Archive-name: alt-sex/prostitution/faq
Posting-Frequency: bi-weekly (monthly to *.answers)
Last-modified: 08/25/97
***** Welcome to Alt.Sex.Prostitution! *****
We're glad that you've found us. Please take a moment to read this
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file, as it will help you understand
the standard etiquette (netiquette) for this newsgroup. This file is
Part 1 of 4 which will be posted every two or three weeks.
The FAQ is divided into 4 parts as follows:
Part 1: General information about the newsgroup and the
World Sex Guide.
Part 2: Questions and information about prostitution
in general, plus information on fighting spam.
Part 3: List of organizations that support prostitution
or prostitutes or are working to decriminalize
prostitution.
Part 4: Suggested reading list on prostitution and
prostitutes' rights.
A special thanks to Ms. Margo (co-founder of alt.sex.femdom) for
originating this FAQ and to AGentleMan for adding to it, shaping it,
and improving it in many ways. Thanks also to Catherine La Croix
of COYOTE/Seattle and Carol Leigh of the Prostitutes^R Education
Network for supplying additional material, and a special thanks to
all of you who have made comments and suggestions.
***** What Is Alt.Sex.Prostitution?
Alt.sex.prostitution was chartered as an unmoderated newsgroup
intended for discussion and information exchange about all aspects of
prostitution, including but not limited to the legal situation in
different countries, prices, reviews of brothels, bars, clubs, massage
parlors, escort services, call girls, street prostitutes, and requests
for information. It was newgrouped in August 1995 to replace the
dying alt.sex.services and alt.sex.brothels.
If your internet provider does not carry alt.sex.prostitution you can
usually get them to do so by simply making a request (you can try
email to webmaster@your.site, i.e, your internet provider address, not
the words "your.site"). Meanwhile, you can also find it at Deja News
(see below).
This newsgroup supports prostitution and encourages efforts to
decriminalize it (see definition in Part 2), but discussion of other
viewpoints, including anti-prostitution viewpoints, is also welcome.
The newsgroup charter also states that commercial ads are not allowed,
but obviously in an unmoderated newsgroup this is impossible to
enforce (efforts to discourage ads are discussed below). It will
unfortunately be necessary for you to wade through the ads and spams
(irrelevant cross-postings to multiple groups) to get to the good
information in this newsgroup. The quickest way to do this is to look
for articles with [ASP] at the beginning of the subject line. For
more information, see the section on "How Can I Help Readers Find My
Posts?"
This is not an appropriate group for discussion of strip-clubs or
phone sex, and it is not appropriate for posting of advertisements,
binary files, or fiction stories. There are specialized newsgroups
for these types of items (see below).
***** Where Can I Get Laid in ...(Mytown,
the Place I^Rm Going to Visit, etc. etc.)?
This is, quite naturally, the most frequently asked question in this
newsgroup. The first place you should look for answers is the World
Sex Guide, maintained by Atta and located at:
http://www.paranoia.com/faq/prostitution/
It is also available by email using instructions given below, or it
can be downloaded via ftp as a large (>800Kb) gzipped tar file at
.
The bulk of the World Sex Guide consists of a compilation of posts
from this newsgroup about where to find prostitutes and at what price.
The World Sex Guide is updated irregularly every two or three months
when Atta has a free weekend to devote to the task. The "From" lines
and the signatures are always deleted before an article is archived in
the World Sex Guide. If you send something in and you specifically
want your email address to be left in, please indicate this. If you
specifically do not want your article archived at the web site, feel
free to mention that as well.
New people are encouraged to check the World Sex Guide before posting
requests for information to this newsgroup. Often the information you
are looking for will already be there.
The World Sex Guide also contains articles giving general advice on
how to deal with escorts, massage parlors, streetwalkers, etc. Such
articles can be found at the beginning of the United States section
and at the end of the JayHawk report. There is also some information
about the legal status of prostitution around the world, and other
general information about prostitution. Virtually every
prostitution-related resource on the internet should be accessible
from there.
***** This Is Cool! How Can I Help?
Simple: Post your reports on the availability of various sexual
services in your area or areas you visit. If you are a geographer and
you just discovered the lay of the land, let us know. If you got
ripped off, expose the rip-off artist here (it^Rs a good way to get
even). Pooling our information is, after all, the only way we get the
information at all.
This newsgroup is only as good as its participants. As in any form of
social intercourse, politeness goes a long way. A number of people
who have posted here have been swamped with semi-literate requests for
more information instead of with Thank You^Rs or, much better yet, a
posting of more information. Show your appreciation for what other
people post by posting what information you obtain.
Information of the type being sought here often gets out of date very
quickly. Please do your part by contributing regularly anything you
know that would be useful to others in the group. That is the best
way to help create a healthy group where you can also find the
information you want.
****** How Can I Help Readers Find My Posts?
Rule #1: Identify your post with [ASP]:^?
To help differentiate the wheat from the chaff in this newsgroup, it
has become standard to begin on-topic reports with [ASP] in the
subject line. Using the brackets around [ASP] helps it stand out much
better than using ASP without the brackets. Posts denoted in this
fashion will generally float to the top or bottom of alphabetized news
lists, and even if they don't they are much easier to recognize. You
can also perform find searches for ASP in the subject lines.
Rule #2: Identify your information requests with REQ:
It has become standard in a number of newsgroups to identify requests
with "REQ:", but regardless of how you do it, requests for information
should always be clearly identified as requests in the subject line.
Otherwise, they are more likely to irritate readers and less likely to
get a reply. Readers may get irritated when they open a post that
says, for example, "[ASP] Dayton outcall" in the subject line, only to
find out that it is a request for information rather than a report or
recommendation. Requests are welcome in the newsgroup, but they are
easier to identify as such if they are denoted with "REQ:" or by other
means, even just a question mark, e.g. "[ASP] Dayton request" or
"[ASP] Dayton outcall?" This enables readers to identify more easily
the queries that they might be able to help somebody out with.
To reiterate, the following subject lines for information requests
would all be appropriate, but the first one is the general standard:
[ASP] REQ: Dayton, OH
[ASP] Request Info on Dayton, OH
[ASP] Need info on Dayton, OH
[ASP] Dayton, Ohio ???
You should NOT ask for info in any of the following ways (doing so
will incur the wrath of the real info providers, who will be less
likely to help you out):
[ASP] Info on Dayton, OH
[ASP] Dayton, OH
[ASP] Dayton, OH info
[ASP] Hot action in Dayton, OH
[ASP] Report on Dayton, OH
Here are a few other suggestions:
1. If you are a sex worker or an agency wishing to announce your
availability, you should make that known in the subject line. A
phrase such as "escort available" will help your post stand out and
differentiate it from reports and posts that don't adhere to the
posting guidelines. For example, "[ASP] Dayton escort available"
makes it abundantly clear what the post deals with, whereas "[ASP]
Dayton escort" is a poorly phrased subject line that could be a
request, a report, or a notice of availability.
2. It is generally easier to identify posts if the geographic
reference is placed early in the subject line. For example, "[ASP]
Dayton escort sought" jumps out more quickly than "[ASP] Escort sought
in Dayton."
3. When testing anonymous posting methods (see below), use [TEST]
instead of [ASP] in the header. This still makes it easier to find
amidst the spam, but does not interfere with the information sources
found under the [ASP] header.
4. Subject lines in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are often ignored because
they are characteristic of spam and are considered SHOUTING. Don^Rt
use all capital letters except for the [ASP] and REQ designations.
5. It is also a good idea to avoid using any words in your subject
line that readers might have in their "kill files" which are used to
automatically screen out some of the spam in the newsgroups. Such
words could include the likes of the following: 1-800, 1-900, 011,
(800), (900), $/min, WWW, nigger, homo, queer, Clinton, Newt, jpg,
mpg, jpeg, avi, gif, free, phone, cum, cunt, pussy, ass, fuck, cock,
crave, hole, tight, ass, slut, whore. You get the idea. One of the
best spam filters is one which ignores anything that is cross-posted
to five or more newsgroups (although that will eliminate this FAQ,
which is posted to six newsgroups).
