Jezebel: Sex Workers

Cranky Eighteenth-Century Johns Deemed Prostitutes Old, Money-Grubbing, And Illiterate

Charlotte Shane — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:50:00 EST

Harris's List is an 18th century catalog of London prostitutes complete with (real) names, addresses, and descriptions of each, and it proves to me just how much men throughout the ages have loved reviewing prostitutes. They love it today, they loved it 250 years ago, and my guess is that even most Egyptian hieroglyphics and ancient animal cave paintings will one day be recognized as elaborate codes indicating who gave the best BJ in exchange for some fruit. Not that it's all about crude physical congress; Harris's List attests that johns have always valued good education, witty conversation, and pleasant demeanor in their paid companions while frowning upon arrogance and high prices. There's also an astonishing amount of sexism on display with the regular endorsement that if she weren't such a fallen slut, Suzy Hooker would have been a proper lady. ("Notwithstanding the unfortunate bent she has taken;" "if she had not quitted the path of virtue.") More »

The Fight To Advertise Health Care For Sex Workers

Margaret Hartmann — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:37:00 EDT

Ads for a clinic that caters to sex workers are currently running on buses in San Francisco. Though the whole point of the campaign is to show that sex workers are people and they deserve access to health care, the ads were rejected twice for being too raunchy for public consumption. More »

Judge Rules that Taxing Texas Strip Clubs Doesn't Violate Free Speech Rights

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:25:14 EDT

Last month, we reported on the court battle over a law in Texas that requires strip clubs to pay a so-called "pole tax" of $5 per patron. Club owners claimed that since nude dancing is a form of expression, the tax violated their right to free speech and were refusing to pay up. This week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against the club owners. More »

New Law to Clear Prostitution Convictions for Human Trafficking Victims

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:31:00 EDT

As of the beginning of next year, Illinois victims of sex trafficking will have the opportunity to legally expunge their records of convictions related to their being forced into prostitution. More »

Sex, Lies, And Studies: Are Most Men This Way?

Hugo Schwyzer — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:15:00 EDT

The recent Newsweek article on The Growing Demand for Prostitution is leading to some needed and heated discussion about male sexuality. Leslie Bennetts' piece is based on a brand-new study of men who buy sex, and the first shock is how much difficulty the researchers had finding men who didn't pay for sex. More »

Men Who Pay For Sex Also In Debt To Society

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:29:22 EDT

A new report issued by Prostitution Research and Education found that men who pay for sex- including paying prostitutes for sex acts, lap dances at strip clubs, and pornography- tend to commit more crimes and generally act like shitheels at a greater frequency than men who do not buy sex. Researchers found that sex buying men tend to have less empathy for women, among other things- More »

Manhattan Madam Says Strauss-Kahn Was A "Rough" Client

Anna North — Thu, 19 May 2011 09:50:00 EDT

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has officially resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund. And now "Manhattan Madam" Kristin Davis says he was one of her clients — and a rough one at that. More »

Dutch Government To Tax Prostitutes

Sadie Stein — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:13:00 EDT

They've been considering making the move for a few months, but the Dutch tax-man is indeed coming for Amsterdam's prostitutes. More »

Harry Reid Wants To Outlaw Prostitution In Nevada

Irin Carmon — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:59:08 EST

Senator Harry Reid has pissed off numerous people at home with just a few words in a major speech recently: "The time has come for us to outlaw prostitution." More »

A Convenient List of Lady-Friendly Charities

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:50:00 EST

Are you generous? Rich? Both?! Boy, do I have something to show you! More »

Craigslist Can No Longer Help You Get An Erotic Massage Anywhere

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:12:00 EST

Craigslist, which has caught flack in the US for providing users quick access to illegal sexual services, unceremoniously pulled its "Adult Services" section from international versions of the site. Guess back to "Casual Encounters" again for me. More »

