Secret Conversations

In a conversation with some family friends this weekend, she picked up an SF weekly and started looking at the escort ads pictured there. A shame that they go so low and allow their bodies to be degraded like that, exc... the same old shame story. I was shocked into silence and wondered how I could defend these girls without attracting attention, without making waves or revealing my secret.

I stayed silent for many moments, judging the hostility of the room. Mostly, they just pitied these women because they assumed their lives were filled with abuse and debasement, that they were not in control. It really is a shame, I confessed truthfully, because the occupation has honorable roots: the temple harlots and priestesses. And it wasn't until patriarchal religions took over that the practice was looked down upon. In this culture, it is not seen honorably, and hardly practiced so either.

Oh, it was a wonderful reaction! Part puzzlement, part agreement. I realized something in that moment too: that as an occupation, we've got some major PR to do if we'd ever want it legalized. These weren't old conservatives, but modern feminist women.

(This was originally posted on 28 June 2010, on my old blog.)

#legalization #sexwork #sacredsex