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A review by lipsandpalms
Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry by Frederique Delacoste
3.0
The first-person perspective of many of the stories allows great insight into the taboo subject of the oldest profession. It's amazing how many of the sex workers purport to represent the entire industry but how often the perspectives and stories tend to contradict one another.
The reason I'm giving it 3 stars is that I didn't enjoy the "Scarlot Harlot" narratives which were almost every other story in the book. The writing style seems to be embellished or glorified, like the person writing was describing what they thought an empowered sex worker should sound like rather than the actual thing. A sex worker can be empowered, of course, but it didn't feel genuine; almost like I was reading a cheesy detective romance novel.
Some other parts are a bit laughable, like the idea that sex workers should be as revered as medical doctors. I would love to hear some justifications for that perspective. Massage therapist, maybe, but a medical doctor?
The distinction between raping a sex worker and simply not paying them after the sex is difficult to define. The police are not going to enforce prostitution while it is illegal so the sex workers accuse their Johns of rape because payment was a part of the consent. There isn't a clear answer to this dilemma and I hadn't even considered it until this book.
The reason I'm giving it 3 stars is that I didn't enjoy the "Scarlot Harlot" narratives which were almost every other story in the book. The writing style seems to be embellished or glorified, like the person writing was describing what they thought an empowered sex worker should sound like rather than the actual thing. A sex worker can be empowered, of course, but it didn't feel genuine; almost like I was reading a cheesy detective romance novel.
Some other parts are a bit laughable, like the idea that sex workers should be as revered as medical doctors. I would love to hear some justifications for that perspective. Massage therapist, maybe, but a medical doctor?
The distinction between raping a sex worker and simply not paying them after the sex is difficult to define. The police are not going to enforce prostitution while it is illegal so the sex workers accuse their Johns of rape because payment was a part of the consent. There isn't a clear answer to this dilemma and I hadn't even considered it until this book.