TIME

SPEAKER

AUDIO

00:00:00

A film produced by Films Grain De Sable.

Coproduced by Simple Production and RTBF-Documentary unit.

In association with France 2.

Sex Workers.

A film by Jean-Michel Carré.

00:00:30

Eléonore,

Striptease performer

90% of the job is about selling your body. I’m not debasing women when I say that, of course. But it’s us that are the commercial objects here. If we’re not here to earn money, then why are we here? Men always think that when an attractive woman shows her naked body, she must be

00:01:00

Eléonore

a high-class prostitute! Men come here to live out their fantasies a bit, but not totally. They’re actually always hoping, even if they know that nothing will happen here. But deep down they’re hoping that it might! And they keep hoping, even when they know that it’s impossible! You have to make him believe that it is, and that things are going to get steamy, and that we’re having a wild time together.

00:01:30

Eléonore

He has to believe that the love of his life is lying beside him.

00:01:31

Muratt Atik, Manager of striptease

Now, hold it! Move your leg back. Now, hold it there! When you’re completely naked… Sit down! When you’re completely naked, always put your hand there, or there. Either your hand or your leg, O.K.? Always slightly turned away. And when you’re facing, your hand is here,and there! When you turn around to do what you have to do, put your hand there, straight away.

00:02:00

Muratt

Never show your private parts to the client! Never!

00:02:08

Eléonore

The clients aren’t allowed to touch us. I immediately  say no. If a client persists, we call security and they just get him to leave. The clients know very well that we’re strippers, and that we’re not here to prostitute. If they get excited, too bad for them! And when they get home, I don’t know what they do.  That’s not my problem.

00:02:30

Eléonore

If they weren’t frustrated, they wouldn’t be here for a start. But then, it’s a case of curbing that frustration.

00:02:40

Muratt

Sure, when I see an ad. showing a guy with two Ferraris and two solid - gold Rolexes, I’m frustrated too! But that’s life. Society is like that today! Often, the guys don’t even dance. They sit with the performer for a while, and drink half a bottle of champagne,

00:03:00

Muratt

and they chat! They chat for 20 minutes. They don’t notice the time. They talk about their wives, their families, their problems, their colleagues, their travels, their fantasies, anything... The guys pay to talk, like being with a shrink! But that’s 400 euros for 20 minutes! Sometimes they pay for an hour. 1200 euros! Just to talk!

00:03:23

Eléonore

It’s just a game, a job. But obviously, the clients don’t know that,

00:03:30

Eléonore

otherwise they wouldn’t come. He’s just a client… I could be a doll! That sounds cruel, but it’s true.

00:03:40

Muratt

I always make it clear that it’s a regular business. It functions exactly like any other business. If I were in the watch trade or selling ads for bus shelters, I’d have the same discipline, the same artistic view about my work.  It’s a proper job. You have to know the ropes, calculate costs,

00:04:00

Muratt

media planning, communication strategies,

marketing strategies, the same as in any other business.

00:04:11

Commentary

Free market economy has generated an increase in the number of erotica exhibitions, striptease clubs, and companies publishing pornographic videos and magazines, all in the so-called name of consumer rights. Striptease and porn artists, all forms of sex consumerism,

00:04:30

Commentary

owned by leading companies on the stock market. Customers are pursued, and merchandising is now occuring in the privacy of their homes.

00:04:42

Fabio Melguich, Director

Anything to do with pleasure has always represented huge financial markets. The French market today is a major market, worth several hundred million euros. It’s a market which interests investors and financiers, but also people who wish to earn their living.

00:05:00

Fabio

The origin of the concept came from who wanted women to have the same access to pleasure as men. In Germany, in the 50’s and 60’s, she set up supermarkets, which were chiefly geared towards women, where they could find the sort of things which couldn’t be found in sex shops, because there, everything was geared towards men. The woman that came up with this idea thought she should do the opposite: big, clean, open spaces, all white and smelling good, with nice music,

00:05:30

Fabio

where people could roam around with a trolley, do their shopping, buy whatever they fanciedand indulge in their fantasies. We have 1st generation sex toys over there. That's what you saw 20 years ago in catalogues to massage your cheeks. But now we have this. This is "Sex in the City". It's called a double vibrator, vaginal, clitoral, 7 positions,

00:06:00

Fabio

Rotates in both directions. You need a Master's degree to use it.

00:06:09

Anne-Charlotte, Director of in-home sales.

You see a vibrator which you want to buy. If you go into a shop or on Internet, it’ll be very difficult to find what really suits you. But if it’s an in-home sale, you’ll get somebody who knows each article, who knows the differences and who, depending on your questions,

00:06:30

Anne-Charlotte

your personality and your sexuality, will be able to help and guide you. I think we play an important role in helping the French to understand their bodies and their sexuality better.

00:06:42

Customer

I like that little face!

00:06:43

Assistant

That's Alice in Wonderland! You’ve got Alice on one side, and the little rabbit on the other.

00:07:00

Oksana, Porn actress

With pornography it’s different. I’m not selling my body with porn, I’m selling my image. When I’m being filmed, the  porn actor isn’t paying me to go to bed with him..The porn actor is paid too, because he’s supposed to have certain qualities, to be photogenic, to be able to perform, but that’s just for the image.

00:07:27

Judy, Porn actress

It’s really very different to prostitution or phone sex.

00:07:30

Judy

Porn is easier. There’s no contact with the buyer. What he thinks about while watching your videos is his problem. I don’t have to see him.

00:07:44

Radio voice

Until now, only active soliciting was mentioned in the texts. Since today, any act which suggests soliciting is illegal, including style of dress, or behaviour, albeit passive, which may lead to soliciting.

00:08:00

Commentary

Referred to as the oldest profession in the world, prostitution is still more or less tolerated in most countries. In March 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then Home Secretary, led a vote against passive soliciting.

It is true that overt prostitution had practically disappeared from the streets. But at the same time, it had increased via Internet, in specialized magazines and on the outskirts of towns, putting prostitutes once again into the hands of mafia networks.

00:08:30

Commentary

Whatever the political system might be, why is it that prostitution, even when it is practised overtly and by consent, remains the most stigmatized activity in our societies?

00:08:42

Isabelle, Prostitute, Toulouse

I still wonder why prostitutes cause so much bother. We’re part of the sex industry… except that when you’re a prostitute you don’t correspond to any productivity logic.

