sex work

Call for Submissions: Whore Lover

by Viviane on 12/03/2008

in sex work

Call for Submissions: Whore Lover (working title)
Deadline: March 4th 2009
Compiled/Edited by Sadie Lune

Whore Lover: Lovers and Partners of Sex Workers Speak
An anthology of non-fiction essays written by the non-paying partners (queer-trans-straight) of sex workers about their experiences and feelings regarding their unique position in the marketplace of love.
From casual dates, to long term relationships, to going down in flames, Whore Lover will explore the personal narratives of people attracted, intimate and in love with those who work in the sex industry.  Present and former lovers and partners of sex workers are encouraged to submit. Whore Lover is looking to represent the stories of a multiplicity of people: people of color, trans, queer, gay, straight, of all ages. Partners in all areas of the sex industry will be featured.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
*Day to day negotiations
*My partner and I turned each other out
* I was a trick and then became a lover
*Loving a Sex Work Celebrity
*My partner’s job turns me on
* My partner’s work inspired me to be a sex work client
* I’m a sex worker and I only date other sex workers
*How I deal with family and friends around my partner’s work
*How I’ve dealt (or not) with my own ego around my partner’s sex work
*My partner switched jobs within the industry and how that worked for us
* My partner’s sex work is a secret from everyone (including me?)
*I broke up with my partner because of sex work

People who have dated/loved/married all variety of sex workers including but not limited to: porn actors, strippers, FBSM/sensual massage providers, street-based workers, tantra providers, erotic body workers, sexual surrogates, escorts, fetish workers, phone-sex workers, pro-Dominants and pro-submissives,  are welcome to submit.

A limited number of interviews are possible to those who are interested in having their voices heard but  feel more comfortable talking than writing. First-time writers definitely welcome. No poetry, please.
Pseudonyms or anonymous submissions are fine and will be honored.
Pieces should be between 1000-7000 words.

Please submit via email attachment (pdf or doc file) to: partnersanthology AT gmail dot com

[via Bound Not Gagged]

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Linkage: 11-20-08

by Viviane on 11/20/2008

in sex

Consider making a holiday donation to the Ali Forney Center, NYC’s homeless shelter for LGBT youth.

Judy McGuide on How Not to handle meeting his parents (CNN)
“The first thing you need to do is get the skinny from your man. What are his parents like? Are they churchgoers? Recovering hippies? Military? You need to know what you’re up against.”

Terry Gross interviewed Dustin Lance Black, the Milk screenwriter
“”In his Hope Speech, Harvey Milk says, ‘There’s that kid in San Antonio, and he heard tonight that a gay man was elected to public office, and that will give him hope.’ And when I first heard that speech, it really did that. It really, really gave me hope, for the first time.”

Lolita Wolf is holding a contest for some great Kink.com swag.

Tomorrow’s Radiolab show is about sperm.
“We turn to the animal kingdom to answer that question, which lands us on a tour of sperm battles in ducks, flying pig sperm, and promiscuous whippoorwills.”

Cory Silverberg tells you how to get silicone lube out of your sheets.

The Smoking Gun on con-jugal visits.

2 NYC council members clash over abortion protest bill (sponsored by Speaker Christine Quinn).

Gothamist on the Ashley Dupre media whirlwind.

Thursday’s Child on Why I won’t be working with EdenFantasys anymore:
“But I won’t be working with them ever again, and if you partner with them, work with them, or buy from them, you might want to take another look at that relationship and make sure that what happened to me isn’t happening to you.”

If you’re in DC this weekend, be sure to attend Cinekink @ The Crucible.

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Linkage: 11-19-08

by Viviane on 11/19/2008

in sex

Sweden removes transvestism and other ‘sexual behaviours’ from list of diseases (Pinknews)
“Some felt that the inclusion of transvestism, sadomasochism, fetishism, fetishistic transvestism, sexual preference disorders and gender identity disorder in young people led to social stigma.”

New law to criminalise men who pay for sex with trafficked women (Guardian)
“Under proposals to be published today by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, a man who pays for sex with a woman who has been trafficked or is under the control of a pimp could face a charge of rape, which carries a potential life sentence.”

Day Without a Gay, December 10, 2008
“On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes.”

Nobody Puts Rebecca in the Corner — Dirty Dancing & the Law (WSJ Law blog)
“In 2005, an appeals court concluded that a Supreme Court case Dallas v. Stanglin closed the door on Rebecca Willis’s claim that her Depot-dancing was constitutionally protected expressive activity.”

