From Boston.com:
Federal bankruptcy judge resigns
“A federal bankruptcy judge from Boston who pleaded no contest Wednesday to driving while intoxicated in Manchester, N.H., resigned yesterday.
US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma called Gary H. Wente, circuit executive of the US Courts for the First Circuit, from the Caribbean, where he had gone for a previously arranged vacation, and resigned, Wente said.”
(snip)
“Somma was arrested by police in Manchester at about 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, after he rear-ended a pickup truck at a traffic light in Manchester. No one was hurt in the accident, after which Somma was charged with driving while intoxicated and following too closely.”
But that’s not why I’m blogging this story. From What Really Happened I found another version of the story at Union Leader:
Arrested judge wore dress, women’s hosiery
“A Boston-based federal judge wore a black cocktail dress, fish-net stockings and high heels when police arrested him for drunk driving after he rear-ended a pickup truck last week, sources said.”
(snip)
“The arresting officer made no mention of the judge’s attire in the written report police provided to the media other than to note the judge “had a difficult time locating his license in his purse.”
Two sources confirmed Somma was wearing a cocktail dress, women’s hose and high heels when his Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan struck a pickup truck stopped at a red light on Elm Street about 11:29 p.m. on Feb. 6.
“He told police his wife was out of town … so he decided to come up to Manchester where no one would know him,” said a city government official speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said he was told of the incident by a top police administrator during a briefing session.”
—
Obviously if you’re too drunk don’t drive. But if you’re a public figure, politician or a crossdressing judge you really shouldn’t drink and drive. If only Judge Somma would have hired a nice mistress to escort him out for the evening.
Or they could have stayed in and drank. The judge could have given her a nice fashion show while they both sipped cocktails and no one would ever known about his secret life.
Posted by Vixen as News at 12:40 AM CST
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I’m crossposting my Sugasm message just to make sure I reach all the submitters.
“Hey gang-
I’m doing a little traveling this weekend and thought I’d be able to get not only the draft out on time but the Sugasm as well. But instead I’m running a late. Looks like the draft will be sent out Sunday. I’ll post the Sugasm on Tuesday.”
Posted by Vixen as Musings, Sugasm at 10:51 AM CST
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I participated in the Feminist Carnival again. Want some new blogs to read? You can check out the full list on the Uncool blog here. Thanks to Lina for hosting this one.
Posted by Vixen as Musings at 10:38 PM CST
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After reading books filled with sex worker stories I feel like I’ve just satiated a hunger I didn’t realize I had. We need books like this. I’ve been exploring Sex Solidarity lately on this blog and one theme that keeps coming up is communication. Sex workers are stronger when we share our stories and our knowledge together. Can you guess that I loved Working Sex, Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry? I did. It was awesome! Again, thank you Seal Press for sending me a copy.
One of the things that struck me most was how I related to so many of the stories. A line would resonate with me and often the author was in a different sex work niche than me. The book really spoke some of the universal truths that are in the industry. There are so many great parts in this book. Instead of reviewing each story I want to share with you some specific lines that I found especially poignant.
From Annie Oakley’s Introduction:
“Sometimes you see the best of people and yourself, and everything seems so easy and attainable, and the money feels like it’s rolling in for free. Other times it’s the worst job you’ve ever had and you can’t believe the ugliness of humanity and you want to get out and never come back.”
This is one of the best descriptions of sex work that I’ve read.
Janelle Galazia commented on the futility of focusing on the sex aspect of sex work. “By keeping the
debate about sex work focused on sex, and not work, the true nature of the issue is obscured.
(snip)
“In this framework women are sluts instead of workers, or victims instead of cognizant participants in an economy.”
Jessica Melusine recalled in her piece Campus Sluts Forever! a game her phone sex coworkers played. They had to say non sexual phrases and make them sound sexy. This was by far one of the funniest stories in the book.
I was happy to see Siobhan Brooks’ An Interview With Gloria Lockett touched on feminism. “I’ve always felt that I was a feminist, but what a feminist is to me is not what a feminist is to some people. I love being a woman and I think it’s my right to do whatever I want with my body and mind.”
Recently I read an article by Gloria Steinem that reminded me that I’m by no means a typical feminist. For feminism and sex work to coexist we need to define it on our terms. Can I be a feminist and like porn? Yes! Can I be a feminist and a sex worker? Yes!