Popular Female Sex Worker & Blogger Is Really A Male Pedophile

Anna North — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST

A female sex worker and blogger has been exposed as a middle-aged man — which might not be such a big deal if he hadn't used his fake identity to solicit sex partners and naked photos of minors. More »

More Porn Studios Halt Operations After Performer Tests HIV Positive

Irin Carmon — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:23:00 EDT

Several more porn studios have halted production pending testing to see if the HIV infection reported by one performer has spread, bringing the total to seven studios. More »

Canadian Conservatives Will Appeal Prostitution Ruling

Anna North — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EDT

Conservatives in the Canadian government announced they would appeal an Ontario court's decision to overturn bans on brothels, pimping, and soliciting. Says one official, "There's a lot of victims in that industry and we need to protect them." More »

A Footballer, A Call Girl, And A Whole Lot Of Slut-Shaming

Anna North — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:56:00 EDT

The story of British footballer Wayne Rooney's dalliances with an expensive call girl has everything a truly sordid tabloid tale needs: athletic privilege, slut-shaming, and a whole bunch of racy photos. More »

Fighting Prostitution Through Compassion

Tara Murtha — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:20:00 EDT

This isn't the first time Kristen Simmons (not her real name) has stood before a judge in Philadelphia's criminal court. In the 26 years she's worked as a prostitute, she's been arrested 16 times and served four stints in jail. More »

Sex Workers' Rights Are Rights For All Women

Anna North — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:20:00 EDT

Prostitution is a pretty vexed issue among feminists, but maybe it shouldn't be — as Thierry Schaffauser points out in the Guardian, many freedoms sex workers need for their jobs are the same rights that all women deserve. More »

Women Choose Mates Based On Popular Opinion • 54-Year-Old Woman Gives Birth To Twins

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:40:00 EDT

• When choosing a mate, what do you look for? Maybe a sense of humor, or good looks. Well, according to a recent study, we're also looking for a partner who is wanted. This is called "mate choice copying." More »

Meet The Adult Film Star Not In American Apparel's "Demographic"

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EDT

An American Apparel showroom rep recently informed erotic performer April Flores that plus-size shoppers are not the company's "demographic." Hm, interesting! Now April is talking to us about body image, confidence, and, naturally, shopping. More »

Serial Killers And Sex-Worker Safety

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:00:00 EDT

Police in the UK have arrested a 40-year-old PhD student named Stephen Griffiths in connection with the murder of three prostitutes. Tragically, Griffiths is part of a long line of killers who target sex workers. More »

Caster Semenya Wins "Third World War" • Swimming Pools Closed Because Of Fecal Matter

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:40:00 EDT

• Caster Semenya could return to races in less than a month, according to South Africa's sports minister. Last September, Makhenkesi Stofile declared there would be a "third World War" if Semenya was kept from competing because of her sex. More »

Sex Work, Political Power, Marxism and Hookernomics: A Conversation

Megan Carpentier — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EDT

Melissa Gira Grant is a writer and activist who spoke yesterday at a panel on sex work and feminism at the Civil Liberties and Public Policy's 2010 Reproductive Justice Conference. Before she spoke to them, though, she spoke to me. More »

First Legal Male Prostitute Quits Nevada Brothel

Hortense Smith — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:50:00 EDT

"Markus," the first legal male prostitute in the U.S., has left the Shady Lady Ranch and returned to the world of adult films. Business wasn't exactly booming: he only served 10 customers since starting at the ranch in January. [Newser] More »

Ann Coulter: Hate Crime Victim? • The Joys Of Tickling Dog Balls

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:40:00 EDT

• Ann Coulter says she plans to file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission regarding an email she received from the VP of the University of Ottawa asking her to weigh her words with "respect and civility in mind." More »

The Retirement Home For Old Hookers

Sadie Stein — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EDT

Casa Xochiquetzal is a home for aging sex workers in Mexico City's Merced red light district. But don't call it a retirement community — many of these women are very much part of the workforce! More »

