Dear David,
Firstly, there are a few things to consider when looking at statistics around sexual lifestyles and occupations. Take as an example a recent international sex survey, a portion of which addressed the libidinous habits of the ageing. The collected information suggested that seniors are very active, but further investigation (a skill you can learn a lot about as it pertains to surveys and statistics by visiting Dr. Petra Boynton’s Web site www.drpetra.co.uk) shows “seniors” were grouped as people 40 and up. This generous definition would certainly skew results, wouldn’t you agree?
Along with other conflicting factors such as combined results, didn’t it also turn out that the whole thing was sponsored by Pfizer, a company with a multibajillion-dollar interest in maintaining public discourse around seniors and sexuality. It’s not unusual for large drug companies to finance surveys, but when looking to the results for a neutral or complete picture, ask yourself who is subsidizing, why and what were their methods. How did they gather their numbers? How were people recruited? Did they interview people from a variety of communities or just one? Numbers often provide an inadequate story, and though sexual statistics like the Kinsey Report have certainly been helpful in opening up discussion around sex, it feels to me we should be past revelations like, “such and such percent of the population has done some form of sex work” and onto a more multifaceted model of insight.
You’ll likely find personal accounts of whoring more expressive. There are so many intricacies tied into peoples’ experiences in this work and it’s important to get the bigger picture before you form an opinion, bearing in mind that women with the more interesting stories to tell are the ones with the more interesting stories to sell. Diary items such as “Ate a doughnut, gave a handjob and watched some TV” do not get you six-figure book deals or 2,000 hits a day on your blog.
You will discover, though, that there are countless reasons why women get into this business and there are countless reasons why men use prostitutes. Paying For It, edited by Greta Christina, contains some excellent essays culled from a wide range of sex workers written specifically with the potential (or heedless) client in mind. Another book that never fails to fascinate me for its extensive historical scope is Whores in History by Nickie Roberts (out of print, but available on Amazon). Belle de Jour (http://belledejour-uk.blogspot.com) is no longer working but go into her archives and you will find some witheringly clever observations on her career as a call girl, along with links to other good whore blogs. You may also enjoy Naked Ambition, edited by Carly Milne, which, while not dealing specifically with prostitution, is a collection of essays by women in many aspects of the sex industry. To correspond with clients, you can access message boards like MERB (The Montreal Escort Review Board). Toronto-based www.sex-work.org provides information about all aspects of the trade, and you will find some statistics, along with international hooker news, at www.bayswan.org.
“Quite a while ago, a woman wrote in about her problems with vulvar vestibulitis. I have been suffering from this condition for almost a year now, and I know that in answer to her, you referred her to the Vulvar Support Group on YahooGroups. Thank you so much for this. You have no idea how much reading that one message and joining that group helped me. I have decided to start my own Canadian version of the group. This will allow Canadian women to share their own stories about the medical system in Canada and how to navigate treatments. It is at: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vulvarpaincanada.”
