New Expose of Escorting in Star

[Questor]

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/1319828--escorts-love-for-sale-in-toronto

Escorts: Love for Sale in Toronto


Prostitution has always been with us. The world’s oldest profession has sometimes been celebrated, other times censured, almost always stigmatized.

Even while elite courtesans moved among royalty, less fortunate women scrabbled for a living in the streets.

Today is not much different. But what we know is based largely on hearsay and sensation, bad movies and crime series, with the focus on the most downtrodden.

This book is not about those women. Rather, it is the story of the top level of the love-for-sale subculture – the world of high-end escorts.

They are the courtesans of our time – discreet, educated, sophisticated and very much in control of their own fates. Who are they? And what are their lives really like?

Through exclusive interviews with Toronto escorts and their clients, Star journalist Antonia Zerbisias uncovers this little-known society, painting a vivid portrait of a way of life that operates under the radar in our own city.

To get the full story, simply go to stardispatches.com Jan. 25 and subscribe for $1/week. The eRead is also available for single-copy purchase at itunes.ca or starstore.ca for $2.99.


Or Star readers could register at https://terb.cc and learn about this "little-know society" for free. Sheesh! What a stupid gimmick.

 

[fuji]

So the Star wants to get paid for access to the sex stories.

Hmmmmm....

 

[Cypher]

...Star journalist Antonia Zerbisias uncovers this little-known society...

Right. Got Pulitzer written all over it... :deadhorse:

 

[genintoronto]

I wonder how much the sex workers who were interviewed got paid for their time and stories.

I always find it so ironic that the media never consider their own role in the exploitation of sex work(ers).

 

[Toronto`s Finest]

Sex sells .... even Newspapers .... & The Star knows it, lol. :caked:

 

[DELETDrileydaniels]

Since I did that interview with the star last year I am very skeptic whenever I see the media trying to do another one I much rather create my own media and control my story in my own blog.

 

[Tapcon]

Sex sells, in this case newspapers (e-versions as well). I doubt very much if they care about the plight of the ladies. Its just sesationalistic journalism designed to produce sales. The hobbying community could use some good press to promote changes in the laws to make it not only safe for sex workers but to rid it of the stigma of being on the wrong side of the law. Unfortunetly, this article/series likely wont produce the desired effect...shame.

 

[Rono]

Does this mean The Star is living off the avails of prostitution?

 

[mandrill]

Well, at least this "angle" is supportive and contradicts the "exploited sex slave" angle that the anti-decriminalization people push.

 

[Buick Mackane]

I can't see why Antonia would pay to interview escorts.
The media wouldn't pay Stephen Harper or a janitor for their views. If the media speaks out for prostitutes in a way that isn't exploitive and they get to share their opinions, why is that harmful?

 

[Aardvark154]

Well, at least this "angle" is supportive and contradicts the "exploited sex slave" angle that the anti-decriminalization people push.

But what is it that The Toronto Star is actually doing? It seems more like an advertisement than news reporting. If she wrote a book she wrote a book you can purchase it at your corner book store or through Amazon. If she is writing an article or series of articles they should be available in the regular editions of the newspaper. What Antonia Zerbisias and the star are doing seems neither fish nor fowl.

 

[wangbang]

It seems more like an advertisement than news reporting.

Funny you say that, I thought the same thing the other day when they discussed sugar daddy sites. Letting young girls know what is out there seems enticing rather than illuminating.

 

[eznutz]

Excerpt:
Escorts: Love for Sale in Toronto

In October 2012, just as I began to research this book, a prostitution ring operating out of a Zumba dance studio was busted in quaint and prosperous Kennebunk, Maine. The publicly shamed clients consisted of some 150 members of the local gentry, including businessmen, a high school hockey coach and a former mayor, whose idea of dancing was the horizontal mambo.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector-General reported that, last April, when Secret Service agents accompanying President Barak Obama to Colombia were caught with hookers, it was not a one-off affair. In fact, the presidential bodyguards had also been bawdy in El Salvador, Panama, Romania and China.

Prostitution scandals are not as common in Canada. But it’s not because we Canadians are, like our winters, frigid. The escorts I introduce in this book, although they don’t name names, spend time with some familiar political and business figures. The difference is that, unlike in the U.S., prostitution is not a crime here.