****** How Can I Post Anonymously?
Posting anonymously is very common in the alt.sex newsgroups because
people may not want their neighbors, families, co-workers, or other
associates to know about their activities (or even their thoughts) on
topics in these newsgroups. There are several ways to accomplish this
objective, listed below. They vary in the degree of security and
anonymity they offer, and it is up to you to decide what degree is
sufficient for your needs. Available means of posting anonymously
seem to change rapidly as remailers come and go. Anonymous remailers
often bite the dust, primarily due to spam abuse. This situation is
likely to continue as the internet undergoes its growing pains. This
FAQ endeavors as best it can to keep up with this rapidly changing
subject. If you are reading an older version of this FAQ, try to find
a newer version if you have trouble posting anonymously.
Note: If you want to post something anonymously, it^Rs not a bad idea
to check your method first by posting a short test message with [TEST]
in the header rather than [ASP]. This message won't bother anyone
because it will be lost in the spam, but you will still be able find
it and see whether your method is really anonymous by looking at the
article and all its headers. A common trap is to leave a signature in
your post.
1. Type I anonymous remailers.
One method to post anonymously to this newsgroup is to use an
anonymous remailer in conjunction with a mail-to-news (mail2news)
gateway. There are several such remailers, but only two gateways that
I know of that will post to this newsgroup. These two gateways are
and . This method is more
secure than other methods because your real email address is not kept
on the remailer^Rs computer. However, this also means that you cannot
get email replies.
Any of the following remailers will anonymize your message using the
technique described below:
remailer@replay.com
remailer@cypherpunks.ca
This information keeps changing faster than I can update it,
so if your post doesn't work, look at this web site:
.
For a currently working remailer.
If you have a report, I will post it with all information
about you removed. Just email it to me. If it isn't a report,
don't bother asking.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
Here^Rs how to post anonymously:
1. Email to any one of the above remailers
2. The subject should be the subject of your post
3. On the first line of your message type a double colon ("::")
4. On the second line type:
Anon-To: alt.sex.prostitution@myriad.alias.net
OR post-alt.sex.prostitution@newspost.zippo.com
5. The third line should be blank
6. Start your message on the fourth line
7. Remember not to use a signature!!!!!!!!!
In other words, the body of your email should look like this:
>::
>Anon-To: alt.sex.prostitution@myriad.alias.net
>
>Hello, I'm reporting on.....(whatever)
That^Rs it! Send it off, and the nice folks at the remailer will strip
off all the identifying headers and send your message along to the
nice folks at the mail2news gateway (either myriad.alias.net or
newspost.zippo.com) who will make it pop up in the newsgroup. The
folks at myriad.alias.net were even kind enough to add this newsgroup
to their gateway at my request.
You can post anonymously this way, but you will not be able to get
replies by email. You can get more information about the remailers by
sending a message to any of the remailers with the subject
"remailer-help" (without the quotation marks). The help files you
will receive are essentially identical for all of these remailers, so
one such help file should be sufficient.
A few of the remailers have an "Anon-Post-To" function, but this
function usually will not work for this newsgroup so you will need to
modify their instructions as indicated above (i.e. go through a
gateway) to post here.
Since remailers and gateways are subject to change and periodic down
times, and since both must be operative for this to work, these
methods may at times be unreliable. If your post does not appear
within two days, you can assume it was lost and should try again,
perhaps with another remailer or gateway.
2. Encrypted remailers.
All of the remailers listed above (and others) provide greater
security if you use encryption. Setting up an encrypted reply block
is also possible. This subject is complicated and is beyond the scope
of this FAQ. Updated information and links on anonymous remailers can
be found at .
The links will lead to the necessary PGP encryption software and the
optional Private Idaho software interface. The software is all free
but it takes a while to master it.
3. With your newsreader.
One way to be somewhat anonymous is to simply place a fictitious name
and email address in the user profile of your newsreader software.
Your internet provider will be identified, but you won^Rt be. You
should test this first by posting to alt.test (or some other newsgroup
where you don^Rt care if you are anonymous) to make sure that your name
and email address do not appear in the headers. The information on
who you are will still be in your internet provider^Rs log files, so if
someone files a complaint on something you posted that could be
interpreted as spamming or illegal, your provider could identify you.
This method would generally not be a good idea if you want to post
from work, since if you are using your employer^Rs server they would be
able to identify you. This method may be sufficient for your needs,
however, if your only concern is that you don^Rt want your family or
friends to know that you are posting here.
4. Other email services.
There are a number of other email services available which may be
anonymous enough for your purposes, although in all cases you are
relying on the provider to keep you anonymous. You will need to
decide if this provides the degree of security you want. Some of
these services are listed below. To post to this newsgroup from any
of these services, you can send email directly through a gateway, i.e.
to or
. You can also post to
this newsgroup directly from The Nymserver and Mailanon.
AOL. AOL has been called "the largest anonymous remailer in the
world" because it allows up to five screen names, each of which is a
pseudonym traceable only by AOL and law enforcement.
POSTONE. PostOne is a free email forwarding service based in
Singapore. They forward email to your regular email address, and you
can mail from them either from their web page or by placing
appropriate footers at the end of your message. They make money by
placing short ads at the end of your incoming mail (these are not very
intrusive). Whatever name you place in the name field when you
register will appear in your email, so place your anonymous moniker
(not your real name) in the name field when you sign up. The system
is very easy to use and very fast. The Singapore company states: "We
undertake not to track, alter or reveal private communication. Our
service is bound by the law and public policy." Despite the fact that
prostitution is legal there, Singapore does not have a good track
record on civil liberties, and it has been reported that Singapore
recently started to monitor and censor all incoming web traffic.
You^Rll have to decide if you trust this situation. You can get more
information and sign up for the service at .
THE NYMSERVER. The Nymserver offers a service that works much like
the old anon.penet.fi did, but at a cost of $35 per year. It also
requires a credit card to secure against abuse of the system. They
can be found at . The site contains lots of
information about anonymity on the internet.
MAILANON. Mailanon (formerly Edtec) offers a service that works much
like anon.penet.fi did, but at a cost of $5 a month. They can be found
at or send email toinfos@mailanon.com
for an automated reply with more information.
***** Are There Other Prostitution-Related FAQs?
There is an FAQ specific to legal prostitution in Nevada (U.S.A.)
maintained by Bashful and located at:
http://www.paranoia.com/~bashful/
Other prostitution FAQ files, some of which are area-specific, are
posted from time to time by various users, so keep your eyes open for
them. These will also be added to the World Sex Guide website
whenever it is updated.
***** Is Alt.Sex.Prostitution Archived Anywhere Else?
Yes. All newsgroups are archived at Deja News
. This is a good place to search for
articles that have not yet been archived in the World Sex Guide. Go
to Deja News and click on "Power Search." Then click on "Create a
Query Filter" and put alt.sex.prostitution in the field. Then specify
the dates you want the search to include and submit the query filter.
Then initiate a search for the city or country you are interested in.
If you would like to pull up all articles for the past month or so, go
to "Power Search" and put "~g alt.sex.prostitution" (without the
quotation marks) in the field. Better yet, do a search for "~g
alt.sex.prostitution and ~s ASP". This will pull up only relevant
articles and no ads or spams. Very slick! Use the help files at Deja
News if you need more help.
