karaoke bars,

like the local ones, or
like the ones that are

outside of that district, I would say.

It's really sleazy.

It's kind of like they wanna touch you.

And they are like,

pouring their beer in your drink.

They don't wanna buy you drink.

And it's like, oh man, this is terrible.

- There are OFW bars.

Which cater to the laborers.

And there are engineers too.

Sometimes the owners of the businesses.

There are bars that cater to expats.

Or Americans who work in
a civilian sort of way.

These are mostly surgeons,
doctors, contractors.

And of course,

they also cater to the
G.I.s a little bit too.

But the majority of those
men go to strip clubs.

- When you think of a massage parlor,

most people think of
prostitution and brothels.

While both are illegal,

these places are still fully operational.

During our special investigation,

we attempt to take you
behind the closed doors

of the red light world.

- Massage parlors on
Guam basically advertise

that they give an array of massages.

You know, shiatsu, or what not.

And that's it.

But when you walk in there,
it's a different story.

- [Woman] What is this?

- [Man] Camera.

- [Woman] Oh, camera?

- [Man] Yeah.

- [Woman] Oh, why?

- [Woman] Hello, hi, how are you?

- They ask you if you like the special.

And then go into details.

Here's the prices.

Which range between $80 to $200.

They're not really trying to hide it

'cause they know that people are aware.

- I don't know.

Next time we show you.

- I was thrown into it so quickly

and such a young age.

Just enticed by all the material things.

- It was so easy to just walk in

and just ask them for work.

And you just said.

Just got a room.

We wait until the customers come in.

So on that first night,

I got a lot of customers kept coming.

The further I got into it,

the more they become regulars to me.

The only thing that I get while I'm there

is a place to stay, and whatever I earn,

for every 50, 20 goes to her.

30 goes to me.

- Isn't it better to freelance?

But because the people
would just always be there.

Sometimes you're not even looking for it,

they're looking for you.

- Before I knew it, there
was people coming around

asking me for service or whatever.

I'm like, man,

this is better than inside.

'Cause I get it all and I make more.

So that's how it started for
me being outside after that.

God was with me.

'Cause I have in my years,

I did that for about three years, I think.

All together.

Massage parlor in and out.

Yeah.

- I've always been interested
in traveling the world.

And I thought,

you know, why not try and do it?

I think I had met a couple of girls.

There was one girl in particular.

She said, you know, I go to Japan a lot.

And I thought that that
was so interesting.

And she had also done some New Orleans.

And I think that got me like researching.

Then I knew that one or two people did it.

- I traveled when I was in Canada.

Bu it would only go to
like the smaller towns.

They paid better.

But the conditions weren't
always really good.

But you know, you just
kind of went with it.

You took a bus.

It might take 14 hours
and then it would be

like a dumpy little place and
the room would be really bad.

You could hear the stage
creaking and stuff.

And there was like maybe the mail man.

I guess there was just
something about Japan

that intrigued me.

And I wanted to go.

It was just an amazing life
changing experience for me.

So when I found that I
was passionate about it,

I don't think I had ever
had a passion for anything

before I had gone there.

I worked at this casino.

And they made the head bunny.

And I had the bunny ears with the tail

and you had to wear like
those little playboy outfits,

which was probably, you know,
some kind of infringement.

The phone kept ringing.

And it was girls from Vancouver,

they're like, are you still in Japan?

I wanna come there and
I wanna dance, right?

I booked 18 girls.

And club owner paid for all their flights.

And most of them took off.

And another club contacted me

and it just kind of snowballed.

- So I did live fuck shows in Japan.

Interesting, right?

(plunky music)

- When Guam was released
from the classification

of top secret,

the Guam tourism market took off in 1968.

With the development and
construction and opening

of the Guam Fajita hotel.

By my dad, Alfred Israel.

The Hilton hotel was
constructed and built in 72.

From there, other hotels eventually became

the development of the
Guam tourism market.

Now the people who made
the money, of course,

were the Japanese investors.

(rhythmic music)

(guns firing)

- Japanese tourists think
they're coming to America

when they come to Guam.

Which is surreal.

Really, because Guam
is not America at all.

And like any tourist, they wanna make sure

of being taken out of their comfort zone

into an exotic place.

But with the safety net of
having some familiarity.

And so yeah, this idea of the rugged

myth of an American man.

Yeah, they do get to play at that fantasy.