00:09:00

Isabelle

I think that we fall into the context of anti-liberalism. We do our best to maintain a little job, as humanely as possible, on a humane scale, but we remain artisans. We’re just skilled workers. The erotica exhibition is fine,

00:09:30

Isabelle

but even there you see the distance between

what’s intended for us prostitutes, and what’s happening socially. There’s a huge distance. At the end of the day, the fact that sex appeal has been democratized and the assignation that women should be sexy, proves that there’s still discrepancy

00:10:00

Isabelle

between whores and other women. Before, you could recognize a whore by the way she dressed. If this law persists, it’ll be the other way round. Right now it’s summer, and you see girls dressed in really sexy clothes, whereas the prostitutes have to dress in a classical style, so that the police don’t spot them

00:10:30

Isabelle

and they don’t end up in court.

00:10:33

Sonia, Prostitute, Brussels

A woman becomes a whore when she asks for money before making love. As Jacques Brel said: “A true whore gets paid before, the others get paid after”. That’s what makes us whores. And it’s asking for money which makes us victims. If a man pays me, then I owe something to society.

00:10:57

Isabelle

The law penalizing soliciting

00:11:00

Isabelle

appeared at the same time as a significant concern as regards the migratory movement. It’s obvious that the law against soliciting is used primarily for limiting the migratory movements of people! It’s that, unfortunately, which worries politics, more than victimization or exploitation.

00:11:30

Isabelle

And what might that lead to? It means that it would be acceptable for society to legislate people’s sexuality. When prostitutes are no longer penalized or considered delinquent, it’s the client who is penalized.

00:11:53

Advert

How much?

00:11:54

It’s free! No more weeds with the weed-killer formula! For every two tins purchased, the third is free.

00:12:00

This week, for every lamp bought, free packaging! For crisper chips!

00:12:08

Free access to Internet, without adverts interfering!

00:12:16

Sonia

I remember once being in a group-sex club. There was this middle class woman sitting on a chair. The men had to come all over her.

00:12:30

Sonia

But because she hadn’t asked for money, because she wasn’t a whore, she was neither victim, submissive, or a slave! But if I ask a client for money, to turn a little trick with a condom, then I’m a victim! Around here, people call me “filthy whore”!

00:13:00

Sonia

So, I’ve solved the problem by calling myself “whore”! I’m a “whore”. It’s just the word “filthy” which bothers me, but not the rest. I don’t mind “whore”, it’s just the word “filthy” that bothers me. I’ve got no hang-ups with that. They’re just names which have nothing to do with me. I just do my job, which is prostitution. I’m called a “sex worker”, or “a person who prostitutes”. I’m called a “hooker”, a “whore”.

00:13:30

Sonia

They can call me whatever they like, I don’t care! There are several systems: There’s the regulatory system, which is a system regulating prostitution, such as in Holland, Germany and Switzerland. In those countries it’s regulated. There are laws made for prostitutes. The prostitutes have duties and rights, like all citizens. There’s the abolitionist system, which is a system for abolishing all regulations on prostitution.

00:14:00

Sonia

It’s like that here in Belgium and in France. There can be prostitutes, but they have no rights whatsoever. Except the right to pay taxes. That right remains because we work. And even if it’s illegal work, we have to pay taxes. There’s the prohibitionist system, which is a system prohibiting prostitution altogether,

00:14:30

Sonia

which accepts no form of prostitution whatsoever. It’s totally forbidden. Those are the three major systems in use. I can’t declare myself as a prostitute because it doesn’t exist. So, to pay my taxes, I have to find another job! I say I’m a part -time sexologist and part -time stripper! Before, I declared myself as a hostess. Some of them round here say they’re farm workers,

00:15:00

Sonia

or dog groomers! You can put whatever you like. They give you a list and you can choose any job you want. That’s not hypocritical, is it? You agree that it’s very clear, and not all hypocritical!

00:15:12

Sofia, Law expert, Prostitute

The whole society prostitutes itself willingly or unwillingly. All societies, on all levels. Everybody sells themselves one way or another. But of course, it’s respectable, it’s honourable.

00:15:30

Sofia

You can sell yourself, prostitute yourself to your boss, your manager, to everybody. Everybody sells themselves, everybody buys. We prostitute on all levels. Nobody says anything, it’s acceptable. But if somebody chooses to sell their body, then it becomes the stigma of the century!

00:15:51

Mistress Nikita, S/M transvestite prostitute

You mustn’t forget that it’s a job. It helps if you speak English, and maybe other languages. You have to know how to converse,

00:16:00

Nikita

and sometimes negotiate, even if we advise everyone not to negotiate. Anyway, you have to know how to agree on a fee. You have to enjoy human relationships, and to know when a guy might turn out to  be a rough customer and get rid of him, etc. It helps if you know a bit of history… I remember once spending a few nights with a minister. We talked about politics, health issues etc. So, you have to be able to converse.

00:16:30

Nikita

I’ve advised many director-generals. And it was a lot more fun than when I had to consult them, because I had the whip with me! It was much more fun to see them licking my thigh-boots while discussing their firm!

00:16:45

Marianne, nurse, Ex-Prostitute in Anvers

Now that I work in a hospital, the piss and the shit isn’t the nicest part of the job, but it’s still part of the job.

00:17:00

Marianne

If you compare the way in which society views nurses and whores, well, it’s not the same, is it? I always wonder what the difference is between washing a cock and giving it a hard on.

00:17:17

Sonia

I couldn’t work in a slaughterhouse, because I can’t stand red meat. I couldn’t be a speleoligist. There are loads of jobs I couldn’t do.

00:17:30

Sonia

My son’s a nurse. I couldn’t be a nurse.  I couldn’t cope with the vomit. I just couldn’t.  I’m not saying that because I couldn’t be a nurse nursing should be forbidden, or that because I couldn’t work in a slaughterhouse it should be forbidden. We’re all different, that’s all.

00:17:50

Mistress Gilda, S/M transvestite prostitute

If it systematically feels painful, difficult, or unbearable, you’ve got to do something else, you’ve got to find a different job.

00:18:00

Gilda

If you can’t stand children, you’re not going to be a teacher. If you can’t stand men, you’re not going to be a prostitute, that’s for sure!

00:18:09

Pascale, Ex-Prostitute

It’s not really a question of choice because no ten year old little girl will say, “I want to be a prostitute”. It doesn’t exist. I’ve never heard of it. It’s an ultimatum which occurs in a person’s life. You have no other choice but that.

00:18:30

Pascale

But if it doesn’t work out, then the girls just leave. I’ve known of girls staying a couple of months. They said, “I can’t do it!” But you see, I can!

00:18:38

Sonia

I’ve always said that prostitution, for a woman who hates doing it, must be one of the worst things that could happen to anyone.

00:18:57

Isabelle

The first, major argument against prostitution

00:19:00

Isabelle

is that of merchandising the body. And the second argument against prostitutionis, of course, slavery. Which leads me to say that that’s a real shame for the economic slaves, quite apart from prostitution. Because, when immigrant workers

00:19:30

Isabelle

are exploited in sweat shops, there aren’t  many people condemning it in public with so much energy.

