So far so good.

There hasn't been any fall out yet from that strange phone call. No email from a potentail client, but no, "Ha ha, you're sprung," from anyone I know either. It's been 36 hours.I'm going to do what the coach advises anyone who gets injured in a contact sport to do.Keep playing. Shake it off. Take a teaspoon of cement and harden the fuck up.TeeHee. Enough sporting cliches for one day.

A Big Mistake?

I just had the most fucked up experience, and it has rattled me. Sure, up until now this whole whore thing has been a fun little game, but I wonder if I've just totally screwed up.My phone rang. My real phone, not my filth phone. I thought it might be the agency I left a message with so answered the private number. It was a guy who asked what my rates were.I was so confused. It didn't help that

Agency Work??

This is getting boring. The managing my own business stuff. Another few fuckwits this week - one made a booking, confirmed it, and then just as I'm getting ready to drive over tries to negotiate a much lower price. Idiot. I was furious so didn't visit. And then he spent some time begging me to reconsider after having tried to wheedle extra favours and less money.Next one I thought was a set-up.

Bad move #5

Given business has been a bit slow I did some cold-calling last night. No, not totally cold. Warm-calling. Is that a sales term? I emailed some potential clients that hadn't gone through with bookings for whatever reason - unable to confirm a time, waiting for an influx of cash, couldn't unlock their balls from whatever jar they were kept in ;-)No luck.I also contacted the clients I have seen

The Sliding Scale of Slutdom

It's been a slow couple of weeks. Stood up now by a run of clients. A couple I can't even understand. They didn't set off any warning bells. All business like about booking a hotel they wanted and swapping pics and following the rules. Just -- no confirmation. Damn.Of course, I just happen to be feeling horny this week and would happily go about being a working girl. It's always the way. Someone

Client #6

I'm finally almost up to date with my stories. It's been an orgy of writing to get my last few months down on the page. I plan to keep blogging though as these adventures unfold...Client #6 was only a few days ago. He had cancelled twice before so I didn't actually think he would follow through when he popped up on line asking if I was free in the next few hours.That's the thing about doing

Sex Addict

So following on from seeing Choke I did wonder if I was addicted to sex. I did a few surveys on line and found myself on the borderline between normal high sex drive and addiction. But the crossover point was so wide that you could drive a truck through it. Seems no one knows where addiction starts.I asked a wise older friend. His view was it was a convenient insult/judgement to throw at anyone

Choke

I finally saw the movie Choke. I was the only single gal in the cinema with a whole bunch of couples. I thought it was fantastic - I laughed and laughed. So did the boyfriends in the cinema. One of them kept sneaking looks as me, as if to say, "Who is this girl that really *gets* this movie?"Mostly the girlfriends sat silently - glaring at their boyfriends for yukking it up a little too much.

Real Lovers and Paid Lovers

A few of my friends are still surprised I have some lovers that aren't "on the clock" so to speak. That just because I'm charging for it now, they thought I wouldn't be seeing anyone.I admit that it's hard to be a single girl and still participate in casual sex and dating while you're shagging on a semi-pro basis - but it is possible.The easiest way of explaining it is the way I told one friend..

# 4 Part III

Client #4 was going away on a business trip where he would be heavily supervised for the next month, so he wanted a special farewell hour. His request was double penetration on me, then me using a strap on on him too, plus the PVC outfit, plus he wanted to spank me.I joked we'd need to set up a running sheet to make sure we didn't forget anything on his to-do list. I made a big deal about it

# 4 Again

It didn't suprise me then that Client #4 wanted to come back. The second time was even more kink-filled. He wanted me to come to his office - the risk of being caught was supposedly 1 in 100. It was that factor alone I think that made it such a risky turn on.I was wet when I arrived at the naughtiness of it all and basically shoved his face into my Jay for two orgasms before he'd said hello.

Client #4

Client #4 was a good surprise. His photo showed him to look like one of the cast of The Office. So bland you'd think he would disappear into the cubicle walls at work.In person however, he was quite pleasant looking. Just scraped into my 4 beers or less fuckability system I think, but made up for it with a great accent and wonderful personality.He was the first client to request a special outfit.

Out of the Mouths of Fathers.