And so coming to Guam and
being able to participate

in sex tourism, for them,

helps authenticate the experience

of being in America and
America as a culture

where sex is available.

It's an outlet.

A place where they can live out fantasies

and get out of that conformist culture.

Do something naughty.

But in the safe space of a
non-Japanese environment.

(rhythmic music)

- The massage parlors have
been big since I came back

in the 70s.

I mean, they were very big in the 70s.

They were all up and
down Marine Corp drive.

They were everywhere.

Tourism counts for more than almost 60%

of our gross island product, I guess.

Or GIP.

So it's imperative that
we do everything we can

to protect it.

(slow music)

♫ There we were

♫ Sitting in the sunshine

♫ Waiting for

♫ The clouds to trip the sky

- I remember calling my sister

and saying, I'm flying to
Guam, I'm gonna go dance.

She knew I was a dancer.

I think I was like 21 at the time.

Got on the plane, went there.

I was pretty broke.

I think I got there
with like $5 to my name.

And I ended up making like about 15 grand

in two months work.

Those long hours.

But it was quite an experience.

And I continue to go back every winter

for the next six years.

Everyone gets extremely
freaked out when you say

you're gonna go somewhere and travel.

And dance.

I think in general, like with,

when traveling to other countries,

if you're gonna work,

there's things you have to look at.

Are you gonna get a visa?

Are you gonna work there legally?

(rock music)

- Certainly, the Micronesian women,

yeah, they can come in quite easily.

It would look like it's legitimate,

even though the immigration officer would

pretty much know that they were coming in

to do something else.

There is a lot of imported
labor coming into Guam

from China, from the
Philippines, from Korea.

The Philippine government promotes this

because they get financial gain.

Not only from the money
coming back into the country,

but also they get some
kind of service fee.

For actually sending their
workers to whichever country.

- [Woman] The government
officials grade entertainers

before they are sent abroad.

The government wants to be sure

it is shipping out a quality product.

- [Helen] It's a very
institutionalized program

that they have where
they actually train women

to become dancers, to become domestics.

Entertainers.

- They're coming down
from Seoul all the time.

It's no secret.

They can come down for 90 days.

And they're just gorgeous.

And you sit in the
airplane and go, oh, oh.

And then,

then oh, they're going
back a few months later

pulling four Louis Vuitton bags.

And if they were down here
on their own free will,

I'm not that puritan to say,

that I'm opposed to that.

- Of course the problem is,

that once the women go to these countries,

there's very little protection for them.

So if they're working
under domestic situation,

and being told to work seven days a week,

they have nobody to complain to.

If the wages are given,
that are given to them

are lower than they were promised.

There's nothing they can do.

- All the girls that I've
met it seems to be like

some of them know why they're here.

And others are more like,

I thought I was just gonna be a hostess.

But they just do it.

- Even in the strip clubs,
when business was better

couple years ago,

every club used to have
actually like one or two

buy me drinky girls.

They get a set salary,
just like a waitress.

Their job is to sit there, look pretty.

Get guys to stay.

And they also get
commission on the drinks.

- I like to say that
we're low rent geishas.

Because we all sing.

We all dance.

And we all pretty much
have a standardized way

of treating customers.

- [Woman] Hi, long time no see.

- The bartenders and
the waitresses are like

over middle age old Korean women.

- Everyone calls them the mamasans.

Mama, mamasan.

And the guys like love
interacting with them.

Just 'cause it's like
the, oh, come on, mama.

Come have a drink with us.

- You have some mamasans
that are really nice.

Come and massage you.

And you know, culture
me into buying a drink.

And then you have some
mamasans talking about

buy the lady one drink.

They are ruthless when
it comes to making money.

And that's one thing I
respect about a Korean

is that they don't give a fuck.

- We usually call 'em in
Filipino bars, an ate.

Ate is the Filipino word for older sister.

The ate is the owner, she's the one

that's in charge of the money.

And hiring all of that.

They look out for their pocketbooks.

More than they look out for us.

And when the mamas are hurting
for money, abuse happens.

Pretty serious abuse.

I'm talking physical and sexual.

And they do not call the police.

- They treat the locals pretty well.

And I guess because it's our place.

These other like, oriental ones,

they're very closed up.

They're only playful to their customers.

- They pretty much keep to themselves.

They're not friendly at all.

They don't really talk.