00:19:39

Sonia

Exploitation exists in sport, in catering, in the textile industry. We don’t ban the textile industry, catering or sport because there’s abuse! There’s abuse, we have to fight it.

00:19:51

Maya, S/M Mistrss

Men, women, transvestites, prostitutes who make that choice, are just people doing a job, full stop.  We’re not talking about victimized women here.

00:20:00

Maya

We’re talking about people with a job. But of course, there are women who are submitted, men who are submitted, transvestites, and children who are submitted too. You hear about it all the time.

00:20:13

Gaby, Ex-Prostitue

Don’t worry, we’re not from Bulgaria or Moldavia. I’m sorry but we caught a cab, like everyone else, and we went on the game.

00:20:21

Isabelle

What’s is it that’s so bad, and so distressing about sex work for people?

00:20:30

Isabelle

What is going on that is so fundamentally against sex work, that all arguments converge towards it? They are arguments which may be sound, but for social and world-wide functioning as a whole. Slavery, unfortunately, is part of it. At the end of the day, a prostitute who isn’t exploited, or doesn’t fit into criteria

00:21:00

Isabelle

of suffering, becomes so dull, so banal, so boring, that in the end it’s not that interesting. It’s less photogenic than suffering!

00:21:23

I hope she sings this tonight.

00:21:24

I know.

00:21:25

Hey Dad, pull over. We need gum.

00:21:27

I'm on it. Oh honey...

00:21:30

Here is some money.

00:21:34

What have we got here?

00:21:39

Don't judge too quickly, we won't.

00:21:43

Marianne

I don’t feel submissive when I have sex with a client who pays me! Not at all! With his money, I can do what I like, whatever I wish. And he can live out any fantasies he might have.

00:22:00

Marianne

So everybody’s happy! Where’s the problem?

00:22:06

Gilda

The money itself doesn’t signify having power. It’s not the person who gives the money who has power over the sex worker. I’m the one with power, and it’s between my legs. And he needs it. Sure, he’s got the money, but he needs me more than I need him.

00:22:30

He won’t get from anyone else what he gets from me. Whereas I can find what he has in his wallet with anyone else!

00:22:36

Gaby

Anyway, the clients know one thing: if they want to have a good time, they know they have to pay for it. They wouldn’t understand if they didn’t have to pay. It’s like with a shrink- If a shrink doesn’t charge you, then it’s poor therapy. It’s the same thing with us!

00:22:59

Sofia

It meant that I could study

00:23:00

Sofia

and prostitute at the same time. I’m not proud of it, but it meant I could survive, or live…in dignity.

00:23:19

Isabelle

The prostitute as a human being is of no interest. It’s the idea of prostitution which is of interest. And that’s where political parties, some feminist groups,

00:23:30

Isabelle

but not all of them, refuse a real debate on prostitution. Because, the prostitute, as a human being, interests no-one. She doesn’t interest anyone! She just sets bad examples.

00:23:48

Sofia

It’s no longer a question of morals. In relation to yourself anyway. It’s part of you. That’s where the notion of work comes in.

00:24:00

Sofia

I’m going to work! And it’s automatic, I’m going to work, I know what I have to pay etc. And so, you become part of the system and there are no more questions.

00:24:17

Sonia

When I meet… I don’t call them feminists, I call them sexists. Because that’s not a true feminist. A true feminist will listen to what any woman has to say.

00:24:30

Sonia

There aren’t women who deserve to be defended and others who don’t. I think this business about slavery actually suits them! And they prevent us from having any right to speak because, of course, they’re afraid of what we might say. And as soon as a girl says she’s fine, that things are great and that she enjoys her job, then she’s got to be killed! She’s got to be killed  because otherwise,, what might she say? That it’s a job which isn’t so bad in fact, that it’s a cool job, and that she enjoys it,

00:25:00

Sonia

that the men here are really sweet, and that often, they are really nice with whores. Those feminists can’t abide that, because maybe their own husbands aren’t so nice to them. Because they have problems with their sexuality. Because they have problems with their guy. Because they can’t cope with the idea that they might have a dark side to them which wants to be a whore, but that they don’t dare.

00:25:23

Gaby

We’re slaves! We know that, because they tell us! And of course, we don’t realize that we’re slaves!

00:25:30

Gaby

But I’ll tell you something, they’d enjoy slavery such as ours!

00:25:37

Sonia

I’ve never been interviewed by a prohibitionist. They’ve never interviewed me. They’ve never asked me how I was doing! They look for girlswho are into drugs, druggies. They look for girls who work in appalling conditions, in the street… And they find them, women in a bad state. They’re never going to interview me!

00:25:55

Gaby

People are fascinated by prostitution. It’s either a healthy fascination, or an unhealthy one.

00:26:00

Gaby

And it’s because of certain women, who listened to all possible and unimaginable governments, that we have, in effect, stigmatized prostitutes, and turned their clients into demons…

00:26:15

Sonia

The problem is that the French and international feminist combat has been taken over by American homosexuals, whom they, not just men, like!

00:26:30

Sonia

So in fact, the feminist combat has become a war against men. It’s not equality with men that they  wanted, it’s to destroy the macho man, to destroy men, quite simply! And I can’t let myself be led by crazy, hysterical women, who say that all forms of sexual intercourse, even within marriage, is rape, for example. I can’t let them say that!

00:26:58

Gaby

Sure, we’ve all been raped,

 00:27:00

Gaby

blablabla… If every woman that had been interfered with or raped as a child  were on the game, there would be far more whores than there are… Come on, that’s enough!

00:27:12

Lisa, Prostitute Manager of a Brothel, Geneva

I wasn’t raped, either by my father, my mother, my brothers, my uncles, or my grandfather, thank God! I’m sorry, I’ve just destroyed a very French image!

00:27:28

Marianne

There are surveys on whores for that,

00:27:30

Marianne

and they come up with about 75%! But have they ever done a similar survey on secretaries, or factory workers? Oh no! They only do their little surveys on us, to prove that we’re unhealthy, that we’re screwed up, so that we’re incapable of making a choice!

00:27:56

Sonia

People wonder how it’s possible to have five or six dicks a day in your belly,

00:28:00

Sonia

your mouth, or elsewhere. But once again, we’re all different. Maybe I’ve managed to sort out my problems with the sacredness of sex. My sex isn’t sacred. It didn’t come from heaven! It’s not there just to have children, or make desirable love, or for the man I love. I use my sex for my job, but also in my private life.

00:28:30

Sonia

It’s the same, yet not the same, because it’s not given in the same way. Here, it’s not given, it’s lent… for a short time!

00:28:39

Sofia

The body isn’t a tabernacle anymore, you can sell it any way you want. It’s not sacred anymore. The sacred has been transgressed.

