Good piece on sex work by Laurie Penny

[SolidGoldFrankensteinandmurgh]

Here. She puts it a bit more elegantly than I usually do...

[Beachcomber]

Oh brilliant - another liberal open minded woman arguing for the right of other women to be fucked by strangers for cash (that may or may not be going to a third party).

Just what the world needs.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Not just other women, she did it herself.

[Beachcomber]

She worked as a stripper for a brief time before graduating from Oxford and becoming a writer.

So I maintain what I say above.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

A stripper? Dr Brooke Magnanti was Belle de Jour!

[Beachcomber]

OLKN I was talking about Laurie Penny - the author of the article linked to in the OP.

I know who Brooke Magnanti/Belle de Jour is.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Ah, I thought you were responding to the post immediately above yours. My apologies.

[Beachcomber]

No worries. Was responding to OP. Thank you.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Oh, I don't know, some politicians use the services of prostitutes. A senior Tory was a regular at a local brothel back in the '90's, the door staff weren't terribly discreet.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Agree that Rhoda Grant probably doesn't... And the "consultation" (to which, of course, prostitutes and other who know what they're actually talking about could respond) was written in a very biased manner, imho.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

That's a really interesting link, CharleZee, thanks. Factual rather than politically-driven.

[Jessika1]

"That's a really interesting link, CharleZee, thanks."

If it was a really interesting link why did MNHQ delete it?

[SabrinaMulhollandJjones]

S/he was a troll.

hth

[zeffa101]

Frans1980 - You make some excellent points. I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. In addition, from the perspective of individual liberty, the state should not interfere with what consenting adults do in private whether payment is entailed or otherwise.

[FloraFox]

The punter is howling in the vortex. Frans is long gone.

[SabrinaMulhollandJjones]

zeffa, wow. For someone who 'doesn't care what we think' you're really going for it aren't you?

[SabrinaMulhollandJjones]

DadDancer's on this thread! There's an unpleasant blast from the past.

[insuburbian]

There is a good piece on sexwork by Melissa Farley the American Psychology Association member, (sorry former APA member- she got kicked out following a complaint) that explains why women go into sexwork.

I became a prostitute because . . .

1. I saw Pretty Baby and it reminded me of my stepfather and I thought I could get paid for it.
   

1. I saw Pretty Woman and I liked the clothes.
   

1. I saw a Demi Moore movie and I thought, Wow, what an easy and fun way to make a million dollars.
   

1. I like getting fucked by the football team, the fraternity brothers, and law students at graduation parties. I realized that gang rape could be a transcendental experience.
   

1. I figured that laying on my back and getting fucked by hundreds of men, and getting on my knees and sucking thousands of dicks, was the most profound empowerment a woman could have.
   

1. My vocational counselor and I discussed a whole lot of possibilities: doctor, lawyer, women's-studies teacher, legal secretary. I was offered a four-year scholarship at Stanford, but frankly, prostitution seemed the most rewarding job option available.
   

1. I worship the goddess and she told me, "Fuck mankind." I misunderstood her spiritual message and found myself in lifetime sexual servitude instead.
   

1. I came to appreciate the depth of Hugh Hefner's, Larry Flynt's, and Bob Guccione's understanding of my sexuality.
   

1. My boyfriend wanted me to do it. He said that being part of a stable of whores who worked for him could help me learn how to get along with other women.
   

10. My father wanted me to do it.

11. I met a nice man on alt.sex.prostitution.

12. Camille Paglia told me it was the feminist thing to do.

13. I felt coerced by my landlord, the day-care center, the utility companies, the grocer, my dealer and my plastic surgeons to pay my bills every month.

14. I didn't want to work at Red Lobster.

15. I wanted to be treated like a lady.

16. I went to COYOTE's Halloween extravaganza, the Hookers' Ball, and found out just how glamorous prostitution could be.

17. It's complicated, but I thought that working in the sex industry would increase my self-esteem. It's sort of like saying to the world, "I am the best Grade A ground beef" and being the cow.

18. And then, ya know, even though it all sounded really good, and selling fucks and blow jobs sounded really empowering, I realized that talking about it and writing books defending it would be even more empowering.