Demonizing sex workers

[MelissaBaby]

[re. "well respected"]



Well... there are plenty of people willing to talk about how much they respect nurses and teachers, both of which I'd count as primarily female occupations.

But that talk seems pretty hollow when one looks at the actual pay and conditions for people working in those occupations, and the shit they have to put up with. I recall Nina Hartley talking about quitting nursing to go work in porn, and it sounded like for her it was a big improvement.

Exactly. Lip service is not respect.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You know I am so always sometimes.

Nearly 230 posts in, it only just occurred to me that I have a four story series about demonizing sex workers. Except it’s literal in my case. How did I forget Emma’s Escorts?

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Name a primarily female occupation that is.

Well said!

Em

 

[Rustyoznail]

@Bramblethorn, I'm in Vic, but I take your point. Trafficking, as in "We're holding onto your passport and you're paying us 90% of your miserly wage to go towards food and board." And you're correct about this type of exploitation being widespread in labour intensive industries. But that's a whole different discussion.

Moving to other industries, a quick check of local government jobs shows an apprentice gardener is paid more than a qualified child care worker. Priorities people!

 

[StillStunned]

Also not to make light of the subject, but I'm writing a story provisionally called "Demonised" (alternative title: "Bought and Souled"). Prostitutes are literal demons, and the price is more than just cash.

I'm a bit concerned that the underlying message is both too subtle and too heavy-handed. When I'm done I might ask for people's opinions before I submit it.

(For the record, I'm strongly against people blaming/hating/demonising anyone else for their own shortcomings and behaviour.)

The story is provisionally ready, if anyone wants to have a read before I submit it for publication. Like I said, it's inspired by the topic of this thread, but it veered off in a strange direction. I'd appreciate people's thoughts.

Drop me a line if you feel up to reading 3300 words of Erotic Horror that's decidedly not a happy-happy feel-good romp.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Sure, pm me for contact info.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Ummm, well, let me think about that.

Name a primarily female occupation that is.

 

[AchtungNight]

Primary female occupation that isn’t demonized by the general public? How about nursing? Wait, the males in that profession are shunned and condemned for lack of ambition to be doctors. Same for male cheerleaders, who also get condemned for other things. Ugh.

This is a mess, folks. Don’t even get me started on nuns or female stunt doubles.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Name a primarily female occupation that is.

No contenders as yet.

I’d say catwalk model, but that’s kinda making your point for you.

Biology is a case study - I don’t have the precise figures to hand. But more than half of undergrads are female. A little less than half of PhD students. By the time you get to PI, it’s male city. Head of an institute or faculty of a large research college? Guess what?

Em

 

[AchtungNight]

Inspired by this thread and my recent dealings with a malicious narcissist, plus one of my recurring nightmares-

https://literotica.com/s/courtney-crowe

Courtney isn’t a sex worker or a demon, just a troublemaker taking her greed a bit too far.

 

[MillieDynamite]

A Maneater?

Inspired by this thread and my recent dealings with a malicious narcissist, plus one of my recurring nightmares-

https://literotica.com/s/courtney-crowe

Courtney isn’t a sex worker or a demon, just a troublemaker taking her greed a bit too far.

 

[Stimtheone]

I had DE finish with the main guy getting married to a prostitute. One that was still performing during the relationship, but that place had casual sex as the norm. Now, whatever real-world politics and opinions are, no such care is in here. At best, the thought to emerge might be that anyone who provides sex through their work is probably not loyal, but that's a different conversation.

But people will judge on anything these days.

 

[AchtungNight]

A Maneater?

No, a woman with ulterior motives who uses Molly to drug and nearly kill two men without their consent after engaging in consensual sex with them, followed by false accusations of sexual assault and emotional distress. She uses corrupt law enforcement, self-inflicted injury, evidence tampering, and the common conditioning to “always believe female victims” to back up her claims. All for greed, mind you. “Fire Woman” was written in part to sort out her comeuppance. Her plan fails largely due to smart detectives and one drug dealer, plus her own inability to think of everything (the cops will look in your purse- should have put that drug phial somewhere else!- and your victims won’t necessarily react to the drugs like you expect, nor the cops to your manipulation!).

 

[AchtungNight]

It's very rare for an attempted murder victim to consent to said attempted murder. (Though it can be done.)

Yeah, that’s one of the things that trips her up.

Detective- Well, the two men we found with you had a bad reaction to the drugs, we have evidence you gave them the drugs and tried to hide that you did, and there is such a thing as felony murder…
Courtney- They weren’t supposed to die!