00:29:00

00:29:12

Gilda

If we give power to women, if we say to them,:

“You have the same power as men, the same freedom as men to live out your fantasies and your sexuality, your desires and sex drives…” Why shouldn’t a woman have the right to assume her sex drive? Why should sex drive be a privilege exclusive to men?

00:29:30

Gilda

I have women friends who sometimes have these irrepressible cravings, and why shouldn’t they?

00:29:40

Isabelle

Socially speaking, men have easier access to sexual favours from men.

For women, paying a guy because they can’t be bothered with all the hassle…

00:30:00

Isabelle

I think it’s just the same for women… Sometimes, it’s exhausting!If you fancy a man, that’s where it becomes ludicrous, but it’s not really in sex work. What’s ludicrous, when you fancy a man, is having to turn on the seduction, the physical and psychological seduction.

00:30:30

Isabelle

When you fancy somebody, you don’t necessarily want to go through all that business!

00:30:35

Wendy, Porn-Performer

If paying for sex was part of our culture, it would show that we were more liberated and felt less guilty about sex. Since paying for sex means paying for a service. For many women, this would mean removing the sacred aura of sex, be it hetero or lesbian. But we still regard it as sacred when we could just enjoy it in a straightforward way.

00:31:00

Wendy

I don’t think it’s weird to pay! I pay to buy a sex toy. I pay to buy lubricant. I pay for a delicious meal in a good restaurant! Why wouldn’t I pay for a delicious evening with somebody who could give me pleasure?

00:31:30

00:31:36

Why miss out on the simple things in life... A magnifying glass can increase up to eight times.

00:31:47

Alain, Escort Boy

As regards the term, I like both: French gigolo or Escort Boy. It’s a man that you hire for an hour, two hours, an evening or a night. I’m hidden out of discretion,

00:32:00

Alain

but essentially because it’s still “the” taboo. There are two types of client: the woman between 30 and 50, who has young children. They want sensuousness, tenderness, love… It’s not easy to find a guy who’ll fit their requirements. So, what do they do? The best solution for them is to find a gigolo. They go on Internet,

00:32:30

Alain

they find one, they have a good time, everybody’s happy! They could also just go on an online dating site, but then it would be dragged out with common interests, similarities… She wouldn’t be able to just say: “I want a sexual relation, and tenderness”. She wouldn’t dare! But with me everything’s permitted. The second type of client is Madam, who’s between 40 and 55,

00:33:00

Alain

married for 25 or 30 years, and no libido with her husband. And she only has sex, once every three weeks, when hubby feels like it, missionary position… So she wants to spice up her sex life and have a bit of fun, to feel young again. I have that type of client too.

00:33:28

Marianne

These women

who want sexual relationships

00:33:30

Marianne

without ties are still screwed up with emotions. They still have problems admitting to themselves that they want a dick, and to be “possessed” by a man!

00:34:00

00:34:01

Alain

I massage with oils for about forty minutes, which relaxes the body. It’s total relaxation, and might lead to intercourse, but only if I want it! It could just end with the massage. That way, I get to choose... Sometimes I refuse if I don’t fancy the woman…. But I’m not going to tell her!

00:34:30

Alain

I’m not going to say: Sorry, I don’t fancy you! I pretend something’s cropped up, some big problem, and I say,”Sorry, I have to go. I have to cancel the appointment. Sorry about that.” I don’t let her talk, and then we make another appointment. “Phone me whenever you like….” Usually, they don’t phone. They’ve got the message!

00:35:00

00:35:02

Sonia

I remember an important Belgian prohibitionist, a well known political woman. One day , on T.V. the journalist asked her:  “What about male prostitutes? What do they have to do?” And she replied: “They can do what they like”! So, it’s not prostitution which is the problem, it’s women who prostitute…

00:35:22

Ivan, Sonia's client

I was window shopping rue d’Ascott, the term’s appropriate. She was in the window. I looked up and saw her face.

00:35:30

Ivan

I saw her eyes, her smile, and I just walked in.It was her spontaneity that I liked. She’s very lucid, and has lots of experience. She’s honest with herself. She doesn’t pretend. She’s a friend.

00:36:00

Ivan

She’s a person I admire, even for the difficult and distasteful things she does. She’s able to do it, and she does it. She helps people. I often tell her that she will be the last woman in my life. I’ve never been unfaithful to her. But I think she has!… Oh well, too bad… She’s a woman… She’d be too much just for me.

00:36:30

00:36:33

Ivan

I helped Sonia write a book, and after that I took part in a programme called: “Should prostitution be forbidden? Should the client be penalized?”

00:36:48

Journalist of programme

“You’re seventy years old, you have been a client for many years. You’re hidden by a mask. Is it still considered taboo to be a client?"

00:36:56

Ivan

Not at all, it’s not taboo for me.

00:37:00

Journalist

So why are you wearing a mask?

00:37:02

Ivan

I can take off my mask now, because I’m not ashamed, not anymore anyway..

00:37:07

Journalist

Then take it off!

00:37:08

Ivan

Sure, there you are! It’s easier to talk!

00:37:12

Ivan

I removed my mask, he looked a bit surprised, I wanted to say: “I wore a mask to hide the traces of depravity and vice…” But I didn’t… I just said: “I visit prostitutes, and I don’t see why I should be ashamed. I love women,

00:37:30

Ivan

and prostitutes are women, why shouldn’t I love them?” Sonia said: ”For Christ’s sake, Ivan, look what you’ve done! It was live!” I said: “Listen, I’m not ashamed.” Sometimes I brag about it to my friends, I say I have a board meeting… My friends just laugh about it, and so does my son. Because they know me.

00:38:00

00:38:01

Ivan

I started seeing prostitutes when I was 18. At that time, it was the only solution… In the little village where I lived, you went out a couple of times with a girl, and you were expected to  get married! You’d go to the ball, but the girls went with their mothers. You’d dance a few times, but you weren’t allowed to flirt! We knew we could go to Brussels. I did that until I was 28.

00:38:30

Ivan

Then, on the spur of the moment, I got married, a bit too quickly. I don’t know if my wife guessed. In the end she knew… But, as long as I wasn’t being unfaithful. For her, it wasn’t being unfaithful. It was reassuring to know that they were there. I knew where to go. I didn’t bother my wife if she had a headache. I never thought of having a mistress.

00:39:00

Ivan

The garage mechanic’s wife or a friend’s wife, It never entered my head.. I thought it was too complicated. A bit because of that, but not because I was virtuous!