My dad came to see me and we went for a walk together. He said that one of his friends was working out how to use the Internet and that he'd Goggled my name. I think it must just have been my real first name, cause otherwise this story doesn't make any sense.Dad said they'd had fun and then they'd come across a web site adverting a prostitute with my name.And Dad has turned to his friend and said

Client #3

Client # 3 was a mistake. I was so keen on my new hobby I forgot to ask a few questions that have since become standard. Like - why won't you show me a photo?He'd managed to palm off the request for details and photos with some smug/funny lines about "no one has ever complained before".I didn't stop to think about that. If you're paying hundreds of dollars per hour, of course no one is going to

Telling Friends

I hate keeping secrets so I've told my brother about the escorting, and maybe half of my friends that I truly trust. So far there has only been one person I've told that I regret. And it's turning into a bit of a nightmare.I didn't realise this guy had developed a drinking problem. He gets aggressive and obnoxious. He's been with my friend for over ten years, and I guess we've drifted and don't

Competition

There is a girl I've seen on the same web sites advertising to the same market as me. At first I didn't mind, and then I did. I'm becoming invested in my little business.My issue is that she's presenting herself so badly. She's got a face pic up taken at some family holiday and she's sun burned with tan lines to boot and her boobs flopping under her halter without support. I spent heaps on my

Three letter words

I guess every work place has its own language and escorting isn't any different. I didn't know how to reply when guys wanted to know if I did PSE, or CIM, and what about Greek and Nat French?EEK. Thank goodness for the web - I learnt the lingo in no time.The answers are - no, no, depends and yes.

Client #2

Client #2 helped me figure out the difference between someone who would book and follow through, and the just-talkin'-the-talk idiots.He emailed, replied to my stand spiel with a photo and some details, picked a time and then confirmed the hour before and turned up. Wow. So simple.He worked in finance and came to visit me on the day the markets took a massive,massive fall and everyone was scared.

Quasi-Famous Guy

The first two weeks after my ads went out, I was stuck in what seemed like a never ending stream of emails back and forth, trying to figure out the real punters from the fake.In the middle I started to have this amazing email conversation with this one guy. To be honest, no one had ever written me emails so sweetly. I crossed boundaries and revealed enough myself that it was fifty/fifty if he

Stupid Rookie Mistakes

After seeing Client #1 I realised that like in any job there were things to learn, routines to memorize, etiquette to adhere to.I couldn't pull off the warm, bubbly, loving, curvy gal persona I wanted the first time round. My brain was screaming at me that I'd just crossed some invisible barrier into prostitution and there was no return. It kept asking, "How do you feel, How do you feel?"The

What's up with agencies and size?

On days when I've been stood up by a client (again) I often think about agency work. There are always ads around for girls wanted. Every now and then I inquire. Polite emails that mention my size. To date I've only had one reply with a curt "We only take models to a size 10".Sometimes I mention a bit of independent work. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing - maybe they think I'm just gonna steal

Client #1

Well a few months back I actually did write a letter to "Letters From Working Girls" detailing my first experience. Susannah didn't publish it and I'm kinda glad - it's a bit of a mess of justification, an attempt at being flippant and funny, and probably showed I was still a little bit like What the Fuck Am I Doing? Rereading it now it makes it seem like I totally did this to impress some

Crazy Potential Clients

So it's probably not legit to share an email someone sent. But I'm going to, mostly cause it's someone I'd never, ever see, and I don't think I'll hear from him again.He answered an ad online and I sent him my standard spiel about rates and photos and when I would show him some photos of myself. I asked him about his likes and dislikes in the spiel too, as I do for everyone.This was the

My rules

It's been a bit of trial and error but after a few months I think I'm pretty much set in my ways now.1) I hate answering the phone. I just hate talking to potential clients and mouth breathers. So all bookings are via email. I'm sure I cut down on clients by 80% doing it this way but I don't care. I'm not totally in need of the money.2) I prefer incalls. I read around on the internet and weighed

Back to the Beginning

I know I've kinda jumped right into this blog with a story about #5. I've been jotting down notes, and emailing some of my friends my adventures over the past few months, and they are all fascinated. So I thought I'd start to blog about it instead. So it doesn't really have an order.I don't think my friends are fascinated in the train-wreck way, but more in a "what on earth is she doing NOW"

Client #5

In the end I was only at his place for probably fifteen minutes. And he managed two orgasms and I managed one. It was like sex aerobics on speed. Like he wanted to do six positions from the Joy of Sex in world record time. For some reason his behaviour set off my gaydar. Like he was secretly a gay boy who wanted to try women on the side - but quickly and without feeling.He was fascinated by my

That's What Friends Are For

"You wanna do WHAT with my dress?"It was one of my best friends, giggling down the phone line at me as I awkwardly tried to explain. She wanted to meet me for after work (realjob) cocktails and I was trying to explain why it might be a problem all in one rushed breath."Um, it's my first ever outcall, and that little black dress you lent me for the realjob Xmas party was so hot I decided I was

Pornsaints

Pornsaints will be in London For the Fetish Weekend on 2-5 October.