In Shelby Aesthetic’s Whoreanomics she comments on her fellow street prostitutes. “But the truth was they had a strong bond with each other, they really looked out for one another. It made me feel safer.” This could be applied to so many different areas of the industry. As a phone sex operator it certainly matches up with my experiences with coworkers.
Mirha-Soleil Ross’s Dear John was my favorite piece. She starts off making the excellent point that sex workers often focus on telling bad John stories because they are the most entertaining. In her story she is referring specifically to prostitutes but it applies to lots of sex workers. For her piece she wanted to recall some of her great clients. Their stories were so touching and really showed how there is a need for sex workers. As much as governments try to control, regulate and illegalize sex work they will never be able to stamp out the desire for us. There will always be clients out there who need our services.
I keep going back to her story. She captured the love, the caring, the bonding and the companionship that so often accompanies sex work. As much as I use my blog to blow off steam about my pso gig I hope I too capture the positive side of this work.
There were a couple downsides. Some contributers submitted songs. Unless I’ve heard the song first I’m not generally moved by reading song lyrics. It always feels like I’m missing something. Reading the lyrics I can sense a hint of the song’s power but it’s like trying to catch smoke with your fingers.
Anna Joy Springer’s My Pride and Broken Buzzers was a disappointment. Though I could ascertain that the buzzers were meant to represent breasts I just felt like I was missing something. Her writing was written in a sort of code. “At the game show for the dispossessed, I met a buzzer repair specialist who was a blood-and-grease wrestler.” The entire story is written like this. It left me feeling confused about what the meaning was and not sure of her point.
The only thing that could make this better is if Annie Oakley decided to make it a series. How wonderful to have a Volume 2, 3 and 4? I don’t tire of sex worker stories. Maybe it’s because I don’t work in an office and have the proverbial water cooler to hang around and swap tales. Even if we have the most accepting and understanding ears, no one truly understands us like fellow sex workers do. Reading books like Working Sex makes me feel so connected to my fellow sex workers. Sex work can often be isolating so having a sense of community is a treasure.
But what if you’re not a sex worker? Is it still worth the read? Definitely. This books covers so many types of sex work and so many perspectives that it will give multiple insights into the industry. As Annie Oakley says in her introduction- “Experienced or experimental, poetic or pornographic, angry or academic, the pieces complement each other, and through their differences begin to articulate a fuller picture of the amazing humans who populate the mysterious landscape of this business.”
Posted by Vixen as Reviews, Sex Workers at 10:56 PM CST
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“You’ve created a monster.”
-a sissy who was amazed his orgasms could be so powerful
Posted by Vixen as Quote Book at 10:57 PM CST
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The best of this week’s blogs by the bloggers who blog them. Highlighting the top 3 posts as chosen by Sugasm participants. Want in Sugasm #119? Submit a link to your best post of the week using this form. Participants, repost the link list within a week and you’re all set.
This Week’s Picks
An Erotic Story…Samson and Delilah
“Now how exactly does one go about seducing a preacher?”
A Kiss
“Then, the lulling low roar of your voice falls away and we are both leaning forward, transfixed.”
Clif & Lydia Drop Over The Edge
“She nervously giggled and lowered her lashes. ”
Mr. Sugasm Himself
The Secret of Playboy Legs
Editor’s Choice
The Carnival of Feminists 53: Call for submissions
More Sugasm
Join the Sugasm
See also: Fleshbot’s Sex Blog Roundup each Tuesday and Friday.
Tara courtesy of Tara Tainton.
Posted by Vixen as Sugasm at 10:40 PM CST
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From The Cavalier Daily:
Sex, religion catalyze controversy for Nichol
“The leadership abilities of Gene Nichol, president of the College of William & Mary, have recently come under fire by some William & Mary alumni as well as several state delegates who are concerned about the president’s decision to remove the historic Wren Chapel cross and allow the performance of the “Sex Workers’ Art Show.”"
(snip)
“Cole agreed with Marshall’s sentiment, arguing in a letter written to several state delegates that Nichol’s decision is “turning the public property of the College into a bawdy house venue for pimps, prostitutes and dominatrix.”
Nichols is not alone in believing the performance is protected by the Constitution, though. Del. Joe Morrissey D-Alexandria said the show should be allowed at William & Mary, noting that a spectrum of views should be given free reign in academic atmospheres.”