What is illegal is what sex workers say is necessary to work safely in the industry: living on the avails of prostitution which, ostensibly, is to keep pimps from exploiting sex workers; owning, operating or occupying a bawdy house, i.e. any place regularly used for prostitution, whether it’s a sex worker’s home or a condo shared with others; and public communication for the purpose of prostitution. The trouble is that living on the avails can catch up those who support, drive and protect the prostitutes. It can also lead to the arrest of a prostitute’s dependent parents, partners or children. The bawdy house law jeopardizes the safe environment that prostitutes can build for themselves. And the communication law can mean that a streetwalker, who is already at risk of assault, robbery or murder, has to get up close and personal in a stranger’s car before she can assess whether a client poses a danger.

Thanks to a constitutional court challenge by three sex workers in Ontario, the laws were overturned in 2010. But a 2012 government appeal has left them in limbo. In October, the Supreme Court of Canada announced it would be deliberating on the case. Its decision, expected at the end of 2013, could revolutionize sex in this city. But whether anybody would want a hooker down the hall, or a brothel next door, is another matter. And yet polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians would only shrug if prostitution were decriminalized.

Whatever the outcome, the laws pertaining to child exploitation and human trafficking, which are not being challenged, will remain unchanged.

When I took on this book, I was determined it would not present clichéd images of sex workers. No grimy hotels. No dubious “spas.” No shots of girls doing their “stroll” or leaning into car windows. As one of my interview subjects told me, “That’s so 1980s.” The girls (and boys) who used to prowl the Carlton, Church, Gerrard and Jarvis circuit, leaving spent condoms on the lawns of yuppified upper Cabbagetown, are mostly gone. Although accurate numbers are unknown, 80 per cent of sex work has moved indoors, according to academics who conduct field research into prostitution all over the world.

Soliciting has gone digital, with websites and chat forums devoted to the trade. From airport hotels to Yorkville condos to boutique hotels, happy endings are happening all day, all night, all over, at the click of a mouse, at the ping of a text message.

While the trade’s bag of tricks may have changed, the business remains the same.

There’s no way to know if prostitution is the oldest profession but it’s certainly always been with us. From the Bible’s Hagar to Mary Magdalene, and from Catherine Deneuve’s turn as Belle du Jour to the popular British TV series The Secret Diary of a London Call Girl, prostitutes have been a constant in society and popular culture.

Even in Toronto.

About the Journalist:
Antonia Zerbisias

Award-winning Toronto Star writer Antonia Zerbisias has been fascinated by the world of elite “call girls” since the age of 14, when, at a birthday dinner at Montreal’s most exclusive hotel restaurant, a gentleman at the next table offered to buy her... more...



Coming Soon

 

[Aardvark154]

Reference the above 46 of the 59 charges in one of the two major Kennebunk, Maine trials have just been dismissed by the Judge.

 

[red]

I can't see why Antonia would pay to interview escorts.
The media wouldn't pay Stephen Harper or a janitor for their views. If the media speaks out for prostitutes in a way that isn't exploitive and they get to share their opinions, why is that harmful?

the media pays for interviews all the time

 

[Art Mann]

the media pays for interviews all the time

You must be fk'n kid'g me.

No self-respecting journalist pays for interviews. Certainly not media outlets such as The Star, Sun, Globe, Post, CBC, CTV or local radio stations. Apart from "ethics" involved, they'd all go broke in a week. Everything they print/air is based on interviews.

Qualifier:

You did refer to "media" in general, so I'll grudgingly agree that term might include sensationalist supermarket rags and some TV shows (presumably Lance got paid to sob for Oprah).

But I wouldn't call any of that journalism. I also doubt the "respect" part.

 

[Klute]

I just wonder if anyone will pay for the content.

Klute

 

[Buick Mackane]

At 12 noon, Antonia will be live chatting with Nikki Thomas, executive director of Sex Professionals of Canada, an escort, writer and host of online TV show sexbrainsmoney.com :thumb:

http://livenews.thestar.com/Event/LIVE_CHAT_Escorts_Love_for_sale_in_Toronto

 

[Buick Mackane]

Interesting discussion on there.

 

[Hiding]

I wonder how much the sex workers who were interviewed got paid for their time and stories.

I always find it so ironic that the media never consider their own role in the exploitation of sex work(ers).

Ya think? My initial response was "yeah, well at least they're asking us now"... which is sad too. Don't get me wrong, I understand why people are fascinated with the industry, but one person or several people's stories just isn't enough to have a full picture.