Prostitution

Weblog entries dealing with prostitution issues.

EDITORIALS

Last Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle featured an opinion piece by the eminent Carol Queen, arguing that a more tolerant, humane policy toward prostitution would benefit both the sex workers themselves and society as a whole. In the mid 1990s, a city task force studied the issue and ultimately recommended that prostitution be legalized in San Francisco, but no policy changes followed.
San Francisco Chronicle (Nov 2000)

Patrick Califia-Rice (the writer formerly known as Pat Califia) reviews the controversy over a United Nations treaty banning international trafficking of human beings for forced prostition. In the United States, many liberal feminists have joined with conservatives to criticize the treaty for distinguishing between forced prostitution and the situation of other sex industry workers. The treaty's framers include members of the US Interagency Council on Women, whose honorary head is Hillary Clinton, so the controversy has provided new fodder for right-wing Hillary-haters. Califia-Rice blasts those feminist leaders whose insistence on eradicating prostitution altogether undermines efforts both to combat sexual slavery and to improve the working conditions of poor women in the sex industry. As always, a passionate, articulate polemic from Califia-Rice.
Good Vibrations

INTERVIEWS

Siobhan Brooks interviews prostitutes rights activist Gloria Lockett about her life in the sex industry, the different perspectives of white and black prostitutes, and her work with COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and the California Prostitute Education Project, which counsels street prostitutes on HIV/AIDS prevention.
The Spectator

Phil Martin conducts a fascinating, insightful interview with a former male prostitute in Columbus, Ohio. "Some escorts are just mechanical. It is just about sex. I really get into the romantic side of it. Kissing, making out, and cuddling. I try to approach it in a loving and spiritual way. I can do the other . . . the mechanical stuff, but that is not my strong point."
Columbus Alive Wired

Ron Hogan interviews William Vollmann about his fictional portrayals of prostitutes and the time he's spent with prostitutes in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. "RH: What is it about prostitution and prostitutes that makes them so central to your imagination? - WTV: Well, it just seems that in our materialistic society, prostitutes do openly and nakedly and honestly what all the rest of us have to do in a more hypocritical or obscured way. So I think if we look at them, we can see more clearly what we are."
Beatrice

NEWS

Keith Richburg looks at the changes wrought by legal prostitution in the Netherlands. The country legalized prostitution last year, granting labor rights to prostitutes and subjecting brothels to health and business regulations. "A health inspector might pop by to make sure condoms are available and the sink has running water. The fire inspector can come and check that the narrow stairwell is not blocked. And if an unexpected problem or illness forces Naomi to take time off, she can apply for disability payments or register at the unemployment office."
Washington Post (Jul 2001)

More than 200 sex workers blocked traffic on a New Delhi street to protest a violent police raid on a brothel. The brothel's head reported, "The six-member police team had just one person in uniform. Others were in plain clothes and they wanted to see the girls in my brothel. They took away about Rs one lakh, along with the cash registers with them. Then they paraded the girls in front of them and chose the good-looking ones. When the girls refused to go, the members of the raiding team started beating them up." One sex worker added, "They were behaving like villains in the Hindi movies as they beat up our women."
Times of India (June 2001)

At Las Vegas Weekly, Richard Abowitz looks at the legal brothel business in rural Nevada and updates the renovation of Sheri's Ranch. A retired Las Vegas homicide detective purchased Sheri's Ranch recently with plans to make it a luxury resort, in contrast to the rundown, no-frills shacks which most legal Nevada brothels occupy. Abowitz provides some useful background on the complex regulations governing legal brothels, including a strict ban on advertising.
Las Vegas Weekly (Jun 2001)

King County police have busted the Meditation Station in Bellevue, Washington, which is either a thinly disguised brothel or a religious group which blends spirituality and sex. The Meditation Station's owner was a former employee of the Ultimate Life Church, whose creators were arrested in 1989 and eventually convicted of operating a prostitution ring under the pretext of a tax-exempt church, even though they insisted at trial that their religious beliefs were sincere. . . . I searched for info on the Ultimate Life Church, but found only this excerpted article from a SubGenius discussion group about the 1989 bust.
Seattle Times | SubGenius (Apr 2001)

London police plan to crack down on cards advertising prostitutes in public telephone booths under a new law. One government official said, "Prostitutes' cards are explicit and offensive, can be seen by children, create a bad impression for overseas visitors and can cover up important information such as adverts for the Samaritans and Childline." Hmm, on my visits to London, I've always found those cards tremendously entertaining, an element of local color like red doubledecker buses and cricket at Lord's.
Excite (Apr 2001)

Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman is pushing for stricter regulations on escorts and outcall dancers who do business in the city. He wants required health cards for those workers, like those currently required for food-service workers, health club attendants and others. A city attorney also suggests requiring business licenses. However, Goodman also hints that he might push for legalizing prostitution in Las Vegas if he wins a second term in 2003.
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Apr 2001)

Alabama state legislators discovered to their dismay that a loophole in state law makes prostitution legal outside city limits, such as along rural highways. New legislation in the works would close the loophole.
Athens Daily News (Apr 2001)

According to a BBC radio report, many British female undergraduates are turning to prostitution to pay for college.
Ananova (Apr 2001)

A research study by Marina Barnard published in the British Medical Journal reveals the degree of violence faced by prostitutes, especially those who work on the street. The finding that street prostitution is a very dangerous profession comes as no surprise, but Barnard hopes the study will help promote changes in both legislative policy and social attitudes. This article also explores the more tolerant, enlightened policy toward prostitution in Edinburgh, which includes liaison between prostitutes and police, "discretionary prosecution" and licensed saunas.
The Guardian (Mar 2001)

Indian prostitutes gathered in Calcutta this weekend for a rally and arts festival to demand rights, recognition and better treatment.
Yahoo News (Mar 2001)

In Afghanistan, the fundamentalist Taliban held a public hanging of two female prostitutes before 1000 people in a sport stadium. Several other men and women were lashed and imprisoned for adultery. The article notes the horrific conditions for women in Afghanistan: "Strict rules have been imposed governing the behavior of women, who are required to travel with a male relative and use the burqa to keep themselves hidden from view. Women are not allowed to work, and schools for girls older than 8 years old have been closed."
The Guardian (Feb 2001)

London police raided 52 brothels in Soho in what Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector called the "biggest simultaneous crackdown on brothels and prostitution in this country in recent times."
Ananova (Feb 2001)

French prostitutes are demanding the government help protect their livelihoods against an influx of "younger, fresher" prostitutes from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, many of whom have political refugee status. Jack Boulware also reported on the French prostitutes' protest.
Ananova | Salon (Nov 2000)

A retired police detective has purchased Sheri's Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada, and plans to convert the establishment into the "Bellagio of cathouses". The current site is an expanded mobile home with few frills, but the new management hopes to build a sort of luxury resort brothel. "It's going to have a beauty salon for the girls, and tennis courts, riding stables, a restaurant and overnight facilities for the men -- more of a gentlemen's club," says one manager.
APB News (Nov 2000)

Dan Bell looks at the controversy surrounding a former police officer's purchase of a rural Nevada brothel. The article quotes representatives from opposed feminist positions on prostitution: some opposing all prostitution as exploitation of women, others supporting legalized prostitution because it allows greater health and safety for both prostitutes and clients.
Las Vegas Weekly (Dec 2000)

The New Zealand Parliament has taken the first step toward legalizing prostitution in New Zealand, voting overwhelmingly to send the Prostitution Reform Bill to a select committee.
Ananova

Delegates from eleven Asian countries took part in the first Asian sex workers conference in Bangkok last week. The representatives discussed strategies for improving the lives of prostitutes and other sex workers in Asia, addressing health and safety issues, economic difficulties, political rights and social stigmas. Thai prostitutes rights advocate Chanthavipa Aphisuk said, "During the conference we decided to work together to change people's attitudes and make them realise that sex work is an economic and social issue, not a criminal or moral issue."
Yahoo Asia News (Nov 2000)

James East looks at Bangkok's conflicted attitudes toward the sex trade, brought to the fore by this week's international sex workers conference.
The Straits Times (Nov 2000)

Germany's ruling center-left coalition has announced a groundbreaking proposal to improve working conditions for prostitutes by giving them access to government health care, retirement and even unemployment benefits. The proposed law would also protect brothel operators from legal action, allow prostitutes to sue clients who refused to pay, and end the sex trade's legal designation as "immoral."
Yahoo News (May 2001)

The city of Venice plans to set up red light districts for its prostitutes, where they can operate safely and out of the sight of residents. The plan, proposed by the local council, is to designate special areas for the prostitutes, and send vans to provide condoms, health care and hot coffee.
BBC (Jan 2002)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has raised the possibility of legalizing brothels, outlawed in the country since 1958. The number of prostitutes working the streets in Italian cities has increased, with many women smuggled into the country from eastern Europe and Africa by criminal gangs. Berlusconi says, "Like many Italians, I would be ashamed to walk the streets with my daughters. Maybe we need to open brothels, regulate them." Legalization and regulation would also facilitate a crackdown on trafficking and forced prostitution: "We need to protect these girls, many of whom are in slavery."
BBC (Jan 2002)