00:39:12

Sonia

There is an advantage in working here, apart from the financial one. First of all, the narcissistic pleasure in being chosen. That’s important for many women. I’m 56 years old. All day, there are men who tell me

00:39:30

Sonia

that I’m the most beautiful, when there are 20 year old girls around, magnificent, with gorgeous figures! There are young guys who come here, handsome, rich, intelligent. They come here and they say, You’re the prettiest in the area! I find that magical! I know that there are people who’ll say: “You see, psychologically…” I know that when some people see that, they’ll say: “You see, she has a psychological problem.” I don’t give a damn! Every woman in the world loves to hear that!

00:40:00

Sonia

Maybe I do have a psychological problem, but then, so does every woman! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have boob jobs, they wouldn’t have their lips done, or the rest of their bodies, they wouldn’t strut around like bimbos all day. Every woman in the world wants to be desired.

00:40:13

Gaby

I’ve always loved meeting up with old clients who’d come once a week, or twice a month etc. I knew systematically that so and so would turn up on a certain day. There was a type of bond, apart from the sexual one.

00:40:30

Gaby

The important thing was for him to be satisfied, because that’s the aim of the game, as well as a type of uninterrupted dialogue, from one week to the next. We picked up where we’d left off. It was rewarding.

00:40:45

Sonia

It’s not just a client who comes and pays. It’s a profession too. And even if it only lasts ten minutes, there has to be a relationship. Besides, when a client arrives, I put him to bed,

00:41:00

Sonia

and I don’t let him begin anything sexual right away. First I caress him. I don’t leap on him straight away! I caress him because I know that he’s just come from his job, and that he’s probably worn out, frustrated, or stressed out. When he comes here, I want him to feel that he’s in a place with no social conventions.

00:41:30

Sonia

It’s a place where he is free, within the limits of the contract, of course, but he’s free.  I want there to be a short moment, even if it’s just one minute, where he goes from there to the sex. And that’s why there’s tenderness.

00:41:48

Sofia

It’s wonderful to discover a person’s weakness or their strength, even if they pay us.

00:42:00

Sofia

But we’re fortunate in that we know and understand him because he’s naked when he’s with us.

00:42:12

Gilda

What I probably appreciate most is knowing  that I’d helped. Even in an insignificant  little world, such as mine, and to have been of some use.

00:42:30

00:42:31

Sonia

It’s a free relationship, because nobody owes anything. Nobody owes anything! He pays, we decide on a contract, that’s to say “You pay me so much, I’ll give you that in exchange”. He doesn’t have to be powerful, he doesn’t have to be strong, he doesn’t even have to be polite. He has to be respectful,

00:43:00

Sonia

but he doesn’t even have to say nice things to me. He doesn’t even have to talk. As long as he respects the contract, he’s totally free.  That’s what’s wrong with society. Because, what is society? It’s a group of people, who repress their freedom, in a way, so that everything functions. Society says that life flourishes best within marriage.

00:43:30

Sonia

But the man who comes here says no to that. That is also why society fights so hard against prostitution. It’s a way of seizing freedom, despite the rules that society imposes on its members, married couples, families, children, caravans, seaside…

00:43:50

Gilda

With a prostitute, he doesn’t have to cope with the before and after,

00:44:00

Gilda

responsibility or commitment. The problem is human relationships. It’s often commitment, the fear of commiting yourself. We’re afraid of suffering. With prostitutes,  you don’t have that worry.

00:44:13

Sonia

It’s true that there are some who get to you. But you still have to respect the contract, even with them. You know that there are some men you’ll probably never see again,

00:44:30

Sonia

because they don’t have to. They’ve also paid for the right not to return. And  that’s when you suffer. It’s not the whore, it’s the woman who suffers. So you have to know how to keep your distance, and understand that he pays for this right to anonymity and intentional abandon.

00:44:53

Pascale

He’s unfaithful towards his wife, so why would he be faithful to me? He didn’t swear fidelity,

00:45:00

Pascale

he paid me! If I feel like going to a restaurant, and then to a dfferent one, it’s not abandon, it’s a change of food!

00:45:10

Marianne

I’ve asked men: “Why do you come here? You’re a good looking guy, why don’t you go into a bar, pick up a girl, and have sex with her? ”. A lot of men say the same thing. They say:

00:45:30

Marianne

"It’s too much of a hassle, you buy drinks, you talk, and you’re not even sure that you’ll get sex”. Plus the embarrassment of asking, of saying things like: “I’d love you to suck me or to fuck you from behind!” It’s not so easy with girls that you pick up in a bar!

00:46:00

Marianne

With us, it’s perfectly clear, it’s easy!

00:46:05

Sonia

Many men visit prostitutes out of respect for you, their wives. Because there are things  they don’t want to ask you, out of respect.  They can’t ask their wives to piss on them or tie them up, for example. It’s not easy to ask your wife to whip you, or put a nappy on you, and then behave like a father or a husband.

00:46:30

Sonia

And sometimes they’re not so proud about their fantasies. They come to see me because they respect their wives and because there are things they don’t want to ask them. I’m a professional, I can say yes or no, because I have no emotional ties with them. But a wife can’t say no, and she can be judgemental towards her husband, which a prostitute will never be.

00:46:53

Gaby

I can understand why a man can turn up with a bra and fishnet stockings under his suit.

00:47:00

Gaby

Because in every human being, there’s a man-woman, woman-man duality. He won’t be able to do that with his wife, because she’ll judge him, say he’s abnormal and so on. Whereas with a prostitute, it’s like in a confessional. He can let himself go, say anything, and nobody will give a damn.

00:47:30

00:47:37

Isabelle

With some men, there are times when I’ve wondered if, when all’s said and done, the sex wasn’t simply a pretext, a pretext for a different type of relationship with a woman,

00:48:00

Isabelle

without the business of seduction.

00:48:04

Pascale

Some men come simply to hold a woman’s hand and smell her perfume, feel her shoulder, and then they’re content. Maybe it reminds them of someone else, in which case I’m a love-substitute. I replace a woman, a mother or a sister, I don’t know…

00:48:30

Gaby

There’s the sex, the money, but there are the stories too, the secrets they share with us, everything they tell us. It’s not always easy for them. And I tend to defend them, because very often, men are put down, and I think that’s unfair.

00:48:54

Marianne

As well as my so -called “normal” work as a prostitute,

00:49:00

Marianne

I began to have handicapped clients, but at a reduced fee, social rates.

00:49:09

Claudette, Hermaphrodite, Sex Worker

Some prostitutes are willing to have intercourse, but only a few, because it’s really difficult to have sexual intercourse with people who have mobility problems, motor, psychological or other problems. It outdoes any other form of prostitution.

00:49:30

00:49:31

Marianne

It meant that I was able to have sexual relationships with people who were considered monsters by society. Though people might accept that I prostitute in a “normal” way, when I prostitute with handicapped clients, then that is just too much for them. They can accept prostitution,

00:50:00

Marianne

but to them, sexual relationships with handicapped clients is totally pervers, pathological.

