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I Guess I Wasn't Kidding
So no, I wasn't. Or at least what I meant was, there's this lipstick-feminist notion out there that prostitution is a victimless crime, that being a high class hooker is a sort of glamorous life, particularly in this new online world where nobody has to walk the streets anymore. Sudhir Venkatesh gets at these distinctions in his Slate piece arguing that Spitzer didn't pay enough for his nooky. The elite escorts Venkatesh interviews sound like old fashioned mistresses; they are kept "on retainer," sometimes in their own apartments, with medical and grocery bills included. One is an ex-corporate exec (so she says) and describes prostitution in clinical, boardroom terms. So it's possible to delude yourself that high-class hookers are the ones on top, getting paid $10,000 a month to do nothing more than give some rich guy a bath and tell him he's amazing. Which makes the rich guy seem like the fool. But then you read further and the sad part always comes: They are often abused, sometimes take drugs, and every once in a while have to watch the rich guy masturbate in front of them and pretend its just awesome. At least that's the stereotype. I look forward to Venkatesh's book to clear it all up.
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