Here’s a few recommendations for all you kinky book worms out there:
Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry, edited by Frederique Delacoste and Priscilla Alexander
There are plenty of folks out there writing about sex work these days. Lucky for us working girls, more and more of that writing is being done by people actually IN the industry. We still have to shout twice as loud to be heard above the cacophony of voices that claim to speak for us, in one breath calling us victims, delusional, and debased creatures responsible for the decay of society. And people wonder why I’m so busy. Sex Work is a good, thick overview of women in the industry from a wide variety of branches with just as many differing opinions and attitudes. The first half of the book is more women in their own words short stories. The second half puts on the glasses and dishes out some very impressive essays on the history and nature of prostitution.
The first half goes down like sweet candy with a cayenne kick. The second half requires a slower read though it still produces a nice fire with-in. But like any good, thought-provoking writing, its best to let things digest before moving on to the next course. No spoilers, but I will say Sarah Wynter can kiss my sex-positive totally empowered ass.
Good choice for all women’s studies majors as well as any working girls looking for a little empathy and a lot of ammo for the next decriminalize it debate.
Women of the Light: The New Sacred Prostitute by Kenneth Ray Stubbs
Another good book within this genre that I read awhile back which I highly recommend. An interesting collection of essays by women in many branches of the industry, talking about how they connect the spiritual to their work. Again, read it a awhile back, and though I already had these feelings myself it was nice to hear similar thoughts spoken by others. I especially liked the age range of the contributors. The book isn’t quite as flashy as the first half of Sex Work or, I suspect, Working Sex. But the editor’s goal was to inspire more then to titillate. My one complaint was that the editor is actually a bit too present. I don’t know if this would have bothered me as much if he had been a woman. I think it was his outsider perspective more then his gender that annoyed me. It had a tinge of ego to me, when he really could have let the pieces speak for themselves.
Goddess of Spring, by P.C. Cast
Totally different genre, but not as different as you might think, are the works of P.C. Cast. I’ve always been a fan of re-working ancient myths with a modern voice and Cast doesn’t let me down. These are “just” romances but a bit more feisty and feminist then your standard creamy crotch novel. In my one handed opinion they’re a good choice to feed that trashy novel craving that even the most discerning of tastes still get from time to time.
http://www.shokushu.com/
I think this still belongs with the book recommendations because…well…there is a lot of reading. There’s also a lot of hot photos of young women getting molested by tentacles. I found it recently through a series of link hops and I think it might be at least partly to blame for the increase in my self-abuse. And I love the fact that the site navigation is set up like a “choose your own adventure” book. There is nothing work safe about this website. Besides which, ITS PORN!, and should really be read/viewed in a locale where anything it inspires can be dealt with. I recommend at home with a full hot water tank. Just remember to stretch first.
Next up on my Amazon wish list:
Whores and Other Feminists edited by Jill Nagle
Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry, edited by Annie Oakley