00:50:11

Mickaël, Client of Prostitutes

I was born with a brain motor disability, because the brain was deprived of oxygen at birth. I was born at 7 and a half months, 37 years ago, when techniques weren’t what they are today. The brain was deprived of oxygen

00:50:30

Mickaël

and inevitably, there were motor consequences, but only motor. This led to an unmistakable handicap. We all know that at a certain age, the hormones get to work, the same as with anyone else, and that after a while, for any normal person,  and I consider myself normal, it’s hard enough  battling with timidity,

00:51:00

Mickaël

but when you can’t walk straight and you want to seduce a girl, you have to go with the current, otherwise, believe me, you’ll just sink. I didn’t feel spurned by their refusals, It was just:”I’m not interested in you. Why would I go with you? Just look at yourself!” After a while, you withdraw completely, you can’t take anymore. You say, "O.K., I’ll just stay home, there’s no point going

00:51:30

Mickaël

because I’ll just be

humiliated again".

00:51:32

Marianne

When I arrived at the client’s home, I realised that it wasn’t going to be easy, for him I mean, not me. He had to withhold  himself for six months to have one orgasm! He couldn’t masturbate himself. He had to pay an escort for two hours because you had to undress him,

00:52:00

Marianne

put him to bed with a lift, make love with him, then dress him again, get him into his wheelchair, tidy up… It cost him a fortune to have two orgasms a year!

00:52:18

Mickaël

Most of the handicapped people that I know have found a way of arousing themselves,

00:52:30

Mickaël

of jerking off, let’s be blunt. It’s wanking! It’s part of our sexuality. Sure, sometimes it’s painful, really painful, but what do you expect? We’re not going to go and rape a girl in the street, at least, I’m not,  I’m not like that. I have my limits and values, that’s all. Because the sexuality of handicapped people is still a taboo subject. No shrink is going to help you, No-one’s going to say to a shrink: “Listen, find me a whore,

00:53:00

Mickaël

find me a girl, because I’m going mad, mate,I can’t stand it anymore, my hormones are going wild, I can’t stand it!” No, I’ve never had a sexual relationship with a handicapped woman. I could have, but I didn’t. It’s not the idea of going out with a handicapped woman that bothers me, because some of them  are very pretty, and they have many qualities. But I’ve lived with my own disability since birth, so it’s something I wanted to escape from.

00:53:30

Mickaël

There comes a time when you tell yourself that if you want to try and have a sexuality, there’s only one way which can bring satisfaction, and that’s seeing prostitutes. Out of twenty contacts I’ve had, either by phone or on Internet, I can assure you that not all the old girls are that keen to spend a few hours with me!

00:54:00

00:54:02

Mickaël

And I can assure you that it’s not a question of money. In fact, until now, I was emotionally distressed. I was looking for affection, I didn’t necessarily want somebody to grab my dick, I can do that by myself. It was sincerity and somebody who’d listen that I was looking for. And I found somebody, quite recently.

00:54:30

Mickaël

I said: “I’ve just found your site, I’m disabled, I need your services. I enjoy this, I enjoy that. What are the possibilities? What are your fees? What do you think we might do together?” She didn’t even ask what type of handicap I had. And I thought, this one’s different.

00:55:00

Mickaël

She understands me, she makes me feel things… she makes me feel… amazing things that I’d never felt before. She’s so important in my life… She’s essential. If she were to leave now…

00:55:30

Mickaël

I’m not saying this to scare her, I’m not exaggerating, I’m spewing my guts out here! Because I don’t want her to leave, I want to keep her here, with me. That’s all, but anyway, don’t go, because I need you! That’s all.

00:55:54

Claudette

I think that sex workers who are capable of having sexual relationships with people who have these problems

00:56:00

Claudette

are very fine people. We have no right to dispose of them! We have no right to say to them: “You’re whores!” Because they’re not all prepared to work. We’re not all prepared to work! I’m correcting myself deliberately. Because these are people contributing something to society and whom politicians will reject. We’re still at the stage of saying:  “Maybe we should consider making buses

00:56:30

Claudette

which handicapped people have access to”…

00:56:35

Sonia

With each client, I try to understand what’s going on inside him. It allows me to accept. For example, I have a client with whom I have to be dead. I have to pretend that I’m dead . This man must be so terrified  of a living woman

00:57:00

Sonia

who might say: “No, you’re no good”. Who might make fun of him. And as well as having to pretend that I’m dead, he’s extremely clumsy. He’s probably been jeered at so many times by women that, at least, when I pretend to be dead, he doesn’t have to hear the jeering. Because men…

00:57:30

Sonia

women, they…

00:57:32

Gaby

I’ve realized how castrating women can be. Whether they be mothers, women, sisters.  Depending on the education a man may have received, I’ve seen how some of them can indeed become masochists, and why.

00:57:48

Sonia

If you ask a man why he wants you to urinate on him, well, a woman urinating isn’t lying. A woman who says she’s coming is lying!

00:58:00

00:58:04

Sonia

People are going to say: “He’s sick!” But they’re not sick, they’re lost. Because this guy is screwed up. His sexuality is screwed up!

00:58:13

Gaby

All these psycho-rigid educations that boys receive can have extremely dramatic consequences, and only prostitutes can understand that. I’m not even sure that a priest could understand. Because, apart from

00:58:30

Gaby

three Our Father’s and two Hail Marys, the poor guy will still leave with his balls full… That’s the truth of it!

00:58:51

Ad of Pope (in English)

How much longer? Call the Pope.

00:58:53

Gilda

A prostitute is in no way a substitute for a therapist, or a psychoanalyst, of course.

00:59:00

Gilda

But it’s partly that. A lot of clients  need to be mothered a bit, to be listened to, to be respected at least, and not simply to be the office worker or the banker 8 hours a day. And when he gets home, he’s the husband or the father. He also wants to be considered for what he is.

00:59:24

Judy

What goes on in our bed does not just happen in our bed. It takes place throughout society.

00:59:30

Judy

Society interferes with what goes on in our bed. There’s always the big issue of power involved. To me, S/M sexuality  is part of that idea, and that power relations should be made explicit, codified, and made through choice, rather than just enduring them  and pretending they didn’t exist, simply because it’s what we put up with every day, in fact. With S/M, there is this idea, and I know that there are power relations  in my sex life, and I eroticize them.

01:00:00

Judy

I use them for my pleasure. Whereas in everyday life, they are experienced as something painful to be endured.

01:00:09

Gilda

They fantasize about authority. They want to live out their fantasies like this. It’s probably a way for them to unwind after the social pressures they put up with at work, where they have to present the image of a boss, a leader, the guy who’ll conquer markets, push men, organize teams, build things.