***** Can I Access the World Sex Guide by email?
Yes. If you don^Rt have web access, you can still get the World Sex
Guide (or any other web page) by email. All you need to know is the
Uniform Resource Locator (or URL, that long ugly string starting with
"http:", "gopher:", or "ftp:") which defines the address of the
document, and you can retrieve it by sending email to one of the
following:
agora@dna.affrc.go.jp (Japan)
agora@kamakura.mss.co.jp (Japan)
agora@info.lanic.utexas.edu (USA)
agora@cobra.tec.mn.us (USA)
agora@mx.nsu.nsk.su (Russia ONLY)
agora@www.undp.org (restricted to "developing" countries)
agora@mail.w3.org (out of service)
In the body of your note include one of these lines, replacing ""
with the actual URL specification.
send
or
rsend (to override your return address)
This will send you back the document you requested, with a list of all
the documents referenced within, so that you may make further
requests. The URL for the World Sex Guide home page is
.
There are also ftp-to-email gateways. These are treated in the
"How to access the Internet via email FAQ" which is posted to
comp.mail.misc.
***** Do Any Sex Workers Read this Newsgroup?
Yes, there are several sex workers who regularly read and sometimes
post to this newsgroup. Their input is particularly valued and if you
see one post, please don't swamp her mailbox with wannas (wannafucks)^?
unless she asks for them. Sex workers are strongly encouraged to post
to this group. Please feel free to post anonymously if it makes you
feel more comfortable about posting here.
***** Where Can I Find Related Newsgroups?
You might enjoy some of the following newsgroups as well:
alt.sex.strip-clubs - Discussion of strip clubs and strippers.
alt.sex.telephone - Discussion of phone sex and phone sex ads.
alt.sex.brothels - Discussion of brothels worldwide.
alt.sex.femdom - Discussion of female domination (Dominatrix).
alt.sex.services - A mixed bag of sex-related services.
alt.sex.movies - Discussion of X-rated movies, videos, & pornstars.
alt.sex.wizards - General sex questions and answers.
alt.sex.safe - Safe sex questions and answers.
sci.med.aids - About HIV/AIDS, mostly by medical professionals.
***** What Can I Post Here?
No one runs (moderates) this newsgroup and no one can stop you from
posting (even though ads are prohibited by the newsgroup charter). As
a part of the alt (alternative) hierarchy this newsgroup is
technically open to any and all postings. However, it is proper
netiquette (net-etiquette) to keep your posts to the topic of the
newsgroup.. Off-topic posts are not welcome and will only irk people
and will not generate interest in whatever it is you are trying to
push.
If your reply is directed to one specific person, please use an e-mail
reply. If you are replying to a long post, please use your editor to
cut the material you quote down to a manageable size. If you quote
180 lines and then add "Me too!" at the bottom you will look like a
jerk. Keeping your line length to 78 characters will stop the last
word of your post from wrapping around onto a new line when it's read
by others. Don't post a message in ALL CAPS since that means that
you're SHOUTING!
This newsgroup has always been fairly friendly, so please keep flames
to a minimum. If you flame someone you open yourself up to being
flamed even worse. Spelling and grammar flames are inappropriate. It
is information that^Rs important, not perfect spelling. All of us make
occasional typros anyway. A.O.L.-bashing is now passe. If you're
flaming someone privately, keep in mind that tactics like mailbombing
and forged cancels can cause you to lose your own account. If you
want to complain about someone's post, send e-mail to
postmaster@their.site or root@their.site. This is preferred over
filling up the newsgroup with flames about an obvious jerk.
Spams (posts to many off-topic newsgroups) and posting chain letters
or pyramid schemes such as Quickcash, Make Money Fast (MMF), and the
Recipes scam will usually cause you to lose your account. Posts such
as MMF are considered fraud and are illegal in many areas. It will
also make everyone on the net hate you and think you're retarded.
Don't do it.
***** Can I Post An Advertisement Here?
Ads are not welcome here. Part of the reason that
alt.sex.prostitution was created was to try (in vain) to escape the
crush of advertisements. Several people are actively working to send
letters of complaint to the Postmaster of anyone who posts commercial
ads to this group. The posting of advertisements to *discussion*
newsgroups is also prohibited by the providers of most services
including .edu sites, .mil sites, A.O.L., Delphi, Prodigy, Compuserve,
Netcom, Earthlink, The Well, and most others (check with Support or
Postmaster at your site if you're unsure of your own rules). If you
have something to advertise, please use the following newsgroups which
are O.K. for ads:
alt.sex.erotica.marketplace - General products/services for sale.
alt.sex.telephone - Phone sex ads.
alt.bbs.ads - BBS ads.
alt.sex.magazines - Magazines for sale and wanted.
alt.sex.wanted - Looking for love or just a little relaxation.
Please note that many Internet services offer "kill lists" or "kill
files" that allow users to automatically kill all messages from
specific posters or specific sites. Therefore, if you post an ad, you
are likely to end up in many kill files and then *none* of your
messages will get through to anyone.
***** Can I Post a Personal Ad Here?
You can, but it's a dumb thing to do. There are very few females who
read this newsgroup and most of those are business Ladies. If your
personal doesn't involve payment for services it belongs in
alt.sex.wanted or one of the many alt.personals.* newsgroups.
***** Why Don't I See Answers to Most of
the Requests for Information?
Some people don't want to post publicly about their possibly illegal
activities. Many of these questions are answered in private e-mail.
This doesn't help everyone else reading, but that's the way it goes.
If you have a specific question, post it and hope for a response.
If your request is seen as too crude, you may not get a response. A
poster's words are the only way readers have of judging him. A poster
who can't put a sentence together with a subject and a verb in the
right place, who doesn't know where the shift key is, and who doesn't
know the difference between a period and the space bar, is perhaps
less likely to get a response. A lot of our readers are looking out
for the ladies and respect them too much to refer somebody to them who
might not treat them as they should be treated.
Another reason that responses might be lacking is that people get
tired of responding to information requests after a while if they
don^Rt get at least a few strokes for doing so. If you put in a
request for information on a particular city, and someone emails you
30 kilobytes of information that was posted a couple of weeks earlier,
send that person a nice Thank You and then post an item to the group
about what you were able to confirm about the information or what you
found to be different. This helps keep the group going smoothly and
makes it more likely that the next person will get a response as well.
If you would like to respond to an information request, but don't feel
comfortable doing so, please use one of the anonymous remailers (see
above) to post your answer. Many of the other readers will appreciate
seeing a response.
***** Where Are the Pictures/FTP Sites/
Secret Porn/Me Too/Me Too/Me Too
Binary pictures can be found on-line in the alt.binaries.pictures.*
newsgroups. If you can't get these newsgroups from your site then get
a provider who carries them; don't whine that people should post them
here. Binaries take up a lot of space on systems and in downloads of
mail packets, so please be considerate and keep them in their place.
Stories can be found in alt.sex.stories (basic porn) or
rec.arts.erotica (literary porn). Stories can also be found in the
various alt.sex.fetish.* groups that are specific to the topic of the
group.
Don't ask that people post the addresses of secret ftp sites of porn.
If someone actually did post (which has happened), 100,000 people
would try to access the site, the Sysadmin of the site would notice,
and it would immediately be shut down. The best you can do is ask
that someone send you one by e-mail. If you don't have one to trade
you're not likely to get any takers.
Postings offering lists of erotic binary sites, or adult binaries by
mail, or nude binaries of famous women are all pranks or scams. The
people posting these messages are either trying to see how many idiots
they can get to follow-up and ask for this stuff, or are trying to get
you to send them money. Be smart and don't be taken in.
If someone requests something don't be one of the hundred fools
posting a "Me too!" follow-up. Either write the original poster via
e-mail asking for the information or wait for the information to be
posted.
