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ABC's Prostitution Special Saddens Us, Annoys Former Sex Workers

Posted by Bryan Christian

 

Hey, you know what? We spent most of our evening on Friday watching ABC's "Prostitution in America" news special, which was apparently years in the making but was rushed onto the air post-Spitzer, just for you -- but we wound up not mentioning anything because we try not to write about too many things that makes us want to slit our fucking wrists. Yeesh, what a depressing parade of misery and addiction that was. Like, it was such an overwhelming bummer that we couldn't even begin to discuss the facts or anything like that if we'd wanted to.

Anyway, thank God we don't have to think anything more about it, because former sex workers -- because former sex pro and current blogger Gracie Passette has done plenty of (far more informed) thinking on it for us.

The only moments approaching the experiences of the two of us were those with the unidentified courtesan. And not just because that's the only way the two of us would (when escorting or now) appear in such a broadcast; this woman was sane, rational.

While Diane literally said that she "couldn't accept" the courtesan's unwillingness to say she didn't feel she was losing anything special about sex or in any way say that her work made her feel dirty confused, we both knew what the courtesan was saying. Not only does this serve to illustrate more of Diane's inability to be objective, but a complete unwillingness to be open to considering a view point other than her own.

It's a long read, but probably of interest even if you didn't catch the show (though maybe you did, since the ratings were surprisingly good).


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About Bryan Christian

Bryan Christian has worked as a writer for Epicurious, GenArt and ID magazine; a web producer for WWD and Condé Nast; and a cameraman for his friends. He's married and lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

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  • about the blogger

    Emily Farris writes about culture and food for numerous publications and websites you've probably never heard of, including her own blog eefers. Her first cookbook, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven was published in 2008. Emily recently escaped New York and now lives in a ridiculously large apartment in Kansas City, MO with her cat, but just one... so far.

    Brian Fairbanks is a filmmaker living in the wilds of Brooklyn. He previously wrote for the Hartford Courant and Gawker. He won the Williamsburg Spelling Bee once. He loves cats, women with guns, and burning books.

    Colleen Kane has been an editor at BUST and Playgirl magazines and has written for the endangered species of dead-tree magazines like SPIN and Plenty, as well as Radar Online and other websites. She lives in exile in Baton Rouge with her fiance, two dogs, and her former cat. Read her personal blogs at ColleenKane.com.

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