Desperate Times and Desperate Measures

Summer 2008 was perhaps one of the most memorable for Laurie Ann Lewis of Cleveland, Texas – but certainly not in a good way. In August, Lewis was arrested and charged with prostitution after being caught in a sting operation in the Houston Four Seasons Hotel. Every sex worker dreads such a thing happening to them, but the stakes are even higher for those who moonlight as prostitutes and have ‘normal’ full-time jobs. Public sector employees, such as teachers or social workers, have the most to lose if caught, as their careers would likely be finished. Sadly, this is probably the case for Laurie Ann Lewis, who worked as a high school drama teacher.

I know nothing about Lewis’s fate because the media was only interested in presenting the titillating details of her arrest, and making a copy of her mug-shot available for all to see. They were more interested in sensationalised “Teacher works as hooker!” headlines than painting a more complex and nuanced portrait of Lewis, who is a divorced mother of two. She will probably never be able to work as a teacher again, and could also face a six-month prison sentence and a $2000 fine.

I feel for any sex worker whose life or career is ruined by such an event, but I was particularly interested in Laurie Ann Lewis’ story because I plan to start training as a teacher in January. I will receive no paycheque during the training, and will have no option but to support myself by sex work. I’d like to give it up once I actually start teaching and earning a wage, but circumstances may not allow me to do this immediately. I love teaching, and will genuinely care about and help my students, yet I would immediately lose my job and professional reputation if arrested.

In recent weeks, my paranoia about being caught has increased tenfold because the extremely popular website where I advertise my services has changed its policies. For years I made use of their free classified ads but I now have to provide a working phone number and pay a $5 fee in order to do so, using a valid credit or debit card. And police are able to subpoena the website to obtain the names and addresses of anybody who posted an ‘erotic services’ ad. I live in a very conservative state where prostitution ‘sting jobs’ seem to be increasing all the time, so I can only hope that the police have better things to do than bother about a simple erotic masseuse.

Even if I don’t need to worry about the police, the website’s policies have still had a profound effect on my job as a sex worker. I was always able to drum up enough business via this website, and very quickly, too, but now I’m afraid to post as many ads as I once did because I want to keep a low profile. My reduced advertising coupled with the poor American economy means that I now attract far fewer clients, so I have often found myself agreeing, out of desperation, to see clients I would normally have turned down. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to avoid any dangerous clients or situations, but there is no doubt that life as a sex worker is riskier for me now.

Once again, a measure designed to “crack down on prostitution” actually does nothing to reduce the number of sex workers, but serves merely to complicate and endanger our lives.