***** Who The Hell Are You Anyway?
Starting in July of 1997, the task of maintaining this FAQ was
transferred to a new person who goes by the name of "22 Rimfire". The
name has no special significance; it was picked because I was the 22nd
new customer on my anonymous news server. The real credit for this
FAQ should go to the original author, AGentleMan. I can be reached
at 00022@mailanon.com (22 Rimfire). Don^Rt bother asking me where
to find a prostitute in your city, as I won^Rt bother to respond. All
I could do is repeat what^Rs in this FAQ by referring you to the World
Sex Guide and to the a.s.p newsgroup. If you email me, I will never
reveal your identity.
Why do do this? My main purpose is to spread information about how
to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. If you don't read any other
part of this FAQ, read the section on STD's in section 2. My second
purpose is because I believe that the present laws agains victimless
crimes such as prostitution and drug use do more harm than good. My
third purpose is to help and support sex workers, who are often
harrassed by both criminals and police.
Remember, always treat your sex worker with respect!
Welcome to the alt.sex.prostitution Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
file. This is Part 2 of 4 parts.
Part 1: General information about the newsgroup and the
World Sex Guide.
Part 2: Questions and information about prostitution
in general, plus information on fighting spam.
Part 3: List of organizations that support prostitution
or prostitutes or are working to decriminalize
prostitution.^?
Part 4: Suggested reading list on prostitution and
prostitutes' rights.
****** What about all of the Spam on A.S.P?
This FAQ used to have a section about fighting Spam, but the situation
has changed significantly, making it almost impossible for an individual
to do anything about Spam. The new situation is:
[1] Both the spammers and the spam fighters have gotten much better at it.
[2] The spammers now punish those who complain. You may get thousands of
emails, or even have the next spam look like it came from you!
At this point, the best taht you can do is to sit back and watch: big
changes in the War On Spam are coming soon.
***** Where Is Prostitution Legal?
It is hard to summarize this because the legal status can be
complicated. In regions where prostitution is "legal," it is often
only a small portion of prostitution activities that are allowed, and
much or even most of it may remain criminalized. In some countries
prostitution itself may be technically legal, but virtually all forms
of practicing it are not (such as Italy and England). In other
countries it may be technically illegal, but widely tolerated (such as
Thailand and Japan). Even in places where prostitution is "legal,"
the restrictions on it may be such that the majority of prostitution
in that area still occurs illegally. The World Sex Guide gives some
details where available, but the information is incomplete and
knowledgeable reports are always welcome.
In North America: Prostitution is illegal in all of the U.S.A. except
in Nevada, where licensed brothels are legal in counties that do not
include the major cities (it is not legal in Las Vegas itself). In
Canada, prostitution itself is legal, set at the federal level. It is
illegal, however, to communicate in public (i.e. solicit), to work for
or own or patronize a brothel, or to live off the avails or procure
for the purpose of prostitution. In short, this means that only
independents who take calls at home (not on a cell phone), and then go
on an outcall, are not breaking any laws. (For more information on
the legal situation in Canada, check the web site for SWAV, the Sex
Worker^Rs Alliance of Vancouver, at
.) In Mexico, prostitution
is legal in special "zones of tolerance." Cab drivers always know
where these are located.
Elsewhere (a sampling): At least some forms of prostitution are legal
in many continental European countries such as France, Germany,
Switzerland, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands (where they even have a
union). In England it is technically legal but it is not legal to
solicit or to advertise, nor is it legal to run a brothel. It^Rs legal
in much of Australia, in Singapore, and in several South American
countries including Brazil and Venezuela.
If you are in an area where prostitution is illegal and you have any
doubts as to whether the person you are dealing with might be a law
enforcement officer, think with the big head instead of the little one
and walk away from the situation.
***** What Is the Difference between "Legalizing"
and "Decriminalizing" Prostitution?
Although there is no official definition of legalized or
decriminalized prostitution, most references use the term
"legalization" to refer to any system that specifically allows some
prostitution. Many (or most) societies that allow legal prostitution
do so by giving the state control over the lives and businesses of
those who work as prostitutes. Legalization often includes special
taxes for prostitutes, restricting prostitutes to working in brothels
or in certain zones, licenses, registration of prostitutes and
government records of individual prostitutes, and health checks which
have historically been used to control and stigmatize prostitutes.
Prostitutes' rights organizations (e.g., COYOTE, North American Task
Force on Prostitution) use the term "decriminalization" to mean the
removal of laws against prostitution, in whole or in part.
Decriminalization is usually used to refer to total decriminalization,
that is, the total repeal of laws against consensual adult sexual
activity, in both commercial and non-commercial contexts. In
decriminalized systems, prostitution businesses would be regulated
through civil codes (including business and labor codes, standard
zoning regulations, occupational health and safety codes, etc.) just
as they are applied to any other businesses, so that prostitutes and
clients could conduct business either in brothels or through private
arrangements if they choose. Existing criminal laws targeting abuse,
coercion, etc., would also be applied in cases of violence or
exploitation if associated with prostitution.
A well-researched paper on the legal issues regarding prostitution can
be found at . It^Rs 200Kb
in size and takes a few minutes to load.
The World Charter of the International Committee for Prostitutes^R
Rights calls for decriminalization of all aspects of adult
prostitution resulting from individual decision, stating that there
should be no special law which implies systematic zoning of
prostitution, and that prostitutes should have the freedom to choose
their place of work and residence and provide their services under
conditions determined by themselves and no one else.
***** What Is the Risk of Catching HIV from Prostitutes?
A medical doctor who is a regular contributor to this newsgroup has
compiled a review of the medical literature on this subject, entitled
"Prevalence Of HIV In Sex Workers And Risk To Customers: A Brief
Review." The entire report can be found on the World Sex Guide at
. The
concluding paragraph is as follows:
"The results of these studies are fairly consistent and indicate the
following: Outside of East Africa, the prevalence of HIV in sex
workers is generally only a few percent, and not significantly
different than the HIV incidence in the population as a whole. While
prostitution per se is not a significant risk factor for acquiring HIV
infection, i.v. drug use is, and a significant proportion of sex
workers are also i.v. drug users. Men who use prostitutes do have a
higher risk of acquiring HIV, but only if they have other STDs, or
engage in other high risk behaviors (e.g., anal sex without a condom).
If you have no STDs, use a condom, and avoid sex workers with needle
marks in the arms, your risk is probably no greater than your risk of
getting AIDS from your girlfriend or mistress. If you have a history
of STDs, don't use a condom, and use sex workers who are known i.v.
drug users...good luck!"
These conclusions there are consistent with those found in the other
references on HIV in the bibliography in Part 4 of this FAQ. For
information on safe sex see the Safer Sex Page at
.
***** What Is the Risk of Catching Another STD from Prostitutes?
Fairly small if you use a Condom. You should use a condom at all
times, including when you recieve Oral Sex. You should avoid
giving a prostitute Oral Sex. You may not like this advice, but
you are taking a big risk if you go unprotected. In any case, if
you frequent prostitutes, get regular checkups from a Doctor.
Tell your doctor that you are engaging in behaviour that "puts you
at risk for Sexually Transmitted Disease". You don't have to give
him any more details, but he needs to know this much.
***** Isn^Rt Prostitution a Degrading
and Demeaning Activity?
There is nothing inherently degrading about consensual (non-coerced)
adult sexual activity just because money is exchanged. It would
depend on the people and circumstances involved. "Degrading" is in
the eye of the beholder. Some sex workers feel they are subjecting
themselves to "voluntary rape," and some enjoy their work. For many
it is probably "just a job," as many other jobs are.
One particularly good answer to this question comes from Norma Jean
Almodovar in her book "Cop to Call Girl: Why I Left the LAPD to Make
an Honest Living as a Beverly Hills Prostitute":
"That really depends on the individual involved or how one views sex.
It was not degrading to me because I think that sex is a positive,
nurturing act, and whether it is given out of love or rendered as a
service, as long as it is consensual it is still positive. I cannot
fathom how one could think that making another human being feel good
for a fee could be degrading or demeaning unless it is degrading to
make other people feel good."
