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Diary of a Married Call Girl Reason Online: My conversation with Kerry Howley about seduction, trafficking and the anti-prostitution problem. Am I My Brothel's Keeper? Dip Into Chapter One |
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| Monday, January 30, 2006 Love/Hayt I was taken aback by Elizabeth Hayt's brave, personal discussion in today's New York Post: Love Isn't Always (COLOR) Blind http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/61165.htm Says Hayt: Genuine fears of miscegenation still exist, even in the melting pot of Manhattan... No matter how tolerant and enlightened we believe ourselves to be, a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" moment can trigger unexpected feelings of anxiety. I've had a totally different experience of sex and courtship with respect to color and race -- miscegenation is the norm for people like me and what I fear is its absence. So I was intrigued by Hayt's frank disclosures. This column provides a surprisingly intimate, uncomfortable close-up of a "white chick" from Long Island coming to terms with her true feelings. Worth reading! Sunday, January 29, 2006 Pimp Your What? http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1691589,00.html Katharine Viner's ill-informed, bigoted tirade is entertaining in parts. But her desire to rid the entire pop landscape of words, stories, images and personalities that offend her is reminiscent of China's Cultural Revolution. I can see it now. Ex-hookers who have the nerve to make a living as newspaper columnists might be rounded up, put in re-education camps and forced to walk around wearing embarrassing signs confessing their incorrectness. I don't want to think about what's in store for self-confessed punters. In Viner's perfect world, MTV's "Pimp My Ride" would also be subjected to her "zero tolerance" approach. But a show "which takes people's rusty cars and turns them into vehicles that -- well, look like they belong to a pimp," strikes me as the very essence of eco-friendly ingenuity. (Turning something old and rusty into something spiffy... really quite responsible, no?) If Viner could see past her obsession with prostitution, she would realize that "Pimp My Ride" is really about cars, not pimps. But, if she objects to prostitutes playing an important role in British culture, she might consider much older sources of entertainment. Why has Moll Flanders so often been called "the first English novel" -- and does Viner have a problem with that? Would she like to rewrite the history of her national culture and erase this iconic fictional prostitute from the literary heritage? Where are we going with this?? Saturday, January 28, 2006 Canada: Book Television, Sex-TV Rumor has it that my interview with "The Word This Week" will air on Book Television this Sunday, January 29 at 9 PM. If I got the air date wrong, I'll update! http://www.booktelevision.com/schedule.cfm?forGrid=2006-1-29&gridSchedule=1&monProv=ON And stay tuned for news of Sex-TV at the $pread magazine event! Thursday, January 26, 2006 Cottontail: Not Yet a Kingmaker? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4650788.stm#results Well, Hamas got what the Tories couldn't -- a majority. Independent Palestine party won two seats out of 132. (Better luck next time.) For the next while, Hamas, Fatah and other well-known players will dominate the news. But I think -- hope -- we continue to hear about the various alternative players who won a total of 13 seats in this election. I'm curious to see which party will become the Palestinian "NDP." Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Democracies, Part 2 or Cottontail, the New Kingmaker http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060124.PALESTINE24/TPStory So, Fatah reminds us of the Liberal Party and Hamas has more in common with the Conservatives than we'd expect. Should Independent Palestine (the new party led by Mustafa Barghouti) be compared to Canada's New Democrats?? The sidewalk outside Mustafa Barghouti's campaign office is festooned with proof that his party has no hope of winning this week's election to the Palestinian Legislative Council... As you may recall, Robertson Davies referred to Canada's three main parties as Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. I couldn't help noticing, on the morning of Canada's 39th election, that Jack Layton (leader of the NDP) looked like he was having more fun than Harper OR Martin. (I call this the Cottontail Syndrome.) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060124.PALESTINE24/TPStory "A transformation from one-party rule to a multi-party system," Mr. Barghouti crowed. He was buoyed by surveys that show his party could claim as much as 13 per cent of the popular vote -- up from barely 5 per cent earlier in the campaign -- and win perhaps a dozen seats in the Legislative Council. "There's place for a third alternative between Fatah and Hamas," he added. His third party sounds kind of hip and socially progressive -- Born in Jerusalem in 1954, he leads the new party on a platform of clean government. A physician known throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip for running a health-care think-tank and a pro-democracy lobby group. He ran against Abbas for the Palestinian Authority presidency last year, winning about 20 per cent of the vote... Independent Palestine's campaign platform calls not for armed struggle, but for "popular, non-violent resistance" ... Leading by example, Mr. Barghouti has been detained several times for campaigning in Jerusalem without permission... There are eight women, including Mr. Barghouti's No. 2, journalist Rawia al-Shawa, among its 41 candidates... -- but (like Canada's NDP)they show a clear preference for the party with more political experience: Mr. Barghouti said that if his party does wind up holding the balance of power between the two main parties, it will likely back a Fatah-led government as long as some key reforms are guaranteed. There was no chance his party would throw its weight behind Hamas, he said. -- New Palestinian party could be kingmaker: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060125.PALESTINIANS25/TPStory Democracies I love a Canadian election, the way some people love to watch a horse race. If the US had more political parties, I would enjoy our elections, too. But alas, we're stuck with this boring two-party dinosaur of a system and I just think US elections are, as the great diarist Adrian Mole might have said, "dead boring." I heart the parliamentary circus up north. However, another parliamentary election this week has my attention. While getting up to speed on the post-election malaise currently sweeping across Canada ... (Not sure that was the right verb -- does a malaise sweep or creep? Let's go with sweep for now...) Anyway, while doing so, my attention was drawn to a story far more exciting than Harper's arrival at #24 Sussex. Read this colorful account of today's first Palestinian elections in The Mop & Pail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060125.wpalestine0125/BNStory/International/ The first analogy which leaps to mind when I read this is a Canadian one (my ialics): "Fatah, tainted by corruption after 12 years in power, was asking voters for another chance ... Hamas has focused on clean government..." Fatah, like the Canadian Liberal party, is perceived as moderate, mainstream and, after too many years, corrupt. Both (Fatah; the Liberals) are seen as the safer, more dove-ish choice by self-identifying centrists. Hamas, like the Conservative party, appeals to voters who are offended by corruption. They have other things in common with Harper's Conservatives: Both parties are seen as extremist; religious morality has a place at the table. And both (Hamas; the Conservatives) think it's important to spend money on weapons -- though Hamas has the track record when it comes to this sort of thing. (The Conservatives have floated the idea of expanding a "cash-strapped" Canadian military, but it's not clear whether voters believed the new government would make this a priority.) Can you tell I was rooting for a Liberal government? They may be corrupt; they may be arrogant. And they do need a vacation. But they WILL be BACK. Despite their many vices, the Liberals were born to govern. The CPC exists solely for the purpose of giving the "NGP" a time-out when it starts taking its birthright for granted. Sunday, January 22, 2006 Engaging O'Hearn My interview with James O'Hearn for "Covered & Bound" (CHRY-FM) was a highlight of my Toronto book launch. It's now avaiable on his website, Engaging The Word. http://www.engagingtheword.net/tracyquan.html Stay tuned for some more news about Canadian media. Saturday, January 21, 2006 CKCU, Ottawa's Community Radio Station I have been getting fantastic responses to my interview with Nigel Beale which aired on CKCU in the fall. CKCU (93.1 FM) is Canada's oldest alternative news radio station and Beale is one provocative, funny, surprising host. I will post a more direct link soon, but for now, you can go to: http://www.nigelbeale.com and scroll to January 17 to hear our conversation. Thursday, January 19, 2006 State of the Slogan The art of slogan-making explored in two columns by Alex Richmond of The Trentonian and Ellis Henican at Newsday: Ellis - Jan 14 http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-heni0115,0,6657069.column?coll=ny-news-columnists Alex - Jan 16 http://www.trentonian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15936916&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6 Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Minibrothels are front page news Another perspective on UK law reform in today's Telegraph. (Thank you to Ian Williams ... you know him as The Deadline Pundit but I knew him when... for sending my way.) Mini-brothels get go-ahead to operate on your doorstep: Despite the alarmist headline, this is interesting, surprisingly balanced, coverage. (Links to the sex workers' movement are not what Mother would have expected from The Telegraph, but things are changing.) Go here to get a whole page of news, links and a chance to comment: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/18/npros18.