London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. This blog was viewed about 400,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 5 sold-out events for that many people to see it. – WordPress.com presents The Honest Courtesan 2011 in blogging
One of the things I really, really like about WordPress is that it provides lots of statistics; the statistics page displays a bar graph of page views (with tabs to view it in days, weeks or months); a running total of both daily and all-time views (and summary tables breaking it down by weeks, months and years) for the blog as a whole and breaking it down by post and page; numbers and links of all sites and searches which bring visitors to the blog; and the number of clicks on links in my blog (with all figures broken down by day, week, month, quarter, year and all time). And on top of that, I can see subscribers, comments and even spam totals. Then, WordPress provides an annual year-end report I’ve decided to share with you; today I want to look at some “top ten” numbers. Some of the exact figures which don’t appear as such in the official report are only approximate though stated as if exact, because they are displayed for the previous year from the date they are observed; in other words, since I’m writing this on January 4th the figures for January 1st-3rd of last year have been replaced by those from January 1st-3rd of this year. I think my readers will forgive me for the minor inaccuracy thus produced.
I received a total of 404,824 visitors in 2011 (and that is an exact figure); the average number of hits per day was 1109. My best month was April, with a total of 47,224 views (1574 per day) and my best day was January 31st, with a total of 3486 views in a single day (thanks to Radley Balko’s featuring a link to “Numerology” on The Agitator). That site gave me the second-greatest number of referrals for the year, 2815 in all; it was exceeded only by Psychology Today (specifically, Satoshi Kanazawa’s article “Are All Women Essentially Prostitutes?”), from which I received 3574 hits in all. #3 was the WordPress homepage with 2678, #4 Google Reader with 2193, #5 Metafilter with 1858, #6 Facebook with 1365, #7 The Dallas Observer (specifically Pete Kotz’s article “The Super Bowl Prostitute Myth”) with 1119, #8 ECCIE with 868, #9 Kelly Michaels’ Satisfy the Crave with 867 and #10 EconJeff with 668. I’d also like to acknowledge #11-20, each of whom referred 326-627 hits: Twitter, Canada Adult Fun, USA Sex Guide, The Spearhead, Sina More’s blog, Jaded Haven, The Player, TER, A Voice for Men and Bound, Not Gagged. On the other hand, the most often-clicked links on my blog in 2011 were Brandy’s Bedroom with 941 clicks, Vixen for Hire with 643, Bound, Not Gagged with 609, Feminisn’t with 589, Sex Hysteria! with 508, Sincerely, Kelly James with 506, The Naked Anthropologist with 490, After Hours with 470, Stuff Sex Workers Eat with 461 and Harlot’s Parlour with 448.
Google accounted for roughly 95% of all of my search engine hits last year, and the most common search was for some version of “the honest courtesan” (roughly 9013 hits). Some permutation of “texas counties” or “texas county map” brought in roughly 5628 hits, “veronica franco” brought 3591, “maggie mcneill” and variations 3273, “pompeii” 2608, “mira sorvino” 2271, various “ashley madison” combinations 1727, “sofa bed” 1374, “wife swapping” and variations 1214 and “plaçage” 793 (see “Top Ten” from last August for an explanation of the strange terms). A few honorable mentions: “broken condom”, “madame de pompadour”, “hells angels”, “prostitute”, “grimoire”, “mecca”, “phryne”, “mardi gras tits”, “storyville” and “yellow rose of texas”.
