Bericht einer Sexarbeiterin über die Zensur bei Craigslist. Jetzt hat sie weniger Kunden-Umsatz-Existenzsicherheit.
Thank you conservative America for ruining my life.
Well, at least ruining my current financial situation.
For those of you that are not aware, late Friday night/early Saturday morning craigslist decided to remove it's "adult services" section. SWEET. The reason I'm so upset right now... my rent is due tomorrow and I'm $300 short. My main source of income has been cut off. Sure there are other sites, but NONE of them generate the revenue CL does for me.
Could you imagine going into work one day, only to find out the building has been burned to the ground by an angry mob wielding torches and pitchforks; You're out of a job and have no clue as to what's next?
I wake up to find an email that states,
"your ad has been removed, and your credit card has been refunded". I'm thinking, "GREAT, wtf did I do that got my ad removed?". Go to CL, click "manage account" to check things out, and it says my ad is still active. HMMM...
So pop over to look at the main page and find a big Black bar with bold White letters stating
"CENSORED" in place of the link that leads to the "adult services" section. A quick google search weeds out the culprit... 17 state's Attorneys General strongly worded open letter (yes that was SINGULAR, letter), political and public pressure, and an
unsubstantiated report from a 17yr old that she was trafficked through the site have lead to this predicament. A NATIONWIDE BAN ON THE "ADULT SERVICES" SECTION OF THE US' CRAIGSLIST. Having a site that attempts to somewhat regulate this industry LESSENS the crimes associated with sex-work.
Let me state, HUMAN TRAFFICKING is abhorrent, and the trafficking of children is beyond unforgivable. But what about the rest of us?
CL doesn't promote human trafficking... And I'm pretty sure that most common users, upon noticing something that smelled even remotely like trafficking... would report it to the proper authorities. HELL I WOULD, AND I'M A PROSTITUTE.
So, when literally DOZENS of other sites offer the same things as CL, let's examine the truth behind the matter. Craigslist is simply, the most well known. This is a political issue pure and simple. People know of it, some disapprove and
politicians capitalize on "the fight to clean our city".
HORSE SHIT, pure and utter horse shit.
A city without hookers is like a bathroom without toilet paper. Plain and simple. Most of us aren't bothering anyone. I'm not a street walker cruising corners looking for my next john. I am a well educated, well paid, clean, (reasonably) sane call girl. I vet my clients as much as possible and meet them discreetly for a mutually beneficial time.
I need the money, and they need another human being. Sometimes it's more about the talking, telling me about their day/life and such.
I'm not going to lie, it's not all sunshine and roses... I have had some extremely disgusting men want to spend time with me. And I wouldn't spit on them, let alone touch them. But that's not my job. My job is to comfort someone, make them feel desired, even if they know I'm lying, even if they know I don't.
But on the flip side, I have [had] some
pretty amazing clients too. One of my longest regulars is a 19yr old (was 18 when we met) college student that sees me to blow off steam. And the other night I saw a gorgeous 23yr old college student followed by a gorgeous, heavily tattooed 46yr old businessman. The latter has already booked a follow-up appointment.
Hell, the best clients I've ever had where 2 male models from NY here to shoot for Nike. They not only gave me my base rate, but a
15 hundred dollar Louis Vuitton purse. It looks like a bowling bag and I never use it, but it's cool, lol.
Moving on, let's examine the "casual encounters" section of CL shall we? Anyone over the age of 18, can freely post and look for any other consenting adult to screw until next Tuesday no problem. And really, there's nothing anyone can do about that. BUT OMG, if one adds monetary gain into the equation... the whole world stops.
The Government can't really
tax sex work, Uncle Sam can't get his fair cut, and that's a big "No-No". There's a reason prostitution is billed as "the oldest profession known to man". People, sometimes without even realizing it, barter on sex. From the gf who won't put out until her guy takes out the trash, to some hooker wearing booty shorts in 30 degree weather charging 40 for a "half & half".
SEX IS, whether we like it or not, no matter how morally disdainful or reprehensible... a commodity that is traded upon.
My main point,
this is not the career I would've chosen for myself. A lot of little things, twists/turns led me here. But now that I'm here folks, I DEPEND ON THIS TO LIVE. [Das würden die Prostitutionsgegner dann schon als Zwangsprostitution bezeichnen aber versäumen es scheinheilig andere als Zwangsangestelle zu bezeichnen. Anm.] To pay my rent, utilities, car payment/insurance, for health-care, medication, groceries and so on and so forth. I reiterate, I do this to stay alive and off the street.
I'm a 6'2" transwoman that wears 4 inch heels. And I'm not changing. I like myself. But not only do I not get the jobs I'm qualified for, I get whispered about by business owners and patrons alike while applying.
If you support GBLTQ rights, and to boil it down to "morally objectionable or not, anyone has the RIGHT to love/fuck/marry anyone they choose, as long as it's consensual"; Following that vein, is it that crazy to think anyone can fuck anyone they CHOOSE to, even if it's to pay for a light bill?
And then the strongest argument is "Well, it's illegal." So whats the difference between prostitution and pornography? A camera... nooooo, again, it's the ability of the US Government to regulate and tax the industry. Exploitation is wrong, in any form. My heart truly goes out to those that feel exploited and degraded. Truthfully, at times, so do I... but this is MY cross to bear. I don't need people I've never met and will never know, shutdown the only way I have of supporting myself.
Alright, well I could go on and on but I'm relentlessly beating this dead horse. I close with a quote from
TechCrunch, the first site to report the news:
- "Craigslist Sex is what scares the general population, and it's what the press and the politicians will continue to use to get their hits and votes. So the Craigslist Adult Section was removed. Is the world now a safer place?"
[via. ICRSE and
www.nswp.org networks]
Der Kampf gegen Prostitution kommt moralisch daher ist aber ein Wirtschaftskrieg gegen die Jungen, Schönen, Exotischen, Freizügigen und sexuell Begehrenswerten...
Es geht um die Herrschaft von Geist, Geld und asexueller Kultur gegenüber der Macht von Eros, Sex und natürlichem Trieb...
.
