Bawdy Storytelling – Episode 92: ‘Ring the Doorbell’ (Ryan Re)

Release Date: October 11, 2019
Host: Dixie De La Tour
Storyteller: Ryan Re

Episode Overview

This episode features Ryan Re's debut performance at Bawdy Storytelling, with his tale "Ring the Doorbell"—an outrageous, sex-positive account of his first foray into sex work upon moving to San Francisco. True to Bawdy’s bawdy, vulnerable, and hilarious ethos, Ryan recounts a wild night involving communal queer living, the Castro’s Pink Saturday, and a first ever professional fisting gig that didn't go as planned. Dixie bookends the episode with updates on Bawdy’s tour, recent press attention, and the spirit of radical sex-positivity that defines the show.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dixie’s Tour & Bawdy’s Growth

• Dixie kicks off with a behind-the-scenes look at recent tour chaos: lost venues, last-minute booking, and the high-octane adrenaline of running Bawdy on the road.
• Bawdy’s unique mission: “letting people be seen, letting people express themselves, showing their true self to the world, whether it's queer or trans or polyamorous or swinger or kinky, whatever their identity is.” (06:44)
• Proud moment of being written up by both Hustler and Forbes on the same day, with Dixie’s stance that “dirty talk” can be an art form.

2. Ryan Re's Story: ‘Ring the Doorbell’

Ryan’s performance (10:42–24:33) charts his post-college leap into San Francisco’s queer underground, landing in a radical-fairy commune and learning sex work on the fly.

a. Homeless and Resourceful in San Francisco

• Fresh out of college and out of housing, Ryan decides, “I am young, I am creative, I am intelligent, and I wrote a shit ton of papers on porn and fisting in college. So, San Francisco seems like a logical choice.” (10:49)
• Comedic struggles: Friend of a friend offers him a place, but warns about long-term meth use; he ends up with a referral to a communal house – to “ring the bell and ask for Bambi.” (12:04)

b. Life in the Radical Fairy Commune

• Describes a “hippy, dippy, homo, anarchist commune,” where privacy is nonexistent (“35 of the greatest people you would ever want to meet, all of whom have keys to the front door”).
• On local economics: “You can sell pot, or you can sell that beautiful body of yours.” (13:40)
• Gets schooled in “cheesecake” escort photos with drag queens.

c. The (Literally) Dirty Details of First Escorting Gig

• No calls until 4 AM on Pink Saturday (the height of SF’s pride party weekend): “I want you in me now,” says his first client over the phone. (15:11)
• Runs to the store for Crisco, recounts the awkwardness of buying it in full leather from a knowing cashier—“She’s ringing me up and she kind of looks at me, like, this isn’t the first time this has happened tonight, is it? And she just goes, ‘No. See ya.’ ” (16:46)
• Arrives at a nondescript Victorian, is offered cocaine, and described the client as “1920s Black Tuesday businessman, just raggedy ass.” (17:13)

d. Sexual Negotiation & Dark Comedy

• Ryan tries his best to be gentle and clinical: “You don’t want to jab it in, like to ring the doorbell, just on the outside a few times.” (18:54)
• Discovers the client isn’t, ahem, properly prepared for fisting: “So I know you said you wanted me to fist you, but I don’t really know if you’re, like, ready to get fisted right now.” (19:22)
• Client embraces being identified as a “dirty fucking shit pig,” and the dirty talk escalates.

e. Escalation and Payment

• The client repeatedly pushes limits (requests to have his “man clit” played with, demands to be told he’s underpaying, etc).
• Ryan, exasperated and improvising, swings for the fences: “I wouldn’t come over here and waste my time with a fucker like you for less than a grand.” (21:52)
• Ends in slapstick and absurdity: “He lurches forward and puts my whole hand in his mouth and just starts, like, leaking in between my fingers… at which point he vomits.” (23:07)
• The line that unites horror and triumph: “No, no, no, no, no, no, you do not get to gross me out. I just clamp it shut and I’m like, swallow it.” (23:19)
• After a shower, the satisfied client hands Ryan a cool $1,000 and thanks him: “You earned it, stud. Thanks for... you know, Ryan, I had a really good time. Thanks for everything.” (24:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dixie de La Tour on representation:
  "We just want to show ourselves to the world and not hide." (06:44)
• Ryan Re on his move:
  “I wrote a shit ton of papers on porn and fisting in college. So SF seems like a logical choice.” (10:53)
• On commune economics:
  “You can sell pot, or you can sell that beautiful body of yours.” (13:40)
• On the Crisco run:
  “This isn’t the first time this has happened tonight, is it? …She just goes, ‘No. See ya.’ ” (16:46)
• On sexual negotiation:
  “You don’t want to jab it in, like to ring the doorbell, just on the outside a few times.” (18:54)
• Describing client’s kink:
  “Yeah, you do, you nasty fucking shit pig.” (19:34)
• On being underpaid:
  “I wouldn’t come over here and waste my time with a fucker like you for less than a grand.” (21:54)
• The session’s aftermath:
  “You earned it, stud. Thanks for… you know. Ryan, I had a really good time. Thanks for everything.” (24:20)
  “Fuck, man, you too. Shit, pig, you too.” (24:28)

Important Timestamps

• Dixie’s intro, Bawdy news, personal anecdotes: 00:01–06:43
• Bawdy’s mission, press coverage, tour updates: 06:44–10:41
• Ryan Re’s story begins: 10:42
• Living in the commune, Pink Saturday context: 12:00–14:30
• First escort gig, phone call: 15:11
• Crisco run & description: 16:46
• Arriving at client’s place: 17:13
• Sexual encounter & comedic escalation: 18:54–24:20
• Resolution, payment, and epilogue: 24:20–24:33

Tone & Language

This episode embodies Bawdy’s sex-positive, raw, and outrageously funny tone, blending cringe, camp, and community in equal measure. Ryan Re’s storytelling is unflinchingly honest, self-deprecating, and queer-affirming; Dixie’s commentary is warm, candid, and emboldening.

Summary for New Listeners

"Ring the Doorbell" delivers an authentic slice of queer San Francisco life, where chosen family, sex work, and radical honesty intertwine. It's a must-listen if you enjoy humor as a way into frank sexual and personal storytelling, and Bawdy’s unapologetic embrace of the messy realities of sexual expression. You’ll laugh, cringe, and maybe cheer, as Ryan discovers himself—and earns some well-deserved cash—along the wild way.