01:00:29

Lady Morrigane, S/M Mistress

In a way,

01:00:30

Morrigane

it’s an act of love when a submissive client  comes here and says: “I’m abandoning myself to you, because it’s you, because I want to trust you, and because I want to share an experience with you, something strong.

01:00:49

Cornélis, Submissive partner

At some point, I even asked myself: “Which of us is submissive? Which is domineering?” It forms a kind of couple who help each other to develop their whole being,

01:01:00

Cornélis

and discover who they really are.

01:01:03

Morrigane

While acting as Domina there is also the possibility of coming to terms with and  developing the masculine part of yourself. I don’t want to to say “man”, because I don’t feel like a “man”, but I do feel  a masculine side which I want to express, which I want to live out, and of course, I do ask myself: “What if I were a man?

01:01:30

Morrigane

What if I took somebody? How would it feel?”

01:01:34

Gilda

My domineering sisters and I share the fact that we are the incarnation of a feminine supremacy, to whom they must abandon themselves.The fact that I have a masculine sex between my legs, while having feminine allures at the same time, removes the complex most conventional and socially heterosexual men have, with or without wife and children. Who live in a totally

01:02:00

Gilda

heterosexual milieu, who don’t meet up with homosexuals, who don’t go to homo bars or clubs. It enables them to live out their fantasies of desiring the phallus, let’s call a spade a spade. But at the same time, without any complexes tied to the fact that  they’re having a relationship with someone who looks like a woman. At least, like the woman they fantasize about.

01:02:30

Nikita

Be careful, Nikita isn’t necessarily a change of sex! It’s a change of appearance.Because let me remind you that what they’re interested in is my dick, not my make-up! The clients who came to see Mistress Nikita were clients who came to see a woman with a dick!

01:03:00

Claudette

I’ve always asked myself: “Why do men get all worked up about transsexuals, instead of finding themselves a pretty young girl?” Maybe it’s the thrill of saying: “It was a man, I’m with a man, It’s my “bi” side emerging”, But leaving them the possibility of saying: “But nevertheless, I’m still with a woman!”

01:03:27

Camille, Doctor, trans-gender prostitute

Why are men so attracted

01:03:30

Camille

to phallic women? Because we “trannies” are phallic women! We have an image of women with a phallus. A psychoanalyste said that deep down, man wanted the ideal woman to possess both sexes. And so, because a woman, a biological woman, has no phallus,

01:04:00

Camille

there are things she can’t do, but that trannies can.

01:04:06

Gilda

Everyone knows the saying: “You aren’t born a woman, you become one”. In my case, it’s perfectly true. I wasn’t born a woman. In my everyday life, I never feel like a woman, and I’ve never felt like a woman. I don’t want to be a woman on a day to day basis. It’s difficult to be a woman. It’s hard work.

01:04:28

"Oh again, again!"

01:04:30

01:04:43

Sonia

Another thing that people cant’ stand, is the idea that a prostitute can, not only enjoy her job, but that a prostitute can also get physical pleasure from her job, when she’s being paid for it! If she gets pleasure as well, people just can’t stand it.

01:05:00

01:05:02

Sonia

But let’s not get carried away. It only happens sometimes, when you let yourself go. There are men who want us to feel pleasure. There are men with whom we pretend to feel pleasure. There are men who know we’re pretending, but don’t give a damn, because they’re busy doing their thing. And sometimes there are men who do give us pleasure. And then, it depends.

01:05:30

Sonia

If it’s a man you like, you can show him that he’s given you pleasure. If it’s a client you don’t like too much, sometimes you don’t show it. You don’t give him that satisfaction, because it’s still a kind of gift! I’m still a romantic!

01:05:48

Sofia

I don’t withhold myself, no, but I don’t tell him. Yes, I don’t tell him, out of modesty, no doubt. I don’t tell him, but sometimes he can feel it.

01:06:00

Sofia

He says: "Hey,it was better than last time,

hey, today I really felt you. Yes, I felt good".

01:06:09

Marianne

There were two types of reaction from men. For example, I had clients who came to me for the first time. It was great, I got a real kick, and they became regulars because it was good for them too, they enjoyed it, they were excited.

01:06:30

Marianne

Then there were the others, men who were angry! “Hey, I’m paying you and you’re enjoying it!” There were even guys that had the nerve to ask me to pay them back! I’d say: “Dream on, mate!” For God’s sake!"

01:06:47

Karen, Prostitute, Lyon

Some of them want everything! They want us to undress, they want to kiss, they  want sodomy. What do they take me for? That’s too much! We’re not objects! There are some things that I’d never do, not for all

01:07:00

Karen

the money in the world, I wouldn’t do it.

01:07:01

Marianne

I think kissing is part of making love with a person. But you don’t make love with a client. You have sexual intercourse, but you don’t make love.

01:07:15

Sonia

A kiss is… Kissing a man you love… It’s a sensation… But maybe it’s reserved for the men you love, which is why we don’t kiss.

01:07:30

Lisa, Prostitue, Manager of Brothel, Geneva

For French women,if you’re a prostitute you don’t kiss. It’s not done, horrors! That’s only for your boyfriend, your husband, your children, that’s all! They are the only people that you kiss! I think that’s awful, because we have clients here who can come, just by kissing.

01:08:00

Lisa

When they ask me, I’m very restrained. Fellatio and sodomy, that’s all. They’re the only things that I do. Some find that limited, others think it’s a lot. But some find it limited. I’d be happy with just that. To me, vaginal penetration, that type of love, is not the most important thing. And anyway,

01:08:30

Lisa

I already have kids. To me, that’s just for making children.

01:08:37

Karen

If I meet someone tomorrow, what will I have to give him if I’ve given everything to my clients? What will I be able to give him of myself? Nothing! He’ll just feel like anyone else.

01:08:49

Sonia

There does come a point where, it’s true, men… But it has to be on both sides, where you realize that

01:09:00

Sonia

the contract bothers you a bit. When you fall in love with a client, then there’s no more money. And that’s usually when things start to get screwed up! Because there are expectations, the expectation of love, of respect. And you don’t want to feel like  a free whore on top of that! You want to be sure  that the guy really loves you, not just because you’re a

01:09:30

Sonia

sexual fantasy. The men I’ve loved have always been ex-clients. That way, I don’t have to go through the: “And what do you do for a living, Sweetheart?”

01:09:44

Marianne

You can’t imagine people’s reactions when I tell them I’m a whore! Women feel really uncomfortable, because they think I’m going to screw their husbands! The husbands start to talk to you

01:10:00

Marianne

in a totally different way, because they think you’re easy meat. They’re also very curious. It’s still a subject that you can’t discuss freely.

01:10:13

Isabelle

When you’re a prostitute, you’re not allowed to be happy, and you’re not allowed to be unhappy either. Otherwise, it’s simple, you just stop prostituting. When you’re a prostitute, you’re not allowed to have a partner.