Spanner Trust on the new "extreme" porn law

From the Spanner Trust's August 2008 newsletter:

Is your PORN collection still legal?
In May 2008 the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 was passed by the UK parliament. This new law makes it illegal in the UK to possess certain types of sexually-explicit imagery. This email contains important information about the new law and how it affects you.

WHAT DOES THE NEW LAW SAY?
The new law makes it an offence punishable by up to three years in prison for someone to possess what it calls “extreme images”. The date when this provision becomes effective has not yet been fixed but is probably 1 January 2009. The law affects images in your possession after this date.

An “extreme image” is defined as one which portrays in a realistic way any of:

An act which threatens a person’s life
An act which results in or is likely to result in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals
A sexual act with a corpse or an animal (but we will not be addressing these categories here)
and the image...

Is grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character
Has been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal
It is claimed that only a small number of images are intended to be caught by this law (“images” means both still photographs and video but excludes drawings and works of art). Unfortunately many of the terms used in the Act are vague and open to interpretation. So until some unfortunate people end up in court and a jury decides, it is difficult to give absolutely definitive advice on what the Act means and how it will be enforced. In addition, police investigations, seizure of computers etc can cause disruption and damage to people’s lives even if no charges are brought.

However, based on the way cases involving possession of child pornography have been decided in court we are able to give some advice.

FIRST OFF – DON’T PANIC!
Images of bondage, fetish wear, role play, watersports, sexual intercourse and domination/submission are not “extreme”.

Images of corporal punishment, whipping and flogging, needle play, cutting, heat play or medical scenes involving areas besides the anus, genitals or breasts are almost certainly safe to possess (though the activities themselves may be illegal due to the Spanner ruling - see below).

In fact the list of images which are certain to fall under the law is very small compared to the wide range of BDSM, kink and fetish images available. If there’s no injury to the areas of the body mentioned above or threat to life the image is almost certainly legal to possess. But there are grey area activities as well which are detailed below.

WHAT DOES “POSSESSION” MEAN?
In the age of the Internet and digital media, possession of images has needed to be refined in law. Clearly if you own a physical photograph or a DVD or video tape then you possess it. But images on your computer are a different matter.

For a start just viewing an image or video on a web site does not constitute “possession”. So you can browse the Internet quite legally.

Your web browser may keep a temporary copy of the web pages and images you browse on your hard disk (the “cache”) but this too does not constitute possession. Nor do unsolicited images received by email as part of a message.

However, if you actively save or download an image or video to your computer or other device from a web page or email, or move or copy the files from the cache then case law has established that this does constitute possession. As, obviously, does printing out such images.

WHAT TYPES OF IMAGES WILL IT BE ILLEGAL TO POSSESS?
If the image or video shows a serious injury to breasts, anus or genitals or the activity is life threatening and the image is produced for sexual arousal it will be illegal to possess it.

WHAT IS SERIOUS INJURY?
“Serious injury” is not explicitly defined in law and it is up to the jury to decide. As a result of the Spanner trials (see below) it was established that “serious injury” when part of sexual activity was anything beyond “transient or trifling” which are equally subjective terms and open to interpretation by a judge or jury.

Breaking limbs, disfigurement, castration and other lasting disabling injuries are very likely to be included. Images of a whipping, beating or cutting of breasts, genitals or the anus which leaves cuts and bruises may be illegal to possess too. Genital modification and medical scenes involving catheters, needles, sounds etc are a grey area but see the Defences section below. A video or series of images which shows that any injuries healed quickly may be a defence to the charge that the injuries were serious. But again this is up to the court.

WHAT IS LIFE THREATENING?
This too is a grey area. Putting a plastic bag over someone’s head, tying a cord around their neck, forcing smoke into their lungs, water immersion, breath control, holding a gun or knife to their head can all be life threatening in the context of a real non-consensual kidnap or torture scene.

Where these activities take place during a consensual BDSM scene the intention is clearly not to threaten or endanger life. However taken in isolation it may not be obvious from the image whether or not there is a real threat to life. If the image is part of a sequence or a video which shows the consensual nature of the activity and that the recipient of the activity was not harmed then that could provide a defence should the images be seized, particularly if you are a participant in the activities.

