'Whore College' Offers Hands-On Training

[Shockeye]

'Whore College' Offers Hands-On Training

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer Fri May 6, 8:35 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - The 25 students in jeans and T-shirts could have been in any career that requires hustle. The classes, covering topics such as effective marketing, stress reduction and legal issues, could have been part of any professional development seminar.

But this was "Whore College," and any illusion it was just another corporate how-to for young go-getters abruptly ended at the sex toy display and was stripped away for good during a graphic demonstration that put a whole new twist on the concept of hands-on training.

"We are still illegal," instructor Kimberlee Cline said before her 20-minute demonstration. "If we want to be treated as business professionals, we need to act ethically within the industry."

Presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival, the class Wednesday at an erotic art gallery was billed as away for working girls and guys to polish their skills in a supportive atmosphere.

It was the first time the biennial festival, begun in 1999 to showcase films about and by sex workers, included a session devoted to how to maintain a satisfying career.

Although famously permissive San Francisco has long been a hotbed for prostitutes' rights activism, the school reflects the movement's maturation away from a focus on decriminalization toward a broader agenda that includes occupational health and safety and community-building, said organizer Carol Leigh.

Other cities, including Tucson, Ariz., Portland, Ore., Montreal and Taipei, Taiwan, have similar events, said Leigh, a veteran activist who takes credit for coining the term "sex worker" as an anti-euphemism.

By light of day, the women and men of the night swapped tips, argued over personal grooming choices and heard from others considered experts in their field. Many of the attendees said they were motivated as much by the networking opportunity and doing what they could to normalize the world's oldest profession as furthering their education. During Cline's workshop, for example, some in the audience skimmed magazines and chatted despite the carnal knowledge unfolding in front of them.

Participants who stuck it out for the whole day received diplomas certifying them as G.S.W's — graduates in sex work.

Several students went to lengths to explain that they see themselves as inheritors of a proud tradition — specialists with a choice instead of exploited victims. Sporting nary a stiletto heel among them, their expressed reasons for turning to sex work — an umbrella term that encompasses everything from exotic dancing and acting in pornographic films to turning tricks — were as varied as their hair colors and body types.

"My own personal experience has been negative and positive, as with any job," said Kymberly Cutter, 36, a mother of two from Tucson who returned to prostitution two years ago to boost her income and regards it as part of a journey in "personal self-discovery." Her children, ages 7 and 9, know what she does for a living, she said.

The more shadowy aspects of the profession were covered in the curriculum. Lawyer Erin Crane explained that accepting money for a specific sex act could land someone in jail, but she repeated several times she couldn't advise anyone on how to break the law.

Students practiced using assertive screaming for self-defense and they were told how to assess dangerous situations, and how to break free from an assailant's grasp.

Erin O'Bryn, 36, who has appeared on adult television networks, worked in massage parlors, owned an escort referral service and last year ran for Congress in Hawaii, said wearing a power suit and good heels dissuades clients from thinking they can take advantage of her.

"Sex work is work. Prostitution is work," Leigh said. "The most important thing is that we are diverse. Some are on the streets and in a very desperate situation. Others are in a working-class situation and maybe bored in their jobs. And others see sex work as their calling."

I wonder if there's financial aid available.

[Paelos]

"My own personal experience has been negative and positive, as with any job," said Kymberly Cutter, 36, a mother of two from Tucson who returned to prostitution two years ago to boost her income and regards it as part of a journey in "personal self-discovery." Her children, ages 7 and 9, know what she does for a living, she said.

I hope she puts that extra income in a fund for her children's future mental health professionals.

[WayAbvPar]

Now that is someplace I could see myself volunteering for experimental procedures.

[Samwise]

Now that is someplace I could see myself volunteering for experimental procedures.

I dunno - remember, this is San Francisco.  "Experimental" can translate to "incredibly painful" in some circles.

[WayAbvPar]

Good point...having an unpleasant 'Eurotrip' flashback.

[HaemishM]

TIME FOR WUNDERSEX!

[SurfD]

Dont forget the secret word :P

[schild]

BRING OUT THE FLUGEN!

