Showing Out

by Timothy Reed, Richard Nagler (Photographer), Ghislan David de Lossy (Photographer)

Tiffany works in Peeps Castle, keeping her coked-up boyfriend in drugs, her crazy mother off the streets, and her vulnerable friends together as best she can in this unblinkingly powerful debut by Timothy Reed. From the depths of abuse and neglect to the ironic stability of her lucrative job performing in a glassed-in booth on 42nd Street, Tiffany, still haunted by the voices of her "swine chorus," is at the center of Showing Out, the story of a young woman and several of her co-workers. From her close friend, the birdlike Melanie who's been in the flesh trade since she was thirteen years old, to the obnoxious transvestite Meeca, Showing Out paints indelible portraits of a handful of courageous fellow performers as they try to deal with their own love lives, drugs, AIDS, and the work. Punctuated by Tiffany's memories of a childhood that included sexual abuse, an alcoholic mother, and an absent father, Showing Out tracks Tiffany's struggle to move beyond her current life at the old Times Square—and Peeps Castle with it—juggernauts to its own end. Written by the daughter of renowned novelist Ishmael Reed, Showing Out is raw, real, and by turns hilarious and harrowing.

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Patricia Vaccarino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Reed does a fine job of weaving the tale of working-girls who use their most flamboyant sexed-up wiles to make a living. Peeking into the flesh parlor, “Peeps Castle,” to watch the girls in action is a voyeuristic jaunt well worth the price of admission. Coming from bad homes and nasty families, the girls’ hearts were broken long ago. Stopping short of engaging in actual sex acts, they pantomime, prance and preen, shaking their booties to get men to part with their money. And they make lots of money, easy money. Plus, they get all gussied up, wearing expensive platform shoes, ass-grabbing skirts, silk blouses and glittery wigs. I loved all of these girls. While life is not kind to them, they never lose faith in each other or their humanity. Although the author’s life was short-circuited by chronic schizophrenia, ironically, a realistic depiction of schizophrenia is sketchy at best and too sadly understated in the narrative to be credible.

[Radia]

Just couldn’t put it down.