ARE CLASSIFIED FILMS AND VIDEOS OK?
If a film or video has a certificate from the British Board of Film Classification then it is legal to possess it. However if you take stills or clips from the film to make pornographic material then you could be prosecuted for possessing that material if in isolation it falls under the category of “extreme pornography”.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES?
If found guilty under this section of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act you could be sent to prison for up to three years or fined (or both) and be put on the sex offenders’ register if you receive a prison sentence of over two years.

ARE THERE ANY DEFENCES?
The law provides two relevant defences.

That you did not know you possessed the image, or that you had not requested it and that you did not keep the image for an unreasonable time after becoming aware that you possessed it. So if someone emails you illegal images you should delete the
That the owner of the image directly participated in the acts shown and that there was no non-consensual harm. So in theory it is legal to possess images which show you or a play/partner’s activities even if they show serious injury to breasts, anus or genitals.
HOWEVER

Under the current law in England and Wales consent is not a defence to a charge of assault if the sexual activities cause injuries which are more than “transient or trifling”. So even though you and your partner have actually consented, that consent is not legally allowed as a defence to either a prosecution for possession of the images or prosecution for the activities themselves.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF?

Do not download or save images from web sites you visit if you think there is a risk that you could be prosecuted for possessing them
Clear your web browser’s cache regularly or set it to keep images in the cache for as little time as possible (even for no longer than until the end of a browsing session).
Do not take photographs or videos of your own BDSM sexual activity if they show serious injuries to breast, anus or genitals. It may be illegal to possess those images and if you can be identified in the photos or videos you could be prosecuted for the activities themselves
If you have pornographic images which show activities which appear to be life threatening make sure you know who the participants are and that you can be sure there was no real threat to life
If you take pictures or videos of legal consensual SM activity it will help defend any prosecution if you can prove that you participated in the activities (include your face or tattoo or something identifiable, even if just reflected in a mirror)
HOW CAN I BE SURE IMAGES ARE PROPERLY DELETED FROM MY COMPUTER?
Deleting images on a computer usually just moves them to a Recycle bin (in case you made a mistake). So the first thing to do is regularly empty the Recycle bin (or configure your computer to do it automatically).

However the physical space on your hard disk where the deleted files lived may still contain a “ghost” of the files which could be recoverable using special software. To make sure that no trace of the files exists you should download and install a utility usually called a “file shredder” (check Google for where to find one). This will overwrite unused areas of the disk (sometimes to military standard) so that neither you nor anyone else can recover the images you have deleted which might be illegal.

WHAT IS “THE SPANNER RULING”?
In the late 1980s a group of 16 men were charged with various counts of assault as a result of consensual SM activity. The prosecutions were the result of a police investigation called “Operation Spanner”. The men were under the impression that their consent to the activities was a valid defence. But this was rejected by the High Court and by subsequent appeals made as far as the European Court of Human Rights in 1996. In England and Wales consent is not a defence to a charge of assault where injuries caused during sexual activity are more than “trifling or transient”.

WHAT IF I NEED LEGAL ADVICE?
You can contact these solicitors
David Clark 020 7433 1562 email: office at davidclarkandco.co.uk
John Lovatt 020 7247 9336 email: john.lovatt at btinternet.com
You should also inform the Spanner Trust if you are investigated or prosecuted under this new law.

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE ARRESTED OR QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY STATEMENTS WITHOUT CONSULTING A SOLICITOR FIRST.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
Make sure as many people as possible are aware of the law. Put a link to the online version of this document on your web site. Forward this email to other people who might be concerned or affected by this new law. Visit the Spanner Trust web site and make a donation to help support our work.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The Spanner Trust – protecting the legal and human rights of those involved in BDSM
Backlash – the campaign against this new law
SM Gays - a social and educational group for gay men

DISCLAIMER
The Spanner Trust always tries to ensure that all information provided is accurate and up-to-date. However, the law can change and is open to interpretation. Before relying upon any statement made in this document you should take your own independent legal advice and the Spanner Trust cannot accept any liability whatsoever.

Backlash meeting notice

Mail from Backlash:

The next backlash meeting will be at :

The Wine Tun
2-6 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6XX
Telephone: 020 7248 3371
Fax: 020 7248 3371

Meeting starts at 6.30.


We'll be discussing the future of the campaign against the extreme porn law and everyone is welcome.

Please post anywhere where this might attract some interest.