Some of the Girls Inc. of Pinellas members who were part of the team that created a documentary “Being Safe in Our World,” are, from left, Alana Wright, 9, and Julie Thielmann, 10, both of St. Petersburg; Jenna Dinkins, 10, of Seminole, and Taylor Smith, 11, and Jenny Hernandez, 10, both of Pinellas Park.
PINELLAS PARK – The camera slowly pans across 66th Street, following a school bus traveling along the road as a girl’s voice introduces the subject of the 18-minute documentary.
She says that Girls Incorporated of Pinellas teaches its participants to find their voices and then describes a large sign advertising the now defunct Bottoms Up Gentlemen’s Club.
“We decided to find out what people thought about the billboard and share what we learned with citizens and community leaders,” she says as the school bus passes the billboard that’s the focus of the film.
The sign shows a woman on her stomach, wearing nothing but a G-string, her hourglass figure arched so that only her ample rear protrudes into the lettering of the sign. For the last couple of years, the sign has caused quiet murmurings and questions among the young girls who attend Girls Inc. Executive Director Renee McInnis said. Many see the sign every day on their way to school or to the club itself.
“I used to take my hand and put it at the window because I didn’t want to stare at it,” 10-year-old Jenna Dinkins, one of several girls who helped create the documentary, said recently.
The adults would explain how the First Amendment protected the free speech of the strip club, but the explanation fell flat, McInnis said.
“That didn’t really relate to them,” she said.
Recently, the local club applied for funding from the Girls Inc. national office to buy video cameras and editing software to be used for the 2010 Summer Camp Mission Media program. When club leaders considered possible topics, the issue of the Bottoms Up billboard resurfaced as one with which the girls were clearly concerned, McInnis said. A total of $920 from the national officer and $200 from the Pinellas Park Kiwanis Club paid for the equipment the girls used.
“They needed just a little help to guide them through it,” club Program Director Mark Thielmann said. “They had the idea, theirs was the inspiration to make it happen. And we just helped them with the technical end of it. That’s pretty good for 9- and 10-year-olds.”
The girls first were told to go home and ask their parents what they thought.
“My parents said really that kids our age shouldn’t be seeing that stuff,” Taylor Smith, 11, said.
“They might get the personality of that girl in the sign,” 10-year-old Jenny Hernandez, added.
“Like it’s OK to be like that, (with) less clothing,” Smith said, finishing her thought.
The exercise was important practice for what they eventually did: interview adults, both community leaders and role models closer to home, on their opinions in regards to the sign on camera. Along with some of their parents and club staff, girls interviewed Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler, who called the sign “disgusting” and “degrading.” They questioned Calvin Harris, who was a Pinellas County Commissioner at the time, about the ordinances that govern the sign. The video lists statistics that link violence against woman and young girls with derogatory views of women.
The girls also expressed how they felt.
“I don’t like the sign because it’s inappropriate and it makes me feel bad,” Julie Thielmann, 10, said on camera. “I hate the sign because I’m embarrassed.”
The video, along with all the girls’ opinions, was screened for the Pinellas County chapter of National Organization for Woman and will be shown in the organization’s national 2011 conference held in Florida this year. Girls Inc. also was invited to show the video at the Pinellas County Commission and Pinellas Park Council meetings and the video was featured on “The Women’s Show” on WNFE Community Radio Tampa.
When questioned, five of the girls who worked on the project said they feel like their video made a difference. But the sign still hasn’t been taken down, they’re quick to point out. They can still see it on their way to school and as their parents drive them around Pinellas Park. However, they’re claiming one success as their own.
“We still got the place to close down,” Jenna said triumphantly.
A week after the girls finished the video in late August, the Bottoms Up club started showing signs that it had closed: the parking lot stayed empty, the property quiet and the sign went unlit at night. Bottoms Up hasn’t been open for business since August.
“The timing sure seemed good,” Mark Thielmann said, arguing otherwise when McInnis questioned the club’s ability to claim responsibility for the closure.
“Nobody else can prove it, so yes we can,” he said with a smile.
In fact, the Bottoms Up club had to close its doors because business managers didn’t renew its adult use license with Pinellas County, letting it expire in June, said Cindy Stoner, an investigator with the county Consumer Affairs Department.
After the business used up a bit of a grace period, the county determined the owners would have to go through the entire procedure of reapplying for the license, county Building and Development Review Specialist Wayne Claude said.
“They have gone through a ton of hoops to re-institute their adult use license,” Claude said, adding that the various approvals have cost the owner extra money as well.
For one, the club is only 320 feet away from a residential area, instead of the 400 feet required by county ordinance. However, the club is well buffered, with an industrial park and a highway in between the neighborhood in question, Claude said.
The property received approval for the variance from the Board of Adjustment in October and a new adult use license Nov. 29. The owner will be leasing the space to a new tenant, which will open the establishment as “Tiffany’s Cabaret,” according to county documentation.
Meanwhile, the “Bottoms Up” woman has kept her spot on 66th Street.
“There wouldn’t be anything we could do to make them take it down, until we could verify that it was closed,” Assistant County Attorney Carl Brody said.
Instead, the club is in the process of changing hands. A construction permit to install floodlights on top of the building was approved in late December and the county has already approved its new liquor license. Eventually, the sign itself will have to change to reflect the new business name.
However, the accomplishment of the Girls Inc. documentary has less to do with the status of the sign itself and more to do with how the girls responded to it, McInnis said.
“I’m really glad that they found their voice,” she said. “A lot of times girls that age feel disenfranchised. This gave them the opportunity, gave them the vehicle, to share what their concerns were and share it with the world, really.
“They were uncomfortable about something and they were able to take action.”
The five girls who gathered to discuss the video recently said they learned more than just camera work.
“We can do whatever we think we can,” Julie Thielmann said.
“We have to believe in ourselves first,” Alana Wright, 9, added.
The group fell into brainstorming a new topic for their next potential documentary. Alana suggested one about “how people should recycle and clean up the world.” Suddenly, all the girls began speaking at once.
“Yeah, because of the oil in the ocean.”
“We should go help!”
“Mr. Mark, you can rent a boat for us and we can get this big net...”
“But where are we going to get the money from?”
“I thought they already took care of the oil spill?”
Girls Inc. is working on a shorter version of “Being Safe in Our World” for shorter presentations. The club welcomes viewings of the video for groups in the community. Call 544-6230.
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