Hairy Butthole Ep. 14: Not Sex Work, Not Not Sex Work, But A Secret Third Thing (featuring Yurie Collins)

A chat about Japanese hostess bars, the women shamed for working there, and how biracial identity plays into dating

(CW: SA) This week, Youngmi Mayer speaks with Yurie Collins (actor, filmmaker, TikTok personality) about her life as a hostess in a Japanese hostess club. Yurie discusses a sad story about how a male patron assaulted her during a drunken bout and how the transactional nature of sex work-adjacent work is directly tied to deep self-hatred of men who believe they cannot be loved. They also touch on the ubiquitous nature of hostess bars in East Asia and why shame is placed on the women who work there and not the men who patronize it, when in fact they are the losers for having to pay people to hang out with them. Youngmi touches on her personal experience in this line of work. They also dissect how both of their biracial identities play into the world of dating, and ask the question, “Who are biracials supposed to date?”

Hosted by Youngmi Mayer

Youngmi Mayer is a standup comedian and single mom based in New York City. She explores topics of Asian identity, biracial identity, feminism and growing up poor in her work.