I mean, they can't speak English.

- They would stay inside.

And they never really talk much.

And I noticed that the
mamasan won't every time,

the girls are just relaxing.

And whatever.

She'll come out and
just stand right there.

- Big deal, you get Thai massage.

Thai lady massage.

Like a sun and the moon.

Mama understand.

Yeah.

Okay, okay.

- Every mama or ate has a way to house.

Either in an apartment above the club,

usually owned by the mama.

Or in a house with one of her other girls.

- A lot of Korean women
live in the massage parlor.

And they can't go out
during the daytime either,

except to go and eat and shop

and then go back to massage
parlor and that's it.

They live there.

- They don't go nowhere.

They just stay there.

And like, when we ask the
mom to go out, we're okay.

But when it's them, they can't go.

They just, no, you gotta work.

- The girls that come here and tours,

every girl's housed.

Every girl is housed.

And they pay for it.

- I've done my research with like dancers

that wanna go to Europe.

Or Scotland, Canada.

They do provide housing.

In Guam, they used to just take like $40

out of your check every week.

The places aren't like phenomenal.

But they're not crappy either.

They're pretty nice.

- It's six girls to a three bedroom house

and they put you in a, it's a double bed.

But it's like mattresses, twin
mattresses, the box spring.

And a mattress.

And then once you get
there, get off the plane,

get to the club,

they hand you this bag with a sheet.

Pillow cases and a key to the house.

So it's like, here you go.

There's your key, go to work.

Be to work at 6:30.

Get off at two.

You know, whatever.

And share room with a girl
that you don't even know.

- When you get here,

it's different.

They're not paying for your housing,

they're taking the rent
out of your paycheck.

You can't have visitors.

You can't have people
come knock at the door.

I ended up meeting a military guy

and I got reprimanded
at work the next night

because some girl told on me
that I guy knocked on the door.

- One of the girls that I was
working with was homeless.

And the ate got her an apartment.

She did not get paid a salary.

The only money she ever
took home was her tips.

And the drinks she made.

The mama drove her everywhere.

They will offer you so much.

But you always have to pay for it double.

- It's like military guys, contractors

and Japanese and maybe some locals

that probably got their income tax.

- The Japanese guys,
they get really drunk.

Sometimes they're forceful.

Sometimes they just wanna get naked.

- They're going to see like a freak show.

But you know.

And a carnival.

They love pole tricks.

The more fancy crazy stuff you can do,

the more they love it.

- They would go like oppai, oppai.

And like slap my titty, and I'd be like,

the fuck?

- I almost call Guam like, the Tijuana

for Japanese tourists.

The first club I worked at,

they had a deal with all the taxi drivers.

They'd, I think, get a
little bit of a commission.

They definitely ripped the Japanese off.

I think they charge 'em usually about $30

just to walk in the door.

And they don't charge
the Americans at all.

- When they come down here,

the blonde, blue eyed
statuesque American beauty

is what they're looking for.

When you travel, you want to,

the local beer is it worthy?

The draft of the area.

- [Chris] In addition to tourists,

Club G Spot attracts
thousands of U.S. military

both U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.

- All the military, all the marines,

all the air force, the
pilots that are coming in.

They're not supposed to
talk about certain stuff.

And after a couple drinks,

you know exactly where they're headed.

It's very almost like,

young jock like fraternity mentality.

- [Man] How you doing?

Konichiwa.

- [Interviewer] What's
the name of your ship?

Kalaloo.

And where is that based out of?

San Diego?

- I had a 21 year old buy me his first,

buy me drinky ever.

And he's like $20 for a shot?

Are you kidding me?

He's like, what do I get out of it?

I was like, you get to
sit here and talk to me.

If you don't wanna talk to me, then leave.

- Some of 'em, just the
way they would talk to you

or treat you, it's just
like, you know what?

Now I want your money.

And other guys just like, aww.

You're kind of pathetic.

- I kind of wanna hate my customers.

I do.

I kind of wanna hate them,
be like, they're disgusting,

they're needy, they grope on me.

And then in another way, it's like,

I can relate to them.

They're like the people I grew up with.

They're just really lonely.

- [Man] We got a couple
more guys leaving the club.

- They know that I'm a stripper.

And they know that I'm a fantasy.

And they know that I'm telling
them what they wanna hear.

And they don't even care.

They just need that kind of release.

