The Las Vegas Courtesan

I got a little hate mail from a woman a few weeks ago which is really my first email of the sort. It brought up some things that I have issues with — how oftentimes police and governmental agencies, special interest groups of all sorts, and even society as a whole place blame on all sex workers for some of the dark sides of humanity. They all want to believe that any sort of prostitution is a bad thing and all prostitutes are to blame for horrible child prostitution and sex trafficking that goes on in the world. The act of prostitution is even compared to a parasite by the author of the email. Furthermore, she says that we (read: sex workers) are selling ALL of women’s sexuality. Really? I don’t remember forcing or imposing myself, my personal choices, and my occupation on any other women in this world or anyone else, for that matter. My existence in the sex industry does not mean that I am hurting or damaging fellow females, to say nothing of the other horrible criminal acts she mentions. In fact, I see it as quite the opposite. I am doing something that they do not want to do and I am not imposing myself on anyone and their sexual lives. Just because some husbands or partners decide to see a sex worker does not make me guilty of forcing them to call an escort agency or meet a working girl in a bar. They act in their own freewill and do as they please as a rational human searching for something they feel like they lack in their own private lives.

As far as the “parasite of human trafficking and forced prostitution” goes, you can only blame those who try to abuse the system and the girls and boys that they affect. To say someone like myself is somehow guilty by association of trade is not only terribly offensive, it is just illogical and plain wrong. This same sort of blame could be placed on a lot of other industries, but it’s usually forgotten or not done.  Let’s take, for example, the sneaker or shoe making market. There are people who consider themselves masters of this trade, true craftsmen, and sell their product to the general public. Just because this cobbler makes shoes ethically while there are children forced to work in factories in many countries for pennies a day to make similar shoes (for large U.S. corporations at times, no less,) you can not place blame on the cobbler for his trade having a dark side by greedy people who want to make money at the hands of those children or even underpaid workers. It would be completely ludicrous to blame the local shoe repair guy for indirectly “encouraging” the inhumanity going on in some countries. It’s the same with prostitution. You can’t blame a local sex worker for the greedy and inhumane practices that these criminals are known for, but this is all you see in the news or in the papers. Our society is heavily biased against prostitutes to the point of dehumanizing us, and the people writing the “news” articles or “reporting” on television are themselves very often biased just like most of the rest of our culture.  It’s so commonplace and accepted as “okay,” it seems sometimes that sex workers are the last “special interest group” in the United States that is still – daily – dehumanized in the media and not treated with the same care as every other group that gets coddled to.  Just think about it for a minute before you make up your mind if I am right or wrong – when was the last positive news article you read or television “exposé” you watched that was not heavily slanted? The government convinces everyone that the sex industry is only filled with bad people and abusers of fellow humans to make a buck and if it isn’t the government it’s people like this allegedly “pro-women” person who is attacking another woman.  They never point out the good people or the educated women making a decision for themselves to make a business out of pleasure. It all gets twisted into us selling our bodies like we sold ourselves to the devil unintentionally or someone forced us to do it because we are powerless – helpless, even. We can and have made up our own minds, and of our own accord, to be in this industry. We are not selling the sexuality of other women because that is their own decision to make. Our job doesn’t influence them just like their desk job at a corporation doesn’t influence me.  I think we need to stop pointing the finger at the profession and point them at the true criminals.

I have never seen anything of the sort since becoming a sex worker, but in case you ever doubted, let me make this point very clear: if I EVER come across criminal activity involving children in any shape or form, and in particular prostitution, I will be the first person to report it to the authorities.  That makes me sick.

Here’s this woman’s original email:

Beyond your cute “ha ha prostitution is such a crazy gig!!” blog entries, I have no doubt that underneath it you know that what you do is hideous. Making a buck for yourself off of how lucrative women’s bodies are in this world?   Besides the obvious issue of the parasite human trafficking/forced prostitution industries that will always follow that lucrativeness, there are lots of intelligent women who understand that what you are really selling is all women’s sexuality. And we don’t appreciate it one bit. While all of us have to put up with the consequences of our bodies being commodities (a concept you wholly endorse and encourage by being a hooker) we kind of really disdain women who, as I said, use that damaging image to make few bucks for themselves, selling what is not theirs to sell.  It’s very selfish and frankly, very ignorant of you.