Sex worker and writer Veronica Monet wrote that "the popular feminist
view that a woman is degraded by a paid sex act with a man is in
itself inherently sexist. If a woman can be degraded by sex, then she
is a piece of property which loses value with use. A human being
never loses value by engaging in a productive, profitable, and
pleasurable act."
***** Are There Any Organizations that Support
Prostitution/Prostitutes or Are Working
to Decriminalize Prostitution?
Yes, there are many such organizations and groups around the world,
and they are deserving of your support. A list of these organizations
is in Part 3 of this FAQ so those without web access can obtain it.
It can also be found at the excellent web site run by one of these
organizations, COYOTE/Seattle (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics),
located at:
http://www.coyotesea.org
Also check out the Prostitutes^R Education Network web site located at:
http://www.bayswan.org/penet.html
At this highly recommended site you will find (among other things) the
complete text of the Final Report (1996) of the government-sponsored
San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution, which recommends that the
city repeal all laws against prostitution and not enforce any state
laws against prostitution.
***** Are There Any Suggested Readings on
Prostitution and Prostitutes' Rights?
Yes. These are listed in Part 4 of this FAQ (and also at the
COYOTE/Seattle web site listed above). You will also find interesting
readings at the other web sites mentioned in this FAQ.
Remember, always treat your sex worker with respect!
Welcome to the alt.sex.prostitution Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) file. This is Part 3 of 4 parts.
Part 1: General information about the newsgroup and the
World Sex Guide.
Part 2: Questions and information about prostitution
in general, plus information on fighting spam.
Part 3: List of organizations that support prostitution
or prostitutes or are working to decriminalize
prostitution.
Part 4: Suggested reading list on prostitution and
prostitutes' rights.
***** Organizations That Support Prostitution/Prostitutes
Or Are Working To Decriminalize Prostitution
Please note that these organizations are NOT for referrals to sex
workers, especially in areas where prostitution is illegal. Don't
waste your time and their's by asking. Cops ask them all the time to
try to snag them for pandering. They cannot respond to such requests.
These organizations' names, "snail mail" and e-mail addresses,
telephone and FAX numbers change frequently due to the illegality of
sex work in most countries and subsequent police harassment. A
special thanks to Catherine La Croix of COYOTE/Seattle for supplying
this list. Last updated 08/96.
Organizations such as COYOTE are political advocacy groups and are not
allowed 501(c)(3) non-profit tax status. Catherine has personally
contributed about $20,000 of her own money to the cause. Donations of
money or in-kind, e.g. printing, office equipment (copiers et. al.),
etc., to this or other organizations below are always appreciated and
helpful.
*UNITED STATES*
COYOTE/San Francisco (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics)
2269 Chestnut Street, #452
San Francisco, California 94123
U.S.A.
Phone : (415)435-7950
E-mail: margosj@aol.com
Attn: Margo St. James or Carol Stewart
COYOTE/Los Angeles
1626 N. Wilcox Avenue, #580
Hollywood, California 90028
U.S.A.
Phone: (818)892-1859
E-mail: 76370.3345@compuserve.com
Attn: Norma Jean Almodovar, Executive Director
COYOTE/Seattle
16625 Redmond Way
Box M-237
Redmond, Washington 98052
U.S.A.
Phone-FAX-FAXBack: (206)869-9245
Catherine La Croix, Executive Director (catherine.la.croix@attbi.com)
COYOTE staff (coyote@coyotesea.org)
Worldwide Web: http://www.coyotesea.org
COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) works for the rights
of all sex workers: strippers, phone operators, prostitutes,
porn stars, etc. of all genders and persuasions. Supports
programs to assist sex workers in their choice to change their
occupation, works to prevent the scapegoating of sex workers
for AIDS and other STDs, and to educate sex workers, their
clients and the general public about safe sex. Note: They do
NOT provide sex worker referrals. COYOTE is a member of the
North American Task Force on Prostitution.
CAL-PEP (California Prostitutes Education Project)
630 20th Street
Suite 305
Oakland, California 94612
U.S.A.
Phone: (510)874-7850
Non-profit AIDS/HIV/drug user education and prevention
organization, specializing in an effort to target isolated
groups of women and youth who are at high risk for HIV
disease. Established in 1985 by ex-prostitutes and
prostitutes' rights advocates, and maintaining a policy to
employ and utilize community members.
North American Task Force on Prostitution (NTFP)
Post Office Box 2113
New York, New York 10025-2113
U.S.A.
Attn: Priscilla Alexander
Phone/FAX: (212)866-8854
E-mail: pja14@columbia.edu
The North American Task Force on Prostitution (NTFP) was
founded in 1979, to act as an umbrella organization for
prostitutes and prostitutes' rights organizations in
different parts of the United States. In 1994, its scope
was expanded to include organizations and individuals who
support the rights of prostitutes and other sex workers.
The NTFP is thus a network of sex workers, sex workers'
rights organizations, and individuals and organizations
that support the rights of sex workers to organize on their
own behalf, work safely and without legal repression, travel
without legal restrictions, have families and raise children,
and enjoy the same rights, responsibilities, and privileges
as other people. Affiliated organizations include:
COYOTE-San Francisco, COYOTE-Los Angeles, HIRE-Atlanta,
PONY-New York, SWAC-San Francisco, SWAT-Toronto, and
Willing Women Workers-Minneapolis/St. Paul.
The NTFP is affiliated with the International Committee for
Prostitutes Rights (ICPR), based in the Netherlands, with a
growing number of affiliated organizations in Europe, North
and South America, Australasia, and Africa, and the Network
of Sex Work Projects, based in the United Kingdom.
Hooking is Real Employment (HIRE)
847 Monroe Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
U.S.A.
Phone: (404)876-1212
E-mail: frenchdom@aol.com
Attn: Dolores French, Executive Director
Sex Workers Action Coalition (SWAC)
PO Box 210256
San Francsico, CA 94121
U.S.A.
Phone: (415)435-7931
E-mail: carolleigh@aol.com
Attn: Carol Leigh, Director
P.O.N.Y. (Prostitutes Of New York)
271 Madison Avenue, #908
New York, New York 10016
U.S.A.
Phone: (212)713-5678
Attn: Susan Daisy
U.S. Prostitutes Collective
Post Office Box 14512
San Francisco, California 94114
U.S.A.
Phone: (415)626-4114
Waikiki Health Center
277 Ohua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815-3695
U.S.A.
Attn: Pam Vessel
*CANADA*
Maggie's
298 Gerrard Street East
Post Office Box 1143, Station F
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2T8
Canada
Phone: (416)964-0150
E-mail: maggie@intacc.web.net
Maggie's mission is to provide education and support to
assist sex workers in their efforts to live and work with
safety and dignity. Maggie's produces Bad Trick Sheets,
Bad Call Sheets, runs the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project
and runs a resource center for sex workers. Maggie's is
incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization in
Ontario and receives financial contributions from the
City of Toronto Department of Public Health, the Ontario
Ministry of Health, Health Canada, the Ontario Trillium
Foundation and private sponsors. Maggie's is associated
with the NTFP.
Sex Workers Alliance of Toronto (SWAT)
Post Office Box 1143, Station F
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2T8
CANADA
Phone: (416)360-8461
E-mail: maggie@intacc.web.net
Sex Workers' Alliance of Vancouver
Post Office Box 3075
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 3X6
Canada
Phone: (604)488-0710
E-mail: swav@walnet.org
Worldwide Web: http://www.walnet.org/swav/
The Sex Workers' Alliance of Vancouver was founded in 1994
to fight for sex workers' rights to fair wages and working
conditions that are safe, clean and healthy. We are people
who work or have worked in the sex industry and our friends.
