Wendy Lyon wrote:
>Prostitutes can and do choose NOT to sleep with some of the people who
>seek their services. It seems to me, Joanna, that you are either
>unaware of this fact, or else you are using a tautological definition
>of 'prostitution' to which the word 'volunteer' can NEVER apply.
>
I think there are many kinds of prostitutes as there are many kinds of
workers. A knowledgeable friend tells me that ten thousand a week for a
"high-class" call girl/escort from one customer is common. Balzac and
Colette described the lives of such in the nineteenth/twentieth century.
"Cheri" and "Last of Cheri" are two of my favorite books; I recommend them.
Also, listening to the interviews Doug pointed us to and looking at the Spread articles, helped clarify that sex work includes a lot of stuff -- erotic massage, stripping, dancing -- as well as the classic suck and fuck. Nevertheless, I want to insist that prostitution right now includes the forcible prostitution of children and women, and that for many sex workers, there is no choice.
It is true that the working conditions of prostitutes do not differ (in terms of hazard and pay) from the working conditions of a lot of other low income/low class workers, but if you're going to make that comparison, you can simply not talk about the liberatory nature of prostitution.
Joanna
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