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Ever wonder what would happen if a bunch of women working at a peepshow decided to take control of their own destinies? That’s exactly what went down in Neon Girls by Jennifer Worley, a memoir about the dancers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady in the ‘90s—who didn’t just perform, but fought to unionize their workplace and later transformed it into a worker-owned cooperative.
Sounds like something straight out of dystopian sci-fi, right? The battle for autonomy, the clash against corporate control, the quiet (and not-so-quiet) rebellion—it’s The Handmaid’s Tale but with neon lights and dollar bills.
Power to the People (or, You Know, the Crew)
In science fiction, the underdogs rising up is a tale as old as time. Think The Hunger Games, where Katniss sparks a revolution against the Capitol, or The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, where anarchist settlers on the moon fight against capitalism’s grip. The dancers in Neon Girls weren’t armed with bows or space-age philosophy, but they had solidarity, and that’s just as powerful.
And let’s not forget Cyberpunk 2077 and Neuromancer, where the fight against corporations isn’t just a theme—it’s a lifestyle. The Lusty Lady’s performers weren’t hackers jacking into the matrix, but they did hack the system, flipping the script on exploitative labor and creating something that actually worked for them.
Dancing, but Make It Revolutionary
Beyond the rebellion, Neon Girls is packed with behind-the-scenes stories, which, let’s be real, makes it even juicier. Imagine if Perdido Street Station by China Miéville had a side plot about a secret dancer uprising in a steampunk cabaret. That’s the energy this memoir brings—gritty, chaotic, and absolutely wild.
So if you love stories about regular people standing up to power—whether in a dystopian future or a grungy ‘90s strip club—Neon Girls is your next read. It’s the kind of real-life sci-fi plot twist that proves the best revolutions start in unexpected places.
And, keep your eyes open for our forthcoming novel, Desire & The Law. It has a punked up main character that you won’t want to miss.