Ask a Former Brothel Bartender

[Aractus]

Oh I have no doubt about why the "independent contractor" arrangement is used, but they're still employees. Making prostitution illegal is a very bad idea - but not having legal safeguards for people who work in the adult industry is also a terrible one too. The government and brothel management should be working together against the drug problem and towards the health of adult workers. And that also means creating opportunities for women to leave the industry and find other work without stigmatisation, etc.

Most clients in Australia treat prostitutes like shit. Now perhaps not a lot can be done about that, but it has a negative effect long-term on people in the industry. So does the drug problem - I can tell you for a fact most prostitutes here move around from place to place frequently. The other issues is that workplaces should be a safe environment and ideally should allow the people who work in them the freedom to go about their work as they wish - i.e. without micromanagement and other obscene constraints; because that leads to stress, anxiety, depression, aggression and a range of other negative effects on health and well-being that of course have flow-on effects including a negative effect on productivity and the economy. Or you can also look at it from the aspect of organised crime - if you reduce the demand you reduce the problem. You don't eliminate it, but you do reduce it and that's a lot better than doing nothing.

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Here's an interesting article . I know Gulia personally, so I might talk to her about this - I think the proposal for exit programs is an excellent idea. As I mentioned above, I don't think making prostitution illegal is a good idea, but proving options and opportunities for people working in the industry is something that is probably very worthwhile. Skills, education, training, etc. are all great tools to help empower people to make the decisions that are right for them.

[dyresand]

where..... can i get a job like this...?

[Crossless2.0]

where..... can i get a job like this...?

Nevada.

[dyresand]

where..... can i get a job like this...?

Nevada.

Hmm thank you  

[FreeTony]

Was it frequented by any hypocritical Christian types?

[Crossless2.0]

Was it frequented by any hypocritical Christian types?

*Shrug*  Probably, but they weren't there to trumpet their Christian virtue so they didn't stand out as such.  One guy wanting to get laid looks pretty much like every other guy who wants to get laid.

There were some interesting Christian types who occasionally showed up, though: there was a small Christian women's group who came around a couple times a year -- not to proselytize or preach but to provide small gifts to the ladies and to chat pleasantly with them about whatever.  They were very nice people and far from stereotypical judgemental asshole Holy Rollers.

Come to think of it, there was quite a lot of religiosity and spiritual woo among the working girls during their down time.  Several made a habit of attending church as their schedules allowed, and I recall many earnest late-night discussions that would break out about religion, the Bible, etc.  Then again, as a group, hookers stand second to probably only  baseball players when it comes to professional superstition -- think Bull Durham but with vastly better negligee shots.  If a girl was on a roll (or not), much soul searching ensued to determine the source of good or bad juju.  Belief in spirits was common, as were home-brewed exorcism rites (burning sage was a favorite) to ward off and/or eliminate evil influences.