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Prose and Lore: Memoir Stories About Sex Work #1
Prose: Memoir Writings by People with Experiences in the Sex Trades
There are as many truths about the sex trade as there are people who participate in it. In this new collection of creative nonfiction, people who’ve tangled with the sex industry write about the complications that arise in the mix of sex and money. From the accounts of love and loss, occupational hazards and tricks of the trade to personal stories of hope, resistance and survival, Prose & Lore is a fiery collection of narratives by people who have walked the walk, and are now telling their tales.
The contributions in the book were written by the participants of the Red Umbrella Project’s first memoir writing workshop, which took place in Fall 2012.
The contributions in the book were written by the participants of the Red Umbrella Project’s first memoir writing workshop, which took place in Fall 2012.
- GenresMemoirSex WorkNonfiction
85 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2012
4 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 9, 2012
Pros(e) Issue 1 is an ambitious and fulfilling project. "A collection of writings by individuals with experiences in the sex trade," as it's subheader proclaims, it is a tight, well-edited compilation of lyrical short nonfictional stories and prose poetry. Contributors range from those with decades-long experience as sex workers, to those who stripped for a few months in school, with the underlying and provocatively political subtext: everyone is welcome, nothing is forbidden.
Melissa Petro's introduction is straightforward and to the point: she speaks of the devaluing of sex workers, and their dismissal by "straight" society as not only worthless, but "worth less", to quote her directly. This powerful message, the idea that the words of sex workers are somehow worth less than those of their contemporaries in more conventional careers, is one that has coloured the way sex workers are viewed in modern society. Every after-school special and even late-tight titillations on HBO or Showtime show the world of sex work as glamorous or dangerous, home to the chronically stupid or constantly abused, the drug addicts, the faceless legs in short skirts bending into the windows of cars, one Pros(e) contributor writes.
Instead, Pros(e) shows another facet of sex workers: their powerful writing about the subjects they know. We have a puritanical relationship with sexuality in general in North America, and delivering straightforward or beautiful words on the subject, is often a taboo in and of itself. There can be no honest answering of questions about what goes on behind the closed door of a male escort's first trick of the day, no matter how curious we might be, just to know what happens. There can be no beauty in a stripper's nighttime dance. It is, so the story goes, harsh, unappealing...or strangely too appealing, in a way that echoes rose-colored glasses. We hear stories of the hooker with the heart of gold, or how stripping actually empowers the workers. What we don't usually hear, and what Pros(e) brings, are stories of ambivalence: the same kind of simultaneous love and hate that many people feel in their jobs and lives.
The realness of these bits and pieces is what resonates. One doesn't have to have nursed an un-named lover back from withdrawal to appreciate Dominick's beautiful cadence in "Cali Boy", but we can recognize the echoes of being addicted not to a drug, but a person. Kelley Kenney's diary-style series of notes from her bodyslide massage parlour are touching in the little details, as she notices what song is playing, the color of a client's socks. Aimee Herman's gorgeous prose poetry is so personal as to feel almost embarrassing to read; the level of intimacy not just in the acts she describes, but in describing them, is staggering. My favorite of the segments in Issue 1 of Pros(e), although it is hard to choose, is the loose, easily confrontative style of Essence Revealed; laying herself bare on the page, she talks of how hard it is to be a woman of colour in the sex industry, wrestling with issues of self-doubt, action, and loss.
Overall, Pros(e) was a pleasure to read, and the high calibre of the contributors makes it very likely that all future issues will be equally excellent. I look forward to the next issue with anticipation.
Melissa Petro's introduction is straightforward and to the point: she speaks of the devaluing of sex workers, and their dismissal by "straight" society as not only worthless, but "worth less", to quote her directly. This powerful message, the idea that the words of sex workers are somehow worth less than those of their contemporaries in more conventional careers, is one that has coloured the way sex workers are viewed in modern society. Every after-school special and even late-tight titillations on HBO or Showtime show the world of sex work as glamorous or dangerous, home to the chronically stupid or constantly abused, the drug addicts, the faceless legs in short skirts bending into the windows of cars, one Pros(e) contributor writes.