For a student’s perspective check out Beneath the cobblestones blog:
The Slander of William & Mary
“Delegate Hugo not only misrepresents President Nichol’s involvement in the Sex Worker’s Art Show (he had none!), but implies that it was Nichol’s idea to force extra regulations on the show, i.e. the prohibition against photography. Let me be very clear: I signed the SWAS contract (as the President of one of the co-sponsoring organizations), and I have spoken at length with the main organizers several times about it. President Gene Nichol had absolutely nothing to do with the rule against photography, or any of the extra censorship and regulations imposed on this show through the unprecedented contract we were made to sign. These demands came straight from Bob McDonnell the Attorney General of Virginia.”
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 10:26 PM CST
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Lina from Uncool is hosting the Carnival of Feminists again. I enjoyed the last go around with her at the reins so am participating again.
President Bush says his drinking during his 30’s was a “youthful indiscretion”. As a grown Pagan woman my youthful indiscretions occurred during childhood when I experimented with Christianity.
My parents raised me to figure out religion on my own. It is one of the best things they ever did for me. Not liking the Christian teachings, I happily skipped church growing up. But I lived in a small town. Practically everyone I knew was some form of Christian and went to church. Repeatedly I heard the Good News about the Lord and Savior from friends and even in my public school. Afterschool activities often started with a prayer circle. I was known as the “atheist kid”. The kid whose heathen parents didn’t even take me tell me about God. Elementary school wasn’t too bad but for some reason when I entered junior high the teasing increased. It may sound odd that I was made fun of for not being Christian but that is one of the charms of living in a closed minded community.
Maybe it was the peer pressure or maybe I felt like experimenting but one summer I decided to go to church. I announced it to my parents. They were supportive but I remember the sideways glance my Mom and Dad shared when I delivered the news. My friends were overwhelmingly supportive. In my town a big deal was made by the churches to bring in more souls to the flock and to deliver the Good News to the non-believers.
In a way it was fun. I got to play religious tourist. For weeks I would stay the night at a friend’s house on Saturday and go to church with her family that Sunday morning. I tried several branches of Christianity-Baptist, Protestant, Presbyterian, Catholic, Pentecostal and Lutheran. The experiment didn’t last long. Feeling like an outsider in every congregation I soon gave up the idea, preferring to climb a tree. Even back then I saw more God in a tree than I did in a building. One episode stands out in my mind.
In seventh grade I had a friend Jamie whose family belonged to a conservative Christian church. Per my routine I spent Saturday night with her and accompanied her family to church services the following morning. Jamie and I rode in the back seat of the family car while her parents drove me home. Her father asked what I thought of their church. I mumbled something non-committal. (In reality I didn’t like it but knew it was rude to say so. Though my mother didn’t press religion on me she was a stickler for manners.) He commented about my parents not taking me to church and asked if they were atheists. I said something about them not liking organized religion. He asked me what I believed. There was a tone in his voice that made me nervous. I decided to only share a little and said I believed in reincarnation.
Silence enveloped the car. It was as if I had screamed a curse word.
Jamie’s father then launched into a lecture. Reincarnation was a lie. If reincarnation was real then humans could be born again as grasshoppers and that was ridiculous. (I remember thinking that life as a grasshopper might not be so bad. You could hop through the grass.) Reincarnation was a delusion created by the Devil to trick people. If I believed in reincarnation then I would go to Hell when I died. On and on he went until he pulled into my driveway.
Grabbing my bags I refused to look at any of them because I was embarrassed that he had made me cry. Though we remained friends Jamie later told me she wasn’t allowed to invite me over for a sleepover again.
Looking back I think some of my feminism was born during that car ride. I was so angry. I knew it was wrong for him to yell at me. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong-I had just answered a question. But it was more than that. It was this adult man telling the little girl me that I was wrong to believe in something. It was so important to him that I believe what he told me to believe. But I was just a scared little girl and instead of yelling back I ran to my room to hide until I calmed down. I never told my parents what happened. Her church was the last one I experimented with.
As an adult I’m vocal about freedom of religion. But is it a feminist issue? Absolutely. How would the world be different if everyone were raised to choose their own beliefs rather than being told to worship a particular faith?