Due to image searches (as explained in “Top Ten”) my top ten posts were as follows:
Name Date # of hits in 2011
Coming and Going February 10th, 2011 6,353
Courtesan Denial December 4th, 2010 4,632
Meretrices and Prostibulae November 3rd, 2010 4,396
Numerology January 24th, 2011 3,741
Ashley Madison January 30th, 2011 3,569
Who Did Your Tits? October 1st, 2010 3,328
Acting and Activism January 8th, 2011 2,860
Black Men September 18th, 2010 2,741
Wife Swapping November 20th, 2010 2,547
Plaçage November 22nd, 2010 2,409
And here’s the corrected list:
Name Date # of hits in 2011
Numerology January 24th, 2011 3,741
Ashley Madison January 30th, 2011 3,569
Black Men September 18th, 2010 2,741
Wife Swapping November 20th, 2010 2,547
Plaçage November 22nd, 2010 2,409
All Shapes and Sizes September 8th, 2010 2,012
A Whore in the Bedroom September 9th, 2010 1,904
Japanese Prostitution October 21st, 2010 1,852
International Sex Workers’ Rights Day March 3rd, 2011 1,831
Handy Figures June 11th, 2011 1,703
The top post by comment hasn’t changed much since August:
Name Date # of comments by 12/31/11
That Is So Hot! April 19th, 2011 195
Speaking in Prostitute June 17th, 2011 171
The Enlightenment Police October 1st, 2011 144
Their Lips Are Moving April 25th, 2011 132
Pendulum April 9th, 2011 131
Creeping Rot April 18th, 2011 123
Public Service Announcement June 12th, 2011 120
Savaging March 27th, 2011 115
Neither Cold Nor Hot April 6th, 2011 114
Neither Addiction Nor Epidemic December 4th, 2011 104
…and the nine top commenters (after myself) were Sailor Barsoom with 1302, Laura with 730, Asehpe with 301, Gorbachev with 280, Krulac with 277, Comixchik with 206, Marla with 197, C Andrew with 189 and Aspasia with 101.
Probably the most interesting report to me is the one on where my visitors live, which appears only in the year-end report; I’d really like to see WordPress include it with the other daily data. It doesn’t give exact numbers and the fractions were calculated on a continent-by-continent basis rather than worldwide, with proportions represented by graphics on a map. Just eyeballing it, I’d say about 34% of my readers are in North America, 25% in Europe, 17% in Oceania, 12% in Asia, 8% in Africa and 4% in South America.
North America: 93.5% United States, 6.2% Canada and 0.1% Mexico
Europe: 39.7% United Kingdom, 15.2% Germany, 4.3% Norway, 4.1% Ireland and 3.9% Greece
Oceania: 92.4% Australia, 7.4% New Zealand
Asia: 25.5% Singapore, 12.6% India, 8.2% Malaysia, 7.5% The Philippines and 6.5% South Korea
Africa: 45.1% South Africa, 15.2% Nigeria, 13.8% Kenya, 6.7% Egypt and 4.0% Ghana
South America: 47.0% Brazil, 30.7% Colombia, 10.1% Argentina, 4.6% Chile and 3.0% Peru
I’m really pleased by these numbers, especially considering that only about a third of my readers are in my own country; most of the thanks for that go to my readers, who enthusiastically spread links to my posts all over the internet. You’re helping me to speak out against all the lies, misinformation and tyranny, and thereby hastening the day when prohibitionist propaganda is seen by the average reasonable person with the same skepticism he might view any other outlandish bigotry.
One Year Ago Today
“What’s the Buzz” cites several articles about the “invisible majority” of sex workers, those who pretty much look and act like anybody else you might meet in public.
I have to say, after seeing “south Korea” –
I’ve been pushing your blog to everyone I know, as concerns this subject; it’s a hot topic among Koreans (privately – publicly not at all, in typical Korean fashion; Officially, there’s no sex in Korea at all).
I’ve had requests to translate excerpts from your blog into Korean, but given that there’s so much nuance in your writing, I’ve suggested others more appropriate to the task.
There’s no room in Korea for honest discussion of these things. None at all. And the sex industry here is literally everywhere, in a mystifyingly vast arrangement of forms.
One prostitute I know who speaks reasonably good English that I met recently thinks your blog is one of the best discussions of prostitution and sex she’s ever read. She said that if she ever goes to America, she’s going to go there to visit you. I think she’s only half joking.
That said, there was one request: Cover more specifically Asian subjects.
Thanks for the good press, Gorbachev, and please let your Korean friends know I really value their support. I’m definitely trying to cover more Asian subjects, but as you probably know they’re hard to come by in the US due to being swamped by trafficking hysteria. Still, Asian activists (especially in Korea, Cambodia and India) are a lot more outspoken than American ones; I said in a recent post that we could learn a lot from them.
