Rethinking Work: sex work as labor
This is the first in Sarah Jaffe's series, Rethinking Work. See her introduction for more information. When rethinking work and what we consider work, many jobs that come to mind. Yet few are as...
Category: Sex
Belle de Jour, a.k.a. Brooke Magnanti: the science of sex work
Dr. Brooke Magnanti has revealed her dual identity as Belle de Jour, the £300-per-hour London call girl whose life in the sex work industry has documented in four books, a television series on...
The time to hesitate is through: female sexuality in the age of Stupak
“Do I dare/Disturb the universe?/In a minute there is time/For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” -T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Lines from this poem, this...
Letterman scandal: class and gender issues we’re not talking about
David Letterman has been the king of late night for decades. From stupid animal tricks to tossing out canned hams to the audience, he has kept the laughs coming. Part of his charm is his ability to...
Hey “Californication,” there’s a difference between rape and sex
"Californication" stars the Golden Globe award-winning actor David Duchovny as bad boy writer Hank Moody. It has just begun its third season and has been a hit for Showtime. The central drama focuses...
On the 10th anniversary of Kubrick’s passing: “Eyes Wide Shut”
The previous installment of the Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) retrospective discusses "Lolita." After “Eyes Wide Shut” there would never be another Stanley Kubrick film. There would be no more...
FEMEN’s Anna Gutsol on sex tourism and short skirts in Ukraine
When I first started hearing about FEMEN, a Ukrainian women's organization, I got the impression of a curious hybrid between short skirts and progressive politics - an aggressively visual movement...
HBO’s “Hung”: is it really about the big appendage?
HBO has pushed the envelope ever since it started airing programming. Many have embraced innovative shows such as "Six Feet Under," "OZ," "The Sopranos," "Big Love" and "True Blood." HBO's latest...
Toward a unifying theory of sex
Let's talk about sex, shall we? Just with that line, I've opened up all sorts of doors. Talking about sex takes many shapes and forms, particularly in present-day America, where we have a cultural...
Backlash against India’s landmark “sodomy ruling”
Section 377 of the India Penal Code is no more, at least for now. The former law criminalized LGBTQ Indian citizens and sex workers for acts of sodomy, thus restricting these groups from receiving...