The annual Pimp-and-Ho Halloween Party at Transit nightclub is a fun-filled gathering of beautiful people, according to the event promoter.
Provocatively dressed women and men in big hats, fur coats and brightly colored suits come from around the city, the suburbs and even across state lines for the event at Transit, 1431 W. Lake St.
The party–which marks its sixth year on Saturday–attracted a record 1,200 guests last year, local event creator and promoter Brad Altman said.
“Local celebrities show up, my friends fly in from out of town, and we have the best time,” said Altman, who also promotes masquerade and Sweetest Day parties at Transit. “This is just another theme party we do, and it’s the first time we’ve ever had anyone say there was a problem.”
That problem is that protesters have been calling Altman asking him to change the name of the party.
The effort was organized by the director of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Rachel Durchslag. She, along with other community activists and a former prostitute who talked to RedEye, said parties that glamorize pimping and prostitution are a disservice to women destroyed by that lifestyle. The party is one more disturbing reminder that pimps, who abuse women and prey on girls, are considered pop culture idols with drinks, a popular MTV show and cups named after them, they said.
Locals love to get pimped out all year round, according to the manager of Fantasy Costumes Headquarters at 4065 N. Milwaukee Ave. Pimp costumes and accessories have been among the hottest-selling Halloween items for at least five years, store manager Cathy Bunger said, adding that locals wear them to ’70s parties throughout the year.
“People love the big rings with fake diamonds in them, pimp chains, rhinestone-encrusted watches and big gold jewelry that says ‘pimp’ or ‘player,’ ” Bunger told RedEye.
Impersonating pimps at parties is wrong no matter how harmless it seems, Durchslag said.
“Throughout our culture, we’ve normalized the pimp and ho relationship,” said Durchslag, 28. “It’s a very racist stereotype that is being used to promote anything from baby clothes to a custom car on ‘Pimp My Ride.’ This is not something to dress as or laugh at.”
At least 50 locals have spoken with Altman by phone to protest the name of the party, he said, adding that many of them were women well outside the twentysomething to thirtysomething demographic of the party.
“The people who are calling me obviously have never been to my party,” said Altman, who got the idea in 2000 after attending a long-running, similarly themed, celebrity-studded party in Las Vegas. “Our party is a bunch of postgraduate kids who go out to the nightclubs once a year, and instead of wearing a typical Halloween costume, they dress a little sexier.”
The definitions of pimp and ho have changed, according to Julia Shell, spokeswoman for Vision nightclub, 632 N. Dearborn St., who said the club’s Pimp ‘n’ Ho Halloween Ball annually attracts about 1,000 guests.
“Nowadays, the word pimp, by most in this demographic, think of the word as being a player and a ho is a sexy girl,” Shell said, adding that Vision’s event–celebrating its sixth year on Friday–has never gotten a negative reaction. “Those who choose to come to the event attend because they know what to expect: a good party that’s a little wild, and all in the name of fun.”
Bucktown resident Kourtney Slack sees no problem with these themed parties. Slack, 21, called the concept an “awesome idea” when asked about it by RedEye.
“It’s not making fun of real pimps and prostitutes,” Slack said. “It’s Halloween. It’s just having fun dressing up.”
Those kinds of explanations do not sit well with Lucretia Clay-Ward, who said she spent more than 20 years as a prostitute, saddled with drug addiction and prison time. Clay-Ward, 41, recently got married and hasn’t used drugs in four years, she said, but she still carries a reminder of her past: HIV contracted from a pimp.
That’s why Clay-Ward said she finds the idea of pimp-and-ho parties “disgusting.”
“It’s belittling because I’ll bet if you went up to one of these young people and asked, they’d tell you they don’t want a ho anywhere near their street corner,” Clay-Ward said. “But, for fun, they want to embrace that and portray that image without even understanding the pain that these women go through or the horrible things pimps do to them.”
One 28-year-old Lincoln Parker said she could see why such parties are problematic.
“I wouldn’t go as far as protesting this kind of party, but I wouldn’t attend one myself,” Michelle Moore said when asked about it by RedEye. “The name has a negative connotation.”
Even anti-pimp-party organizers acknowledge that changing event names is a small step in the fight against glamorizing pimps.
“That song ‘It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp’ won an Oscar,” said Samir Goswami, associate director of policy at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and an advocate for women leaving prostitution. “Pimping is everywhere, but still, these kinds of events need to be addressed. Idolizing pimps says to victims of prostitution that they don’t matter.”
