A view of the Spitzer scandal from a few ladies "in the business."

[Truth2Tell]

I would suggest there's no one more qualified to opine on the "evils" of "escorts" than those actually hard at work earning a living "in the business." Glenn Greenwald pointed out a few well spoken examples of such commentary on the Spitzer case today.

First, Seattle writer and professional dominatrix Mistress Matisse:

Friday, March 14, 2008

A few final remarks...I'm amused, in a rather cynical way, how much more outraged people who aren't sex workers have been over the Eliot Spitzer issue than those of us who are. I'm hearing a lot about the hypocrisy!

Yeah, that's true. But that's the way the game is played, you know? I don't expect any different from a politician and an officer of the court.

I simply hope that giving that NYT interview nets the girl involved, "Kristen", the recording contract she's so clearly after.

I was masochistic enough to read the threads about this on a few feminist blogs, and good lord, I had to close the window and go do some deep breathing. Such a maddening combination of prostitutes are dirty whores whose lives should be made as unpleasant as possible AND/OR prostitutes are deluded victims who need to be protected from themselves whether they like it or not. The truly talented people are the ones who can hold both positions at the same time, switching deftly from one to the other as necessary. And don't bother trying to tell them there's another option, because look, they have statistics to back this up!

More at Mistress Matisse's Journal:

http://mistressmatisse.blogspot.com/

And here's another interesting commentary at Pajamas Media by former booking agent for high priced New York escorts "Ruth Henderson," who says she's seen her share of Spitzers:

So New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned because the FBI discovered he was sleeping with expensive call girls. America, predictably, went crazy. A man cheated on his wife! Quick, call all the pop psychologists and famous feminist authors, and book them for the morning talk shows! And I, a former booking agent at one of New York’s most exclusive escort agencies, just rolled my eyes.

Remember that scene from Casablanca, when Captain Renault declares that he is shocked, shocked to find gambling going on — just as the croupier hands him his winnings? I keep thinking of that scene when I read about all those politicians who are baying for Spitzer’s blood. Because I know, and they know, that almost all of them have been escort agency clients too. Show me a rich and powerful man between the ages of 35 and 60 who has never paid an escort for sex, and I will show you a man who is a very rare exception.

-snip

Yes, I did become cynical, jaded and confused. On the one hand I could not deny the basic reality of supply and demand. None of these girls was coerced into selling her body for money. Most of them came from middle-class backgrounds, and many had been accepted to universities. But they dropped out as soon as they discovered that they could make $20-30,000 a month as an escort.

Then they got addicted to the money and the lifestyle. And then one day, usually between the ages of 25 and 28, once they’d developed that knowing, experienced look that clients instinctively disliked, they found that themselves in a classic bind: they were addicted to high living but could no longer pay for it; they had no marketable skills; and years of late nights and lazy days had left them with no self-discipline. What to do? The really smart ones pulled themselves together and, with the help of a sympathetic client, started some kind of a business. Others married rich, cynical, older men in a sort of paid-wife arrangement. Those were the most common stories. I did not inquire into the fate of the girls who sort of faded away. I did not want to hear about their loneliness and poverty.

A bunch more at:

http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/03/ive_seen_my_share_of_spitzers.php

So there you have it. A few views from the deck.

Whataya think?

:popcorn:

[Buzz Clik]

1. I was just saying the other day, "I wonder what the whores think about all this Spitzer business."

[Truth2Tell]

2. Excellent. Way to get things rolling! nt

:popcorn:

[Lasher]

3. At least he spent his own money

Giuliani made the taxpayer help foot the bill for his most recent affair that I know of. And then there was Newt, calling for Clinton't head because he lied about a blowjob. But guess what, Newt was having an affair of his own at the very time Clinton was impeached. Asshole served his wife with divorce papers while she was recovering at the hospital from cancer surgery.

My point is, some are taken to task for their sins while others are not. That is not to say I think Spitzer should get a pass. It was pretty sinister to have worked to put people behind bars for engaging in prostitution while he was doing the same thing himself.

[girl gone mad]

4. The first blog reminds me of an Upton Sinclair quote:

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I think these two women are...

the only ones being honest sbout the whole thing. Beats hell out of a bunch of women talking about what men want or how all sex workers are slaves, or men who have outcall services on speed dial being "Shocked, shocked." And, yes, there is a thriving, if smaller, market of men servicing women. No one wants to talk aobut them for some reason.

Very few of the guys I know who frequent whorehouses will ever talk about it. It's like taking a dump-- everybody does it, but polite people don't talk about it. Even when the business meeting ends up in a bar, and then over to the local whorehouse, little is actually said about them matter or the details of exactly what went on in there. They might talk for hours about that last birdie on the greens, but never a word about the cutie they spent lsst night wiht.

Anybody read Polly Adler's "A House is Not a Home"? Jeez, that goes back to 1954 and was a best seller while Polly was a household name. She opened a whorehouse to get as many of the girls as she could away from the pimps. She told you about the smart ones, the dumb ones, the abused ones, and the self-abusing ones.

She tells you all about the clients, too. Not much different then than the more intelligent comments about clients now.

[Feron]

6. I liked this link from the first blog...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/03/12/prostitution/index.html

Pretty much sums it all up doesn't it?!

[Xyn1407]

7. The True Story Of Eliot Spitzer

I really think that if Eliot Was not married then morally it would have been ok for him to knock the dust of every once in a while with an escort. I mean come on, he spent his own money right? It was in his private life so he should have been left alone I think. I understand prostitution is illegal, however, I think I would rather have a governor that did not have any sexual tension than to have in office a guy who is sexually stressed out and thinking about sex all the time then handling how my kids books at public school are going to be paid for.

Again I say I do not agree that he cheated on his wife, but what if she wasn't giving it up? Man if my wife wasn't giving it up then I think i would certainly be looking at other alternatives to tame the wild beast. Bottom line is HE IS A MAN!

Thank god for escorts. Without them there would probably be a lot more violence in the world.

http://iklipz.com/MovieDetail.aspx?MovieID=51739577-fb74-4366-9f8c-4ff538705252">The True Story Of Eliot Spitzer

[girl gone mad]

8. Somehow..

I have a hard time grasping the McJobs argument. I really doubt that Mr. Greenwald or any of the other people promoting this viewpoint would rather suck cock all day than flip burgers.