vmonet's blog

My dad use to veto my thoughts and feelings with these words: “I make the money around here and when you start supporting this family you can have a say in how things are run. Until then, keep your mouth shut and do what you are told.”

As a teenager, I often dreamed about making money so I could have an opinion.

I got married in my early 30’s and my income rose dramatically from a level which barely kept the lights on to a very healthy six figure income. It wasn’t my job that changed. I had been an escort for a couple years before I got married. But once I said “I do,” I did do my best to be a financial knight in shining armor. Whatever my husband and stepchildren wanted or needed, I went out of my way to make the money to purchase it. It felt like a self-sacrificing role but of course it was more of a manipulative maneuver given my training around money and power.

On May 8, 2006 The Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode which purported to be all about the realities of prostitutioni. Lisa Ling accompanied Oklahoma City Police Department's vice squad as they conducted a sting operation at a truck stop called "Party Row." This pseudo-journalistic effort included Ms. Ling's interview of an arrested prostitute while she was handcuffed. Ling's questioning sounded more like the type of questions I have fielded from would-be clients over the years, than an earnest investigation with the prostitute's welfare in mind.

A day in the life of a prostitute? How dare Oprah title today's show in that fashion. It would have been more truthful to say a day in the life a drug addict, a day in the life of a rape survivor, a day in the life of a teen runaway, a day in the life of a battered woman . . . . nothing was revealed that couldn't be said about many women who are addicted or have been battered or raped or molested - regardless of how they make a living.

So this angry abolitionist started sending me emails. She refused to
say who she is beyond the name she gave. But as I grew to know her
better through her hateful emails, it became apparent that this woman
is not a sex worker. Rather she loves to quote statistics. I guess she
has read about my profession. And when faced with the opportunity to
speak to a real live whore, she would rather beat that whore over the
head with her statistics than listen to the voice and experience and
feelings of one prostitute woman. My fourteen years as a sex worker,