01:10:30

Isabelle

Because there are laws for protecting women. And they protect female prostitutes in such a way, that having a partner becomes very difficult. And it’s implied that we aren’t allowed to be mothers.

01:10:45

Sonia

If you’re of age and you live with a male or female prostitute, then automatically you’re a pimp. Legally speaking, as soon as they’re 18, children become their parents’ pimps!

01:10:56

Sofia

When a girl falls in love

with a man,

01:11:00

Sofia

that man automatically becomes a pimp, whether he wants to or not. Some women have chosen to have a pimp because they felt weak and vulnerable with the job they were doing. He’s a support for that person. At least, that’s how they see him.

01:11:30

01:11:32

Claudette

In Switzerland, prostitution is legal. The girls can live with a friend or a husband.I think that’s perfectly normal. He’s not considered to be a pimp. Prostitutes in Switzerland have an independent status. They pay their social security, they pay into their pension, and they pay taxes like any other citizen. 

01:11:58

Lisa

Legalization means

01:12:00

Lisa

that things are much clearer here, for everybody concerned. They are healthier for both the girl and for the client. In this type of work, you come across all social levels. I’ve had girls doing this job just to pay their university fees. As soon as they get their degree and a job, they stop. Those who’ve got their heads screwed on stop forever. I also have girls who work here

01:12:30

Lisa

because they’re buying property. That’s how they pay for it. Once it’s paid off, they stop, and then they go back to their old life.I have girls here who make a lot of money, a lot more than I do. I have girls who earn 1000 euros a day.

01:13:00

Lisa

I like things to be quite clear. When the client comes, I want him to know what’s in store, what he’ll get and for how much. Ours was the first place which mentioned fees, and services in a very clear way. When the client turns up, he knows exactly what he’s going to get. He knows that for a certain fee, he’ll get a particular service.

01:13:30

Lisa

It’s the same as in any other business. We consider that the client counts first and foremost. He can ask for anything. The only thing is that the girl can refuse. She doesn’t have to accept. The client always pays the girl directly. It doesn’t make any difference to me whether she’s paid 150 euros or 500 euros. It’s all the same. The only thing that counts

01:14:00

Lisa

is the time spent in the rooms. The only person offering any service is the girl. She’s the one who gives herself. I don’t give anything. It’s her mouth, her hands, her sex. It’s her that should be paid, directly, nobody else. I can only ask the girls to work under conditions, which I myself would accept.  She can’t work under the same conditions

01:14:30

Lisa

if somebody else is earning more than she does.

01:14:47

Claudette

This is why France should start thinking seriously. Repression in France leads to procuring, whereas in Switzerland, legality protects it.

01:14:58

Gilda

If you remove a sex worker’s

01:15:00

Gilda

right to say no, then she automatically becomes a slave. She’s not a sex worker anymore, or a prostitute, she becomes a girl in danger, a girl in need of assistance, who must be protected at all costs. So I think that legislation is going about things in the wrong way. And that the consequences that have emerged since 2003 are catastrophic.

01:15:30

01:15:35

Gilda

The bill penalizing clients, which exists in Sweden, simply strengthens the network of procurers, who now own brothel boats. They're run by the Russian mafia, who, in international waters, take on board many prostitutes, and they bring clients to the ferries

01:16:00

Gilda

in conditions which are, of course, beyond the control of social services, and local associations, etc. So, there’s no control,nobody knows under what conditions these girls work.

01:16:16

Gaby

When prostitution in France has been legalized and things have been clarified, then the women will be able to register and be entitled to a decent pension. A lot of them have done it. They’ve registered, paid their contributions,

01:16:30

Gaby

and they’re entitled to 62 euros a month! It’s shameful! All because they registered as self-employed. And when they demanded their pension, they were told: “What ? Self employed? Prostitute? Get out!”

01:16:50

Pascale

About ten years ago, I saw a woman with a walking stick,

01:17:00

Pascale

carrying a shopping bag and walking through the woods. Her little cheeks were all rouged up, but she had a lovely face. I felt sorry for her… I said, “What are you doing here, love?” She said proudly, “Same as you!”  I looked at her.  I wanted to take her in my arms.

01:17:30

Pascale

I said, “Go home, I’ll give you money.” But I knew she wouldn’t have accepted, because she had her pride. She wasn’t a beggar, she was a whore!

01:17:44

Claudette

There are so many poor Parisians of 70 or 75 years old, turning tricks for 10 or 20 euros, because they have nothing to eat. They have no social security, no pension. How are they supposed to live?

01:18:00

01:18:02

Sofia

I am delighted and honoured to be of assistance to the ANA, “With Our Elders”, which I consider a worthy cause for helping these people who have been prostitutes and who often find themselves in precarious conditions, but who refuse to beg. They often let themselves waste away, or commit suicide.

01:18:30

Sofia

Their only fault is that they prostituted themselves. Even though they may be very old, they are still forced to prostitute.. I find that appalling. Because we have no right to accept that an 80 year old woman should have to turn tricks in order to buy food.

01:19:00

Sofia

It’s immoral, but it’s hidden away.

01:19:10

Pute Pride

You sleep with us, you vote against us! You sleep with us, you vote against us! We’re whores and proud of it, War on Sarkozy! Sarkozy, get out, you’re hurting me! Sarko, Catholics, you’re smashing our clits!

01:19:30

01:19:52

Sonia

In the war against prostitution lies a combat for controlling people’s sexuality. Whether they be men or women.

01:20:00

Sonia

We scare people because we say to other women who dream of freedom: “Be careful! If you behave like a whore, you’ll be demolished!” So, we control women’s sexuality! But we also say to men: “You’ll have to fuck the women that you pay in the mud”. That a quick screw, when they fancy it, won’t be so wonderful or so easy. That their sexuality

01:20:30

Sonia

must remain guilt-ridden and problematic.  That they might get a kick out of paying for an orgasm but they’ll have to do it in filth, shame and misery. It’s also a way of saying: Be careful! There are mothers, and there are “whores!”

01:20:43

Chanson Song

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Try and catch me,

01:21:00

Chanson Song

I need more than Kit-e-Kat.

Stroking me is not enough,

I need to be caressed.

Slide your hands around my hips,

If you dare.

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

01:21:30

Chanson Song

I don’t like it when you’re sad,

Don’t forget that I’m around.

I rub myself between your legs,

And feel a pussy on my tongue.

Now you’re feeling good,

And we’re ready to play.

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

01:22:00

Chanson Song

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

Pussy, pussy,

I’m your pussy…

When I sit on your lap,

And purr gently in your ear.

Then you know that you

Can set your pussy on fire.

We’re so hot together…

01:22:30

Chanson Song

Miaow, miaow, miaow…