Paris police have arrested a British woman for running an enormous, elite prostitution service. "But the wealthy linguist and business graduate being investigated for allegedly supplying girls to film stars and millionaires was born plain Margaret McDonald in Bedford. Scrolling through her laptop computer, French police have discovered the names of 460 suspected prostitutes, 30 of them men. . . . Powerful and famous international clients are beginning to worry that their identities will be disclosed if the case comes to court."
The Times (May 2002)

USA Today looks at hot trends in prostitution front businesses. "Raids by vice squads in California cities in the past two years have hit scores of strip-mall storefronts that display the state license of a healing professional [mostly chiropractors and acupuncturists] as a front for illicit sex. . . . Prostitution rackets also have infiltrated the shops of beauticians, manicurists and barbers. Tanning salons are another favored haunt." (Nov 2002) ~~

FEATURES

The Village Voice has a moving feature article by Alexis Loinaz about juvenile prostitution in New York and efforts to help young girls get off the streets. (Jul 2002)

Emma Trelles explores the dreary world of street prostitution along the Federal Highway in Hollywood, Florida. She hangs around the budget motels and heavily cruised strips trying to interview the prostitutes, who mostly shun her. Trelles also accompanies police officers on a sting operation and talks to rehab workers helping street prostitutes turn their lives around. Great article, compassionate and gritty in equal measure.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach (Feb 2001)

Nesreen Khashan reports on Salt Lake City's new "john school" for men convicted of soliciting prostitutes. While "john school" programs are becoming increasingly common, the Salt Lake City version takes a novel approach. Instead of a one-day event filled with angry harangues, SLC johns attend a ten-week class which "teaches men important lessons in life. They learn how to get along better with their spouses, how to pay more attention to their kids, how to recognize and catch those moments in their behavior when they are inattentive to their loved ones or friends." ... When a "john school" program was proposed in Vancouver in 1996, the Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver (SWAV) vehemently opposed the idea. In these two articles, J. Marlowe of SWAV articulated what's wrong with john schools and dissected the ideology behind the john school movement, which began in San Francisco in the mid 1990s.
Salt Lake City Tribune (Apr 2001) | Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver

Tristan Taormino talks to whore/writer Matt Bernstein Sycamore, editor of the new book Tricks and Treats: Sex Workers Write About Their Clients, who offers tips and etiquette for prospective johns.
Village Voice (Apr 2001)

At the American Prospect, Leah Platt looks at efforts to improve labor rights for sex workers, an issue made more complicated and urgent by the sex industry's increasingly international scope via trafficking, migration and sex tourism. In the second half of the article, Platt advocates legalized prostitution as the best way to improve living and working conditions for sex workers.
American Prospect (June 2001)

hasn't made it onto the Fucked Company message boards yet, but I'm still skeptical. The site currently has two articles about gigolos. In the first, starting with the teaser "Women are paying to have sex with men?!", Dr. Petra Zebroff answers some basic questions about gigolos, their clients and sessions. In the second, real live gigolo Shai Shahar provides an inside account of the business.
Libida (Jun 2001)

Joe Pappalardo visits the red light district of Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town where prostitution is legal in the walled-off neighborhood know as La Zona Rosa or Boys Town. Pappalardo focuses mostly on the Texas men who frequent the district; there's no indication in the article that he spoke to any prostitutes in researching the story. The article is unfocused overall: titillating accounts of sexual come-ons in one paragraph, nostalgia for "coming of age" road trips in the next, anti-prostitution moralizing in the next.
Dallas Observer (Jun 2001)

Jeff Winbush looks at escorts who use the Internet to advertise their services and cut out the middleman. "Personal websites have made escorts independent businesswomen, able to solicit for new clientele and make their own schedules without sharing their profits with an escort agency." This article features first-person accounts by four professional escorts.
Columbus Alive (June 2001)

At Spectator, Veronica Monet offers sympathy for and insights about men gained during her experiences as a courtesan. "I actually entered the sex industry on the verge of becoming a lesbian separatist. I hated men and thought working as a prostitute would afford me the opportunity to take their money while spending as little time as possible in their systems (you know the patriarchy!).... Somewhere along the line, my experiences as a prostitute changed me.... I began to see the men I worked with as clients instead of "tricks." They brought their individuality to me, and it became impossible to continue to adhere to stereotypes. The reality of men impinged on the mythology." With photographs of Monet by frequent Spectator contributor David Steinberg.
Spectator (June 2001)

Rose, author of the wonderful weblog Sex-Geek.com, has posted three pieces about prostitution: an account of her first time, an article she wrote for Penthouse Forum, and an interview-based article about her. All great reads.
Sex-Geek.com

David Holthouse profiles a Denver-based pimp who calls himself Kid Rock and says "there is no finer city for pimpin' than Denver, Colorado." Adds Holthouse:

This glittering nugget of wisdom is a lot more than merely one pimp's opinion. Police say Denver has become the summer destination of choice for traveling pimps and their stables of relatively high-priced hookers, or "circuit girls," who represent a new, different breed from the badly used local crack whores who operate independently of pimps and who used to typify prostitution on Colfax [Avenue]. Circuit girls are younger, flashier-dressed, better organized and less likely to be drug addicts. They're drawn here by two spreading reputations: that of Colfax as a sex-for-sale marketplace in which demand far outstrips supply, and that of Denver as a city with one of the most laissez-faire prostitution laws in the country.

