By nature, I would say I’m a fairly conservative girl. Woman? A fairly conservative woman. No, a fairly conservative girl. A girl-woman.
(Okay, Britney, fine; maybe there is something to be said for your pre-insanity “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman” phase.)
At any rate, while I’m comfortable with my sexuality, I don’t go out of my way to shout it from the rooftops. Despite the fact that it’s on my life list, I’ve never been to a strip club. I don’t sleep around, and I don’t think I could ever take a sex shop seriously.
Which is why, on day one of my two-week, eight-country European tour, when our tour guide brought up attending a sex show that night in Amsterdam, I jumped on it (pun intended, sure).
I mean, why not? I had made a pact with myself before even boarding my plane to London that I would try any food, any drink, any cultural experience while abroad. After all, when in Rome! If this was the way the Dutch liked to let loose, well, then I was game.
After being told that absolutely no photos were permitted in the Red Light District, we all walked over to a semi-sketchy looking building and waited in line. Once ushered in, our drink orders were taken and we sat down in a pretty standard-sized theatre with our phallic-shaped lollipops we were given upon entering. A circular rotating platform sat center stage. It wasn’t long after our Vodka Red Bulls were shoved into our faces that a woman started prancing around in nothing but a bra and skirt.
Alright, so this woman’s going commando and wants us all to see, no big deal, I thought to myself.
My mindset took a 180 once two blonde bombshells took over and began, well…let’s just say they loved their toys, they loved playing together, and leave it at that.
If it’s one thing I can praise this show for, it’s their variety. There were couples, men and women who stuck to just the basics. There were solo acts that brought up audience members to…play. There were costumes (monkey suit, anyone?). There was S&M. Nothing was left out, and absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. And as the show progressed, so did my drinking. Anyone who could handle this show while sober was officially my hero.
I think what boggled my mind the most about this “Dutch cultural experience” wasn’t so much the actual show as much as the fact that everything we witnessed that night is 100% legal. In the land of the free, this is looked down upon (not to mention worthy of an arrest). In Amsterdam? Just a typical Saturday night.
And thus began my culture shock.
Recent Ali Dubrow Articles:
- Beauty School Cop-Out
- Going Up? Not Anytime Soon
- Relationships: Let's Make a Deal (Breaker)
- Cats Playing Patty Cake: Almost Human?
- Hollywood Marriage: I Do (Not Think This Will Last)
Good to hear you’re getting out and taking a look around. I think the world would be a better place if more saw more, experienced more and generally came to understand that “back home” is in fact not the norm for the rest of the world. One peoples “free” seems rather un-free from the outside.
Just saying…