Once you blunder with words like that in a police interview, you’re pretty much up shit creek.

 

[MillieDynamite]

While her motive was greed, if she purposely destroyed their lives (no matter what she stood to gain), that is a Maneater. Should she relish in their pain, she's a full-blown Maneater. A vamp is one who destroys men financially. In this case, taking their wealth and making it their own is the goal. A femme fatale will use a man for criminal purposes, up to and including murder.

 

[AchtungNight]

While her motive was greed, if she purposely destroyed their lives (no matter what she stood to gain), that is a Maneater. Should she relish in their pain, she's a full-blown Maneater. A vamp is one who destroys men financially. In this case, taking their wealth and making it their own is the goal. A femme fatale will use a man for criminal purposes, up to and including murder.

She’s definitely a femme fatale. I wasn’t aware of the other definitions, guess she’s that too. But she is definitely the second most villainous woman I’ve ever written. Also in the top five- Jessica from Counseling, Athena from the God of War story, Alicia from Rendezvous (who does reform by story’s end but she’s still a villain), and Caij from my Star Wars Jedi Survivor work (not yet finished, not on Lit).

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, being a Vamp, Maneater, or Femme Fatale doesn't make you a bad person, does it? Okay, yes, it sort of does, but it doesn't mean the reader won't like her.

She’s definitely a femme fatale. I wasn’t aware of the other definitions, guess she’s that too. But she is definitely the second most villainous woman I’ve ever written. Also in the top five- Jessica from Counseling, Athena from the God of War story, Alicia from Rendezvous (who does reform by story’s end but she’s still a villain), and Caij from my Star Wars Jedi Survivor work (not yet finished, not on Lit).

 

[AchtungNight]

Well, being a Vamp, Maneater, or Femme Fatale doesn't make you a bad person, does it? Okay, yes, it sort of does, but it doesn't mean the reader won't like her.

If the reader likes her, great. If the reader seeks to emulate her, I disavow any support. Villains should not be treated as role models.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yeah, that’s one of the things that trips her up.

Detective- Well, the two men we found with you had a bad reaction to the drugs, we have evidence you gave them the drugs and tried to hide that you did, and there is such a thing as felony murder…
Courtney- They weren’t supposed to die!

Once you blunder with words like that in a police interview, you’re pretty much up shit creek.

So many fictional antagonists would be walking free today if they'd only invoked their right to remain silent.

 

[MelissaBaby]

So many fictional antagonists would be walking free today if they'd only invoked their right to remain silent.

"Don't say shit to cops" is a lesson I learned by the time I was 16.

 

[MillieDynamite]

How many times do I have to tell you, don't reveal the plan when you have the gun on the hero? Shoot the bastard, and be done with it. Now he's escaped, and we're screwed.

So many fictional antagonists would be walking free today if they'd only invoked their right to remain silent.

 

[HordHolm]

How many times do I have to tell you, don't reveal the plan when you have the gun on the hero? Shoot the bastard, and be done with it. Now he's escaped, and we're screwed.

Or more succinctly, "when you've got to shoot, shoot, don't talk." Tuco, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

 

[AchtungNight]

So many fictional antagonists would be walking free today if they'd only invoked their right to remain silent.

She wanted to invoke that right and was advised to do so. But it’s hard to remember that when you’re berated by a creative detective and you’re a drug addict high off your own supply.

 

[AchtungNight]

Or more succinctly, "when you've got to shoot, shoot, don't talk." Tuco, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

“Dad, just shoot him!”
“I can’t just shoot him! I need to put him in a difficult to escape death trap situation with one inept guard!”
“Dad, no! Shoot him! Now!”
“Shh! Zip it!”

 

[Djmac1031]

@EmilyMiller , you may find this interesting:

So this comment just came in on my latest story, One Night Of Sindi.

My story, much like the one Emily wrote that kicked off this discussion, is also about a sex worker.

The difference is, unlike Emily's character, I didn't really give mine much of a backstory, or attach anything like a husband, or family.

Emily did so and the commenters disparaged the idea.

And yet here's the comment on mine. By Anonymous, of course:

by Anonymous user on 10 minutes ago
Please write another chapter. Maybe Cynthia will emerge, and she and Jack could have a future, even if he mistakingly makes her a mommy... With all she's gone through, she may make a loving wife and mother...

Wait, what? Someone who thinks a sex worker could also make a great wife and mother???

Will wonders ever cease???