Let’s start getting the word out that whores are no different from other women, and that “a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body” is more than just a euphemism for abortion. – “Friday the Thirteenth”
By the beginning of my fourth week of blogging, I was already starting to pick up new readers beyond the friends who already knew me from other places on the internet; my traffic had almost doubled from the month before, but the number of visitors I got per day was still lower than I get in a slow hour now. Still, it was enough to excite me and inspire me to keep working at it. A number of my July columns were actually chapters from a book I had thought about writing or other essays which I had written previously, but by August that material was exhausted and I had no more crutches to lean on. In those days, I posted at irregular times; many days I actually wrote the column in the late morning and posted it in the early afternoon, and sometimes they didn’t get posted until sometime in the evening (I didn’t realize I could schedule them ahead of time for another year).
But even by the end of this month, I was trying to develop more regular habits; many of these columns were written the day before or a couple of days out, then staged in a folder for me to post just after breakfast the next day. This system had innumerable disadvantages over my current one, but it had one advantage: it was extremely flexible. If I saw a news story in the morning, I could pre-empt my planned column for that day, quickly write about the story and get it posted that day (or the next if I didn’t see the story until after my daily column had already been posted). This happened twice in August: “How To Be a Stupid, Greedy Whore” was my very first column written about a current event, and its subject was the first inductee into my Hall of Shame; it was followed only ten days later by “Legal Sundries”, my very first miscellanea column (the predecessor of today’s “That Was the Week That Was” feature). Nor were those the only firsts that month; “Lammas” was my first holiday column, “Traitors to Their Sex” my first full-length discussion of neofeminism, “Here We Go Again” my first look at the “sex trafficking” hysteria, “New Film Reviews” my first review column, “Marilyn” my first biography of someone I knew from my work and
“Friday the Thirteenth” my introduction of the day for non-sex workers to speak out on our behalf. “Aversions” (sexual things I hate) was my very first “listicle”, but it was quickly followed by “Advice for Clients”, “Bad Girls” (the various types of bad hookers) and “Out and About” (my favorite Greater New Orleans eateries), all in the same type of format.
The average column was still quite long at that time, and some concepts took several days to explore; “The Only Working Girl in New Orleans” is the three-part story of the months after Hurricane Katrina, when I was the only escort in town; “Regulars” is only two parts, but its discussion of regular clients continues with a discussion of recurring “Nuisances”, “Recognition” and “Celebrities” together are a two-part look at what happens when an escort already knows her client from outside of sex work, and “Whore Madonnas” forms another dyad with “Red Shoes Lady” since they both talk about the maternal feelings of whores. I was also still writing a lot of introductions to basic concepts then; besides those I’ve already mentioned there was “Cops and Condoms”, which tells how the self-destructive male aversion to condoms is even stronger in cops; “Nothing in the Dark”, which explains why smart sex workers don’t let clients turn off the lights; “The Clipboard Effect”, which looks at how savvy escorts come and go discreetly; “Presents”, which talks about the extra gifts clients give their ladies; and “The Rescuers”, which examines people who want to “save” hookers from our lives. This month’s harlotography was about “The Empress Theodora” and its fictional interlude was “Painted Devil”, one of my personal favorites; rounding out the selection were “Whores and Wives” (a cross-section of the ways women react to discovering their husbands paying for sex) and “Just Plain Weird”, a look at my oddest requests (which aren’t at all what you think).
“Out and About” was one of my favorites and I’ve tried to hit all the places on your list. You have a very keen understanding of NOLA … one that I lack, but I certainly would like to understand it more, which is one of the reasons I started working at the bar. I’m starting to “dig” things but then I think about the fact that the “old” NOLA, the pre-Katrina NOLA is probably gone and what I’m seeing now is just an illusion of what was.
Well, I lived there for a long time starting in my mid-teens; I explored a lot and had a lot of friends and lovers who knew the city well. And you’re right; it’s nothing like it was. Old New Orleans is, alas, gone forever. 🙁
I still reference that article every time I take my wife to the city. She has no idea but she always enjoys herself!
I went to New Orleans back in 1985 for a week and it seemed like a fun place to visit. I talked to my ATF recently about her trip there but she didn’t like it that much, said it was dirty. I’m wondering what the two of you see that has changed there since the hurricane.
Maggie – where did you source the pic of the doll with the broken face please?
I find most of my images via Google image search, and I’m afraid it would be impossible to keep track of where I find them; that one first appeared in “Red Shoes Lady”, three years ago tomorrow. But if you do a Google reverse image search, you’ll find other places it appears on the net, and perhaps one might be the original source. Just click on the picture so the address appears in your bar, then open a new window to Google image search, click on the camera icon and put the image’s address into the search bar.
Thanks Maggie 🙂
I think male hatred of condoms stems from simple evolutionary biology, where less obtrusive forms of birth control don’t have the same impact. I mean I could be wrong, but I think making it really really obvious to the point that even the instincts can tell nobody is going to get pregnant is what does it.
I think you are right … I find myself thinking … “What’s the point of this?”
It’s almost a feeling that I’ve been “neutered” so why bother? Part of the thrill is the act of insemination. I’ve had women tell me that its a big part of the thrill for them too.
I thought I was one of the only guys who thought in these terms. Very primitive, very caveman.
Is there anything near the convention centre that you would specifically recommend? It turns out I’ll be in New Orleans on business at the end of next month. I don’t know what hotel I’ll be in, but I’m thinking it’ll be a Marriott, based on the company’s recent booking history.
There are no decent restaurants very close to the convention center; however, New Orleans is small and you can walk to Ralph and Kacoo’s in the Quarter in about ten minutes.
Cool, thanks. 🙂
A you mentioned each of these, I nodded.