Bourbon Street

“Titties… come inside for titties!” – shouted the man across the street. The famous Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the place that's famous for fancy drinks (Fish Bowl!), seems to be a place from another era. The casualness in the air in this distinct road is only broken by the urgency of this man trying to hustle “gentlemen” into his club. The windows are covered with dark film as is usual with any strip club but what’s not usual is the openness of the locals to display their “items.” The girls stand outside wearing bikini, trying to pick their potential customers. A few over enthusiastic ones even jump on the road and stop the men walking by and try to get them inside in an almost pleading voice. The bright pink neon lights flash behind them advertising that the men will not be disappointed. My friend asked me – “Who would pay to see a naked girl?” And then continued in the same breath while looking at the drunk men leaving the bar next door – “Of course, who else.” Bourbon street can probably pass off as a place in Vegas if those voodoo shops had not been there. The voodoo shop two steps away promises to relieve you of your spiritual pain and stress and proudly display their dolls. Add some men standing on the balcony of a club shouting “Show your tits, show your tits...” and throwing bead garlands down on the street as tourists walk-by; Bourbon street holds on to its title of a street from another era. These men standing on the balcony are probably married or have girlfriends or female friends with them who are also shouting “Show your tits, show your tits.” Next, I see the women tourists walking underneath the balcony actually pick up the bead garland and flash their breasts to the people standing on the balcony. People take pictures, laugh, cheer and move on, happy and smiling. The woman who flashed just now is also happy, the men standing on the balcony are definitely happy and the women accompanying them are also smiling so they must be happy. Business as usual on Bourbon street.

Another usual thing in New Orleans is its open drink policy- you can walk on the street with open alcoholic drinks. But what’s unusual is the surprising large percentage of sober crowd on Bourbon street. The men on the balcony and the women walking by seem to know their limits really well! No one is puking or has passed out on the street. However, Bourbon street still manages to smell like a dirty toilet. But something stronger than this smell has captivated me here. I witnessed raw human nature, sexual provocations, unrestrained but civilized demonstration of the equation between men and women, and restrained yet animalistic instincts devoid of social norms. Actually the social norm here is to be wild, untamed, non-conforming and provocative; both for men and women. The outcome is what is so interesting. The women working in the strip clubs are doing their jobs by flashing themselves but why were the women tourists walking underneath the balcony flashing themselves at the slightest provocation? It was almost like a “dare” game and the women who did not flash were booed away; they were not “women enough.” Before you jump and say “what about the men?” let’s think, what about them? The men going into the strip clubs are going to meet the opposite sex within a designated place to do whatever they need to do with a shared understanding but why are the men standing on the balcony brazenly provoking strangers? Why are the women accompanying them happy about it? Why is this scene playing out on Bourbon street only and not on any other street in downtown with lines of clubs (e.g., Frenchmen street has bars but it’s known for it’s live jazz, not this debauchery)? I have to give it to these merry men and women that there’s no forced physical contact on the street and there are boundaries that are not crossed and everything happens under an umbrella of having “fun” but when does it stop becoming fun? Our Uber driver was telling us stories about drunk women in revealing clothes passing out on his backseat. His voice reflected excitement – “beautiful girls wear short shorts showing their butt cheeks and revealing tops… girl do you want me to touch or watch but not touch or not watch at all? What do you want me to do?” He explains that obviously he wakes them up politely and urges them to step out and he makes sure that they enter their homes safely. But why did he think the girl was “saying” something to him through her clothes? If there was a guy who had passed out in the backseat wearing short shorts and revealing clothes, would a female driver have had the same thoughts? If a man had his penis attached to his chest where it was clearly visible instead of being tucked between his legs, would he have faced the same issues as women did? Would he have been asked to flash it?