2
20
148
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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Still Image
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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Maggie's Matchbook
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
A book of matches with Maggie's logo, street address, and phone number.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Maggie's
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
20-strike book of matches
Maggie's
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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PDF Text
Text
W::ips to aboib getting busteb
~ve ~ros anb QL,ons
•
An undercover does not have to tell
you they are a cop even if you ask.
of 3Jobn ~cbooI
•
Asking an undercover cop to touch you
to "prove" she or he is a prostitute can
get you charged with "Counseling to
commit an indecent act".
PROS
•
•
You don't have to say what you are doing
if you are stopped by the police when
you are with a pro. However, if you are
caught while nude or performing a sex
act you will be charged with "Committing an indecent act in a public place".
To avoid getting charged with
"Communicating for the purpose"
make sure that you know the person
you are about to pick up is a pro.
•
Theoretically, if you successfully complete the program, you will not have a
criminal record. However, a record of the
charge will remain on the police records
and can be brought up at any time.
CONS
• The possibility of a permanent record
of your "sexual addiction" in your
health file.
• John School demands a greater
involvement of time and energy than
the typical process of a single court
appearance if you plead guilty.
•
EVERYTHING
pou §iQE~QE3R tuanteb
to knotu about
3Jobn ~cbool
By agreeing to go to John School
you are forfeiting your right to plead
not guilty and fight your case.
• The real purpose ofJohn School is
to make you ashamed of your healthy
sexuality. Prostitution is NOT illegal
in this country, communicating in a
public space is. (Remember, your car
counts as a public place.)
Produced By:
~'s 964-0150
Despair.
Supplication.
' PROSTITUTES' LEGAL ADVOCA.CY PROGRAM
Hah! John School, what a farce!
What is really needed is a school to teach
middle class moralizers to learn to live in a
mixed neighbourhoodswithout trying to push
their values down other peoples' throats.
�Wbat is 3Jobn ~cbool?
John School (or the "Prostitution Diversion Program") is a program which will be
offered to clients charged with "Communicating for the purpose of prostitution".
It is part of a larger initiative aimed at
reducing street prostitution: an effort that
may include changes in the criminal law.
John School, implemented by Metro Toronto
Councillors Judy Sgro and Brian Ashton, will
take place on the last Saturday of the month
and there will be 30 people attending. If you
decide to attend the school you will asked for
a donation of up to 250 dollars.
3Jf 3J am cbargeb
bJbat will bappen?
5) If you successfully complete this process
you will receive a formal letter which you
must take back to court. The judge may
then withdraw the charge.
"The diversion program is demanding and the
onus is on the accused. The accused must make two
appearance in court, one appearance at John
School' and two appearances at the administrative
agency.... ff the accused misses arry steps ofour
diversion program his case will be proceeded with
through the criminal justice system."
From the Street Prostitution Task
SVEET MADAM,
would be :,o
profitable!
At your first court appearance the Crown
Attorney will advise you of your eligibility. To
be eligible this must be your first charge. If
you are eligible and you choose to go to John
School these are the steps that will be taken:
• The Judge will delay your next appearance in court for two months so that
you will have time to attend the school.
• You will meet with a court worker
who will inform you of the procedure:
1) Make an appointment to register.
2) Meet for an in-person registration
and set a date to attend.
3) Once you arrive for class you must
remain for the entire eight hours.
4) Upon completion you will return to the
administration agency for an evaluation
and final interview.
pAfter a short break a public health
educator will deliver a two hour
lecture on various aspects of sexually
transmitted diseases.
In North America studies repeatedly show that
prostitutes are at equal or lower risk of Sexually
Transmitted Diseases. Money does not spread
STD's, unsafe sex does. However, the john School
will not teach you the safer sex techniques that you
learn.from yourfavourite hooker.
Force Communication by Brian Ashton,
Vice-Chair to the Metro Toronto Police Services Board,January 9, 1996.
gee,
I had no idea
John School
prostitution related enforcement.
