The All-the-Way Who Shouldn't Be

Sunday, May 8, 2011

The All-the-Way Who Shouldn't Be

Half past midnight, in one of the top macho dancing gay bars in Manila, the dj introduced the next set. Eight men stepped onto the stage. They were naked, with only a piece of cloth tied around their waists. As the romantic ballad song crescendoed into the chorus, all of them stripped all-the-way, removed their only clothing, to reveal what was hidden underneath it.

Except for one. The newcomer.

This was Luigi's* second stint as a macho dancer. This 5'8, fair, gym-fit, 25 year-old had some macho experience three years before, in another top bar in Quezon City. At that time, he only danced "sexy", as the gay bars called those dancers who would only bare their torsos and legs, but nothing more beyond a bikini. In these gay bars, not all macho dancers are all the way, only a select few.

But this was his first job as an all-the-way macho dancer.

What happened to Luigi, after the jump:

When he decided to return to the industry after two years of unemployment as a single father, he ventured to the other side of Metro Manila to look for a job in one of the area's gay bars. He entered the bar, and looked for the entertainment manager to ask for an opening.

"Hindi na kami tumatanggap ng modelo o sexy lang. Tigas lang ang may opening (We don't accept models or sexy dancers anymore. We only have openings for those who can do all-the-way stripping)," was the manager's reply, which I knew was their standard response to applicants.

"Sexy lang talaga po ako (I can only do sexy)," replied Luigi, who also asked if the bar can reconsider.

"Hindi talaga. Sa iba ka na lang mag-apply (We really can't accept you. Try applying to the other bars)," the manager responded, which was unusual as I knew of others who were still accepted despite turning down the offer to strip all-the-way.

After a few attempts with the other bars in the area, Luigi still couldn't find a job. So he returned to the bar and accepted the offer that required him to bare everything.

It has been a few days since Luigi started, and lucky him, he had some experience in the industry, enough to be stripping all-the-way. But behind the scenes, his inexperience as s tigas has become apparent. He doesn't have a readily available pornographic video in his cellphone to make his dick hard before going on stage. Out of shyness, he even hardens up in a discreet location in a bar, away from the others prepping up in one dressing room. He still feels pain when he ties the rubber band at his penises, compared to the other men who're already numb in that region. And he's still hesitant to bare all on-stage, unlike the others who simply strip as if they're just going to their showers at home.

But for me, what made him stand out among the other all-the-way dancers was not his hesitance or inexperience. It was his looks.

Celebrity look-alikes, even though how far they resemble the original star, are reserved to do macho sexy dancing only. The thinking of these bars is, why let good-looking men take off everything, when their handsome faces alone, without baring any skin, can get them "tabled" by customers. Thus, it's not surprising to see all-the-way men who aren't exactly the prettiest men out there.

Luigi, however, was an exemption. He might not have looks that could win the bar's top gorgeous model, but he could pass as a regular macho doing sexy. With a few facial treatments and some make-up, he'd get some customers to table him, for sure. He doesn't need to bare some skin just to get some tips. As one impersonator said, after hearing his story, "Sayang, mukhang na-lugi itong si Luigi. (Too bad, Luigi came off worst in a bargain, or got the short end of the stick)."

He's just been in the job for less than a week. I do hope the management sees his potential as a sexy macho dancer, and not a mere all-the-way stripper. For the meantime, customers are awaiting when they'll get to see a full view of this newbie's fairly good-sized asset.