And everyone just like waits,

with like baited breath
for the ships to come in.

Because the whole island makes bank.

- The Americans will come into our bars

when they're looking for
something a little seedier.

Because they think are
bars are quite seedy.

They want to come in and,

they wanna be kings.

They're very racist.

I mean, they seem to be very racist

in a very demeaning sort of way.

Like, oh, I've been to Manila.

I love Filipino culture.

So I'm gonna go to Filipino bars.

And I'm gonna drink San
Miguel or Red Horse.

They just want all the attention.

And they want to throw their money.

And they want a bunch
of little Filipino girls

that laugh at them and
light their cigarettes.

And ...

They treat us all very poorly.

- [Interviewer] So what were the clients

that you would see?

- All kinds.

All kinds.

All different races, all kinds.

It was Filipinos, it was Chamaros,

there was occasional Japanese
tourists, not too many, right?

- Hi.

- It was everybody.

I mean, I was really
surprised there was local.

There were military guys.

There were young guys, there
were guys that were older.

Older men.

- And the strip clubs, you got only guys

who go in there, guys who
have money, for one thing.

In massage parlors, the guys
just walk through the door

and just have enough money
in their pocket to get laid.

And maybe tip the girl.

- There are so many massage parlors here.

That you can go basically
get anything you want.

Really cheaply.

So there's not really a logical reason

to go to a strip club.

It's more like, because we're so exotic.

And rare.

You know, as a white woman,
I have more of a value.

- The sex industry mirrors
where our society is.

Very much so.

The white women are often
the biggest money makers

in a club.

Because they're seen as

yeah, more valuable.

Generally, just looking like Barbie dolls.

Gets you tickets around the world.

And can make a good living.

- Customer's like so,

what are you gonna do
for me in a private room?

And I'm just like, we'll have a good time.

I'll entertain you.

And you know, get 'em back
there the best way I can

without like, incriminating myself

for telling him that I'm gonna do this

and do something else.

- If they ask a question,
you can't say yes

and you can't say no.

So you have to find that maybe.

And just play off of
that as much as possible.

- So sometimes I'll say,

I'm gonna fuck you.

And then they'll get back there

and then they'll be like, I'll say,

how does it feel to be fucked?

And then he's like, what
are you talking about?

I'm like, I just fucked you.

I just got $300 of your money

and I just fucked you.

- [Reporter] The beautiful scenery,

a precious gift of nature can be found.

- Champagne rooms are always around $300.

Starting off.

But sometimes like with some of the girls,

it's gonna be like, it's $400, it's $500.

Or it's $350.

And then the other girls,
oh, maybe it's $200.

But you don't get the bottle, you know?

- Say, the private room is $100.

Money goes to the mama.

And then the girl can
choose to negotiate further

once in the room.

Though a lot of the girls on tourist visas

don't negotiate very much.

- [Tammy] They ring the bell.

Hear the bell in our room.

- [Woman] Massage?

Price one hour 50.

- And mamasan calls

the ladies to come out.

And then we come out, we line up.

And then the guy would take a look at us

and when he makes his
choice, he pays the mamasan.

And then I'm given a condom.

Then we go into our room.

And then from there,
once the door is shut,

it's up to me, you know?

What, how I wanna service him.

- If people got bought
out here in the States,

it would probably pretty much
be considered prostitution

or be illegal in some way.

But in Guam, it's very
normal on a lot of the

surrounding islands, are like that.

- They only let the girls
who have been on the island

for a little bit do this.

And a guy normally
takes you out to dinner.

Takes you to another bar.

Sometimes you go to another strip club.

But it's basically like
buying a date from a club.

- There's one girl that
was at Crazy Horse.

Her buy outs would be about $500 plus.

And her, that 500 would
probably be two hours.

Some of the other girls that were there,

they would let them go
for $200 for there hours.

- For a $100, they can take a girl out.

The girl will get half or 75% or that.

And then it's up to her to negotiate

further rates outside of the club.

- I never wanted to get bought out.

Because I feel like, you
make more money in the club.

And it's just like, girls
have told me horror stories

where they had to open a door and took

and rode us out the car.

And have to ditch the customer.

- I've tried to do it where I got a deal

you know, well, buy me
and my girlfriend out.

You know, little bit safer.

- They're like come on,
let's go to the beach.

I'm like, what we gonna do on a beach?

