Comments on: In My Skin (2008)

By: You Know That Cliché of Trading Sex for Drugs? Here’s the Real Thing | WebInvestigator.KK.org

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:15:11 +0000

[…] As former heroin-using sex worker Kate Holden snidely and succinctly puts it in her 2008 memoir, In My Skin: “I’d always sworn not to screw a dealer for dope, that was tacky.” When I was a callow, […]

By: Caty Simon

Caty Simon — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:42:50 +0000

In reply to Calenture. Yeah, I read that. Still sorta felt like she was taking an outsider's position.

By: Calenture

Calenture — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:20:33 +0000

In reply to Calenture.

Oh, and while I remember, here is a piece she wrote on the politics of sex work:

http://meanjin.com.au/editions/volume-70-number-1-2011/article/sex-work-and-feminism/

By: Calenture

Calenture — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:18:33 +0000

Hi Caty, thanks for your reply. Kate H has appeared at a lot of literary events / festivals in Australia, so I took the opportunity to speak to her at one of those.

I appreciate your critical comments about the way a ‘My drug hell’ book imposes a generic and apolitical story structure (though I think it notable that this book avoids any mention of 12-step pieties),* but another reason to admire Kate is that she takes people’s dumb questions in very good grace and always speaks honestly about her experiences in the industry. E.g. I heard someone ask her ‘Don’t you think you are glamourising the sex industry?’ (Seriously, wtf?)

*Disclaimer: I’ve benefitted enormously from AA, but I’m definitely aware of this problem.

By: Caty Simon

Caty Simon — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 04:35:38 +0000

In reply to Calenture.

Like I wrote in the review, I think her treatment of clients is one of the best and most realistic I’ve seen in sex worker memoirs. You should e-mail her and let her know she’s helped you become a better client–I bet she’d appreciate it.

By: Calenture

Calenture — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:38:44 +0000

As a client in the Australian sex industry, I loved this book because it depicted Kate’s interactions with johns honestly: scathing and dismissive where the behaviour of clients merited that; much more generous otherwise; and very clear about the criteria used to make those judgements. I would say that reading this book helped me to be a better client, and to understand the perspective and experiences of workers better.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:38:50 +0000

Not every book need be political to be legitimate. It’s just as legitimate to tell a story.

In fact, I find the apolitical nature of the book refreshing; I like reading her story without having an agenda pushed on me.

By: Miss Dior Dandridge

Miss Dior Dandridge — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:06:13 +0000

i really wasnt a fan of this book.too depressing & boring