People often consider a prostitute to be a disposable commodity. It’s been the same throughout human history and you only need look at the news this week to see that little has changed.*

(*For those abroad who have missed the UK’s blanket press coverage, a male criminology student has killed some prostitutes in Bradford for – it appears – the pursuit of his own infamy. He’s allowed himself to be caught and now the tabloids are splashing his posed black-and-white headshot across their front pages and repeatedly writing his self-bestowed superhero pseudonym in excited block-capital headlines. It gives him glorification he doesn’t deserve. His victims were incidental. They’ve been dehumanised, both by the murderer and by sections of the media. Each has been been reduced to a tiny photo and a name, mere fodder for the ambition of a mentally ill narcissist. Is serial murder now just “Britain’s Got Talent” for people who can’t sing or dance?)

There’s always been contention over whether or not a Dominatrix can be classed as a “sex worker”. Either way, I’ve observed that everyone I’ve met who, through their own choice, works in the adult industry is exceptionally talented in the fields of art, music or literature. I’m not sure if it is a reflection of how creative sex workers are, or of how lamentably difficult it is to make a living as an artist, musician or writer.

Anyway, this correlation has seen the rise of New York collective “Sex Worker Literati”. It began with the book “Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money and Sex”, a literary anthology by people who are working, or have worked, in the sex industry. In a bar that was once an erotic massage parlour, the book’s contributors would meet for public readings and performances, and as the event’s popularity increased, other writers from the sex industry were invited for guest spots and the Sex Worker Literati was formed. They now meet on a monthly basis at the Happy Ending Lounge and a portion of the bar proceeds go towards groups and charities supporting and protecting sex workers.

Find out more at www.hoshookerscallgirlsrentboys.com.