Prose & Lore is the Red Umbrella Project’s literary journal, which collects memoir stories about sex work in two issues per year (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer). The stories are original to Prose & Lore, and about 75% of the authors in each issue are previously unpublished. Many of the contributors participate in RedUP’s memoir workshops and drop-in writing… Continue reading An Excerpt from Prose and Lore, Issue #2 (2013)
Category: Prostitution
How Texas Made Ezekiel Gilbert’s Aquittal Possible
Last week, social media flooded with outrage over the acquittal of Ezekiel Gilbert for the murder of Lenora Ivie Frago. On December 24, 2009, Gilbert and Frago met via Craigslist and agreed that he would pay her $150 for her time as a companion. Time, Gilbert argued, that was supposed to include sex. Frago left… Continue reading How Texas Made Ezekiel Gilbert’s Aquittal Possible
The Big Ripoff: TER, The Texas Murder Aquittal, and the Myth of the Vulnerable Client
In early 2010, Dave Elms, founder of the infamous website The Erotic Review (best known as the review site where clients rate prostitutes on a scale of 1-10), was arrested after talking to an undercover officer in an attempt to hire a hit man. Elms wanted to pay for the murder of an escort and… Continue reading The Big Ripoff: TER, The Texas Murder Aquittal, and the Myth of the Vulnerable Client
On Hobbyists and Reviews: Providers Sound Off
Review boards aren’t for us. They’re for sad, sad clients to commiserate with each other and get back some of the power they feel they’ve lost by having to pay for sex in the first place. But I didn’t always know that. Once upon a time, I was a review board junkie. That only lasted… Continue reading On Hobbyists and Reviews: Providers Sound Off
We Need A Better Review Culture
Since becoming a full-time companion (my euphemism of choice) in the United States about nine months ago, I have noticed two distinct issues that affect our safety and ability to continue to operate. The first, most pressing issue is the fact that full service sex work is illegal in most parts of the country. The… Continue reading We Need A Better Review Culture