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/18/ixnewstop.html How will the new laws affect your life? Post your comment on the new prostitution laws in the UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=P30&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2006/01/17/blview17.xml If only David Brooks had a shrink like Wendy Kessel! (Big thanks to Charlie Peck, the wariest reader I know, for pointing this out.) "The challenge of political life is to prevent the genuine self from being extinguished by the public image." David Brooks "There's a naive idea that we have a true self and we're doing something wrong whenever we betray that self. But the true self is a problematic ideal." Dr. Wendy --- Did a grown-up really say this?? "As the great Meg Greenfield once observed, prominent Washingtonians have two identities: their genuine self -- the soft, complicated person they once were -- and the public self, the broadly drawn pastiche of positions, poses, party affiliations, life-story clichés and ethnic ties that are presented to voters every few years." Is it not more likely to be the other way around??? Try this: genuine self = broadly drawn pastiche of positions, poses, party affiliations, life-story clichés and ethnic ties public self = soft, complicated person presented to voters every few years (or whenever prominent Washingtonian deems urgent/useful) Sound more like the, uh, real world? Tuesday, January 17, 2006 When the spirit meets the letter New law to allow mini-brothels: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article339175.ece I have been reading about the UK Labour party's latest attempt to reform some very bad, irrational, outdated laws. Of course, the new prostitution law (summarized here in today's Independent) is imperfect -- but most laws are. Especially those regarding work, sex, urban planning or pleasure. What I mean is, they have proposed to change the law which bans two prostitutes from working together. (A maximum of three would be legalized. While this seems puny to extreme liberationists, it would be an improvement -- given that many prostitutes work in pairs.) At the same time, a huge crackdown is proposed for johns who solicit (or get solicited) in their cars. This isn't entirely realistic or fair but many people will see it as a good compromise. The new law is designed to "clean up the streets" in a sexual or social sense -- a dubious and hypocritical plan? Law reform is a painful process. Improvements are accompanied by sell-outs, while deeply unpleasant concepts are discussed openly. I, for one, cannot read this government minister's comment without shuddering: "we need to help them to shop the people who have exploited and trafficked them." (For my US readers, to "shop" someone is to roll over, rat, snitch, inform and, some would say, compromise your soul.) Many prostitutes have gone to jail when faced with the option of squealing. Many believe this is the right thing -- the only thing -- to do. There is something creepy about a system designed to turn prostitutes into informants, especially when this is presented as a form of progress. Turning migrant sex workers into tattling, beleaguered cowards, and then deporting them, is not especially progressive in my view. There is also something insulting about being viewed as a potential informant just because you have sex for money. That said, US politicians are nowhere near having this kind of public conversation about the sex trade. And this new law MIGHT improve the situation for many people working in the UK. -- Back in the US -- New York to be precise -- a different question about the law. A few weeks ago, I ordered my own copy of "Bloomberg by Bloomberg", because I HAD to find out whether the mayor of New York was really the "confessed lawbreaker" I have read about on the TWU website. Roger Toussaint, leader of the Transit Workers Union, addressing the mayor of New York: But what about our conducting an "illegal" strike? What about the law? You are all over the media with high-minded talk about "illegal" behavior, castigating criminals and screaming that no one is above the law. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds... You must hope everyone has forgotten your biography: "Bloomberg on Bloomberg..." I guess illegality is in the eye of the beholder. Naturally, I had to check this out for myself. Did the mayor of New York really boast about getting his company off the ground "all without permission, violating every fire law, building code and union regulation on the books"? On page 59 of this rather schlocky-looking memoir, Mayor Bloomberg admits to all of the above, adding, "it's amazing we didn't burn down some office..." Is this guy mature enough to be running a modern city?? I don't object to the way he started his business. I worry about the lack of discretion about his own past coupled with zero diplomacy. The mayor has a habit of invoking the letter of the law -- maybe he likes the way it sounds, but this isn't how you solve a conflict or make a city run more smoothly. Throughout the transit strike, Bloomberg appeared rather petty -- more concerned with his ego than our welfare. What's really amazing is that Toussaint was so restrained about the page 59 confessions -- he could have made much much more of this but didn't. Preferring, perhaps, to concentrate on the business of getting a contract for his members.. Thursday, January 12, 2006 Required Reading: Letters to the Independent http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article336532.ece Taking on "the unrealistic aspirations of abolitionists" and their "Canute-like belief that they can halt the ingrained commercialisation of sex in our culture with greater police power and campaigns against purchasers of sex." The latest interview... (with Alan Vorda) has just gone up on the Rain Taxi website. I feel quite honored to be in the same (online) issue as Woody Guthrie. How cool is that?? http://www.raintaxi.com -- From each according to her abilities Now preparing for the $pread Reading tonight at Bluestockings, and looking forward to finding out about the subsequent Sex Work Olympics in the Slipper Room. Needless to say, I was not asked to compete. I will report/confess all over the weekend. See you at the Olympics! Or the Reading. Tuesday, January 10, 2006 ~ ~ ~ illuminating the sex industry ~ ~ ~ Thursday will be fun and it's a good cause. Come to the $pread benefit reading at Bluestockings! Or the Afterparty in the Slipper Room. Or both! I have been getting lots of queries about the Sex Work Olympics at the Afterparty. Namely... what will the SW Olympics actually consist of?? I only know that it will be very inclusive of "all sectors" but as to the details, we will just have to attend if we want to find out! When: Thursday evening, Jan 12 Double Event: $pread Coffeehouse Reading (+ Sex Work Olympics at the Afterparty) Admission: Reading $4-8; Afterparty $7-10 **Special discount TBA for attending both events.** 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: A Benefit Reading for $pread Magazine with Shane Luitjens, Audacia Ray, Jo Weldon, Tracy Quan and other $pread writers. Followed by a sizzling discussion. (I will also be signing copies of "Married Call Girl.") Where: Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen St (between Rivington + Stanton), New York, NY 10002 Phone: 1.212.777.6028 Subway: F, V to 2nd Ave ~~~ 9:00 pm - 2:00 am: Afterparty Around the corner, at the Slipper Room, 167 Orchard St (corner of Stanton St.) Sex Work Olympics will feature events to represent all sectors of the sex industry! Dance the night away. DJs spin till 2am. Sunday, January 01, 2006 2006 At eight-forty-five Wednesday morning, January second, 1952, a twenty-year-old girl named Caroline Bender came out of Grand Central Station and headed west and uptown toward Radio City...It was one of those cold, foggy midwinter mornings in New York, the kind that makes you think of lung ailments...On this first week of the new year the annual hiring has just been completed. Three secretaries had left the typing pool... Three new secretaries had been hired to start on Wednesday, the second of January. One of these was Caroline Bender...There was a large centre room with rows of desks for the secretaries, and on the edges of this room were the closed doors of the offices for editors. Tinsel Christmas bells and red bows were still taped to some of the doors, looking bedraggled and sad now that the season was over. -- I'm fond of Rona Jaffe's work and was sorry to hear of her death. My first Rona Jaffe novel was "The Cherry in the Martini" -- overlooked in her Times obit this weekend, and out of print. In 1996, I found a copy of her first novel, The Best of Everything (1958)-- very battered paperback, barely intact -- at a yard sale in Teaneck, New Jersey. I devoured it in one weekend. -- Did you know that Robert Gottlieb, the editor of Jaffe's first book, is also an accomplished collector of plastic handbags? In 1988, he published "A Certain Style: The Art of the Plastic Handbag" -- it's out of print and hard to find but I am a very fortunate recipient of this lovely volume. I was reminded of his handbags while reading his comments about "The Best of Everything" and "Mr Right Is Dead." A certain sensibility. -- And, in 1999, Michelle Tea, author of "Rent Girl," received a Writers' Award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation (which has been supporting emerging writers since 1995.) |