Since I was down for the count this past 4th of July weekend, I sat down today to try and think about points I haven’t covered here that might seem interesting or that people may have a question about. I turned to my Twitter followers to help me out with any questions they might have. I know a lot of people have trended to use the formspring site, but I know a lot of people who find it annoying and hard to read plus not everyone is on Twitter!

Q: I don’t think you’ve covered anal? Do it? Do most girls? What’s the going rate?

I have had a few clients ask me this request, usually while snickering on the phone trying to use code words like “Greek”, so it’s hard to sometimes take them seriously. I have never actually gone through a session where a client paid for it, nor have I witnessed a girl performing anal with a client in the same room. In fact, if anal does occur amongst other girls I work with I never hear about it actually happening. I know most girls would charge quite a large fee for it since its dangerous, takes time to “warm up”, oh… and it’s dangerous! I think it would take a lot of trust between the girl and the client for this to happen since the girl would have less control and would want to make sure the client respects them and their comfort level. It’s hard for all of these things to come into place, plus be taken care of for the time consuming service. Like I’ve said before, I don’t really have regulars, so the people that I do see are meeting me for the first time. It’s hard to get a feel for someone on a first visit. I know that girls elsewhere who see clients locally and who have more regulars seem to offer this service more than here in the tourist-driven town of Las Vegas.

Q: Is your job hard or dangerous sometimes?

I think I’ve mentioned briefly before that bad calls (or even physically violent calls) are quite rare. With experience it becomes easier to read people to see if a call is going down a bad path and to avoid it by adjusting my attitude or making sure the other girl/girls on the call aren’t causing problems. It seems with the downturn of the economy most phone girls have adjusted their attitudes, as well, and have become more understanding of issues on calls where it seems almost impossible to get the agency fee. They tend to speak more truthfully on the phone to the clients now (their vagueness had gotten pretty bad, at one point) and are even more lenient on knocking money off the fee to ensure that we will end up making something. I have to say that is one positive thing that has come out of the sluggish economy: being able to negotiate fees and be a little more cautious before checking in on a call. This has also made bad calls drop.

Have any more questions? Feel free to ask! I definitely want to go more into how I got into the business but have come to realize that is going to take a few entries to do and some real personal reflection on what was going through my mind at the time. Either way, leave questions here or never be afraid to shoot me one here

Really? Does the county really have that much time and spare tax dollars to deal with cracking down on this?

This has been going on for a while now in the news first with an article back in April and now with another man who has been denied a license to operate – literally next to the the Green Door – is suing the county for damages of $75,000. He states the county rejected his license over the 45 day approval period and that they are enforcing their codes with discrimination since there are obviously other businesses in the same complex operating with similar licenses.

With the first story I was glad that the manager of the Power Exchange is trying to fight the legislation that says that these clubs are a public nuisance. The man involved in the second story unfortunately I think has quite a fight against the county. First of all,  he could have waited to start his improvements to the aging building  until after his license was approved, but also at the same time there shouldn’t have been an issue since this unit originally housed the Green Door and was using the same licenses as other clubs in the area. Secondly, I think there is discrimination all the time with the county and how they enforce their codes and giving one business favor against another and then claiming the reason why the Green Door is still in business is because they haven’t caught them “in the act”. Really? Either way I don’t think that these clubs should be harassed so much, and see no issue with the businesses being in operation since they generally promote safe sex practices and provide a safe way for people to explore their sexuality (each room usually had a monitor of some sort to make sure no one is being forced or uninvited into a sexual act.)

In the end what makes me really mad is the statement of the law saying that sex clubs are a “public nuisance.”  I could think of a lot more things in this city that are a public nuisance than these clubs. If you go to the East Sahara Commercial Center that is mentioned, and where a lot of the clubs are located, you will never see people outside causing a problem nor will you hear loud music or noise coming from the clubs. People aren’t running around outside wearing leather and chains, screaming, and having sex either (though that sounds kind of fun!)  So really what defines these places as being so bothersome?? I have also never seen the cops called out to these places or acts of vandalism occurring outside, but where I have seen a lot of these problems are at the “spa clubs” and parlors that I talked about in this entry I wrote. I know of a a few agencies not too far from these clubs and the cops are called out several times a night due to clients being angry and violent, pulling out guns, or these places being robbed. I have also witnessed damage to the building/windows of these places due to drive-by brick or stone throwing most likely caused by clients or other rival clubs. These places definitely ARE a public nuisance and only make my job as a sex worker in Las Vegas more difficult. I constantly have to prove myself to the men who are ripped off by these joints that I am different and will provide a service, not a hand and ear massage.