My Computer Made Me Gay (Regina Lynn; Tango)
“It all started when I learned about Onyx, a computer game that takes two to six players on a journey of sexual exploration. A sort of Monopoly-meets-spin-the-bottle-in-a-dungeon, Onyx makes the old-fashioned lovers’ card games look like solitaire.”

Pictures automatically attach to e-mail? (Apple Discussions)
“Please help! I took my husband’s i-phone and found a raunchy picture of him attached to an e-mail to a woman in his sent e-mail file (a Yahoo account).”

Soup With Prince (The New Yorker)
“When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ””

Reverse Engineering Google Suggest “No Fly” List (Who is Google Protecting?)
“Given what’s been observed by Amber Rhea and Bacchus, it would seem a fairly reasonable inference that it has something to do with sexuality. It would also seem to have something to do with Google’s concept of “safety”; that is to say, protecting Google from returning search results that people might find offensive. Since as far as we know, Google can only deal with sexuality algorythmically, it would also seem reasonable to investigate at Google’s construct of “safety.””

Twitter Moms Sink Motrin Ad
“A new ad for Motrin, sold by J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, tried to appeal to moms with an attempt at a chatty copy about using Motrin to treat sore muscles that result from a baby carrier. But some members of the target audience were offended, and a flood of scathing items appeared on Twitter.”

eHarmony agrees to provide same-sex matches (AP)
“The California-based company will begin providing same-sex matches under as part of a settlement with New Jersey’s Civil Rights Division”

Prop. 8 hinges on who decides: judges or voters (SFGate)
“The central issue in the legal battle over Proposition 8 is whether the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is a state constitutional amendment, which can be passed by initiative, or a constitutional revision, which can’t.”

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers (SWOP)
“On December 17th, people around the world will be calling attention to hate crimes against sex workers, namely prostitutes.”

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Why Spitzer Should Be Prosecuted (Newsweek)

by Viviane on 11/14/2008

in sex, sexwork

. . . Mr. Garcia’s approach is at odds with a growing global awareness of the harms of prostitution, including its adverse effects on the safety of nonprostituting women as well as those in it. Prosecuting johns does make a difference, as Sweden has discovered. Sweden levies serious legal penalties against johns whom the Swedish law rightly views as predators, while decriminalizing the person being purchased. Since the Swedish law on prostitution was passed in 1999, prostitution there has been reduced by more than 40 percent, according to a conservative estimate by the Swedish police. Women in prostitution are now offered exit services instead of arrest. And trafficking of women for prostitution into Sweden has precipitously declined since the law was passed. Sweden now has the lowest rate of sex trafficking in the European Union.

Mr. Garcia’s serious error reflects the unjust approach of the Justice Department toward the most vulnerable among us. His decision is a gift to human traffickers everywhere. Its message is: men, you can buy a woman for sexual use as long as you’re not caught and as long as she has had her 18th birthday. If by some mistake you get caught, then quit your job, say you’ve sinned, and we’ll give you a get-out-of-jail-free pass.

Opinion: Why Spitzer Should Be Prosecuted | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com.

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Linkage for 11-11-08

by Viviane on 11/11/2008

in sex

Keith Olbermann: Gay marriage — a question of love

If you really need to see more naked Daniel Radcliffe pictures.

Bonni Ramabatan on Orgasms Without Organs

Fifty Years of Popular Songs Condensed Into Single Sentences (via karinalongworth).

“Like Race” Arguments by Janet E. Halley (Google Books, via sexartandpolitics).

slit’s Open letter to white activists on white Left movements and the defeat of prop 8.

Porn stars are the new crossover artists.

Bond Girls Forever: a slideshow of some of Vanity Fair’s fave Bond girls.

Kate Winslet (photographed by Stephen Meisel) channels Catherine Deneuve’s Belle Du Jour character. Screencaps here, here and here.

Vote in Eater’s Hottest Chef’s contest.

Tony Comstock asks, is the Googlebot erotophobic?

News article about a Nigerian ‘baby farm‘

Joe.My.God attended the ‘People’s premiere‘ of Milk.

A bone marrow transplant may have inadvertently led to a new cure for AIDs.

Karen Salmansohn suggests how you can warm up those blue labia this winter.