Instead, Pros(e) shows another facet of sex workers: their powerful writing about the subjects they know. We have a puritanical relationship with sexuality in general in North America, and delivering straightforward or beautiful words on the subject, is often a taboo in and of itself. There can be no honest answering of questions about what goes on behind the closed door of a male escort's first trick of the day, no matter how curious we might be, just to know what happens. There can be no beauty in a stripper's nighttime dance. It is, so the story goes, harsh, unappealing...or strangely too appealing, in a way that echoes rose-colored glasses. We hear stories of the hooker with the heart of gold, or how stripping actually empowers the workers. What we don't usually hear, and what Pros(e) brings, are stories of ambivalence: the same kind of simultaneous love and hate that many people feel in their jobs and lives.
The realness of these bits and pieces is what resonates. One doesn't have to have nursed an un-named lover back from withdrawal to appreciate Dominick's beautiful cadence in "Cali Boy", but we can recognize the echoes of being addicted not to a drug, but a person. Kelley Kenney's diary-style series of notes from her bodyslide massage parlour are touching in the little details, as she notices what song is playing, the color of a client's socks. Aimee Herman's gorgeous prose poetry is so personal as to feel almost embarrassing to read; the level of intimacy not just in the acts she describes, but in describing them, is staggering. My favorite of the segments in Issue 1 of Pros(e), although it is hard to choose, is the loose, easily confrontative style of Essence Revealed; laying herself bare on the page, she talks of how hard it is to be a woman of colour in the sex industry, wrestling with issues of self-doubt, action, and loss.
Overall, Pros(e) was a pleasure to read, and the high calibre of the contributors makes it very likely that all future issues will be equally excellent. I look forward to the next issue with anticipation.
April 3, 2013
I am left with the impression that I have just read incredibly honest writing, starkly so in some cases. It is not often after reading a book that I am left vacillating between rating it as liking, but still unsure how I feel. Honest and raw reflections of working in the worlds oldest profession.
March 27, 2013
An excellent collection of writing from workers who are (or were) in the sex trade. A wide gamut of experiences and perceptions, but they are united in their honesty and good writing.
February 23, 2013
First off, this is available as an ebook from: http://www.redumbrellaproject.org/buy...
I bought the book to gain a better understanding of the sex trade industry as preparation for writing "Prejudices" the sequel to "Mardi Gras." When it eventually comes out of contract, I hope to expand it with another novella of roughly the same length to create a full length book "Pride+Prejudices." Because prejudices are exactly what sex trade workers come up against every moment of their lives.
These stories by people within the industry aren't all-encompassing memoirs. They aren't meant to be, but they do give insight into the reasons why people get involved and the different effect it has on them when they do.
The workers have been encouraged to write about their experiences to help them regain control over who they are. For some, honing their creative writing endeavours is a possible exit strategy.
The writers themselves (some retired some still active) inhabit all shades of the spectrum, gay men, gay women, transgender, straight women. No straight men that I could see.
Topping the bill as a writer is undoubtedly Josh Ryley and his story "Fist" This could have been published as a stand alone. As fiction it would have been an enthralling read. As non-fiction it then transcends enthralling through appalling to just downright sad. More than any, this one explored the nature of the client who used the service while still firmly locked in the head of the man providing him with what he wanted. Was it what he needed? Well that's the big question.
You could smell, feel and see every moment though. The mark of a writer with talent. If this is an example of Josh's writing skills, I'm sure he could make a good fist of being a published author. Pardon the pun.
Other stories were also good in that they showed different sides of their strengths and vulnerabilities. Some were only snippets, showing the factors at the start of their journey, others the hopelessness of their isolation. And isolated they are.
The inability to make connections with people outside the industry once they were in it, ran through every story even if not directly epxressed.
The presence of drugs, the ability or inablity to kick the habit. The love/hate relationship they had with them rippled along like the tidal flow of a river under the top few inches of fresh rain after a heavy downpour.
I may revisit this review when I have more time, just to express my thoughts on the other contributions all of whom had merit. But it's worth buying just to read "Fist" providing your stomach is strong enough. Not for the physical act but because of the "characters" and "setting."
I bought the book to gain a better understanding of the sex trade industry as preparation for writing "Prejudices" the sequel to "Mardi Gras." When it eventually comes out of contract, I hope to expand it with another novella of roughly the same length to create a full length book "Pride+Prejudices." Because prejudices are exactly what sex trade workers come up against every moment of their lives.
These stories by people within the industry aren't all-encompassing memoirs. They aren't meant to be, but they do give insight into the reasons why people get involved and the different effect it has on them when they do.
The workers have been encouraged to write about their experiences to help them regain control over who they are. For some, honing their creative writing endeavours is a possible exit strategy.