We meet informally to develop and implement ways to make the
sex trade a safer and healthier place to work. With this aim
SWAV opposes any law that criminalizes work in the sex trade.
Currently, SWAV publishes a Bad Calls List (a database of
descriptions of violent men who pose as clients of pros who
make dates over the phone), health and legal information and
provides free condoms. Members are available for support for
others working in the sex trade and to educate service
providers about the needs of sex workers. SWAV is a member
of the North American Task Force on Prostitution (NTFP), the
International Committee for Prostitutes' Rights (ICPR) and
the Network of Sex Work Projects. SWAV is not an agency of
the government, nor does it receive any government funding.
*CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA*
MUSA A.C.
Col. Alamos C.P. Mexico
DF 03400
MEXICO
Phone/FAX: 52 (56) 80-4901
Attn: Claudia Colimoro
Prostitution & Civil Rights
ISER Ladeira da Gloria
98 Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro 22211
BRAZIL
Phone: 011-552-1-265-5747
FAX: 011-552-1-205-4796
Attn: Chris Peterson, M.D.
Programma Pegacao
NOSS Rua Visconde de Piraja 127/201
Ipanema Rio de Janeiro/ RJ
CEP 22410-001
BRAZIL
Phone: 552-1-227-5944
FAX: 011-552-1-205-5087
Attn: Paulo Longo
Associacao de Prostitutas do Estato de Rio de Janeiro
R Miguel de Frias 718, Estacao
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
BRAZIL
Phone: 011-552-1-273-7991
FAX: 011-552-1-286-2657
Attn: Euridice Francisco
*EUROPE*
Network of Sexwork Projects
54 Bryantwood Road
London N77-BE
UNITED KINGDOM
Phone/FAX: 44-71-609-0112
Attn: Cheryl Overs
Outsiders (for disabled people)
P. O. Box 4ZB
London, England W1A 4ZB
UNITED KINGDOM
Phone: 071 739 3195
Attn: Dr. Tuppy Owens
De Rode Draad (The Red Thread)
Kloveniersburgwal, 47
Amsterdam
NEDERLANDS
Phone: 011-31-20-624-3366
FAX: 011-31-20-620-0383
Mr A. de Graaf Stichting
Instituut voor Prostitutie Vraagstukken
4, Westermarkt
1016 DK Amsterdam
NETHERLANDS
Phone: 31-20-624-7149
31-20-620-2593
FAX: 31-20-624-6529
Attn: Jan Visser
PAYOKE
Zirksttraat 27 2000
Antwerpen
BELGIUM
FAX: 011-32-3-14 14 31
HWG
Karlsruher Str. 5
60329 Frankfurt
GERMANY
Phone: 069/ 25 27 42
FAX: 069/ 25 03 31
Attn: Christine Drossler
HYDRA
Rigaer Strasse 3
10247 Berlin
GERMANY
Phone: 030/707-47 23
Attn: Monika Hofman
Kassandra
Kopernikusplatz 12
90459 Nurnberg
GERMANY
Phone: 0911/44 28 89
Straps & Grips
c/o Aids Hilfe
Herwarthstr. 2
48143 Munster
GERMANY
Phone: 0251/4 30 31
Cinderella
Postfach 10 18 14
40009 Dusseldorf
GERMANY
Phone: 0211/899 65 90
Phoenix e. V
Postfach 47 62
Bergmannstr. 3
30159 Hannover
GERMANY
Phone: 0511/1 46 46
Nitribitt
Stader Str. 1
28205 Bremen
GERMANY
Phone: 0421/ 44 86 62
Hurenselbst-hilfe Saabrucken
Forsterstr. 39
66125 Saabrucken
GERMANY
Phone: 0681/ 38 85-286
Hurizonte e. V
Archiv und Dokumentationszentrum fur Prostitution
Postfach 30 35 53
10727 Berlin
GERMANY
Phone: 030/218 55 16
Madonna
Gusstahlstr. 34
44793 Bochum
GERMANY
Phone: 0234/68 57 50
FAX: 0234/68 57 50
Nutten & Nuttchen
Fredericiastr. 14
14059 Berlin
GERMANY
Phone: 030/ 302 22 53
Attn: Barbara Merzinger
Caf'e Sperre
Schillerstr. 69
34117 Kassel
GERMANY
Phone: 0561/ 770 775
Bathseba
Steinwegpassage 42 A
38100 Braunschweig
GERMANY
Phone: 0531/ 4 44 71
Callboy's Organizations (Germany)
Querstrich Auguststr. 84
10117 Berlin
GERMANY
Phone: 090/ 208 74 19
Strichweise Heiter
c/o Basisprojekt
Hamburg St. Georg-Kirchhof 26
2009 Hamburg
GERMANY
Phone: 040/24 96 94
FAX: 040/280 26 73
Comitato per i Diritti Civili delle Prostitute
Casella Postal 67
33170 Pordenone
ITALY
Phone: 011-0434/ 640563
FAX: 0434 640563
Attn: Pia Covre
Scot-PEP
21A Torphican Street
Edinburgh EH3 8HX
SCOTLAND
Phone: 011-44-31-229-8269
FAX: 44-31-228-2563
Attn: Ruth Morgan Thomas
Aspasie
10 r. Charles Cusin
Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Phone: 011-41-22-732-6828
Attn: Mireille Rodeville
Centre de Documentation International sur la Prostitution
24, rue Neuchatel
1201 Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Phone: 41-22-732-8276
Attn: Griselidis Real
Xenia
Mauerain 1
3012 Bern
SWITZERLAND
Phone: 011-41-31-24 34 42
*AUSTRALASIA*
Action for REACH OUT
Post Office Box 98108
T.S.T. Post Office
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
HONG KONG
Phone: 110-9318 call 392
FAX: 852-2782-0583
EMPOWER
National Office
57/60 Tivanont Road
Nonthburi 11000
THAILAND
Phone: 011-66-2-526-8311
Attn: Chantipwa (Noi) Apisuk
Scarlet Alliance
Post Office Box 811
Fyshwick 2609
Australian Central Territories
AUSTRALIA
Phone: (06) 239-1213
FAX: (06) 239-1196
ACT (WISE)
Workers in Sex Employment
Post Office Box 811
Fyshwick 2609
Australian Central Territories
AUSTRALIA
Phone: (06) 239-2905
FAX: (06) 280-5393
S.W.O.P.
Sex Workers Outreach Project
PO Box 1354
Strawberry Hills
AUSTRALIA
Phone: 61 2 319 4866
FAX: 02 9310 4262
SQWISI (Self Help for Queensland Workers in the Sex Industry)
Post Office Box 689
West End Q4101
Queensland
AUSTRALIA
Phone/FAX: (07) 844 4565
The Australian National University Department of Human Geography
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Canberry 0200
Australian Central Territories
AUSTRALIA
Attn: Alison Murray
New Zealand Prostitutes Collective
Post Office Box 11-412
Manners Street
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: (04) 382-8791
FAX: (04) 801-5690
Attn: Catherine Healy
New Zealand Prostitutes Collective
Post Office Box 13-561
Christchurch
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: (03) 365- 2595
New Zealand Prostitutes Collective
Post Office Box 6407
Dunedin
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: (03) 477-6988
FAX: (03) 477-3863
New Zealand Prostitutes Collective
Post Office Box 68509
Newton, Auckland
NEW ZEALAND
Phone/FAX: (09) 366-6106
Attn: Roxanne Henare
Remember, always treat your sex worker with respect!
Welcome to the alt.sex.prostitution Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
file. This is Part 4 of 4 parts.
Part 1: General information about the newsgroup and the
World Sex Guide.
Part 2: Questions and information about prostitution
in general, plus information on fighting spam.
Part 3: List of organizations that support prostitution
or prostitutes or are working to decriminalize
prostitution.
Part 4: Suggested reading list on prostitution and
prostitutes' rights.
