How do I feel about still being an escort?
*PLEASE NOTE: I have all but destroyed my archives since 2004 Well, ok, I have "drafted" them, so they cant be seen. I am going through them at the moment, so the content is bleak right now. This post is the only current post showing, and the few others I have chosen to display are from another world, back when I was much different . Several years old are the posts (that didnt sound gramamtically correct-I guess not too much has changed)
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What do I think about being a prostitute(escorting IS prostitution, no matter what certain girls tell themselves to rationalize what they are doing)?
Well first, I try to never define anybody by what they do for a living, therefore, I prefer to say "I work as a prostitute", rather than I AM a prostitute. Not just because of the negative societal stigma that is associated with the word prostitute (and all it entails) but because people are extremely mislead by what the word embodies and entails. So i suppose in a way, yes it does eventually go back to perception That said, my only concern with prostitution is what I feel about it, and it is not in any way shame based for me Thank GOD, as my entire upbringing was shame based, so I certainly don't need anything else in my life to be ;) Who can't relate to a little good old fashion family dysfunction ?
So, how do I feel about "prostituting"? lol Mixed feelings, mainly because I have now been doing it about 4 or so years, and have absolutely nothing to show for it in terms of a savings, etc. I just reread over this old post of mine from 2005, that was featured in Alexa's blog (back when Alexa's blog was awesome and not corporate, etcetera-sorry girl)for her Carnival of Sex series (who writes her blog now, anyway? Sure as heck isn't she). It sucks that since how I felt then, not much has changed in terms of finances, although I have gotten a bit betteralbeit making less money, due to the influx of craigslist hookers charging street hooker prices.
Do I feel shame? no. Do I feel objectified? Not really . Or at least, not in a negative way. Do I feel used,washed up, abused, raped, HELL NO, and if I read one more 'all prostitutes are victims and hate their work' piece by Melissa Farley, PhD of Prostitution Research & Education and her cronies, I will puke.
Taken verbatim from an article citing Farley:
Farley says that prostitution is sexual harassment, rape, battering, verbal
abuse, domestic violence, a racist practice, a violation of human rights,
childhood sexual abuse, a consequence of male domination of women and a
means of
maintaining male domination of women.
"All prostitution
causes
harm to
women," Farley writes.
I am sure Ms Farley truly believes in what she is doing, and for that I commend her However, on her site
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/ for the most part, only references street prostitutes, who by majority, are working for drugs and their pimps and face many risks that the average Independent Escort does not. My problem with sites like Farley's is and with Farley's message, is that she doesn't take the time to research, and more importantly REPORT the other side -the thousands of women like myself who go into this willingly, who find many aspects of it liberating and empowering and who either flat out enjoy what they do, or who simply do not have a problem with it ..
Farley's position is part of the problem and is what helps to perpetuate the stigma of prostitution and forces it underground .
Treatment of prostitutes, namely street prostitutes, would not be as bad, imho, if there were not the societal stigma that is placed upon this profession which associates it with all things negative and BAAAAAD and men are evil parasites who seek to exploit the poor , enslaved hooker I mean what kind of statement is "prostitution is harmful to ALL women" (emphasis mine)? How would she know? Has she polled ALL women? I just can't stomach that type of all or nothing , mind-reading reporting.
So I know I kind of deviated from my initial topic (get used to it, it is my hallmark-heh) but to summarize, I do feel bad that I am still doing this, without anything substantial to show for it. However, in terms of prostitution itself, I couldn't possibly be any more accepting of it in general than I am now -in other words, I think it is swell, lol But I wasn't always ok with the fact that I was ok with the fact...lol I used to think something was wrong with me for being so accepting of it, until I realized one day that it was not ME, it was society (as referenced in another escorts blog, cant think of whom now, but a very poignant post) who was telling me it was bad. Once I was able to shed society's view of prostitution, i was able to be ok with my partaking of it.
I am writing this in a hurry, so I apologize if there is not alot of attention to detail, sentence structure, grammar, articulation,etc...LOL