Via Mistress Matisse, a blog post on the impact of CL charging for erotic services ads in Minneapolis.

Give to $pread’s holiday donation drive.

Women, be careful around Union Square and Crown Heights. Always be aware of who is around you.

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Linkage for 11-10-08

by Viviane on 11/10/2008

in sex

National Prop 8 Protests: Queers United has a listing of Prop 8 protests and rallies around the country.

Bound Not Gagged on the Craigslist erotic services crackdown.

Esquire on DIY porn.

Friday night, Charlie Rose rebroadcast his conversation with the Emanuel brothers (Rahm, Ezekiel & Ari).

11th Feminist Carnival of Sexual Freedom and Autonomy

For Your Nympomation, maker of sex toy cases, now has an affiliate site. If you have a blog, sign up! Vera, the owner,  is on Twitter.

Ren’s open letter to those who voted no on Prop K.

Susannah Breslin is guest blogging at BoingBoing on vaginablogs and sexbots.

Oh no, the Pioneer Theatre has closed.

I was hanging curtains, honest!

The Ira Isaacs trial isn’t over yet. The federal prosecutor asked 50 appellate judges to recuse themselves.

There will be a Prop 8 protest at the Mormon Temple this Wednesday, in NYC.

Fleshbot’s  top 10 celebrity sex tapes.

Something instructional to read on the train: Violet Blue’s the complete ebook guide to sex.

The Steamroller gets off. Motherfucker. Susannah’s BoingBoing post quotes Debauchette.

Ducky Doolittle has always advocated for foster children (having been one herself). She will be writing a memoir and it will be coming out under her real name/ She outs herself .

President-elect Barack Obama will reverse U.S. family-planning and AIDS-prevention strategies that have long linked global funding to anti-abortion and abstinence education.

R.I.P. Miriam Makeba.

Winston Churchill’s mother, Jennie Jerome, was a MILF. (via Sexoteric)

Feministing’s Weekly Feminist Reader.

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San Francisco weighs decriminalizing prostitution (The Associated Press)

by Viviane on 10/22/2008

in sexwork

By EVELYN NIEVES

SAN FRANCISCO AP — In this live-and-let-live town, where medical marijuana clubs do business next to grocery stores and an annual fair celebrates sadomasochism, prostitutes could soon walk the streets without fear of arrest.

San Francisco would become the first major U.S. city to decriminalize prostitution if voters next month approve Proposition K — a measure that forbids local authorities from investigating, arresting or prosecuting anyone for selling sex.

The ballot question technically would not legalize prostitution since state law still prohibits it, but the measure would eliminate the power of local law enforcement officials to go after prostitutes.

Proponents say the measure will free up $11 million the police spend each year arresting prostitutes and allow them to form collectives.

“It will allow workers to organize for our rights and for our safety,” said Patricia West, 22, who said she has been selling sex for about a year by placing ads on the Internet. She moved to San Francisco in May from Texas to work on Proposition K.

more. . .

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Inside Ashley’s Rise From ‘Little Lamb’ To Sex ‘Star’ (New York Post)

by Viviane on 09/22/2008

in sex, sex work

In August 2004, NATALIE McLENNAN was working for and dating now-convicted pimp Jason Itzler when he auditioned and recruited a 19-year-old named Ashley Dupre into his high-end prostitution ring, New York Confidential. In her forthcoming book, “The Price: My Rise and Fall as Natalia, New York’s #1 Escort,” McLennan recalls how she befriended and groomed Ashley – a New Jersey girl with dreams of being the next Mariah Carey – into one of the city’s hottest call girls. In this excerpt, McLennan reveals Dupre’s sex- and drug-fueled days and nights – raking in piles of cash, dancing in clubs and sidling up to celebrities – before she ended up in bed with Gov. Eliot Spitzer and became famous the wrong way.

Link

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Sex Work And Compassion: Panty Tree (Radical Vixen)

by Viviane on 09/10/2008

in sex, sexblogs

. . .Seeing Panty Tree’s vulnerability made me realize the value of my work. I was there to fulfill his fantasy yes. But I was also there to validate him as a person and to validate his desires.

Despite the fetish theme the session felt more like therapy than domination. Over and over PT would ask if it was ok to have a panty fetish. I assured him it was alright. “Am I a bad person for liking panties?” PT asked repeatedly. I told him he was a good person. If he hadn’t been covered in dirty panties I would have hugged him.

