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

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

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