Like a reader said in one of the comments on the Las Vegas Sun, Sin City is turning into the place where tourists come to get ripped off and giving our town a bad name. The county commission is once again trying to make Las Vegas into a kind of Disneyland, just like Vegas tried in the early 90′s – an attempt that failed miserably. I think the commission should do their job and find the real public nuisances of our town – the places that are ripping tourists off – not crack down on the sex clubs which are clearly not ripping anyone off or forcing anyone to do something against their own will. Those patrons are all 100% consenting adults exploring the sexuality, which, like it or not Clark County Commission, is one huge reason people come to Las Vegas. Give Las Vegas the sin it deserves and is known for or there is no reason for the tourists to keep coming back. It definitely makes my job a lot harder if no one comes here.

I had said something on my Twitter feed a while back that I was shocked to learn after so many years, the typically used condom by most working girls I know, had changed. I didn’t think anything of it when I made my bi-monthly stop into Costco and loaded up 5+ boxes of the condoms into my cart and saw the yellow notice, “Now with improved lube!” Let me tell you of the odd looks I get at Costco. Flats of water, laundry detergent, house cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and a slew of Trojan condom boxes laying on top of everything (since it’s the last isle before checkout). Too bad they don’t have one of those pump style lube bottles in there because I would get that too!

So I got to a newer box finally and was on a call. I opened up the condom and immediately noticed not only is the lube different but the latex is as well. I always get the thickest condoms (along with most other girls here) for obvious reasons, and hated to see that the latex seemed thinner and more transparent. The good thing about the new lube is it doesn’t taste nasty any more. The previous version was covered in slimy sticky sweetness that I wiped off every time, which sometimes still didn’t get rid of it all. Now I am just worried about the thickness of the condoms. It doesn’t seem super thin but I hate a change in something I’ve come to trust for years! Misleading packaging for sure, but there isn’t another brand I would switch to that I would trust the same.

I got to venture out this past weekend to show up for the art show that was being put on by graduate student Lauren McCubbin and then wrote a guest blog for Richard Abowitz’s new site. Here’s another shot from the show since I can show more nudity on my site than his   (though I think pasties make it safe!)

So the last entry where I posted an item of what you shouldn’t do with an escort I jokingly said #34. I guess this time I will actually count them in order!

Reason #2: Don’t have your kid in the same room when calling an escort.

Yes, as shocking as it may be, there are idiotic parents who have actually called for a hooker while their child sleeps in the next bed. This has happened to me at least three times in 4-5 years. In fact I think I have had LESS father/older virgin son duos than people who have young children in the room.

One time was a few years ago when a couple called at Excalibur. I went and when I walked in I noticed there was some sort of fort of pillows between the bed they sat on and the next one over. I realized that a little boy and girl between 3-7 yrs old were sleeping in their pajamas behind that fort. I gasped and said, “are those your children?” and they replied “yes” and started muttering some excuse of how they won’t wake. I said there is no way I am endangering myself or them by staying here. I felt like going off on the couple and giving them a piece of my mind to even THINK of doing such a thing but I shut my mouth and left.

There was one other time in between that call and the latest one but it doesn’t exactly come to mind. The latest call was a man who was staying way out on the north side in a La Quinta. When its a good 25 minute one way drive to a hotel from the Strip girls always like for it to be worth the drive and not a waste. I arrived only knowing the previous girl didn’t match the description he gave. The man answered the door and immediately shooshed me and asked if we can talk in the hall. I never talk in hallways just because … well it’s not private. So we stepped back inside where he informs me to keep it down since his 5 yr old daughter is sleeping on the couch in the pitch black room. Yet again I am just as shocked as I was in the previous incident … I said I absolutely will not stay. I would be thrown *under* a jail somewhere if a law enforcement official caught wind of what was going on. What ticked me off even more was the guy lied and said to the previous girl that the daughter was in the next room (like an adjoining suite) but in fact.. she was just on the couch in the same room.

I am sure plenty of other people will be shocked just as I was… parents are sometimes astonishing.