1°VE UTAINED MY
$2.-'0
DONATION
THAT I MAY PASS IT
AL.ONG TO 'IOU HOPING,
Of COURSE, TO ENJOY
AN HOU~ Of YOU~
DEL.ICIOUS COMPANY,
LUNCH TIME at
JOHN SCHOOL
Wbat pou b:Jill 'learn'
Morning
pThe day will start with registration and
introductions. (Coffee will be available
for a fee.) You will be required to
disclose a personal detail to the class.
You will also be informed that in order
to complete the program you must
participate in a co-operative manner.
pA Crown Attorney will come in to
explain various aspects of the criminal
code, and a police officer will talk about
Afternoon
pAfter lunch representatives from a community group will lecture on the "problems" resulting from street prostitution.
Despite the fact that prostitutes, andyou, the client,
are a part ef the community, we are being
scapegoatedfar common urban complaints such as
noise and littering.
pNext a former prostitutes will "explain
the impact prostitution has on women".
These women speak.from their own experience but
generalize that ALL prostitutes are female and are
victims. This completely ignores the majority efpros
that appreciate our clients and our work.
pAfter another short break an "expert"
from the Clark Institute of Psychiatry
will lead a discussion on "the reasons
why individuals seek out prostitutes
and how behaviour can be modified".
You might as well ask ((Wiry do people seek out sex
and companionship?". Don't take it as a given that
your behaviour NEEDS to be changed.
pFinally you will complete a short quiz
and fill out a reaction sheet.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Everything You Never Wanted to Know About John School - Brochure
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
An informational brochure criticizing the mandatory "John School" for client's caught utilizing commercial sexual services by the police.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Maggie's
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
mid-1990s
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy, double-sided, folded in thirds
Maggie's
Public Health
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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PDF Text
Text
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
CORP - Brochure
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Informational trifold brochure about the need to decriminalize sex work and support sex workers' rights. Includes safe sex messaging and a photo of CORP spokesperson, Valerie Scott.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP)
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy, double-sided, folded in thirds.
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Toronto
-
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a187b28b2165de47246df814203f6c15
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Prostitutes Keep Up the Good Work - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Poster made to counteract anti-cruising signs in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
early 1990s
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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366d77895a2728e3f2fba2ae676fbf8b
PDF Text
Text
����
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Support Your Local Prostitutes - Stickers
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
A series of stickers made to counteract anti-cruising signs in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
early 1990s
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
sticker
Prevention
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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PDF Text
Text
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Congratulations! Keep Up the Good Work! - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
From a series of safer sex posters produced for the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project housed at Maggie's in Toronto. This poster also appeared on the back cover of the first issue of the CORP newsletter titled Stiletto in 1990.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1990
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy
Injection Drug Use
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Toronto
-
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Text
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Safe Sex For Hookers
Subject
The topic of the resource
sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Four page prevention brochure written by and distributed to sex workers. Printed by the AIDS Committee of Toronto.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Valerie Scott
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
4.25" x 5.5" photocopy
AIDS Committee of Toronto
Prevention
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
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PDF Text
Text
-----------------------------------~------
Vol.2,No.1
"communicating for the purpose of prostitution"
The newsletter of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
u
In this issue , ....
Walking the tightrope
Drawing by Catherine
In memoriam: Farewell to Patrice
Here's to you ... my love
News: John beats the rap, More
goods on Gord, A new home for
hos, Soliciting the "suits"
Cupid's arrow
Drawings by Catherine
sex is our
Strolling into an education
Plus: Resources, Courtwatch,
Incredible Jerk Award, Just for
Laughs
�h t
y lover and I lie in
bed, totally wrapped
in each other. The covers
have been kicked or thrown
off and even our cat is a little
reluctant to join us. We've
just had sex, we may do so
again -- she doesn't want to
get caught up in our passion.
The sun is high in the sky,
we've been making love all
morning, and now its light
streams into our apartment.
Both of us are wet and sticky
and the bedroom smells like
a cheap brothel. At times our
apartment does serve as a
brothel, as I work -- but she
doesn't. She's right on
though; when her friends ask
her about my work, she
replies, "I'm glad she has a good job."