Hey Gorbachev,
thanks for doing that! Much appreciated.
I had hoped that others in the MRA area would also spread Maggies blog around. MRAs and sex workers seem to have a LOT in common.
I took the position that prostitution is lawful. I’ve had a few people hate on me for that. But given how much I am hated on just for drawing breath nowadays I can handle that!!
I would like to see the day where the guvment has its nose completely OUT of peoples homes. The guvment does NOT belong inside the home or inside the hotel room as the case may be.
If people agree to exchange what they think is of value? Who is the guvment or others to get in their way?
I guess that I have a more open attitude since I spent so much time in Asia and because prostitution is lawful in Germany.
I have no idea how many times I have been hit on by prostitutes while travelling for work. In the hundreds I guess. In Asia they are often provided free of charge by the hotel for long stay guests like I used to be.
Sadly. All those “no”s do not make a difference in divorce.
Hey Gorbachev,
Just putting an idea in the open….but I wonder how relevant Maggies blog is to men in the 20-30 range who have never been married and never been with a prostitute? Guys like us telling lads “marriage is way too dangerous now”. But most lads are scared stiff of the idea of going to prostitutes.
Prostitution is still a “bad” thing and carries social stigma in the english speaking world. Even in Germany too. So its the next generation that we need to talk to that will do away with the “stigma” side of it. Just wondering aloud.
Just look at gay men and how “gay” was made acceptable.
I can recall in my lifetime where a man saying he was gay could get him beaten up. Still can in some places. Its not that long ago. 30 years.
They “normalised” gay men by selling it as ok to us younger men. I recall the whole elton john getting married thing and then finally coming out. It was all pitched via the youth culture. Hell. The presenter on the biggest music show in Australia in the late 70s and early 80s was a gay guy called “molly meldrum”. I didn’t realise for many years that he was gay!
Maybe talking to younger men about all this is one way to get rid of the social stigma over time?
I’m really amazed by the success of your blog, Maggie and – I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one become this successful so quickly. Thing is – there are a lot of wordpress blogs out there – but most of them have their own URL (which doesn’t contain “wordpress” in the address) – and they have to pay for that stuff.
But it looks to me like you’re still doing this with the free tools, though you may be getting charged for some storage space after so many postings.
It’s just really incredible, and it’s stunning that you seem to be an awesome success at almost everything you try! 🙂
I still haven’t read the whole site – but I did click on the “Who did your Tits” story – as its one I have not read. I’ve always been kind of anti-silicone, because honestly – though women may care about penis size, I really don’t think men give one whit about breast size. I like them all – and that’s an honest to God truthful opinion. However, your article DID convince me that maybe there is a case for boob jobs, when they enhance the proportions of the overall figure – I had not thought of that. When I drool over women – I’m drooling over the whole package and how it blends together – so differences in boob size don’t matter as long as everything looks like it “blends” nicely.
Anyway – I’ll leave with this, completely off-topic … Jenyne Butterfly. I believe she started out in a strip club as kind of an “under-study” for the famous “Pantera” – who pioneered a lot of the modern pole dancing stuff.
This is safe for work … so everyone can enjoy …
If I were a woman – THIS is what I’d want to do. In fact, after watching her – I think I may WANT to be a woman!!! 😛
Thanks, Krulac! I, too, am stunned with how popular my blog has become; I think it’s because I’m saying what a lot of people are feeling. I do still use the free WordPress, and I have a loooooong way to go before I use up all my free space (like another 27 years at the current rate of consumption).
Thanks, Krulac! I, too, am stunned with how popular my blog has become; I think it’s because I’m saying what a lot of people are feeling.
It’s more than that; many sex workers’ rights activists and libertarians do very good work, but how many of them could write at this high level while always remaining accessible to the general public?
Virtually anyone could benefit from reading a post like “Modern Marriage”, for example.
