The media's potrayal of hookers

[Bluefin]

Ok, so I'm 47 and a newbie to punting. Until recently my image of a wg was of drug addict, full of needle holes, only doing this job for her next fix. This is the constant message I used to get from news stories etc.
When I first discovered sites like escort Scotland and AW I was surprised to find that most of them are not like this at all!
I personally think this is due to the fact that there are too many feminists/women in positions of power in the mainstream media trying to put men off!
Am I right or do you think there is there some other reason for this false image?

[threechilliman]

I started a year ago, and I had a similar perception. The reality is very different.....

tcm

[JV547845]

Who gives a shit?  I think rather than there being a feminist conspiracy, you're just an idiot. Did you honestly reach 47 thinking everything in the media was 100% accurate, or did you just never watch any channel 4 or 5 or BBC3 documentaries?

[44Remington]

Who gives a shit?  I think rather than there being a feminist conspiracy, you're just an idiot. Did you honestly reach 47 thinking everything in the media was 100% accurate, or did you just never watch any channel 4 or 5 or BBC3 documentaries?

It's worth giving a shit about because the media plays a major influence in the development of societal attitudes. If prostitutes are consistently shown in a bad light, then by extension we as punters are as well. If prostitution was more consistently shown in a realistic light then there would be a real likelihood that it would be far less taboo.
Additionally a significant proportion of the population has no first hand experience of the realities of the sex industry, their only knowledge of it comes from the media. And you have to remember that these people vote, hence why we end up with politicians blathering on about potentially counterproductive measures such as the nordic model.

I do agree though that the whole thing isn't some sort of "feminist conspiracy", the origins of the prostitution taboo within Western Europe are pretty clear. Namely the economic changes brought about by the industrial revolution which forced a significant number of urban working class women to have to resort to street work, the European syphilis outbreaks of the early modern period and the keenness of the Victorian era evangelist movements to depict the prostitute as either tragic, romantic, fallen figures or as a wicked, depraved public nuisance.
So yes, the idea that a whole bunch of butch ageing feminists having gathered together in some shadowy room like the Illuminati to elaborately conspire against the sex industry is more than a little absurd.

[S.X. MacHine]

Like Remington 44 I embarked upon my first punt with some trepidation, given the negative stereotype of prostitutes portrayed in parts of the media. On meeting the WG, Lucy Glasgow23, I was struck by how normal she was; as I say, I had no idea what to expect.
Sadly, the delightful Lucy has since hung up her negligee, but I have enjoyed many more punts with only three negative experiences, all with EE girls. Having said that, some of my best experiences have been a Latvian, a Hungarian and (whisper it), a Romanian.
The portrayal of escorts in the media will depend on which organ you choose. In Scotland we are afflicted with a red top called the 'Daily Record' which deals in a prurient and moralistic way with the subject; like the 'News of the World' of old. The 'Scotsman' and 'Herald' on the other hand, adopt a neutral stance, tending to report factually.
BBC Scotland, on the other hand, recently did a short piece quite lacking in balance. A brief interview was shown, with a fire breath god bothering bigot ranting about the moral turpitude of punters. According to the piece, the WGs are all trafficked junkies. Three was no balancing interview with anyone from the local WG charity, ScotPep. Also, crucially, the WGs portrayed were street prostitues ( and drug raddled ones at that), which hardly exist anymore in Edinburgh. The subject was handled with the sort of expertise only the BBC has in subtly misrepresenting a topic to give it an almost imperceptible bias. Concocted by feminists? Probably.

[johnnyboy61]

I think less conspiracy, but more that those who don't use WG still think of the old public face of prostitution i.e. street walkers whose next client was only a way of paying for their next fix from their dealer. This, along with the horrific crime of trafficking, are the images that sell papers, but then papers don't sell on the back of boring normal reality do they? So perhaps we are too optimistic to expect them to portray the rather humdrum and legal truth of transactions between women selling sexual services to men by the hour in the privacy of their own homes for their mutual benefit (one financial and the other sexual) of their own free will with no coercion involved.

[S.X. MacHine]

Oh, and I forgot to say, thank goodness for Billie Piper and Brooke Magnanti who have done much to bring some balance to the media's portrayal of escorts and escorting.
Yes, it really does matter how the topic is dealt with in the media, as the sharks are even now circling our boat in Scotland. It is only a matter of time before an alliance of feminist politicos and god botherers raise the possibility of introducing the bankrupt 'Swedish Model', again.

[44Remington]

I must say I do find the whole rhetoric that a lot of groups spout in support of things like the nordic model ridiculously sexist, as it implies that a woman acting as a prostitute isn't able to give sufficient consent. The idea that all women engaging in sex work are vulnerable individuals who need saving is a dreadfully sexist world view.
All something like the nordic model does is strip agency away from prostitutes by implying that all client/prostitute relationships are unequal. A situation in which an entire group of women are considered to be no more capable of consenting than a minor is; is surely as far away from the core fundamentals of feminism as it is possible to get.

[Bluefin]

Who gives a shit?  I think rather than there being a feminist conspiracy, you're just an idiot. Did you honestly reach 47 thinking everything in the media was 100% accurate, or did you just never watch any channel 4 or 5 or BBC3 documentaries?

I give a shit because I don't think it's right that we are given a totally biased view on something, which most of the population are unaware of, is false. Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that everything in the media is 100% accurate but when we are constantly fed a view by outlets like the BBC and various red tops like a previous poster has mentioned it's a view that a lot of the population will believe.
Now I don't know where you are from, but in Scotland there are a lot of women in positions of power who hold a feminist view who would have prostitution made illegal tomorrow if they could and that is why, as a punter you should give a shit!

[ForrestGump]

I give a shit because I don't think it's right that we are given a totally biased view on something, which most of the population are unaware of, is false. Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that everything in the media is 100% accurate but when we are constantly fed a view by outlets like the BBC and various red tops like a previous poster has mentioned it's a view that a lot of the population will believe.
Now I don't know where you are from, but in Scotland there are a lot of women in positions of power who hold a feminist view who would have prostitution made illegal tomorrow if they could and that is why, as a punter you should give a shit!

Bluefin, folks have been trying to find a way to get rid of prostitution since the beginning of time but still haven't figured out how to do it. So don't be too concerned about the possible arrival of yet another piece of well intentioned legislation. Sure the goalposts might be moved but I feel sure punting will still be possible. 

[SirFrank]

I think the general perception of WGs are indeed street walking unclean drug addicts who either lack capacity to consent of have been trafficked/coerced. It bears no resemblance to my experience. Likewise I'm sure the general perception of punters are sad wankers who can't get a fuck in the real world unless they pay. I'm sure there's a fair few whack jobs out there but most of the girls on AW that I've met say for the most part, most punters are pretty normal.

If the government really do want to explore legislation, It would be nice for them to engage in informed discussions with independent WGs

[Jimmyredcab]

If the government really do want to explore legislation, It would be nice for them to engage in informed discussions with independent WGs

Don't hold your breath, no Government would have the balls to make prostitution totally legit.     

[bensonhedges20]

Don't hold your breath, no Government would have the balls to make prostitution totally legit.     

I thought it was in France provided you were over 21?

I read about it when benzema, ribery and the other footballer got caught with an underage working girl.

I might be wrong but i thought it was legal over a certain age

[306]

 government can fix it tax the fuck out of fucking
where have i heard that before ?

[RedKettle]

decent article in the Times today reporting a survey giving a positive spin on sex workers.