investigativevoice.com

By Stephen Janis

When investigators from the Baltimore City Liquor Board descended on the downtown nightclub Bourbon Street in September, the popular nightspot was packed to the gills with area students attending “college night.”

But when investigators entered, they discovered that the place had been transformed into an unlicensed strip club, the result of a "Girls Gone Wild Night" that spiraled out of control.

About 50-60 women — some as young as 18 — paraded in from the stage exposing their bodies to a throng of men whom investigators described as “mesmerized.” Prompted by producers of a “Girls Gone Wild Tour," the women — separated from the men by what investigators described as a “bike stand” — allowed onlookers to grope them while they exposed themselves to cameras.

Now the downtown nightclub — known for political soirées and fundraisers — is facing liquor board charges of violating community standards and operating an adult entertainment establishment without a license, which could result in fines or suspension of the nightclub's liquor license.

'GIRLS GONE WILD' BALTIMORE-STYLE

According to a seven-page report by liquor board investigators obtained by Investigative Voice and WBFF Fox-45 TV, as many as six women under 21 were captured on video by liquor board investigators exposing themselves to producers of "Girls Gone Wild,” the media company that has built a national reputation for assembling impromptu videos of young women exposing themselves, and selling the tapes via late-night infomercials.

The so-called “Girls Gone Wild Night” was part of a national tour, which has visited Bourbon Street on previous occasions, investigators said.

“Our initial approach to this [was] it seriously impacts one would say the health of womanhood,” said Baltimore City Liquor Board Executive Secretary Samuel T. Daniels, one of the lead investigators.

“They were an unlicensed adult entertainment venue in Baltimore City on the night of September 17, 2009.”

According to reports, liquor board investigators took video footage of young women exposing themselves in both backrooms and on stage.

“There was no attempt to prevent the onstage nudity or the groping onstage of female dancers,” the report notes, adding that during a lull in the party an in-house DJ exhorted women to be more provocative:

“What the f**k ladies, this is supposed to be girls gone wild, not girls gone regular.”

The report does cite a lone employee who told a group of girls showing their breasts that they had moved the video shoot to the "bus."

Neither of the two owners of Bourbon Street listed on the liquor license responded to several phone calls and messages seeking comment, but Karen Dugger, chairwoman of the Women's Studies program at Towson University said young women who participate in these types of events are responding to an unhealthy “celebrity culture.”

SEE OUR MEDIA PARTNER FOX-45's COVERAGE OF THE LIQUOR BOARD INVESTIGATION

“It seems we are in a culture of celebrity that it doesn’t matter how you get to be the center of attention, it’s important to be the center of attention,” Dugger said.

“Women’s bodies are so displayed everywhere, I think there is an expectation that women are to reveal more and more of themselves, and it’s all right for them to reveal more and more and more of themselves at a very young age.”

Dugger said the emphasis on appearance and its connection to “popularity,” can lead to self-destructive behavior.

“The value of their self is being reduced to the display of body parts. How healthy can that be? “

The charges against Bourbon Street will be heard at the Jan. 14, 2010 liquor board hearing.

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