She states this simply and matter-offactly, the way it should be said.
I slip my tongue into her mouth and
slide my hand down between her legs.
My phone rings. The Panasonic clicks
into life then begins to whir, as my
outgoing message is being played.
Another click ... will the caller leave a
message on my machine? Most tricks
don't. We listen and wait.
"Good morning Miss Highcrest, this is
Mrs. So-and-So from the Ontario Ministry of Health ..."
"Cheese it Slit, it's the sex police!"
shouts Karen. We instantly uncouple
ourselves, sit up, and begin frantically
covering ourselves up, all the while
laughing hysterically. Once I was able to
control my laughter, I answered the call.
Later we discussed what happened.
Our playful, humorous reaction to the
phone 9all is based on fact, although the
MOH are not the sex police. Regular,
gun-toting cops can be, as any
relationship involving a prostitute is
r1
1111
I
against the law in this country.
My lover has a straight job, a good job,
but because she spends as much time with
me as she can, she could be charged with
living off the avails of prostitution -pimping. She is not my pimp; I give her
· money or buy her things because I wish
to. That's illegal, because I'm a whore.
She can give me money regardless of
how she gets it. It's perfectly legal for me
to "live off the avails" of teaching,
managing, cab driving; .. even bank
robbing or other criminal activities, but I
could not legally accept money from her
if she were whoring. What of love?
Because I am a prostitute, I am not supposed to have an ongoing relationship
with anyone, other than the sort where
time is measured by the hour. Legally, I
cannot have a lover, friends, or acquaintances. If I were a parent, even my child
could be charged with pimping once he
or she turned twelve. Are we "not fit" to
associate with anyone other than our
dates? Bad laws for bad girls. No other
vocation is discriminated against in this
2 !Stiletto
manner. No other group of
people has their personal,
private life criminalized as
we do. The pimping law
does not affect prostitution,
the act; the law affects
prostitutes, the people, and
their partners.
The bawdy house laws -which get us for working
inside, and the communicating law -- which gets us
for working on the street,
punish us for what we do.
The laws that affect our
personal relationships penalize us for who we are.
Under Section 212 of the
Criminal Code, any person
who "lives with or is habitually in the company of
a prostitute ... lives on the avails of prostitution" and as such "is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years."
Under the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, every Canadian's "freedom of association" is considered fundamental, and guaranteed -- unless you're a
prostitute. More so than any other law,
the pimping law affects all of our relationships, professional or otherwise.
We've been told that this law will protect
us from coercion. What it really does is
criminalize love, friendship, and companionship.
Does all this affect my love relationship? Will it ever? No! Our love affair
will continue, it will grow and flourish. If
Karen and I ever take simultaneous
prostitution related busts (me, a workrelated offence; her, an associationrelated offence) I only ask one thing of
the administration at the West. Stick us in
the same cell. We'll only need one bed.
Alexandre Highcrest
�John beats the r p
n May 5, 1989, Stephane Gonneville was driving down Murray
Street in Ottawa when he saw a woman
who looked like she was working. He
stopped the car and asked her how much
she would charge him for a blow job. She
told him forty bucks; he said he only had
$25. She agreed to his price and told him
to meet her down the street.
When he did so, Mr. Gonneville was
0
arrested and charged with "communicating for the purpose of obtaining the
services of a prostitute." The lady of the
night, it turned out, was Holly Logan, an
officer of the Ottawa police force. So far,
there's been nothing unusual about this
incident (except the low prices!).
Mr. Gonneville decided to plead "not
guilty" to the charge and this past summer he finally had his day in court. On
August 16, 1990 -- a couple of months
after the Supreme Court came down
with its decision to uphold the communicating law -- Judge Beaulne delivered
his decision to acquit Mr. Gonneville of
the charge. Judge Beaulne was persuaded by the arguments of his lawyer,
Mr. Denis Cadieux, that Mr. Gonneville
was not guilty because he had not, in
continued on page 4
Dolores French, at left,
escort and author of Working, a
about her wild
adventures as a globetrotting whore, was in
Toronto for a few days in
mid-December. She was
brought
her
nnl!TIIO in Atlanta to be a
Shirley
Maggie's
dazzling visit.
discussion
centred
international
prostitutes' rights movement and the current
political climate in the
United States.