I’ve talked to PT several times since this session. Each time he thanks me profusely. I like it when clients say thank you; it’s a nice touch. No one has ever thanked me as many times as Panty Tree has. Originally I was concerned SM and I couldn’t live up to his expectations. But PT has made it very clear that we fulfilled him more than he thought possible. After telling my friend Sera about the session she commented “Wow. You made his life.”

I was struck by how much compassion was in this session. PT needed acceptance and assurance that it was ok to have a dirty panty fetish. He needed to show off in front of someone who was understanding and caring. This session inspired my new series Sex Work And Compassion.

Link

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Casting notice: The Girlfriend Experience

by Viviane on 09/07/2008

in movies, sexwork

I saw this on the Chemistry list and have permission from the casting director to repost this notice. Here’s a post from Cinematical with a little more background.

-Viviane

========

Steven Soderbergh is directing an independent film that will explore expanded ideas of intimacy and relationships and is looking for non-actors to interview to play fictional characters. The drama is set in the world of high-end prostitution. We do not need people who have experience with escorts, but rather people who have a broader sense of a discussion about modern relationships. The roles include, among other things, a client out for a fancy dinner on the town; a heterosexual couple that engages her in a threesome (nudity required); and a man who she ultimately falls in love with outside of her profession. Other roles will include women who share the same occupation as the lead character. Ages range from 28-50.

As the film will be improvised from a detailed outline of the fictional story, there is only an interview to be done in person with the Casting Director Carmen Cuba, and nothing to prepare. She will be in town beginning September 8th and hoping to meet people starting that week. If you are interested in being interviewed, please send a photo and a brief introduction of yourself to gfecastingATgmailDOTcom. Please include your occupation and any of your outside interests.

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Dressing like a harlot isn’t the half of it on Village stroll (The Villager)

by Viviane on 08/22/2008

in sex, transgender

Dressing like a harlot isn’t the half of it on Village stroll

By Laurie Mittelmann

On Staten Island, 20 wigs crowd the public housing unit of transgender model and prostitute Shawn Rachel, 28.

In the West Village on a recent late night/early morning, long, straight black hair, pushed back with Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, framed her face. It matched her “devil” bag: a black leather purse with spikes around the strap, one small remnant from her gothic period.

Thirty blocks south of Fashion Ave., Christopher St. is the runway for transgender divas strutting down sidewalks blowing kisses and hollering at each other, “Hey Sexy, I like what you wearing.” Fashion is their social lubricant and how they embrace female glamour — it’s their key to beauty, self-esteem and money.

Link

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advice for aspiring call girls. (debauchette)

by Viviane on 08/21/2008

in sex work

So, I’ve been getting mail. Maybe you’ve been inspired by Belle de Jour/Secret Diary of a Call Girl, or maybe it’s the media surrounding the Ashley/Spitzer spectacle, or maybe it’s Radar’s recent “Secrets of a Hipster Hooker.” You want to be an upscale escort.

I’m not going to encourage it and I’m not going to discourage it, and I’m pretty sure it’s a crime if I tell you how to do it. But if you’re going to do it, here’s some advice:

1. Know what you’re getting into. There’s a good chance that it’s harder than you think, so it’s best to go in knowing as much as you can.

2. Don’t drink and don’t do drugs. You need to keep your senses sharp, so stay away from any sort of intoxicant during a gig, and don’t develop a habit on your own time.

3. Don’t allow payment to validate, or invalidate, your sense of self-worth. It’s just a transaction for your time. Your sense of self-worth needs to come from another area of your life.

(more. . . ).

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secret diary of a call girl, existential emptiness, and functionally stupid journalists. (debauchette)

by Viviane on 06/17/2008

in media, sexwork

Aren’t we past this, yet? Is this even a question? Are journalists so incompetent, so incapable of carrying out the most basic research, that they can only assume that sex, for us, is intolerable? Or are these journalists really just uninterested in sex themselves and can’t resist transferring their sex-is-gross attitudes to the women who do it by choice? And why aren’t they capable of parsing the differences among sex workers, between those who have financial leverage and those who do not, those who are trafficked and those who act out of choice, those who have options and those who do not, and so on? This isn’t rocket science. This isn’t even advanced sociology.

Link

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links for 2008-06-05

by Viviane on 06/05/2008

in del.icio.us

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links for 2008-06-02

by Viviane on 06/02/2008

in del.icio.us

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