Westword

Seska reviews Turning Pro by Magdalene Meretrix.

Austin Bunn looks at the phenomenon of prostitutes in their 40s, 50s & 60s whose clientele consists primarily of younger men who lust after older women.
Nerve

In a rare first-hand account of a much-discussed subject, Anthony Petkovich discusses his "sex tourism" jaunt through Bangkok, Phnom Penh and rural Cambodia. Petkovich discounts common preconceptions that "sex tourism" in Southeast Asia is all about pedophilia and slavery: "You hear and read stories of physical and mental abuse, of extreme 'slavery' conditions. I'm sure such terrors exist - somewhere in Phnom Penh ... somewhere in Cambodia. But I saw none of it." I really liked this article. Like the best travel writing, it evokes the distinct cultural feel of a foreign locale through unexpected details, without condescension or excessive "exoticizing." Petkovich's tone is somewhat defensive at times, since he knows many readers, even radical sex-positive readers, will be predisposed to consider him naive at best, a total scumbag at worst. But his essay is also thoughtful and unapologeticly sensual, making the case for commercial sex based on kindness, camaraderie and respect regardless of locale.
The Spectator

Shelly Mars investigates the world of lesbian prostitution, a relatively tiny market compared to prostitution aimed at men and one where the ground rules aren't always so clear.
The Position (Jun 2000)

Matt Beer profiles two Internet businesses that publish online guides for sex workers, competing with the adult classifieds that appear in the back of most alternative weekly newspapers. Unlike most adult web sites, Lovings.com and Erosguide.com make money by charging sex workers for ads and photo shoots, then "teasing an online audience by selling provocative free ads, and ultimately delivering the real thing to their front doors."
Business 2.0 (Jun 2000)

Doroth de Castro discusses her life and work as a Rio de Janeiro prostitute, the movement to improve local conditions for prostitutes and her desire to give her children a better life.
future frame (Apr 2000)

Richard Abowitz reviews the new book Brothel by Alexa Albert, who spent several months living at the Mustang Ranch and other legal Nevada brothels to document the lives and subculture of the women who work there.
Las Vegas Weekly

Magdelene Meretrix, author of Turning Pro: A Guide to Sex Work for the Ambitious and the Intrigued has a very cool website devoted to sexwork activism and erotic writing. Wander through the Virtual Prostitution Museum, a remarkable collection of historical essays, photographs and relics; or read Meretrix's own erotic fiction.
Meretrix Online

British prostitutes belonging to the International Union of Sex Workers have voted to embrace the mainstream trade union movement by enlisting with the GMB, Britain’s fourth largest union. (GMB stands for General Municipal Boilermakers, though it actually includes employees from many different industries.) In addition to promoting better pay and working conditions, the union is promising its newly recruited sex workers self-defence classes, free legal advice and exit training for those who feel they might like to change their jobs.
The Times (Mar 2002)

Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura advocated legalizing prostitution in a radio interview this week.
Yahoo (May 2002)

MOVIES

From the archives, spring 1997 to be exact: Greta Christina examined "this weird explosion of movies about sex work", including Striptease, Hustler White, Girl 6, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Showgirls, Mighty Aphrodite and Leaving Las Vegas. "It can be so easy sometimes, when a generally vilified and pitied group of people becomes trendy all of a sudden, to shout huzzahs and wave victory flags and declare that the dastardly cultural oppression is nearing an end. And while I'm certainly happy to see the mass media sinking its collective teeth into the subject of sex work, I'm unconvinced that anybody should be organizing the Defeat of Whore-baiting celebration just yet."
The Spectator (via Fishnet)

Manohla Dargis bemoans the number of >films featuring prostitutes and the dearth of films honestly exploring female sexuality. She criticizes Wayne Wang's new film along the way: "The Center of the World isn't much different from numerous films in which a woman's sexual desire is deviant, pathological and even deadly."
LA Weekly (Apr 2001)

Alistair Highet reviews several recent films about porn stars, prostitutes and strippers, all part of the "Sex Work, or They Work Hard for Their Money" series at Hartford's Real Art Ways theater. Highet explores a question raised by each film in different ways: should sex work be considered empowerment or exploitation or a bit of both?
Hartford Advocate (Mar 2001)