When I was little the only movie I remember not being allowed to watch was "Pretty Woman." I don't know if it was the sex scenes, the adult language or simply the situations it involved, but it was deemed too mature for my 13-year-old friend and me to watch. It wasn't long after that, though, that I finally did see the film, and I don't remember being shocked by the sex or the fact that Julia Roberts, who I adored in "Step Mom," played a hooker. I think I was more surprised that a woman who wore a blue mini skirt and a white beater on Rodeo Drive could land a multi-millionaire with just her charm and genuine personality. Who needs a college degree, internship experience and family connections when success and happiness can just fall into our laps, or pick us up on Hollywood Boulevard? What a role model for today's youth. She is truly America's sweetheart.
I am only being mildly sarcastic. It is the American dream to climb your way from the bottom to the top, whether it's from 0-60 in a sports car or from minimum wage to a 401K. We all hope that we can someday arrive at the peak, or a penthouse. I always imagined arriving there after years of study, work and perhaps screwing a few of the right people along the way. But I never felt like that would make me a hooker. So imagine my surprise when I was asked after a few days in London whether I had ever considered being an escort.
I immediately thought about being taken to fabulous dinner parties, polo matches and the opera, getting paid merely to look pretty and make pleasant conversation. But before I got wrapped up in the fantasy, I asked what this person needed an escort for. "Oh, Just a few sexual things," was the answer. I struggled to keep the smile on my face, knowing this might be my only chance to discover what this world is like.
"What kind of sexual things?" (Nothing I hadn't done before.) At first I was taken aback about how tempting I found the offer. What sexually active young person hasn't thought about getting paid for what we so easily give away? Assuming the person is attractive, healthy and no older than Richard Gere, would we somehow be morally damaged by the experience?
There are so many sexual situations where an imbalance of expenses creates an imbalance of sexual expectations. From everyone who has felt obligated to give his or her date a little more than a goodnight kiss after receiving a free dinner, to the people who have gone home with someone from a club so they wouldn't have to pay for a cab, to each and every one of you who failed to return the pair of designer sunglasses, CDs, hats or other paraphernalia left by a one-night stand. We have all probably profited monetarily because of our willingness to get in bed, or have benefited sexually because we could cough up the cash. Are we all just low-cost hookers and johns? I would love to say yes and point wildly at anyone who would judge me for considering escorting, but the truth is that there is a fine yet definite line between hooking and hooking up.
To be a successful prostitute you would have to service as many clients as possible. Even if you are capable of dictating who, when and how much, you are still bound to the fact that your next paycheck could be coming from someone you really don't desire. This is where the line falls. We may regret some or many of the people that we hook up with, but at the time we truly do want to be with them. Whether this springs from desire, love, pity, jungle juice or all of the above, we made a choice to be with them purely for pleasure. None of us expects cash to be left on the nightstand. All of those ways where we have benefited in a monetary way are dismissible because it wasn't our main intention.
"No, I don't think that I would really be interested in that. Besides, you probably couldn't afford me," was my ultimate answer (I couldn't help myself; I needed to know how much I was worth). He chuckled and then whispered in my ear. I could feel my jaw hit the floor, but I began to shake my head anyway. I apologized and walked away. Call me crazy, but I'm not ready to rent my soul to anyone for $300 an hour.
