Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 16:08:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: Tracy Quan <quan-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: M-FEM: Prostitution (For Tracy)



On Tue, 29 Jul 1997, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:

>Most probably body preferences of actual men
> are broader than what the fashion industry is pushing.

Of course. Prancing around naked on the job, one is very aware of this --
hetero men are rarely as critical of women's bodies as women themselves
are. Corny though it sounds, males respond to personality! 

> What do you think these men who disapprove of prostitution are paying for?

Sex.

> How do you handle customers with those complicated feelings (or sexual
> hang-ups)?

Ignore it really and take note. But it's not something one dwells on
during the session. It's like going to a restaurant and ordering a sinful
meal that you won't cook at home -- cheese souffles, in my case. I won't
discuss it with the waiter -- why ruin my meal? And he won't bother me
about it. Also, he won't take it personally -- he probably won't feel that
I am judging *him* just because I have ambivalent feelings about butter,
eggs and gruyere.

BTW, my reference to a waiter isn't sexist -- it's just that my favorite
souufle is served at a particular spot that's run by a handsome guy in his
60s who also waits on the customers. 

I know it is fashionable these days to scold men for their madonna-whore
problem. But I think that's silly. The greatest pleasures are often the
worst temptations and we live with this tension, whether our hang-up is
sex, food or whatever...\

> What are the industry standards you would like customers and new co-workers
> to accept? Is there anything you would love to see changed?

Yes. I think too many people are entering the sex industry. This is tricky
-- one is glad to see the increase in tolerance but one is also appalled
by the side-effects of tolerance. 

But I wouldn't want to turn back the clock and cancel out all the progress
the sex workers movement has made. So I guess I accept the glut as a
necessary result.

> 
> Earlier you mentioned the sexiness of unwrapping primly suited executive
> bodies. So I would say that sexual fantasies are the area where Marx meets
> Freud.

Well, in the words of (the fictional character) Francis Urquhart, "You
might think so, but I couldn't possibly say that." :)