I Was for Sale.: Confessions of a Bondage Model

by Lisa B. Falour

Cultural Writing. Memoir. Erotica. I WAS FOR SALE. is the autobiographical account of a modern-day Betty Page. Lisa B. Falour went to New York in the late 1970s, when the punk scene was at its height, seeking education, a career, and self-expression and ended up as a bondage model for hire. Those ball gags are just too hard on my dental work. Falour self-published the zines MODERN GIRLZ and BIKINI GIRL for many years. Her artwork is in the permanent collections of many museums. She has also been active in film, video and music projects.

Genres: BDSM

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Caty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possibly one of the worst sex work books ever. Blames all her pre-existing problems on the profession. Whiney as HELL. Yet, colorful, & somehow I couldn't put it down. Here's to likeable horrible books.
Edit: Skimming through it again, I forgot how entertaining it is, & how it depicts the bondage/art/bohemia scene in the NYC 80s so well. So I'll forgive some of its self-pity and give it 1 more star...

[Xysea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A complete waste of time. I put this up on Bookmooch the next day!

[Pat Atteberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a throughly enjoyable confession of a bondage model/prostitute. Unlike many books, both fiction and non-fiction, this did not have a happy ending. Lisa, the author and hero of the book has taken no pleasure in the writing of this book or the life she has led.
The book does not follow a logical time line. Instead it is more like she writes a chapter about whatever it is that she is thinking about at the time. She admits several times that when she says something occured during a particular time period it could be incorrect. Reading this book has the feel of just sitting around with the author as she tells stories, in no particular order, but the reader really feels as if they know Lisa.

[Ella Bianci · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting insight into a life style that was destined not to have a good outcome but the book some how feels oddly insubstantial, leaving the reader feeling informed but maybe not particularly engaged.

[Erich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great printing, cool design, cheap writing.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, it's poorly edited and it's sort of dumb, but it was entertaining.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book because I was a close friend of Lisa at Kent State just before she moved to NYC and later visited her there. Several of the pre 1978 stories were different from what she had told me in 1978. I did not know which version to believe and she wouldn't enlightening me when I asked her after I had read her book. She was not interested in my opinion of the book.
I did not enjoy the book as erotica, memoir, or literature, nor did it explain to me why a very sweet girl wanted so much not to be a sweet girl. Back in 1978 she did tell me that if she was uncomfortable doing something that was a reason why she had to do it. That may explain why she did so many things that only she would be proud of. If I had not known her I would have found the book boring, because I knew her I found it very sad.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't know much about bondage or kink really, so i can't comment on that aspect of this book/how its portrayed.

this kind of memoir is my jam though; little mismatched stories with fuzzy details. the type of memoir that feels like you're chatting with the author over coffee or something. despite falour being an unreliable narrator, i think the underlying reflections about her past, about sex work, about the people she once encountered hold value. if nothing else, what a time capsule for a specific group of people in a bygone era of new york!

[Andi Plouffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many stories are repeated, and the book is not linear.
There were contradictions. 'I've never had nor never will use hard drugs', yet she does Coke. It mentions she smokes crack, several times. That's a hard drug. She takes acid, and various other uppers. Pretty much all she did not do, was heroin.

For someone who lived the 'lifestyle' she sure was an idiot when it came to being part of the scene..... Or safe sex.

Bondage scenes do not equal sex. Neither does modeling. No sex. Period. Not h less you are actually in a relationship with said person or have some form of previous agreement.

At no point are safety words used or mentioned so she often gets 'raped'.... Yet continues seeing several people who have 'raped' her. There is no 'aftercare', no safety, barely any communication.... These are not really scenes..... Not at all....

At one point she is laughing at the fact that she would put grin in her slaves drink, without knowledge or consent from him?!? Horrid!!!!

This was a novel about a mentally damaged, and frankly stupid (5 strange men gangbanging you, no condom, and not even friggin birth control!) woman-child being abused by people who wrongly consider themselves part of the bdsm scene, ad a using others in turn.

I really hope people don't read this book and assume that's what the bdsm scene really is about.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right. So. I would recommend this to anyone who isn't offended by erotica. There's not much of it in here, and what's written about it (bondage, prostitution) is extremely matter-of-fact, but it is in there.

What's fascinating is the description of New York City in the very late 70s and early 80s. I mean, it's a NYC I have never seen before, and only read about. Here you've got a woman who's hard core IN the scene. Plus she wrote the zine Bikini Girl, which I've read once or twice, waybackwhen, in my youth, which I dug.

Sad to note, when I googled Lisa B. Falour, I found out she had passed in January of this year, so sad trombone.