'Love' & Sex

Anna Holmes — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:45:00 EST

The role this tag was made for. "The actress has signed on to play a hooker with a heart of gold...It's (film) is sort of like Erin Brockovich in a brothel." So basically: last century Julia Roberts. [ContactMusic] More »

Command Performance

Anna Holmes — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:10:00 EST

[Kolkata, India; March 3. Image via Getty]

On Men Who Are Jealous Of Call-Girls And Are Not Topher Grace

Sadie Stein — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

...and exotic dancers, or basically anyone whose time they're paying for. In Valentine's Day, this is a cutesy subplot, resolved in the ten minutes it takes for Old People to teach Big Lessons. In real life? Not so much: More »

Manhattan Prosecutors Plan To Argue Away Bisexuality

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:45:00 EST

Manhattan prosecutors plan to call to the stand the supposed fiancé of one of two strippers charged with prostitution in order to refute any defense that involves lesbianism. Because you could never want to screw men and women, right? [UPI] More »

"It Is Her Job To Give Me Pleasure:" The Disturbing Beliefs Of Men Who Visit Prostitutes

Anna North — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST

An international study on why men visit prostitutes revealed some disturbing attitudes about sex trafficking, rape, and the difference between prostitutes and "real women." More »

Calling Bullshit On The "G-Spot Myth" • Strip Club Rivalry Ends In Court

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST

• Yvonne Roberts questions the recent study on the existence of the G-spot in an amazing article for the Guardian. "What constitutes a 'fact' in the scientific analysis of female sexual arousal is far from clear," she writes. More »

Author Of Whore Found Dead

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EDT

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Quebec writer Nelly Arcan was found dead late last night. Arcan, author of Putain, an autobiographical novel about her life as a prostitute, was one of Canada's most important feminist writers. Police are investigating her death as a suicide. [CBC] More »

Missing Persons

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:20:00 EDT

Out of the 255 trafficked sex workers rescued in the UK between 2006 and 2008, a shocking 166 of them have "vanished." Although the missing women refused government aid, they may have been "far too frightened" to accept help. [Telegraph] More »

Pastor Continues To Pray For President's Death • Woman Suffers Gender-Identity Changing Seizures

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EDT

• Arizona pastor Steve Anderson, who, as you'll remember, once dedicated an entire sermon to "Why I hate Barack Obama," now says, "I hope that God strikes Obama with brain cancer so he can die like Ted Kennedy." • More »

Fox 5 Thinks Prostitutes Are Totally Gross

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:40:00 EDT

The Sexist has a great breakdown of this nasty segment on prostitutes prowling the DC streets during broad daylight. The suspected sex workers are not interviewed, but they are shown with their entire bodies, save their high heels, blurred. [TheSexist] More »

Brazilian Prostitutes Model Their Fashion Line

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:40:00 EDT

Last night in Rio, prostitutes modeled the new collection for Daspu, a clothing line designed by prostitutes. "When my hooker girlfriends parade pretty and proud, they are speaking about themselves and become revolutionaries," says founder Gabriela Leite. [Sydney Morning Herald] More »

Her Name Is Rio

Anna Holmes — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:10:00 EDT

[Rio de Janeiro, August 26. Image via Getty]

Report: Sex Workers Prefer To Participate In Research They Understand

Anna North — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:30:00 EDT

A project on sex workers and medical trials found, not surprisingly, that workers preferred to participate in research that was explained to them in terms — and a language — they could understand. More »

Sex Workers Are Different — Similar - The World Over

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:20:00 EDT

Prostitution is often referred to as the world's oldest profession, but it's also one of the most common occupations held by women — and men — throughout the world.

Escort-Addict More Interesting, Less Nauseating Than Expected!

Sadie Stein — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:40:00 EDT

"I have to confess to knowing the truth about this sordid profession - because eight years ago, I succumbed to the lure of paying for sex." And - oh yeah - the lure of being Richard Gere in Pretty Woman. More »