Would there be so many laws controlling women’s bodies? Would there be so much sexual guilt? Would there be so much sexual violence? Would sex work be seen as legitimate work? Hell, would the Madonna/Whore complex even exist anymore? Having true freedom of religion could change the world.
Posted by Vixen as Musings at 10:22 PM CST
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I’m drawn to this gallery. Probably because I am SO ready for summer.
Posted by Vixen as Sexy Sensations at 10:57 PM CST
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Sex Worker Background
I’ve been a sex workers for almost ten years, working as a dominatrix, escort, masseuse, madam, and a porn filmmaker. My blog is www.sexpros.net and talks about my work in the industry as well as my activism with SWOP Chicago.
What kind of sex work are you currently doing?
I still do escort and massage, as well as some fetish work. I also shoot porn and crew on adult movies from time to time.
Are you active in sex worker activism? If so, what are you doing?
Yes! I am a member of Sex Workers Outreach Project-Chicago and am helping plan for the Desiree Alliance Conference in July of 2008 in Chicago.
What do you think is the best way to promote solidarity with fellow sex workers?
We need to reach out to one another, rather than being so isolated, and realize that we are not in competition with one another. There are a lot of working girls that would not consider themselves to be “political”, so we need to find a way to reach out to them and let them know that they should demand respect and better working conditions. We need to look at sex worker rights as a human rights issue and educate other sex workers are what their rights are, on and off the job.
I’ve found that it’s really tough to create solidarity in the sex work community because so many workers are afraid of being exposed and don’t want to admit to being a sex worker in a public forum (but are willing to post pictures of themselves online, so go figure). So I think we need to find a way to make sex work more acceptable and not something to be ashamed about. Maybe then will more workers be willing to form a bond and create a solidified community willing to work for change.
What project(s) are you working on now?
My blog-www.sexpros.net
Organizing the 2008 Desiree Alliance conference with SWOP. Creating a porn film fest for Chicago sometime in summer ‘08.
Shooting porn for my friends Morgana and David at www.morganamoon.com
—
Libertine touches on two key points-isolation and competition. It often seems that isolation is just a part of sex work. Many of us work one on one with a client and don’t have a “break room” where we can hang out together. I see sex workers reaching out to each other as a form of activism. By befriending fellow workers we find common ground, fight burn out, educate and protect each other.
And by reaching out we break down the competition wall that often separates us. There is often a competitive vibe amongst sex workers. I’ve had it happen to me. A fellow PSO become upset that one of her regulars was calling me. She talked trash about me and forbade him to call me again. What did he do? Called me and in a gossipy tone relayed every nasty thing she said. At first I didn’t want to believe him. She was a fellow sex worker?! But I started hearing similar stories from other clients that we shared. Then some other PSOs shared that this particular woman had been forbidding clients to call me.
I chose not to confront her because I figured she’d deny it. Instead I invited the clients to call her and to have a good time. Instead of bashing back I spoke of her good qualities and talked about the certain fetishes she handled well. Did I lose clients? Quite the opposite. They seemed to call me more because I had the confidence to not bash her back. Somehow I must be an amazing PSO if I knew they’d call back. In reality I was shaken up that a sex worker sister had bad mouthed me. This was in my early years and I was scared to get in a fight with a fellow worker.
But it proved to be a valuable lesson. Fighting over clients doesn’t pay. It only isolates us. My friend Sera and I shared clients when she was doing PSO work. Sometimes they did the same fantasy with both of us, sometimes they did one fetish with me and another with her. Occasionally we talked to him together. (These were by far some of my all time favorite calls.)
Sometimes I’ve talked to a man and we’ve made a horrible match. Either he wants a submissive or wants to talk about a subject that I don’t know much about. I’ve referred him to fellow PSO. The client is happy because he gets a better experience and I’ve helped a friend out. She refers a client to me in the future when they’re not a good match. This creates solidarity. When we knowingly share or refer clients everyone benefits.
Sex Worker Solidarity Series
Sex Worker Solidarity: Introduction
Sex Worker Solidarity: Audacia Ray
Sex Worker Solidarity: Dallas From Babeland
Sex Worker Solidarity: Secondhand Rose
Sex Worker Solidarity: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Posted by Vixen as PSO Confessions, Interviews, Sex Workers at 11:49 PM CST
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