Cut out the extremely lewd and vulgar acts!
A lead spokesman for the local sex industry said today he agreed with Assistant Commissioner of Police Mark Thompson that such acts were “degrading” and stripped women of their dignity.
In a statement, Charles Lewis, otherwise known as Charlie Spice, head of the Global Adult Industry Association (GAIA), also stood firm on his recent contention that strip clubs in Barbados should be regulated and that they had an important role to play in local business arena and the tourism sector.
Charles ‘Charlie Spice’ Lewis
“We also feel strongly that the extreme lewd and vulgar acts that people are alleging take place on stages and in the private rooms in Strip Clubs in Barbados and across the Caribbean should be stopped by management immediately,” said Lewis.
He went on to state “strip clubs in Barbados should have tasteful exotic and erotic dancing performed by true adult entertainment professionals who are given immigration entry permits to do so if they are foreign.
“There should be no type of sexual act performed on the premises and anyone who does not adhere to this should be removed from the club,” he added.
Lewis also pointed out that clubs in the major entertainment cities overseas did not allow this type of behaviour and yet they had “25-50 times more patronage and revenue” than those in Barbados.
“It is not necessary to allow such acts to be successful,” he stressed, noting, “True professional pole/strip dancers worldwide would never work in clubs that condone these types of acts.
“What allegedly goes on in these clubs in Barbados is a mere reflection of what goes on in our society on a daily basis. Men in Barbados already have a reputation for having little to no respect for women. This is not only an issue in strip clubs. The men who degrade women in Barbados come from the households, families and neighborhoods of the very same people who are complaining against the activities in strip clubs.
“Therefore the problem is not the strip club. This is a very serious [cultural] problem,” Lewis said.