>But I am a cop. (A cop who thinks some people
>have delusional beliefs about strippers.)
And who can't be bothered to look for info that might tell you something more than what you just assume.
>Sex Work Isn't a Euphemism:
>Don't Patronize Me
>
>I'd like to get something off my chest - something besides my top.
>
>I'm hypersensitive to negative stereotypes about
>strippers and other sex workers. They really get on my nerves
>I've mentioned many times that one shouldn't
>enter this profession without definite
>boundaries and a strong sense of self. I haven't
>gone point by point, enumerating the potential
>hazards inherent (or maybe not) to the business,
>for a reason: for the most part, that's all
>anyone ever hears about. Far from never
>considering the dangers of sex work, society
>assumes them. My writings and
>feministstripper.com came about in answer to the
>glaring lack of positive representations of strippers and our work.
>1977 - 1979
>Better End All Vicious Erotic Repression (BEAVER)
>Founder: Baba Yaga (Margaret Spore)
>
>Inspired by COYOTE, the San Francisco
>prostitutes' rights group, BEAVER was the first
>sex workers' rights group (made up mainly of
>strippers) in Canada. With the help of other
>people in the biz, including Gwendolyn and
>Maxien, Baba Yaga brought the sex workers'
>rights perspective to the public for the first
>time. BEAVER was eager to build bridges with feminists.
>Recently, I taught a workshop about Sacred
>Prostitution and most of the women who attended
>were providers. A male friend who attended too
>said something completely inane – these women
>wouldn’t stand a chance at hooking up with men
>if they weren’t charging for their services. On
>some level, I kind of knew what he was trying to
>say. Most of these women appeared as less than
>sexy that particular day. But tell me this, how
>is it that anyone would be able to charge for
>something they couldn’t give away? That is NOT
>logical. Further, he exhibited an all too
>typical assumption on the part of client types –
>thinking sex workers look like they do on the job – all the time.
>
>It reminds me of the young lesbian strippers who
>told me tales of being worshipped and adored
>while wearing wigs and make-up only to be spat
>upon on, on their way home from the strip club –
>unrecognizable to their clients with their short
>hair, scrubbed faces and piercings.
>
>It isn’t the first time I have witnessed such a
>superficial and patriarchal view of sex workers.