shaking that ass for the highest bidder

On the surface, Shakedown might seem like it’s just a random documentary about Black exotic dancers at an underground lesbian club. Still, like most things in life, it’s full of complexities that should make the audience think more critically about the social conditions of others.

 It was great to see women having so much power and agency over their bodies. However, they still have to cater to the male gaze. One of the dancers commented that one of the men told her that she was wifey material. She hated that because she thought that would mean less lust from men at the bar, which would eventually lead to less money earned for her.

 Marginalized groups have to go to great lengths to create spaces for themselves. We all desire pleasure in some kind of form, and sexual pleasure is no different than someone finding pleasure in exploring a museum.

 Egypt, one of the main dancers in the documentary, was violently homophobic until she was exposed to lesbian culture and also experienced how profitable it is. This shows you that sexuality might not be as stationary as dominant thought would like for us to believe. I think many people know this, and that’s why they are afraid of the increase in non-heterosexual content being represented in the media. They realize how fluid sexuality truly is and are afraid of being influenced. Also, I think queerness was just something that Ayesha was suppressing all this time.

 Egypt also told a story about how a young fan was beaten by their mother for being a lesbian. The fan was a young girl who was caught admiring Egypt, and she was beaten by her mother, a mother who was said to be gay once upon a time. Homophobia has such a stronghold on many that even reformed homosexuals don’t have any grace for their homosexual children. Maybe the mother was frustrated because she knew her daughter would be further ostracized by the world for being a lesbian, so she would rather beat it out of her than have the daughter experience life as a lesbian. If that’s the case, why not use that fear or protection of your child to advocate for your daughter instead of trying to beat her identity out of her? Does this not sound like European colonizers trying to beat the African identity out of enslaved Africans on the Indigenous land that we now call America?

 You all really think that swinging a belt or switch is going to stop that baby girl of yours from daydreaming about kissing and falling in love with Sanaa Lathan? Yeah, right. It might prevent her from physically acting on her desires, but she’ll still crave the sweet taste of the vagina and cherry lip gloss of a woman because sexuality starts in the mind. Yes, I know all women don’t wear lip gloss or have vaginas. Leave me alone, and keep reading! 

 You can’t have Black fun without the police somehow getting involved. I don’t think I quite got all the details, but I know the owner of the building mentioned something about them (the creators of the Shakedown events) not using the rental space as agreed, so he called the police to help shut the event down. I bet it was because he was fed up with the homosexual activity or the hood element of it all. I can’t imagine a gala filled with White elites, a wine I can’t afford, and some chicken breasts seasoned with lint.

 Capitalism is so ubiquitous that it will make a person sexually fluid. The sexuality of all the dancers was not revealed. Still, suppose Egypt, who was previously straight, was intrigued by the culture of the Shakedown, especially its financial potential. In that case, I know those other girls could possibly be straight or previously straight, too. You can’t even have fun in this society without spending some money. Non-wealthy people aren’t making enough money as it is in metropolitan areas like LA, and now they have to spend money to be in safe, Black lesbian spaces so they can see women entice them all night until the morning. However, if people don’t pay for these events, the dancers and club crew don’t survive either. I’m curious to know how much the patrons paid to enter the club and how much money the average patron spent.

 The film also shows how straight people can take up space in lesbian spaces: “If you straight, you don’t need to be in the front,” said one of the hosts of the club. 

 It’s also somewhat ironic how this Black lesbian space is supposed to be a safe haven for lesbian women. Still, men somehow ruined everything for the club, whether these men were in the form of undercover cops at the club or the owners of the space they were renting.

 Who knew that ass-shaking and titty-bouncing could have so many layers to them?