A peep show or peepshow is an exhibition of pictures, objects or people viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. Though historically a peep show was a form of entertainment provided by wandering showmen, nowadays it more commonly refers to a presentation of a sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
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History
Peep shows, also known as peep box or raree show ("rarity show") can be traced back to the early modern period (15th century in Europe, by Leon Battista Alberti) and are known in various cultures. A type known as the perspective box is found in 17th-century Dutch Golden Age painting, where the emphasis was on creating an illusion of three dimensionality by manipulating the perspective of the view seen inside, usually the interior of a room. 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 (Chinese: ???; pinyin: l? yáng pi?n; literally: "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 Ottoman Syria 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. 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.
Raree shows were precursors of toy theatres, with movable scenes and paper figurines, popular in the 19th century.
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Pornographic shows
Peep shows have been used for erotic and pornographic pictures, such as What the Butler Saw, since before the turn of the twentieth century.
In contemporary use, a peep show is a piecewise presentation of pornographic films or a live sex show which is viewed through a viewing slot, which shuts after the time paid for has expired. The viewing slots can be operated by a money box device, or paid for at a counter.
For live peep shows, booths can surround a stage upon which usually a female performer performs a striptease and sexually-explicit poses. In Barcelona female performers at times also perform sexual intercourse with male performers on stage. In some cases, booths include paper towel dispensers, for customers who engage in masturbation. A customer and performer can mutually agree on a fee for a "private dance", which can take place in a peep show booth with a clear window and seating space for only one spectator.
California
Research on peep show establishments in California 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 reanalyzed the data and concluded that the difference was significant.
Regal Show World
Regal Show World was an adult entertainment business on lower Market Street in San Francisco, California. The company's slogan was "Where you are king". The business had a peep show and an adult video arcade. The peep show had performers working in an enclosed round room with viewing booths surrounding it and sometimes had a "double in the bubble" show in which two performers worked simultaneously. During the winter of 1997 to 1998, the business had thirty-five performers. At this time, over 80% of performers there attempted to unionize and "signed union authorization cards for representation by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 790".
The business was owned by Bijou Group, Inc., a privately-held company in San Francisco that was founded in 1990. Bijou Group owned similar businesses in San Francisco such as New Century Theater, Market Street Cinema, and the Campus Theater. Bijou Group, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization circa 1994. In November 1998, management of Regal Show World announced that the peep show would be closed on November 30th of that month due to "economic reasons". At the time, some performers in the industry stated that closure of the peep show was done as a retaliative measure against attempts for performers to unionize. The company declared bankruptcy after performers made a second attempt at unionization, whereby the performers "signed cards calling for a union election", and the theater was closed.
Washington
The former 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.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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