Posted by TJResearcher on April 22, 2001 at 22:25:41:
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Want to form a book of the month club? :) My mom gave me this book for my birthday, and after starting it today, I just know there are many of you out there who would LOVE this book. It’s a fun to read collection of short essays written by women in the sex industry, and one of the best I’ve picked up all year. SEX WORK: WRITINGS BY WOMEN IN THE SEX INDUSTRY, 2nd edition. Quote from the Introduction: “This new edition of SEX WORK comes more than a decade after the book’s original publication – and just in time to celebrate the discovery of what is believed to be the oldest known brothel. The two-thousand-year-old structure is believed to have been frequented by male clients who came to enjoy services from both male and female sex workers. The brothel, steamrooms, marble baths, and swimming pools are thought to be part of a large complex dedicated to the pursuit of physical pleasure, and were found replete with comedy and tragedy masks – Aristophanes’ plays were set in brothels – clay dildos, offerings to Aphrodite, and all manner of erotic paraphernalia. This discovery reminds us of a time when sexuality )albeit male sexuality) was seen as important enough to make its setting public, comfortable, a place of community, a place where conversations could take place, where the arts could be enjoyed alongside more private pleasures, should at least provide a fertile context in which to read this extraordinary collection. In 1987, SEX WORK sought to create a space where “prostitution” was not automatically understood as a metaphor for self-exploitation; in fact, after publication of SEX WORK, “sex work” became the preferred term – among progressive feminists, academics, and the workers themselves. The book appeared at a time when the feminist movement was embroiled in a profound split, dividing those women who wanted to explore the complexities of sexual desire and those who condemned such exploration as a treasonous and antifeminist assimilation of men’s objectification of women… In editing this second edition of SEX WORK, Priscilla Alexander and I have chosen to retain the original stories of the women whose trust can be felt on every page of this book. In the mid-eighties, that trust was most often met with either complete silence or an analysis that labeled all sex workers as victims… Part I, “In the Life”, features the stories of street prostitutes, exotic dancers, nude models, escorts, porn actresses, and workers in massage parlors – speaking for themselves. Part II, “Feminism and the Whore Stigma,” considers the whore stigma in the context of racism, classism, anti-Semitism and the culture of chastity, and the relationship of sex work to feminism, lesbianism, and other progressive politics… Part III, “United We Stand, Divided We Die: Sex Workers Organized,” retains the original documents of organizations like COYOTE, The Red Thread, US PROstitutes, and others. Priscilla Alexander’s introduction, “The International Sex Workers Rights Movement” updates the history of these and other sex workers’ rights organizations. New for this edition is a resource section, which includes information on a number of activist organizations and publications, many of them just a web click away. The bibliography has also been completely revised to reflect a decade’s worth of writing and publishing on sex work. This book is about sex, and how shameful and perverted sex has become in our collective psyche – how we have lost respect for pleasure and respect for those who know about it, all in the name of “morality.” This book is also about money and workers’ rights, and its about women. Women have have voices and a great deal to say about our culture, women whose words cut through the discourse and tell the truth about their lives, and ours.” |
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