[SWAF-Potluck] PS...long but somewhat funny story warning below

[Barb Altman]

Like I mentioned, I have been having some health issues which means I spend a lot of time in bed feeling yucky...anyway, I was trying to find something light and funny to watch on Netflix when I saw the title the Happy Hooker in the que... I got super excited when I found out this movie was based on the autobiographical book of the same title by Xaviera Hollander.  

Now some of you may have heard this story before (if so, think of me as your elderly aunt/sister/mother/grandmother who repeats herself all the time and be patient with me =P), my fascination with sex work formed while I was reading the book in grade six!  I was 12 years old and my mom had a copy which I snuck to school to read at recess... It was the mid-seventies and like all good things, the sexual revolution was hitting Winnipeg a little late... The Happy Hooker was on the New York Times Bestseller List and women in my mom's circle of mostly upper middle class Jewish housewives were discovering their vaginas and realizing they could be used for more than pushing babies out of... 

Anyway, I got caught reading it at school and they called my mom... Wanting to appear to be a "modern" parent, my mom told my teacher "if she (being me) understands it, great, if not, she'll ask questions or not...also great", and she took me home... I had not understood lots of it, but the last thing I was going to do was ask my mom...I hunted for more erotica (way harder to do sans Internet) to answer my questions...the book and the hunt laid (no pun intended) the foundation for my sexuality...

My first impression of sex work was incredibly positive...it seemed like a fun and glamorous life!!! I wished I had the nerve and self confidence to do it myself...but I was an overweight teenager with braces, huge boobs and low self esteem...not the perfect combination for being a glamorous call girl but a great combination for becoming the junior high slut that allowed me to try out a bunch of stuff I was learning about sex!! By high school I had a solid slut rep and was having lots of great sex!! Guys, girls, threesomes, all of it!! I wished I could be a happy hooker too but by this time I knew I would never be able to because I had seriously horrible body image issues...I didn't think anyone would ever be willing to pay me...

Fast forward almost 30 years... I had to stop working because of health issues (I worked in the charitable sector as a fundraising/development/admin consultant) and became the accidental sex worker...go figure!  I also began to get  involved in the sex workers rights movement and was on an international forum working to develop best practices (for those in the industry by choice) and a client's bill of rights... Well Xaviera Hollander was also on this forum...after the raid and my arrest, she contacted me to show support...it was like a dream came true!! 

Ok... So that's the back story... Back to present day...the movie was made in 1975 and stars Lynn Redgrave as Xaviera... It's not a great movie from a production perspective but its very true to the book and very sex worker positive!  It was so surreal watching it and seeing some of how my ideas about sex and sex work were formed... I highly recommend watching it as well as the sequel the Happy Hooker Goes to Washington - a campy comedy fiction about Xaviera having to testify before a senate sub committee hearing on sexual immorality in America - it's goofy and hilarious I think but worth watching from a popular culture perspective...

I hope you don't mind my long winded PS - thanks for indulging me!!!

Barb in Vangroovy =)