Neon Wasteland by Susan Dewey

Author:Susan Dewey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of California Press

EMBRACING HETERONORMATIVITY?

The belief in the possibility of upward mobility embraced by Vixens workers functioned as a powerful motivator in many of their choices and actions. Perhaps the most heart-wrenching manifestation of the desire for what Star and others characterized as “a normal life” is the frequency with which dancers sought out heteronormative family situations even when there were other options available to them that might prove more sustainable in the long term. Nothing illustrates this propensity more clearly than the breakup of the family of two women and three children that Cinnamon and Star had painstakingly pieced together.

As we saw earlier in this chapter, Star first met Steve the mechanic when she was getting the secondhand car she shared with Cinnamon repaired. Like her, Steve was the sole biological parent, at home with his daughter following his divorce. Star and Steve also shared a number of other characteristics: both wanted to move away from professions little respected for their levels of skill and honesty; both hoped for a stable heterosexual family life at some point in the interests of their children; and each worried about insurmountable obstacles facing them in the way of doing both. Cinnamon nonetheless saw the relationship as doomed to failure from its inception because of the added moral weight that topless dancing carries with it; in her view, no amount of commonalities in terms of unfair labor arrangements, oppressive managerial structures, and suspicious clients would ever mitigate the fact that Star took off her clothes for money.

Nonetheless, Star held a powerful faith that their relationship could be made to work, and within three months of meeting Steve she and her two children moved into his house, creating a second blended family. Cinnamon was deeply distraught but not terribly surprised when this happened. “I knew this day was going to come eventually,” she calmly explained to Star, “and you're like my little sister, so I can't deny you happiness.” Her expression of goodwill was soon outweighed by the practical realities of life, including her need to support Melanie, her increasingly unruly adolescent daughter. Cinnamon lamented the fact that their relatively stable family unit had not been good enough for Star, and even called her several times at Steve's house to tell her that she was still welcome to come back with her children.

“I'm not trying to guilt-trip you,” Cinnamon calmly intoned to Star during one such phone call, “but I love you, and I just want you to stop and think about what you're teaching your kids.” Star remained silent, deferring to Cinnamon's life experience as she explained her belief that while men might come and go, women bear the weight of responsibility. “And I know she's not your daughter,” Cinnamon said, her voice cracking a bit as she tried not to cry, “but this sends Melanie a message, too, about the way to treat people who really love you.” Star hung up on her, but not before angrily asking Cinnamon, “What do you know about who

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