I don't know, what you
wanna do on the beach?

Let's go over to my place.

I have big screen.

I have a ocean view.

Once I've seen one guy's
government funded apartment

with a flat screen and
video games and movies

and Netflix and shit like that,

I've seen them all.

You have nothing new

that I wanna see.

You got some money?

You can show me some money.

- One of my friends, one of her customers

took her to the Philippines recently.

And he had to go up to the club owner,

ask permission to take one of the girls

to the Philippines.

And because they knew
each other, it was okay.

You know, so it's kind of like,

they have all these girls,

and in some ways, oh,
all these girls are here

for their very rich friends to also come

and have fun with too.

It's not quite a pimp relationship.

But it's sometimes goes more into that

than it does a strip club
manager relationship.

- [Woman] Here is the list of services

that I got from one of
the massage parlors today.

Pretty innocuous, pretty standard.

Until you turn it over,
and look at the handwriting

on the back.

- If you asked, no girl would tell you

she's ever tried a trick.

However, every girl has
turned some form of a trick.

- Except for a few cities in Nevada,

sex work, prostitution is illegal.

And that can be erotic, sensual massage,

it could be lap dancing,
it could be kissing someone

in exchange for a drink.

Prostitution is a very
broad, broadly defined thing.

- In the mainland, there's
places where I've danced

and as far as you're sitting from me,

that's as far as like the
customer will get to you.

And so it's like, in a sense,

I feel like coming out here,

this is almost like a forced
prostitution in a way.

Like, because touching is
still prostitution, you know?

- [Interviewer] Nobody told you that?

- No.

- [Interviewer] Did anybody tell you

that it was gonna be like that?

- No.

- So I was told there was light touching.

But in Guam, everything is more lax.

They're like, put a dollar in stage.

The guy expects to be able to get like

get to second base and fondle you up.

You know?

And like the stuff that
I would do when I was

giving a lap dance back in the States,

is what's expected on stage.

- Some people will come
in the strip club with $6.

They will buy them a beer,
tip you $1 and be like ...

And you got his one girl
that likes to pick up that $1

that they got for it off
their face with her pussy.

Bitch.

Made it so hard for me.

- I don't know if I would've came out here

if would've known it was
as full contact as it was.

Customers push.

Like, a girl would have her back end

to a customer.

I saw one guy like put his finger in her.

And the bouncers don't
do anything about it.

And eventually I started drinking more

'cause I couldn't handle
the physical touching.

- It's really isolating.

And if you're stripping
for a hot military guys

for the most part,

a lot of the girls are like,

well fuck it.

I wanna sleep with 'em anyways.

Why not make some money?

It's kind of assumed that we're
all prostitutes, you know?

Oh, it's a white girl in Guam.

They're either military wife
or a fucking whore stripper.

- I fee like you can't draw this line

between strippers and prostitutes.

Women are working in strip clubs

and they need to make their rent.

And people do what they
have to do to make money.

But I think it's really counter productive

to have all these like,
advocates for strippers saying,

we just need to like, get
rid of all the prostitutes.

Obviously, that is gonna cause problems

who are doing illegal sex work.

Who just kind of want
to stay under the radar

and make money how they can.

This debate just goes on and on

among dancers and among
sex worker activists.

- When it comes to admitting it,

and protecting us a little bit more,

they don't want anything to do with that.

They just wanna make
sure no one gets AIDS,

chlamydia, gonorrhea, whatever.

- The massage parlors mamas
have patented the girls

in a way, after you've
worked all night long,

and I remember you start
work at 7:30, 8 o'clock

in the evening.

You're awake all the way 'til sunrise.

Which is six, 6:30 here.

Then after that, you have
to go to public health

to get tested.

Do the HIV test, do AIDS
test, STD tested you.

And all that kind of stuff.

Swab your throat, your
mouth, all that stuff.

But yeah, that was a
requirement to having that job.

You had to have a accurate up
to date health certificate.

At all times.

(slow music)

- The hotel and restaurant
association with visitors bureau,

we thought it was best that we try to

establish a red light district.

But the only problem was,

was then the mayors throughout
the island were saying,

you know, in very nimby fashion,

well, not in my back yard.

My colleagues all just, all backed off.

And even though visitors bureau,

and the hotel and restaurant association

didn't produce the support they said

they were gonna give me.

So the bill just died in committee.