***** Suggested Reading on Prostitution
and Prostitutes' Rights
A sincere thanks to Priscilla Alexander of the North American Task
Force on Prostitution (NTFP) and to Catherine La Croix of
COYOTE/Seattle for providing the following list. Some of the
publications are now out of print but most are available in larger
metropolitan and university libraries.
Whorezine
Order From:
Blowfish
info@blowfish.com
http://www.blowfish.com/
A magazine devoted to prostitutes and their concerns.
It is an excellent resource by and for sex workers, and
simpatico customers.
**Sex Work: The Voices of Experience**^?
Almodovar, Norma Jean, Cop to Call Girl: Why I Left the LAPD to Make
an Honest Living as a Beverly Hills Prostitute. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1993.
Barrows, Sydney Biddle, with William Novak, Mayflower Madam. New York:
Ballantine Books, 1986.
Bell, Laurie (ed.), Good Girls/Bad Girls: Feminists and Sex Trade
Workers Face to Face. Seattle: The Seal Press, 1987.
Delacoste, Frederique and Priscilla Alexander (eds.), Sex Work:
Writings by Women in the Sex Industry. San Francisco: Cleis Press,
1987. London: Virago Press, 1988. Translations: German: Sex Arbeit.
Heyne Verlag, 1989. Includes Priscilla Alexander, "Prostitution: A
Difficult Issue for Feminists," and "Prostitutes are being Scapegoated
for Heterosexual AIDS."
French, Dolores and Linda Lee, Working: My Life as a Prostitute. New
York: E.P. Dutton, 1988. Atlanta's most famous whore and founder of
HIRE (Hooking Is Real Employment) shares her life in the Life.
Jaget, Claude (ed.), Prostitutes, Our Life. London: Falling Wall
Press, 1980. Translated by Anne Furse, Suzie Fleming, and Ruth Hall.
Kimball, Nell, Nell Kimball: Her Life as an American Madam. Edited by
Stephen Longstreet. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1970. Pithy,
acerbic and practical from a woman who knew how to run a house...and
run it well.
La Croix, Catherine, "Don't Hate Me Because I'm a Whore: After All,
Some of My Best Friends Are Feminists," Dinur, Esty (guest ed.),
Feminist Voices, Volume VIII, No. 7. Discusses the tendency of many
right-wing feminists to attempt exclusion of female sex workers from
the women's movement by pathologizing and patronizing them and their
choices.
Leigh, Carol (ed.), "In Defense of Prostitution: Prostitutes debate
their 'choice' of profession," Gauntlet, Vol. I, No. 7. A special
issue devoted to sex work in the United States. Includes articles
about AIDS, police corruption, working conditions, and covers both
prostitution and pornography. The contributors include sex workers,
sociologists, sex radicals, and others.
Madeleine: an Autobiography. New York: Persea Books, 1986.
Introduction to the 1919 Edition by Judge Ben B. Lindsey; new
introduction by Marcia Carlisle.
McClintock, Anne (guest ed.), Social Text, Winter 1993, Number 37. A
special issue devoted to sex work issues. Includes articles covering
such issues as stigma, feminism, and power relations, written by sex
workers, clients, sociologists, psychologists.
Morgan Thomas, Ruth, "HIV and the Sex Industry," Judy Bury, Val
Morrison & Sheena McLachlan (eds.), Working with Women & AIDS:
Medical, Social & Counseling Issues. London: Tavistock/Routledge,
1992.
Perkins, Roberta, Working Girls: Prostitutes, their Life and Social
Control. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 1991.
Perkins, Roberta, Bennett G, Being a Prostitute: Prostitute women and
prostitute men. Boston: Allen & Unwin, Inc., 1985.
Pheterson, G (ed.), A Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Seattle:
Seal Press, 1989. Translations: Nosotros, Las Putas. Madrid: Talasa
Ediciones, 1992. Includes the proceedings of the Second World Whores
Congress held in Brussels, Belgium, in 1986.
Roberts, Nickie, Whores in History: Prostitution in Western Society.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. This book, the first of its
kind, is written by a former sex worker; as such, it offers a unique
perspective on the historical record, quite different in tone from
other books on the subject.
Rosen, Ruth and Sue Davidson, The Mamie Papers. Old Westbury, NY: The
Feminist Press, 1977.
**Sex Work: The Voices of Observation**
Barnhart, Jacqueline Baker, The Fair but Frail: Prostitution in San
Francisco 1849-1900. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1986.
Bassermann, Lujo, The Oldest Profession: A History of Prostitution.
Translated from the German by James Cleugh. New York: Dorset Press,
1965, 1967.
Bell, Shannon, Reading, Writing & Rewriting the Prostitute Body.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994.
Bristow, Edward J., Prostitution and Prejudice: The Jewish Fight
against White Slavery 1870-1939. New York: Schocken Books, 1983.
Bullough, Vern and Bonnie Bullough, Women and Prostitution: A Social
History. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1987.
Butler, Anne M., Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in
the American West 1865-90. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois
Press, 1985.
Carlton, Charles, Royal Mistresses. London: Routledge, 1990.
Carmen, Moody, Working Women: The Subterranean World of Street
Prostitution. New York: Harper & Row, 1985.
Cohen, B, Deviant Street Networks: Prostitution in New York City.
Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1980.
Connelly, Mark Thomas, The Response to Prostitution in the Progressive
Era. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980.
Davis, Nanette J. (ed.), Prostitution, An International Handbook on
Trends, Problems, and Policies. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993.
Davis, Sylvia (with Marcia Shaffer), "Prostitution in Canada: The
Invisible Menace or the Menace of Invisibility?" 1994. Excellent paper
on decriminalization. Available on the World Wide Web at
.
D'Emilio, John D., and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A
History of Sexuality in America. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
Finnegan, Frances, Poverty and Prostitution: A study of Victorian
prostitutes in York. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Gilfoyle, Timothy J., City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and
the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920. New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 1992.
Goldman, Marion S., Gold Diggers and Silver Miners: Prostitution
and Social Life on the Comstock Lode. Ann Arbor: The University of
Michigan Press, 1981.
Hill, Marilyn Wood, Their Sisters' Keepers: Prostitution in New York
City, 1830-1870. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
Hobson, Barbara Meil, Uneasy Virtue: The Politics of Prostitution and
the American Reform Tradition. New York: Basic Books, 1987.
Jenness, Valerie, Making It Work: The Prostitutes' Rights Movement in
Perspective. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1993.
Kasindorf, Jeanie, The Nye County Brothel Wars. New York: Linden
Press, 1985. Fascinating history of the famous Chicken Ranch in
southern Nevada.
Lerner, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1986. See the chapter, "Veiling the Woman." Miller, E. M.,
Street Woman. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986.
Neave, M., "The Failure of Prostitution Law Reform," Australian and
New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 21, (1988).
Otis, Leah Lydia, Prostitution and Medieval Society: The History of an
Urban Institution in Languedoc. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 1985.
Pearl, Julie, "The Highest Paying Customers: America's Cities and the
Costs of Prostitution Control," The Hastings Law Journal, Vol. 38, No.
4, April 1987, p. 769-800.^?
Perry, Mary Elizabeth, Crime and Society in Early Modern Seville.
Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1980. See the chapter,
"Lost Women."
Pomeroy, Sarah B., Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in
Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1975.
Quigley, J., "The Dilemma of Prostitution Law Reform: Lessons From the
Soviet Russian Experiment," American Criminal Law Review, 29 (1992).
Richards, Jeffrey, Sex, Dissidence and Damnation: Minority Groups in
the Middle Ages. London: Routledge, 1990. See especially Chapter 6:
"Prostitutes."
Rosen, Ruth, The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America 1900-1918.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982.
Rossiaud, Jacques, Medieval Prostitution. Translated by Lydia G.
Cochrane. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984, 1988.
