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Ashley Mears: Very Important People (2020, Princeton University Press) 4 stars

Million-dollar birthday parties, megayachts on the French Riviera, and $40,000 bottles of champagne. In today’s …

exploitation works best when it feels good

4 stars

interesting and multifaceted sociological study of the social dynamics and labor that goes into NYC VIP clubs, including motivations of each of the actors (girls/models, promoters, and to a more limited extent clients). reminds me of tressie mcmillan cottom’s writing on the hustle economy, in that it digs into why “girls” would want to participate in such a clearly exploitative system, which I think is both more satisfying and says something about all of our lives under late capitalism. four stars because it gets a little repetitive in that common academic way, but recommend