The writers themselves (some retired some still active) inhabit all shades of the spectrum, gay men, gay women, transgender, straight women. No straight men that I could see.
Topping the bill as a writer is undoubtedly Josh Ryley and his story "Fist" This could have been published as a stand alone. As fiction it would have been an enthralling read. As non-fiction it then transcends enthralling through appalling to just downright sad. More than any, this one explored the nature of the client who used the service while still firmly locked in the head of the man providing him with what he wanted. Was it what he needed? Well that's the big question.
You could smell, feel and see every moment though. The mark of a writer with talent. If this is an example of Josh's writing skills, I'm sure he could make a good fist of being a published author. Pardon the pun.
Other stories were also good in that they showed different sides of their strengths and vulnerabilities. Some were only snippets, showing the factors at the start of their journey, others the hopelessness of their isolation. And isolated they are.
The inability to make connections with people outside the industry once they were in it, ran through every story even if not directly epxressed.
The presence of drugs, the ability or inablity to kick the habit. The love/hate relationship they had with them rippled along like the tidal flow of a river under the top few inches of fresh rain after a heavy downpour.
I may revisit this review when I have more time, just to express my thoughts on the other contributions all of whom had merit. But it's worth buying just to read "Fist" providing your stomach is strong enough. Not for the physical act but because of the "characters" and "setting."
March 17, 2021
A diverse collection of narratives (although limited in geographical scope because it is primarily from the perspective of SWers in Northeast America) from those within the sex industry. It goes without saying that each sex worker’s experience is unique. Sex work can be liberating and a space to find a community, and it can also be alienating or scary. Public opinions of sex workers matter a lot in how they are treated, which in turn affects the abilities of sex workers to view themselves with dignity.
I do think a closer examination needs to be done regarding the circumstances that lead to one’s entry into the industry. I’m saddened by the accounts that describe their foray into the business because of drug addiction, poverty, or inability to afford education. I hardly think we should be happy that teenagers, upon immediately turning legal age (literally gagging at all the Barely Legal porn that exists), have “liberated” themselves through sex work (which is heavily intertwined with rape, abuse, trafficking, and murder).
If the sex industry disproportionately “employs” those with the least means or most vulnerable, aren’t we creating a mirage of glamor and freedom, dressing up class oppression as liberation? I know this subject is far more complex than I’ve touched upon, but I do not fully buy the lib-feminist approach to SW, especially when I think of the sex trade/tourism that occurs in the Global South.
Side not: I think Marcia Chase’s story would have benefitted from an editor who would have had the foresight to clip out the section about turning a black man into her slave… I know this is all written in the context of the sex trade, but it still comes off as too fetishistic and racist.
I do think a closer examination needs to be done regarding the circumstances that lead to one’s entry into the industry. I’m saddened by the accounts that describe their foray into the business because of drug addiction, poverty, or inability to afford education. I hardly think we should be happy that teenagers, upon immediately turning legal age (literally gagging at all the Barely Legal porn that exists), have “liberated” themselves through sex work (which is heavily intertwined with rape, abuse, trafficking, and murder).
If the sex industry disproportionately “employs” those with the least means or most vulnerable, aren’t we creating a mirage of glamor and freedom, dressing up class oppression as liberation? I know this subject is far more complex than I’ve touched upon, but I do not fully buy the lib-feminist approach to SW, especially when I think of the sex trade/tourism that occurs in the Global South.
Side not: I think Marcia Chase’s story would have benefitted from an editor who would have had the foresight to clip out the section about turning a black man into her slave… I know this is all written in the context of the sex trade, but it still comes off as too fetishistic and racist.
June 21, 2020
I really enjoyed these short memoirs. It's been hard for me to enjoy fiction lately, and this book, which I discovered from reading The Hustling Verse was just what I needed. I find the world of sex work intriguing, and even more how these people deal with the life of selling sex. My favorite story was from Essence Revealed, a black woman who I oddly felt as though I could relate too. I also found Josh Ryley's story to be both hilarious and sad. I recommend this book, and cant wait to finish the rest of this collection!
November 21, 2021
Sex work is work. Respectable work at that. This book is as sad as it is interesting and really makes one see how everything is connected in some way or another. Substance abuse, mental health challenges, racism, gender identity, etc etc. Like everything else, sex work can be liberating or it can be terrifying. It can strengthen or weaken. It can take or it can give. This book is a perfect representation of the power and the pain, the push, and the pull.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews