I really loved this book. Some of the stories a less interesting. But for the most party truly fascinating. Because of the format it's in (the various short essays from various authors) it makes for a diverse read. The stories are honest and true tales from sex workers. It's not for the faint of heart. It defiantly gets graphic. But that's part of what makes it great. It opens up new perspectives that I've never even given thought to. ( )

Lots of short pieces, some great and some not, from both happy and devastated sex workers; there’s a lot of correlation between race/class and happiness here, which strikes me as unlikely to be unique to sex work but still to be important in sex work particularly. Here’s a bit I liked a lot, from Sadie Lune:

On the online domination boards, no one can stop talking about power. Where power comes from, which dominatrices wield “natural power,” what a domme’s powerful self has “made” a proud man do, blah blah power-strength blah. But what we talk about, often off the Internet and out of leather, is the power of money. We discuss the fallacy of the “ultimate control” we’re attributed that in reality depends on the humiliation sluts for tuition and childcare payments. More often than not the money tops the scene. Money says it’s strap-on time when we are tired of looking at asses. Money demands slow heavy bondage when all we feel like is smacking a grateful subject around. Money wants to be humiliated in a way that runs contrary to our well-crafted sex-positive communication skills. Money forces us to bring out our diaper-changing mommy personas when we have run dry of emotional presence and support for our friends. … And then, sometimes, we love it. And often we put in the energy and the time and we get well compensated and have a little fun and it’s just about right for a good job. But the biggest trick is really coming to terms with the fact that money is the boss’s boss …. ( )

interesting review in the NYT Book Review