[voodoolily]

Ugh. It is so annoying when sex workers think that sex makes them powerful. It's like Henry Rollins said: you think you're so powerful, but where would you be without that bouncer at the end of the stage? Prostitutes get raped and killed all the time. Many sex workers, if not most, are drug-addicted and STD-infected. And the percentage of those that were sexually abused as children is staggering. SO not glamorous. Just because you're used to getting fucked by people who shouldn't be fucking you doesn't mean that you have to do it for the rest of your career!

[Strazos]

Many sex workers, if not most, are drug-addicted and STD-infected.

Amsterdam's Red Light District is the exception, as I understand things.

Well, as far as the STD thing goes, anyway. Weed still counts as a drug I suppose.

[Trippy]

Many sex workers, if not most, are drug-addicted and STD-infected.

Amsterdam's Red Light District is the exception, as I understand things.

Well, as far as the STD thing goes, anyway. Weed still counts as a drug I suppose.

So is Nevada (in the parts where prostitution is legal). Funny how making something like that legal and then regulating it fixes those kinds of problems...

[Mortriden]

Many sex workers, if not most, are drug-addicted and STD-infected.

Amsterdam's Red Light District is the exception, as I understand things.

Well, as far as the STD thing goes, anyway. Weed still counts as a drug I suppose.

So is Nevada (in the parts where prostitution is legal). Funny how making something like that legal and then regulating it fixes those kinds of problems...

And then taxing the shit out of it to increase revenue.

[voodoolily]

Even when it's regulated (and god bless the jurisdictions that do), I think it's sad that some women grow up thinking that all they're good for is getting fucked. 

[Pococurante]

/shrug

Isn't that what freedom and the pursuit of happiness is all about?  At the end of the most of us have made a similar decision, just less sticky stuff. :-(

[Samwise]

I don't think it's any sadder than people growing up to think all they're good for is being fashion models.  

Being paid better doesn't make you any less of an object.  It just makes you a more expensive one.

(edit) And like Poco was sort of driving at, almost any career "objectifies" you to some extent.  Almost every job pretty much boils down to you being a cog in a machine somewhere for forty hours a week in exchange for a paycheck.  The customers I talk to in tech support for the most part value me as a person about as much as a john values a "sex worker" as a person.

[HaemishM]

The customers I talk to in tech support for the most part value me as a person about as much as a john values a "sex worker" as a person.

Less, I'd imagine. At least with a bad hooker, you busted a nut. A bad tech support person makes you bust a vein in your forehead.

[Samwise]

Except I'm a damn good tech support person.  And don't you forget it. 

[HaemishM]

Do you give head with that service? If so, you are damn good. If not, you are merely good.

Let us not forget the lesson that even a bad blowjob is a good thing.

[Strazos]

Except I'm a damn good tech support person.  And don't you forget it. 

This is true...

At least, until your job is sent off to India.

Very positive for a Third World nation, very bad for you.

[Samwise]

Since I don't feel like derailing this thread, or worse yet getting it sent to the Politics forum, I'll just say that I'm not worried about that in the slightest, and leave it at that.

[WayAbvPar]

Do you give head with that service? If so, you are damn good. If not, you are merely good.

Let us not forget the lesson that even a bad blowjob is a good thing.

You give me head
It makes it worse
Take out your fucking retainer
Put it in your purse[/url]

Jello was such a romantic back in the day...

[angry.bob]

Even when it's regulated (and god bless the jurisdictions that do), I think it's sad that some women grow up thinking that all they're good for is getting fucked. 

It's not like it's people's life goal. Unfortunately, the only marketable item a lot of "lower class" women have to offer is their vagina, and not many prospects for a brighter tommorow. Welcome to the world we inherited sucking. That aside, the number of middle class housewives driving SUV's who are a healthy husband away from being forced into the business is depressingly large. That aside as well, "escorting" pays amazingly well at levels above streetwalking. The average fee is $200 to $300 per hour (tax free) with more attractive girls getting up to $500. Most independents earn an annual wage much higher than any of the people here on this board can ever hope to make, and put in about eight to ten hours a week doing it. And that's for the girls working out of the phone book. The really upscale girls get one or two married clients who put them up in an apartment w/ groceries and expenses along with a bullshit "personal assistant" job on their company's payroll in exchange for seeing them a couple times a week. It's not a career for the long haul, but for younger womwn wanting to "earn" a living and still have time to devote to school and a personal life it's hard to beat. Assuming they've got the right mindset. If they don't, that's usually when the drug and alcohol abuse kick in as a tool for coping, and it's all downhill from there.

