Please Help Dispel Bull

[+ MostlyLurking]

There's an interview program on Chicago radio ("This Is Hell," WNUR, 89.3, 9:00 - 1:00 Saturday morning; thisishell.com) which is trying to set up a discussion with one escort who is a man and one who is a woman. The idea is to discuss similarities and differences. I’m looking for the man. You can use your professional name and you can steer away from questions you think put you at risk. And it’s radio, so you won’t be seen and you don’t need to be local. Please PM me.

[Bearofdistinction]

There's an interview program on Chicago radio ("This Is Hell," WNUR, 89.3, 9:00 - 1:00 Saturday morning; thisishell.com) which is trying to set up a discussion with one escort who is a man and one who is a woman. The idea is to discuss similarities and differences. I’m looking for the man. You can use your professional name and you can steer away from questions you think put you at risk. And it’s radio, so you won’t be seen and you don’t need to be local. Please PM me.

 

And what is the purpose of the interview - Is there a premise - or is this purely voyeurism?

[+ MostlyLurking]

Thanks, BOD, for bringing this up. I didn't realize it would be necessary to get into it. Silly me!

 

I am confident that the interview will be conducted without a hint of voyeurism or sensationalism. Don't take my word for it. Check out the website - thisishell.com - where you can listen to past shows and interviews.

 

I expect the women's side of the discussion to make it clear that being a woman doing sex work does not mean that you are strung out, or held in semi-slavery by a violent pimp; that, to the contrary, there are perfectly normal, well-adjusted women doing this work. And I expect the men's side to make clear that, while both escort and client bear risks, violent pimping and coercive trafficking are completely absent for North American male sex workers. (Do you know of exceptions? I don't.) The discussion may go 45 minutes or an hour. Maybe it will even be possible to convey some of the sensitivity and beauty the best escorts bring to each encounter. Recent posts from Juan in Vancouver come to mind.

 

I think the interview should be with an escort, not a client. But if I were participating, I'd illustrate that escorting need not involve any exploitation beyond that inherent in any kind of employment. I'd tell the story of a man I know who worked at a discount store for minimum wage until he discovered that he could do sex work at $300 an hour. At the store, he worked the employer's hours, no matter how disruptive to the rest of his life; bound by the employer's rules, no matter how demeaning; and subject to the employer's supervisors, no matter how arbitrary. He had with virtually no power to negotiate a better deal. As an escort, he worked when, where, and with whom he chose, for compensation he negotiated independently. I'd ask, "Which is more exploitative?"

[+ bashful]

violent pimping and coercive trafficking are completely absent for North American male sex workers. (Do you know of exceptions? I don't.)

 

https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/human-trafficker-who-forced-men-to-have-sex-for-20-hours-every-day-gets-11-years-in-prison.110033/#post-1031769

[+ MostlyLurking]

I stand corrected. Almost completely absent.

[Bearofdistinction]

I stand corrected. Almost completely absent.

 

I would agree - I sponsored a session on human trafficking during a past Womens History Month --

I spoke with experts who agree that 90% and more involves women. Male human trafficking is very rare in the US and usually involves lower income communities and participants who are exploited as in the article above - but these are the exceptions rather than the rule.