They all got sidetracked
when the archbishop decided

that he was gonna holler and scream about

you know, the thought
that we are recognizing

and legitimizing prostitution.

- The government makes
money through taxes.

And if they start to shut down

the activities that are kind
of swept under the carpet,

they're gonna lose revenue.

It's the secret that isn't a secret.

- What vice cop doesn't wanna hang out

in a strip bar?

You know, millions of
dollars have been spent

by undercover officers in strip bars.

- Every ate, every mama
has a police friend.

- They buy out the cops a lot.

- I had a lot of cops come into my place.

- The girls that come here,

as trafficked women on tourist visas,

I can go to the police if I needed to.

They cannot go to the police.

What will they say?

I came here illegally to do sex work?

- And it's so cruel to be
flirting with these women,

giving them money, having a good time,

and then to turn around and bust 'em.

The government makes a lot of money.

Going undercover, and busting women.

The government's the biggest pimp.

And sometimes the cruelest.

- There's organizations
and NGOs that are formed.

- They're trying.

- Coalitions and those kind of thing.

But I don't think that
they know where to start.

Or everybody's kind of
fumbling in the dark.

- If they are foreigners,

I think that perhaps the attitude is,

let's take care of our own.

Because the prostitution that
goes on in the massage parlors

is not acknowledged,

there's very little
protection for those women.

- There are arguments between

different factions of feminists.

Some of whom see stripping as always

like exploitation of women.

And others who kind of take
a more nuanced position.

And are more focused on
looking at labor rights issues

and dealing with exploitation as it occurs

in different situations.

And take more kind of
harm reduction approach.

- Harm reduction is a
great model for helping.

Rather than trying to
shut down strip clubs

or tell women, you're totally
being victimized here.

Get out immediately, we'll
train you to be a secretary.

(rock music)

- The current set up of the clubs

provides flexibility for a lot of women.

That wouldn't necessarily
be there if the whole club

industry was moved above
ground and everything was

on the books.

♫ I wear the veil

♫ Just to say I'm well

♫ No talk was cheap

♫ No thrills for free

♫ No game is fun

♫ Unless it gets you down

I think that the best
way to make things better

is to put a lot of information out there

about if and how the club
owners are breaking the law

and what they can do about it.

Rather than kind of going
on a big campaign to say,

like, everyone needs to be employees

and we all need to be
working like with contracts.

And get paid a wage.

Because different things
work for different people.

(rock music)

♫ I walked into

♫ A crowded room

♫ No one is talking

♫ They're only here to you

♫ All chop was cheap

♫ No thrills for free

- I wish our government would do something

to protect us better.

I wish that I could go to the police

and be taken seriously.

Instead of being treated like,

like someone who asked for it.

- It's not Guam, or Guam's fault.

It's just, these are
problems women have to face

in other parts of the world

that we don't necessarily
think of in the U.S.

'Cause United States
isn't the world, you know?

♫ I'll love you forever

(slow music)

- Wanna hear about an
awesome trick I learned?

One of my highlight awesome
trick out of all of them?

- [Interviewer] I'm always
up for an awesome trick.

- Okay.

I worked in Cosmo, this strip club.

And this waitress told
me that she knew this guy

that wanted to pay her $500 for a date.

But he didn't wanna have sex with her.

He didn't want any physical
contact with her at all.

All he wanted her to
do was tie him to a bed

and leave him there.

His big thing is, when the
meat cart goes down the hall

it goes (rattling).

Down the hallway.

Then they knocks on the door.

Hello, maid service, maid service.

And they jiggle the door knob.

And keep knocking, maid service, right?

His big thing is, maid
coming in, catching him.

(screaming)

And running out the door, right?

So she told me about this guy.

So I set up to meet this guy at a club.

We had two drinks together.

I said I'll tell you
what, pay me $1000 cash.

And I'll give you the
experience of a lifetime.

So I'm thinking all the time,

how am I gonna earn this money
the best way I know possible?

This was a no sex customer.

This is a guy with a fetish, okay?

Big difference.

Big deal is, you go in a room with a guy,

you know what he wants, he wants head,

he wants to fuck.

Big difference when you go with a guy

that has a fetish, you have
to know exactly what he wants.

So met this guy, had a couple drinks.

So he sends his little boy onto my door,

lived up here 20 years ago.

The same apartment complex.

This guy's got a white shirt, tie.