Scibelli, P., "Empowering Prostitutes: A Proposal for International
Legal Reform," Harvard Women's Law Journal, 10 (1987).
Taylor, Allegra, Prostitution: What's Love Got to Do with It? London:
Optima, Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1991.
Sallie Tisdale, Talk Dirty to Me: An Intimate Philosophy of Sex.
Doubleday, 1994.
Vogliotti, Gabriel R., The Girls of Nevada. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel
Press, 1975. Includes a history of prostitution in Nevada (not a
guidebook).
Walkowitz, Judith R., City of Dreadful Delight: Narratives of Sexual
Danger in Late-Victorian London. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 1992.
**Sex Work in Developing Countries: AFRICA**
Africa Hall, Laurel Meredith, "'Night Life' in Kenya," in Gail
Pheterson (ed), A Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Seattle: Seal
Press, 1989.
Moodie, T. Dunbar (with Vivienne Ndatshe and British Sibuyi),
"Migrancy and Male Sexuality on the South African Gold Mines," in
Martin Bauml Duberman, Martha Vicinius, and George Chauncey, Jr.
(eds), Hidden from History: Reclaiming the gay and lesbian past. New
York: New American Library, 1989.
Neequaye, Alfred, "Prostitution in Accra," in Martin Plant (ed), AIDS,
Drugs, and Prostitution. London: Tavistock Publications, 1987.
Nelson, Nici, "'Selling her Kiosk': Kikuyu notions of sexuality and
sex for sale in Mathare Valley, Kenya,:" in Pat Caplan (ed), The
Cultural Construction of Sexuality. London: Tavistock Publications,
1987.
Oostenk, Annemiek, "A Visit to Burkina Faso," in Gail Pheterson (ed),
A Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Seattle: Seal Press, 1989.
Pickering, Helen, et al., "Prostitutes and their Clients: A Gambian
survey," Soc. Sci. Med., Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 75-88, 1992.
Tabet, Paola, "I'm the Meat, I'm the Knife: Sexual Service, Migration,
and Repression in Some African Societies," in Gail Pheterson (ed), A
Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Seattle: Seal Press, 1989.
White, Luise, The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.
White, Luise, "Prostitution, Identity, and Class Consciousness during
World War II," Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 11,2
(1986), pp. 255-73.
Wilson, David, et al., "A Pilot Study for an HIV Prevention Programme
among Commercial Sex Workers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe," Soc. Sci. Med.,
Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 609-618, 1990.
**Sex Work in Developing Countries: ASIA**
Asia Watch and The Women's Rights Project, A Modern Form of Slavery:
Trafficking of Burmese Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand. New
York: Human Rights Watch, 1993.
Desquitado, Marivic R., Behind the Shadows: Towards a better
understanding of prostituted women. Davao City: Talikala, Inc., 1992.
Published by a community organizing project in Davao City, the
Philippines. The project was formed by a group that included social
workers and prostitutes.
Enloe, Cynthia, Bananas, Beaches & Bases: Making Feminist Sense of
International Politics. London: Pandora Press, 1989. See the chapters,
"On the Beach: Sexism and Tourism," and "Base Women."
Enloe, Cynthia, Does Khaki Become You? The Militarisation of Women's
Lives. Boston: South End Press, 1983. See the chapters, "The Military
Needs Camp Followers" and "The Militarisation of Prostitution."
Gronewold, Sue, Beautiful Merchandise: Prostitution in China
1860-1936. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1985.
Haeri, Shahla, Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi'i Iran.
Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1989.
Kapur, Promilla, The Indian Call Girls. New Delhi: Orient Paperbacks,
1979. This book comes with an insert that says, "This book has now
been exonerated from obscenity charge by Delhi High Court."
Nanda, Serena, Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India. Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990.
Odzer, Cleo, Patpong sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok
Sex World. New York: Blue Moon Books/Arcade Publishing, 1994.
Phongpaichit, Pasuk, From Peasant Girls to Bangkok Masseuses. Geneva:
International Labour Office, 1982.
Raghuramaiah, K. Lakshmi, Night Birds: Indian Prostitutes from
Devadasis to Call Girls. Delhi: Chankya Publications, 1991.
Sturdevant, Saundra Pollack, & Stoltzfus, Brenda, Let the Good Times
Roll: Prostitution and the U.S. Military in Asia. New York: The New
Press, 1992.
Thorbek, Suzanne, Voices from the City: Women of Bangkok. London: Zed
Books, 1987.
Truong, Thanh-Dam, Sex, Money and Morality: Prostitution and tourism
in South-east Asia. London: Zed Books, 1990.
Truong, Thanh-Dam, Virtue, Order, Health and Money: Towards a
comprehensive perspective on female prostitution in Asia. Bangkok:
United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific, 1986.
**Sex Work: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (HIV) and Working
Conditions**
Alexander, Priscilla, Making Sex Work Safer: A guide to HIV/AIDS
Prevention Interventions. Geneva: World Health Organization, Global
Programme on AIDS (in press).
Alexander, Priscilla, "Prostitutes are being Scapegoated for AIDS," in
Delacoste, Frederique and Priscilla Alexander (eds.), Sex Work:
Writings by women in the sex industry. San Francisco: Cleis Press,
1987. London: Virago Press, 1988. Translations: German: Sex Arbeit.
Heyne Verlag, 1989.
Alexander, Priscilla, "Sex Workers Fight Against AIDS: An
International Perspective," in Beth E. Schneider and Nancy Stoller
(eds.), Women Resisting AIDS: Strategies of Empowerment.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994.
Brandt, Allan M., No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal
Disease in the United States since 1880. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1985 (Paperback, 1987).
Brandt, Allan M., "A Historical Perspective," in Harlon L. Dalton and
Scott Burris (eds.), AIDS and the Law: A Guide for the Public. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.
Brandt, Allan M., "AIDS: From Social History to Social Policy," in
Elizabeth Fee and Daniel M. Fox (eds.), AIDS: The Burdens of History.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
Cohen, Judith B., Priscilla Alexander, and Constance Wofsy,
"Prostitutes and AIDS: Public Policy Issues," AIDS & Public Policy
Journal, 3:2, 1988, pp. 16-22.
Cohen, Judith B. and Priscilla Alexander, "Female Prostitutes:
Scapegoats in the AIDS Epidemic," in Ann O'Leary and Loretta Sweet
Jemmott (eds.), Women and AIDS: Primary Prevention. New York: Plenum
Press (in press).
Davenport-Hines, Richard, Sex, Death and Punishment: Attitudes to sex
and sexuality in Britain since the Renaissance. London: Fontana
Press/HarperCollins, 1990.
Gibson, Mary, Prostitution and the State in Italy, 1860-1915. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1986.
Harsin, Jill, Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth Century Paris.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985.
Hyam, Ronald, Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience.
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Mahood, Linda, The Magdalenes: Prostitution in the Nineteenth Century.
London: Routledge, 1990. Scotland, contemporaneous with the
Contagious Diseases Acts in England.
Mort, Frank, Dangerous Sexualities: Medico-Moral Politics in England
since 1830. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.
Plant, Martin (ed.), AIDS, Drugs, and Prostitution. London:
Tavistock/Routledge, 1990. A series of papers on the epidemiology of
HIV infection among prostitutes and the impact of AIDS prevention and
community organizing interventions in Europe, the United States,
Australia, and Africa.
Rosenberg, Michael J., "Prostitutes and AIDS: A Health Department
Priority?" American Journal of Public Health, April 1988, 78:4, pp.
418-423.
Quetel, Claude, History of Syphilis. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1990. Translated by Judith Braddock and Brian Pike,
originally Le Mal de Naples: histoire de la syphilis, Paris: Editions
Seghers, 1986.
Walkowitz, Judith R., Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women,
Class, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
Remember, always treat your sex worker with respect!
