NBC’s The Carmichael Show has tried to break the stigma surrounding drugs, euthanasia, and now stripping. Although Wednesday night’s episode, “Maxine’s Sister,” began by condemning stripping, the episode takes a hard turn and ends by having the loudest voice against exotic dancing at a strip club’s amateur night.
Right after Maxine (Amber Stevens West) announces, “being a stripper is nothing to be ashamed of,” she learns that her sister, Casey, is a stripper. Maxine rebukes Casey for partaking in such a debasing field, citing concern over the “negative impact that degrading herself will have on her for years to come.” Yet somehow the show manages to defend the act.
Maxine: How could you be a stripper? Ugh, it's so degrading. It's beneath you. You're smart. You should be in school.
Casey: Maxine, it's not degrading. And you don't have the right to tell me what to do with my life. And do you really want to have this conversation in front of Jerrod's family?
Joe: Well, we already know that you grinded on my son, so I think we're a little past privacy.
Jerrod: Maxine, don't be so hard on your sister. I mean, weren't you just saying a few minutes ago that stripping is nothing to be ashamed of?
Maxine: Yeah, it's nothing to be ashamed of unless you are my little sister. We used to hold hands and go ice skating together.
Cynthia: Ice skating? Whoo, rich people are something else.
Jerrod: Maxine, you can't be someone who says that they're open-minded when it comes to stripping...And that it's just women owning their sexuality, and then change your mind the second you find out it's someone close to you. I mean, every stripper is someone's baby sister, or daughter, or young hot aunt.
Cynthia: Now, listen, young lady, I don't want to come off aggressive. I know we just met. But if I was your mother, I'd kill myself.
Joe: All right, let's go easy on her. Let's not forget that she provides a very necessary service.
Cynthia: Oh, Joe.
Joe: Well, somebody's got to strip. I always said cities cannot function without hospitals or strip clubs. That's the reason they both open on Christmas.
Maxine: So, Joe, if you had a daughter, you would be fine with her stripping?
Joe: Well, God blessed me with sons because He knew I wasn't strong enough to face that question.
Maxine: Casey, what happened? Why are you doing this? Are you trying to piss off Dad?
Casey: No, I choose to do this. I like dancing. It's good money. I feel sexy and I'm really good at it.
Bobby: Yep, I can attest to that. Look, Caramel Diva, you are one of the most talented dancers I've ever seen. In fact, I think you're a better dancer than Maxine is a therapist. You made me feel better about myself in 15 minutes than Maxine has done after years of conversations. You're not only a great dancer, you a healer.
Cynthia: You are too beautiful to be a stripper. Now, seeing a beautiful stripper is like seeing an Asian man working at McDonald's. I just want to grab him and say, ‘You don't need to do this. People that look like you are supposed to do better.’
Maxine: Cynthia, that was extremely racist, but I agree with the sentiment.
In addition to Joe (David Alan Grier) claiming that stripping is vital for society to function, Nekeisha (Tiffany Haddish) accuses Maxine of tearing Casey down, arguing that judging stripping is what “keeps women from moving forward in society.” Isn’t having women take off their clothes in front of ogling men for money keeping women from moving forward in society?
But even Jerrod Carmichael somehow uses feminism to support stripping, telling Maxine, “I've heard you defend stripping before, saying it's just women taking control over the exploitation of their own bodies. And as a feminist myself, I am offended by how hypocritical you're being.”
Casey tells her sister that she has no right to judge unless she strips herself. And to Jerrod's dismay, Maxine ultimately agrees.
By the end of the episode, Jerrod begs Maxine not to strip, finally admitting, “Stripping is degrading, and everybody knows that. It's weird that it's even legal.” A voice of reason, right? However, Maxine changes her mind, ends up stripping anyway, and apparently makes enough money for her and Jerrod to vacation to Hawaii. What a happy ending!
Too bad we all can’t live in the world envisioned by The Carmichael Show, where people can kill off their grandparents, experiment with drugs to understand themselves better, and strip for empowerment, all with no consequences.
