Peep show

Peep show advertised in a sex shop window.

A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures, objects or people viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. This may or may not be a sex show, although the latter kind has eventually become the most common usage of the term since the advent of cinema and television, which largely replaced the various kinds of entertainment provided by wandering showmen.

History

A boy looks into a peep show device

Peep shows^[1], also known as peep box or raree show ("rarity show") trace back to ancient times (15th century in Europe, by Leon Battista Alberti) and are known in various cultures. A peep show could be a wooden box with a hole or several holes, containing a set of pictures which the show-man could set into a viewing position by pulling a corresponding string. The boxes were often decorated inside to resemble theatrical scenes. The show was accompanied by spoken recitation that explained or dramatized what was happening inside.

19th century Chinese peep shows were known by many names including la yang p'ien ("pulling foreign picture cards"). Sometimes the showman would perform for a crowd with puppets or pictures outside the box and then charge people extra to look through the holes. In Syria, Lebanon and Ottoman Palestine a form of peep show called sanduk al-ajayib ("wonder box") existed, which the storyteller carried on his back. The box had six holes through which people could see scenes backlit by a central candle. Sanduk al-ajayib stories were about contemporary figures and events, or showed scenes of heaven and hell.^[2] Other common subjects in peep shows throughout the world have been exotic views and animals, scenes of classical drama or masques, court ceremonies, surprise transformations (e.g., of an angel into a devil) and of course, lewd pictures.

A man peers into the viewer of a peepshow at a State Fair in 1938

Raree shows were precursors of toy theatres, with movable scenes and paper figurines, popular in the 19th century.

Pornographic shows

In contemporary use, peep show refers to a piecewise presentation of pornographic films or a live sex show using a coin/bill-operated device, which shuts the viewing slot after a short time, requiring more money to be deposited for continuation. Peep shows have been used for erotic and pornographic pictures, such as What the Butler Saw, since before the turn of the twentieth century.

For live peep shows, booths surround a stage upon which usually female sex workers perform stripteases and sexually-explicit poses. In Barcelona the female sexworkers also perform sexual intercourse with male sex workers on stage. Customers enter booths with windows or shutters which open when money is inserted in a coinbox mechanism. In some cases, booths include paper towel dispensers,^[3] for customers who engage in masturbation. The customers and the female sex workers can mutually agree to a fee for a "private dance". The "private dance" takes place in a peep show booth with a clear window and seating space for only one customer.

Research on peep show establishments in California^[4] examined the hypothesis that neighborhoods surrounding sex businesses such as peep show establishments and X-rated movie stores have higher rates of crime. The researchers compared 911 calls in peep show and control neighborhoods in San Diego. Although peep show neighborhoods had approximately 16 percent more calls, the researchers concluded that the difference was not statistically significant. Other researchers^[5] reanalyzed the data and concluded that the difference was significant.

The Lusty Lady peep show in San Francisco, CA entered the news in 1997, when it became the first U.S. sex business to be unionized. In 2003 it was bought by the employees and became a worker cooperative.

External links

• The Peep Show and Toy Theatre (many museum pieces)
• The Sunday Times Article about a sex workers co-op at Soho UK peep show, July 14 1985

References