🙂
Maggie,
“I think it’s because I’m saying what a lot of people are feeling.”
I’d be really interested in hearing what percentage of readers are actually men plus age range and other demographics. I find a lot of what you write very insightful. “bang on the money” as it were. Others of it I can not relate to for obvious reasons.
But I can tell you this. Since the female misogynist went off the air yours is the ONLY female written blog I read on a regular basis. I have dropped off Dr. Helens apart from the occasional drive by.
If you can get ME to read your blog you have a damn good blog for men in my category. 48. Divorced. And having learned a LOT more about women since divorce than I was ever taught before I got married.
46 next month
male
never married
It’s nice to know how popular your blog is. I too would treat an escort to flowers, champagne, music of her choice and a halfway decent conversation about literature. Part of this is selfish – I’d want her to consider me a good client – but aside from that it’s the way I treat my sex partners anyway. It’s nice to have the illusion of a girlfriend, even if it is only for an hour.
It’s good to know that I was able to send so many people your way. I first found you via the Agitator, but made sure Canada Adult Fun, which is a great community of pooners and SP’s (Much more than just a review board) has seen some of your amazing writing. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Rollins! 🙂
“The Agitator” brought me here.
I think that I got here from one of Dave’s comments at the Agitator. I’m glad I got here; though I’ve been pro-choice regarding prostitution – that is, I’ve always considered it to be an issue of consenting adults and beyond govt purview, I have come ’round to the view that it can be a positive good.
Regular agitatortot here. Noticed you from a link Dave Krueger posted there a while back. I keep coming back for more. 🙂
I always enjoy your blog, Maggie – it’s one that I read every day.
It’s a great blog. Really well written, and covers an area of life that most people have the most outrageous ideas about.
Thank you all so very much! It’s the positive feedback I get from all you readers that gives me the energy to keep churning it out every day! 🙂
Congrats!
When I was still on Blogspot, I used an independent site stat counter. But both there and on WordPress, I seem to be most popular in Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Poland; appropriately enough, these are the men who tend to flock to me in real life too! lol
Much hit-upon Maggie.
Has it ever been otherwise?
This is about the best blog I know – almost as varied and as constantly interesting as the general Blog that Momus (Nick Currie) used to do until a couple of years ago. I’m not sure I’d always go to his blog first if it was still going now that I know about this one.
This is the best blog I know of concerning prostitution. It’s also one of the best blogs on the internet too. I truly believe that blogs like this one can be and hopefully will be helpful in getting people to truly understand prostitution. There’s so many lies and ignorant misunderstandings about prostitution, it’s not even funny; yet, this blog dispells that. I’ve tried to pass around this website’s address to friends I trust and on other websites where I deem it appropriate because of people’s ignorance concerning prostitution, seduction of women(GAME), feminism, misandry, men’s right’s issues(I noticed a link to The Spearhead which i also read) as well as heterosexual male and female relationships.
A man who either calls himself the pseudonym The Fifth Horseman or TFH on his blog The Futurist likes archeofeminism but hates neofeminism like you. He wrote an article in January 2010 called ” The Misandry Bubble”. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he wrote, but he seems to be good at analyzing trends among people. He seems to think that the next step will be virtual reality and robotics sex for men. It’s an interesting concept. He had other ideas as well. Here’s the link:
http://www.singularity2050.com/2010/01/the-misandry-bubble.html
I don’t necessarily agree with everything he wrote, but he seems to be good at analyzing trends among people. He seems to think that the next step will be virtual reality and robotics sex for men. It’s an interesting concept.
Sex robots will never amount to anything. Now, robots that can reliably and efficiently perform domestic tasks; that would be very popular.
All I have to say is don’t be so sure. It may not happen in our lifetimes, but it may happen after we’re dead, gone and buried. I personally don’t think it will happen in our lifetimes and I was born in 1968. I’ll try to keep this brief because I could write more than what I’m saying here.
