Working Girl: On Selling Art and Selling Sex

Over all, I would say this book is fantastic. Those who have a background in art and are familiar with the struggle of making some semblance of a career out of that work will relate strongly to the messaging- and those who have a background in sex work will feel similarly. The author does a good job of comparing and contrasting the two, and by the end of the book, I was thoroughly convinced of an argument of their similarities that previously I had never considered.I actually purchased two copies of this book- one of the kindle versions and one hardcover copy to gift to an artist friend. Coming from a sex work background myself, I do my best to try to support others who share my line of work. It was certainly disheartening to see such a new release. Only garner a handful of negative reviews by people who are seemingly invested in showcasing their whorephobia for the world to see. Disheartening- but never surprising. Still, they are making purchases in order to hate- so. Who's really winning? Either that or they are criticizing having not read the book, which is even more embarrassing.I enjoyed it very much and as a fellow sex worker I did indeed run into those common moments of similarities throughout my career that made me smile, giggle or just nod and whisper "right?" under my breath.That is always a fun experience. I also learned some things about art!My only critique (and it's a very small one) is that it is somewhat apparent that this is the author's first full published written work. I say this because intermittently there is a bit of clunkiness to the pacing. It is not a frequent occurrence and I think for most first time authors, it's just a symptom of having not settled into their writer voice just yet.I am excited to see if there is anything more to expect from this author in terms of writing- because it would be a pleasant experience to see that evolution!Still for the vast majority of the read you will find it is a realistic depiction of someone making sense out of the dichotomies life so often presents to us- her expertise in both allows her to give the reader a better window into the duality of the titular topics.It is emotionally compelling and succinct- and pulls the reader into almost a call to action by virtue of spending the last several chapters glimsing into her world and getting to know the various struggles therein. Not the cinematic and masturbatory struggles so often attributed to the work, but rather- the intellectual struggles we all face in the name of finding our own path.Totally recommend you check it out!

Yes, sex workers should have legal rights and protections. However, it seems to be a bad career choice for the author. She clearly dislikes the job and seems to have turned into a cynic. She argues that sex work be taken seriously as a profession but undermines that argument by belittling her clients, which seems unprofessional. She also doesn't seem to be able to draw boundaries between sex work and the rest of her life, for example seeing no problem with using sex to advance in the art world. If you are going to intellectualize the profession, at least come up with a system of ethics that is not so self-serving.

who thought this was worth publishing? im sorry that i actually thought it worth reading. don't waste your money

...into the world of an artist, who also sells/has sold sex, and the complicated boundaries (or are they even boundaries?) between the two. Written first hand by a woman author I'd say this is feminism in action; it makes you think, and especially about the expectations and standards imposed by men.