And in case you're wondering how I know that stuff, it's not from seeing girls - I owned an escort service here in Ohio after I got out the military. It was quite an eye opening experience.

[Pococurante]

The article is breathless but it does show there's more to legalizing prostitution than simply giving it a green light.

/shrug
Two years is not enough to reverse millennium of hypocritical attitude - I doubt any legislation of this nature could get it right the first few go-rounds.  And something about the waitresses' story smells like the kind of stunt a special-interest group would pull here in the States.

And in case you're wondering how I know that stuff, it's not from seeing girls - I owned an escort service here in Ohio after I got out the military. It was quite an eye opening experience.

Several of my best friends put themselves through school this way.  AFAIK they all live a archetypical middle-class life now.  The real eye-opener for me was when I took several years "sabbatical" to slum around and lived with a group of "dancers" the entire time.  Yes more than a few fit the misery stereotype but they didn't last/live long - and I doubt they would have done better if they'd never fallen into the sex trade.  But most of them were pretty sharp and looked at what they were doing as no different than serving time in the military - just a phase to earn money for their real goals.

Damn those were good times.

[voodoolily]

I was gonna read the article, until I saw who published it. Yes, I am that skeptical and narrow-minded. I don't trust "news" with an agenda. Oh, but did you ever see Citizen Ruth?

Anyway, the whole prostitution thing is one of those wonderful little reminders that, oh yeah - Life's Not Fair. I just happen to still get a little bent outta shape about it. I may be a few K in student loan debt, but at least I have my self-respect. And I'll never have to explain to my future husband what I did to get myself through school. I get angry that the world we live in is one where a woman's pussy is more valuable than her mind.

\steps off soapbox

[Pococurante]

The Christian Science Monitor?  I find their reporting to be remarkably even-handed and fair - their editorials usually are pragmatic.  Don't let the "C" turn you off.  In this case their point was not to rollback legalization but simply firm up the law so it protects the workers more, that legalization is troubled when the laws themselves are weak and unevenly enforced.

Men can be remarkably circumspect about marrying ex-dancers.  Hot wife-sex is, well, hot.

[Merusk]

y future husband what I did to get myself through school. I get angry that the world we live in is one where a woman's pussy is more valuable than her mind.

Men's bodies are also more valuable than their minds.  Last I checked we weren't paying scientists an average of $4 million a year to sit around thinking shit up the way we do pro atheletes.  If you're going to be angry that intelligence is one of the least valued traits in our socieity, do it regarless of gender.

[Paelos]

Well that, and they don't call it the "World's Oldest Profession" as a joke. A woman's sexuality has always been a powerful tool throughout history, along with subtlety and empathy.

[Shockeye]

I may be a few K in student loan debt, but at least I have my self-respect. And I'll never have to explain to my future husband what I did to get myself through school. I get angry that the world we live in is one where a woman's pussy is more valuable than her mind.

Maybe so, but you'll have to explain to him about this place and that alone might drive him away screaming. Unless, of course, we are your dirty little secret.

[voodoolily]

Ha! My future husband is actually a lurker here. Hi, sweetie!

[Shockeye]

Ha! My future husband is actually a lurker here. Hi, sweetie!

That kicks ass. I always wanted Jack Black as a lurker.

[voodoolily]

I always wanted Jack Black.  kidding! sorta

It's fun to talk about what went on here after work, although sometimes I am a little embarrased. Good times.

[Strazos]

I always wanted Jack Black.  kidding! sorta

It's fun to talk about what went on here after work, although sometimes I am a little embarrased. Good times.

Well, at least you're not in on the GuildWars TeamSpeak Hijinx. Thankfully, I use headphones in my house.

[voodoolily]

I always wanted Jack Black. kidding! sorta

It's fun to talk about what went on here after work, although sometimes I am a little embarrased. Good times.

Well, at least you're not in on the GuildWars TeamSpeak Hijinx. Thankfully, I use headphones in my house.

....?

[Strazos]

You're supposed to be thankful, n00bler.

[voodoolily]

Shit, well I'll take it where I can get it.

FYI: Just because I think MMOGs are boring and pointless doesn't make me a n00b. Although I have been intrigued (somewhat) by the fact that Guild Wars actually has shit like a storyline and cutscenes and other things that normally make console games teh winnzar.