The trick is to develop the technology better, make it cheaper, and accessible without the shame associated with it. TFH states that internet pornography is already much more popular than the old magazines and videos. He’s right. Internet porn is the most common thing on the internet due to the technology of computers and the internet, it’s cheap(often free) and the shame isn’t there as much because it can be downloaded in the privacy of one’s own home instead of going to the store to buy or rent it.
While I agree that robotics which do domestic chores will be popular and accepted first, it doesn’t mean that robotics for sexual pleasure won’t happen. Women won’t go for virtual reality sex and/or robotic as often as men just as we see in prostitution, and I don’t think women will go for it first unlike men. This doesn’t mean men won’t try it if given the chance. I personally don’t understand it, but there is anime and cartoon pornography on the internet right now and has been for years. The only thing the adult female whores will be able to compete more effectively is offer the GFE or girlfriend experience more often than they do now and better than they do now.
Reading Maggie McNeil and listening to Megumi Hayashabara. Laura is taking a nap, the cat has quit tapping me, and we’re going to watch DVD extras in about half an hour. It’s a fine day.
Wow, I’m the most talkative replier here! Almost twice as many as anybody else. I’m talkative, and I hope that it’s sometimes as worthwhile reading as it seemed to me when I typed it.
A thousand years to Maggie McNeill, Jeddara of Blogs!
Now, that’s a title! 😀
Hey Maggie,
I clicked onto the are all women prostitutes link and found this…
“because I refuse to apply the term “feminist” to a sort of twisted male chauvinist who believes that women are not good enough as we are and should therefore strive to think, act, work and look as much like men as possible. This is in sharp contrast to “archeofeminists” like myself, who recognize that women are just fine as we are and would in fact be weakened by becoming more like men.”
Hallelujah. Women are PERFECTLY ok just as they WERE and ARE in eastern europe.
The women who are competing with men are a nasty bunch to be sure. They have adopted the sterotypical worst attributes of men (the UK Laddettes) and turn that up on hyperdrive seemingly thinking that if the “out man” us that we will be attracted to them.
I note that Adele, who accounted for 10% of CD sales in the UK last year, still can’t find a man! Another UK woman who won the lottery and has a few mill in the bank can’t find a man. How clueless can women get?
As a teen I was called “male chauvinist pig” because I like women to be different to me. After all. The only possible men that would be attracted to man-aping women is GAY men who, we all know, are a small minority. That most of us like women is not “socially constructed”. Its a matter of survival of the species.
Here. take a look at what millions of british men fought and died for. Your “modern british woman”. How do these women imagine that any man in his right mind would want to have these women as the mother of his children?
For a man there really is only two reasons to enter into any long term relationship with a woman.
1. Sex and intimacy
2. Establishing a family.
And for BOTH of these we want women to complement us, not compete with us. Great to see you say this. I must have missed it or not bothered to comment on it before.
As a teen I was called “male chauvinist pig” because I like women to be different to me. After all. The only possible men that would be attracted to man-aping women is GAY men who, we all know, are a small minority. That most of us like women is not “socially constructed”. Its a matter of survival of the species.
Even gays tend to prefer feminine women for friendships and such. The female essence is valuable and irreplaceable; even those men who are unlucky enough to feel no sexual attraction to women can still be socially attracted to them.
Girls Gone Wild, British version. Several of them wearing dresses, skirts, and so on. Hard to mistake them for men even before they start exposing themselves.
Not sure what the big deal is.
I think it’s possible that Peter is 1 of these “mens’ rights” people who thinks that women who get paid for sex are wonderful, honest, etc., etc., but the women who don’t charge for sex are “sluts” (eyeroll) and are never mentioned unless it’s something negative and/or never mentioned at all (I think on purpose at least part of the time). What’s hilarious to me about this is that whores and sexually wild women who don’t charge $ for sex are from the same small group of women who can have sex without emotional attachment. BOTH groups help out men sexually. Sailor B, you need to know that all the women in this video are automatically no good, no good to be in a relationship with, etc., etc. You can TELL that 100% from this 1 video! I’ve noticed his pattern with this also: there’s never any videos like this put up of women who say they’re whores in the video. Interesting, isn’t it? LOL.