He couldn't have been more than 20, 21.

Real officer looking kind of boy, right?

Clean cut, all that, cleanly shaved.

He hands me an envelope,
are you so and so?

Yeah.

Hands me an envelop with ten 100 new,

never been folded $100 bills in it.

And the hotel name and room number.

So it was at Hilton hotel.

The bridal suite.

Which is a big huge room with
these big huge glass doors

overlooking the ocean.

Really beautiful.

So I got the money that evening.

The next evening, I was
supposed to meet him, right?

So I'm thinking, how
can I make this really

an experience for this guy, right?

So I went down to the
hardware store and I bought

24 feet of big huge link chain, right?

And two big gigantic padlocks.

Big heavy duty, the kind
you have a hard time

getting out padlock, right?

So we make an arrangement
for a certain at this hotel.

So I walk into the
hotel, I go to the room.

He leaves the door
unlocked, I go in the door.

I told him to sit on the bed
facing the sliding glass doors.

And just sit there naked.

Just don't move, just sit there,

I'll be there exactly
at such and such time.

I got there exactly three
minutes 'til the time.

Got to the room exactly
right on the dot, on time.

I open the door.

I walk in the room, I put
a blindfold on the guy.

I go around him, I handcuff him.

I drag him to the freaking toilet

and I chained his ass to that toilet.

I degraded him, I slapped
him around, kicked him,

not really hard or anything.

Took red lipstick wrote
all over his body, right?

Okay, and I left.

About 30 minutes worth of work.

1000 bucks, not bad, right?

So

I knew this guy that
owned Fred's locksmith

was this little tiny
locksmith place here on Guam.

So I'm running around the next morning

'cause I know they're not gonna find him

'til the next morning.

He's in his room by himself,

the maid's not gonna come
until the next morning.

So I'm going,

that day, I was on a
flight to go to California.

See my family for the summer.

It was during the summer time, right?

So I drove around the park and I'm going,

what happened to this guy?

I'm freaking out.

This guy gonna turn me in?

He's gonna say, oh, I
met this blonde stripper

at such and such a club.

This and that.

Either that he's gonna
describe to the cops,

I'm gonna be in all kinds of trouble.

And I'm stressing so bad about this guy

turning me into the
authorities or whatever, right?

So you could see the
opening of Hilton hotel,

there's this big huge,

I don't know what you call
it, patio, balcony, lobby?

Lobby area.

It's all see through, you know?

You can see through it, right?

So I see these guys running
around with these big old

gigantic walkie talkies.

These big six foot, hey boys,
I mean they're big guys.

None of them are under six foot.

Six foot two, big big big guys.

Running around,

they're running around, running around.

I see a note that says, Fred's
locksmith try to pull up.

Oh shit.

I know it's about that guy, gotta be.

How are they gonna get him
out of those chains, right?

I locked him up good, girl.

So

they couldn't get him out
of the chains of course.

They had to call a locksmith
to get off the padlocks.

They had no way of getting
this guy's padlocks.

So I see Fred's locksmith truck leave.

I gotta be at the airport in
less than two hours, right?

So.

So I go to the locksmith's shop,

I see his truck pull in,
it was down here in 20.

I was in Tumonts, I had
to drive down, right?

So I see him get out of
his truck, go inside,

I thought, I'm gonna go see,

see when he gets some
keys on my key chain.

So I go in, I say, hi,
Fred, how you doing?

Oh, man, you're not gonna
believe what's happened to me.

I just got a call at the Hilton hotel.

Somebody chained this guy to
the bridal suite hotel toilet

and left him there.

And when I got there,
there was white spots

all over the floor, looked like cum.

Guy's butt ass just cum
all over the damn floor.

The guy got all kinds
over that shit, right?

So he's telling me the whole story.

Whole time, I'm wanting to laugh so bad

I could hardly even keep from laughing.

I'm going like this.

Just keep from laughing 'cause
he's telling me the story,

I wanted to laugh so bad, right?

But I didn't wanna be a dead
give away, either, right?

But that was one of the
highlight tricks of my whole

hooking career, because I made 1000 bucks

in less than 30 minutes.

Way less than 30 minutes.

And I was in and out on
a flight the next day

to go to California.

Oh no, two hours after
that, to go to California.

Thousand bucks.

- [Interviewer] That's pretty amazing.

- That's pretty cool, yeah.