If she had started with an attractive plant (male entertainer) instead of a real john, the girl would still be turning tricks.

"Now that contradiction -- that she was flattered and yet disgusted by the madam's appraisal of her body, interested in turning a trick and yet also ashamed -- might be unsexy and interfere with some readers' sex work fantasies, but it's something I'd like to read about. As Susannah Breslin writes on the Frisky, "It's become increasingly hip to trumpet the 'empowering' virtues of sex work, but the fact of the matter is that the realities of sex work are far too hardcore for most aspiring 'hipster hookers' to handle."

This is exactly correct. Working as an exotic dancer felt both empowering and degrading. Empowering because it is possible to express yourself sexually in an absolutely safe environment. I learned to stand up straight and stop being ashamed of my body by doing this work. But it also felt degrading to be treated like a piece of meat for sale, as if I was not a person, or a human being with intelligence and value and worth. Bizarre contradiction indeed, which reflects the total schizophrenia in America about sex - that it is both your highest value as a woman and your highest shame.

BUT...

What if this psuedo-gonzo writer's first john looked like George Clooney or Jake Glyllenhaal?

Would she even have charged him the full $950?

---------

Also, would Broadsheeters raise hell if a male writer did a feature in which he talked about not being able to bring himself to have sex with, say, an obese, ugly woman?

I'm guessing yes...so isn't the "pudgy, hairy" thing a bit of a reverse-sexist beauty double standard?

Amen.

""What is most annoying is that this is often the kind of sexy feature attractive young women are paid to/encouraged to write ..."

... and Salon.com is one of the payers/encouragers, unfortunately. I've been "treated" to more than I care to know about the sex lives of several Salon staff members, but only women; Salon does not ask its male staff members to write that kind of piece.

As a man that patronizes prostitutes, I can tell that the men also feel a contradiction as to the activity. It’s sexual excitement, it’s self loathing for having to pay for it, it’s enjoying the connection with another person, it’s hating the connection with another person.

I of course can’t know, but I think it is tougher on the women. Men can be pretty cavalier about it. But I think fewer women can be.

Well, I mean it is. But let's talk about the johns for a second. I've made this point several times before. Hipster girls are always prattling on about how being a stripper or a prostitute is empowering, etc. Yet the description of the john in this article, and the girl's reaction pretty much tells you all that you need to know.

If we took a cross-section of strip club patrons or johns, what kinds of men would we find? It breaks down into three types: lonely pathetic losers, frat guys, or cocky douchebag business types who have neither the time nor the inclination for real relationships. I realize this probably makes up a majority of the male population. In fact, it probably describes most of our beloved trolls. But from my experience, educated guys with normal self-esteem and at least moderately progressive will maybe go a couple of times as a rite of passage when they turn 18, and afterwards come to view the whole thing as kind of silly and skeezy. Not just because it degrades women, but because it degrades the men who willingly admit that they have to spend money to get satisfaction.

All of the guys in the first group would readily admit that they view the strippers as objects, not as "empowered, liberated women". Now, you may say who cares what they think as long as I feel empowered. But you are participating in and perpetuating this sort of culture. Your individual power comes at the expense of women (and men), and gender relations in general.

Anyone else want to call bullshit on the "value" the madame supposedly placed on this young woman? I've talked to a few people who have brushed up against that world and your average beautiful girl usually charges much less than that. Ms. Pilot is no supermodel so I seriously doubt that number is anywhere near what she could charge. Probably just pumping up her ego.

You're pretty right on with your groupings, except you are leaving out the "intense and scary pervs".

You know, your argument that people who are participating in this are perpetuating that sort of culture is accurate in a way, but I also used to hear the exact same argument from lesbians who tried to tell me that by wearing lipstick and skirts I was supporting the patriarchy. That I didn't really know my own mind because I had been brainwashed by the patriarchy.

Do you really honestly think that our problems with gender relations would be so much better if we got rid of all the strip clubs and hookers? And where do we draw the line? Do we eliminate porn? Mini-skirts? Lipstick? High-heels? You see the problem...

achilleselbow, not achillesbow

please to forgive

no one will be interested in reading about your sex life. Unless it's really, really weird.

Sounds like just one more of those phony "true stories" everyone is putting out these days. Do some research, talk to a few people, meet a few "real" hookers, and then write yourself into the story. Big deal.

*MoodyRiver*

. . . no, no, no, put your clothes back on.

/rimshot

Tracy, the more you try, ah, why even bother?

The male writers still have some dignity and self-esteem left.

For now.

Are you a victim of workplace psychological abuse?

Take a vacation and then ask yourself the same question before you come back.

"Hooking=female journalist" sounds like a mighty powerful meme stuck in there somewhere and done so improperly and with a certain amount of cunning.