Altman said he understands the concerns of protesters, but there is something he wants them to understand as well:
“This isn’t that Player’s Ball,” Altman said, referring to an annual event headlined by admitted former West Side pimp-turned-preacher Archbishop Don Magic Juan. Last year, the 30th annual Players Ball Convention drew protests from residents of the western suburb of Maywood, a state representative and several community groups who decried the event’s crowning of the “international pimp of the year,” according to a Tribune report.
“We’re just providing people with a chance to be something different than they are in everyday life,” Altman said. “In fact, the event name is not as reflective as it used to be. Over the years, we’ve seen less of the actual pimp costumes and more of the devils, zombies and other kinds of costumes.”
Still, Altman said discussions with protesters prompted him to re-evaluate the event’s name.
“If I didn’t have so much brand equity in this party name, I would change it in a heartbeat,” Altman said, adding that he will talk with Transit owners about possibly changing the name of next year’s event.
Clay-Ward said she thinks Altman’s decision would be easier if he and party attendees could walk in her shoes.
“What would these people do if one of their kids was a prostitute?” Clay-Ward asked. “These promoters aren’t thinking about the young girls out there who hear this name and start thinking this could be a way out for them. If they did, they’d change that name today.”
PIMPS MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR PROSTITUTES TO WALK AWAY
Three Six Mafia might have rapped the lyrics “it’s hard out here for a pimp,” but according to one local police official, it’s even harder for prostitutes.
On the front lines of a crime prevalent in Chicago, prostitutes often own no personal belongings, serve as the “fall guy” for their pimps and are now increasingly hiding behind online operations to avoid arrests, said Paul Kusinski, a lieutenant and the commanding officer of the vice enforcement unit.
“There’s not a police district in this city that doesn’t have some level of problem with street prostitutes,” Kusinski said, adding that high problem areas include the West Side and areas near 47th Street and Cicero Avenue. Even when prostitutes are not on the corners, many are appearing online, luring customers with sites offering escort services, he said.
Massage parlors are another front for this kind of criminal activity, Kusinski said, and pimps can come in many forms–from the stereotypical fur-coat-wearing hustler to an unscrupulous business owner. But no matter their presentation, Kusinski said, pimps should be punished, not admired.
“In many cases, these pimps make sure that these girls do not have a penny to their names, and that’s what makes it so hard for them to leave prostitution,” Kusinski said. “Pimps will pay their rent, buy their food and clothing. It’s a control issue.”
That control doesn’t end when a prostitute gets picked up by police.
“These women hold so much loyalty to pimps that they won’t cooperate in a police investigation,” Kusinski said. “We get very little cooperation. They are willing to go to jail.”
Still, Kusinki and his team fight to curb prostitution by attacking supply and demand. It’s an ongoing, uphill battle, Kusinski said:
“They don’t call it the world’s oldest profession for nothing.”
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kkyles@tribune.com
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Pimping in pop culture
Kid Rock
A 1990 Kid Rock track was titled “Pimp of the Nation,” and six years later, he released an album called “Early Morning Stoned Pimp.”
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg rapped in the “P.I.M.P” remix about his “pimp hand” being strong. A performance of that song at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards sparked controversy when he led scantily clad women around on leashes.
Archbishop Don Magic Juan
Now known as the spiritual adviser to Snoop Dogg, this Chicago born semi-celebrity is often photographed in money-green attire and star-shaped shades. Juan, whose real name is Don Campbell, was an actual pimp on the West Side who chronicled his rise from a pimp to a preacher in a memoir called “From Pimp Stick to Pulpit–It’s Magic,” according to the Tribune.
“Money Mike”
Comedian Katt Williams portrayed pint-size pimp Money Mike in “Friday After Next” in 2002. He voices a line of special pimp ringtones with messages including: “Pimp in distress. Answer your phone.”
His stand-up special, “The Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1,” is airing on HBO.
Pimp cups
Beatmaker Lil Jon constantly gives props to his jewel-encrusted “pimp cup.”
Pimp Juice
Nelly introduced this nectar in ’03, followed by its sugar-free sib, PJ Tight, last year.
“Pimp My Ride”
MTV gave props to pimping by souping up old, beater cars with guidance from rapper/host Xzibit
“Hustle & Flow”
The film about a pimp who aspires to be a rapper earned an Oscar nod for actor Terrence Howard and an Oscar win for Three Six Mafia’s soundtrack number, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.”
–Kyra Kyles
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