‘Get your booty to the poll’: Georgia strippers release get out the vote PSA
Graphic content warning: The video linked to in this article contains sexual imagery.
Seven strippers and two filmmakers in Georgia have an important message this election season: “Get your booty to the poll.”
The group, backed by a GoFundMe page created over the summer, released a one-and-a-half minute long public service announcement Tuesday encouraging people to vote in their local elections on Nov. 3.
“You know it’s more than just the president on the ballot, right?” a dancer named Nikki asks.
The project started with two Atlanta-based filmmakers, Paul Fox and Angela Gomes. The pair organized a fundraiser in July called “Angela and Paul want Black people to vote,” with a promise to use the money to shoot and distribute a PSA featuring “exotic dancers from some of Atlanta’s finest gentlemen’s clubs,” the campaign’s website states.
The video starts with 20 seconds of the exotic dancers performing on the pole to the song “Get Your Booty to the Poll” in stiletto boots and G-strings.
“Did we get your attention? Good,” one of the dancers ask as the music quiets down.
Coy, a dancer clad in star-shaped American flags, looks the camera up and down before she gets the ball rolling: “So, you’re really not going to vote?”
The dancers then take turns explaining how locally-elected leaders impact their communities — including the district attorney, who can decide whether to “go after dirty cops,” a dancer named Jenny says.
“Can’t make it rain if you’re locked up on some bullsh**,” another dancer named Imani says.
They also discuss school board members, education, cash bail, the sheriff’s race and Ferguson electing its first Black mayor, with Coy taking a dig at the usual excuses they hear from patrons: “But you talking about, ‘They going to pick who they going to pick, shawty.’”
Another dancer, Zippora, points out that “Black lives don’t matter to some of our current elected officials.”
“If they matter to you,” Nikki says.
“Then don’t let other people decide who’s going to run your community,” Coy finishes.
Shooting took a day
The video directs viewers to the campaign’s website, www.getyourbootytothepoll.com, which has resources on how to register to vote, where to get a sample ballot and when to early vote.
The website also explains more about the video’s inception and introduces the dancers.
Many were out of work when the coronavirus pandemic struck, shuttering adult entertainment venues indefinitely. With a little extra free time, the group decided they “wanted to help influence the election.”
“The entire crew was made up of volunteers who were dedicated to the message and idea of increasing the voter turn-out amongst the black male demographic,” the website states.
Shooting for the video took place in a single day at the end of July, and the finished product debuted on YouTube Sept. 22 for national voter registration day, according to the campaign’s Facebook page.
It’s been shared more than 900 times on Facebook and has almost 100,000 views on YouTube.
Mixed reactions
Some have questioned the decision behind aiming the PSA exclusively toward Black male voters.
“I hope you all understand how insulting this is to black intelligence because, they never advertise to Mexicans or white people like this,” one person wrote in the comments section on YouTube.
“This is sad,” another wrote. “What’s worse is that many of us don’t see how this degrades us.”
Others called it “cringe-y” and “one of the most insulting things I’ve ever seen as a Black man.”
Still, others came to the video’s defense on Facebook, calling out critics for being negative about sex and the adult entertainment industry.
“I love it ladies! Way to use your platform. Come on y’all this is just another form of edutainment; why are you mad?” Steffanie Jackson said in a Facebook comment. “Not sure who called the morality police but folks who frequent strip club need to vote and they need to be informed; it is important to meet them where they are.”
“I love this! What a sex positive, pleasurable way to encourage thoughtful engagement with a broken political system that seeks our active participation to change it,” Sami Schalk wrote. “I’m sorry people are being so sex shaming & anti-sex worker here.”