Look for more of Dolores'
work in Hustler magazine.
Photo by Konnie Reich.
Stiletto/ 3
�fact, offered to pay for the services of a
prostitute, since Holly Logan was not a
pro but rather a police officer.
Needless to say, the Crown was not
amused and so has appealed the judge's
decision. That appeal should be heard, in
French, sometime early in 1991. The
Canadian Organization for the Rights of
Prostitutes (CORP) was asked to be an
"intervenor" in this case (as CORP did in
the Supreme Court case). Denis Cadieux
will make the request on behalf of CORP.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Crystal
More goods on Gord
The "Gord Junger Story" gets longer and
longer - and more complicated all the
time.
First, the Ontario Attorney General
investigated the cop who resigned, rather
Affairs in general, not just the Junger
than being fired, last March after the
case. Internal Affairs, as that part of the
Internal Affairs department learned that
police force which is supposed to investihe was running an escort agency with his
gate police misconduct, has been in for a
former girlfriend. The A-G (under the old . lot of flack lately, as you can imagine.
Liberal government) decided that there
When the inquiry began in October, its
was "no basis for criminal charges" and
first order of business was to decide who
wouldn't say anything more about the
got "standing" at the hearings -- that is,
case -- officially because an investigation
who got to have their lawyers represent
by the Ontario Police Commission (OPC)
them to intervene on their behalf. The
was set up last June. Of course the
OPC granted standing to Metro Police
resignation agreement the cops made
Chief William McCormack, the Internal
with Junger stipulated that there would be Affairs department, the Metro Police
no criminal charges laid.
Commission, the police's Public ComThen, the OPC began hearings in late
plaints Commission, Gord Junger, and the
October which continued for a couple of
escort who used to be his girlfriend.
days in mid-December, and for half a
One of her lawyers, Daniel Brodsky,
day in early January, when it was adargued not only that she ought to have
journed until the end of February. The
standing at the inquiry but also that she
inquiry is being conducted by a panel
should not have to pay her own legal
consisting of Julio Mendez, Jean Beaupcosts. She was ordered to appear before
rie, and Chairman Frank D' Andrea, and
the inquiry but she is no longer working
is to examine the operation of Internal
as a call girl and couldn't afford the costs.
Incredible Jerk Award
The latest from the Cabbagetown goon squad: we
don't know who they are, but we know they're jerks!
Photos by Konnie Reich.
4 !Stiletto
�The Solicitor General decided to pay her
costs, but only on a legal aid scale, and
the government will only cover the costs
of one of her two lawyers, so Brodsky
and fellow lawyer Marlys Edwardh will
take turns representing her.
The December and January hearings
consisted of other police Internal Affairs
departments presenting unsworn evidence
about their own procedures. This will
continue from February 25 to March 1, at
which date a block of time is to be set
aside to carry the hearings through to
their conclusion. At that time, the details
of the Junger case will be examined, as
will presentations from the public and
concerned groups.
Meanwhile, the reason Junger's former
girlfriend went to the press in the first
place was because Internal Affairs had
refused to return tapes of incriminating
conversations between her and Junger
that she needed to pursue a paternity suit
against the cop. The tapes have since
Volume 2, Issue 1 -
been returned, and the woman has given
birth to a baby boy.
Finally, reporter Alan Story, who broke
the Junger story in the Toronto Star, was
fired by the Star because he agreed to
appear before the OPC inquiry. The
Star's reasoning was that they owned his
research on the case, since he did the
work while in their employ. Presumably
they don't want to jeopardize relations
with the cops, who are, after all, their
primary "news source."
Crystal
Signed articles represent the opinions of the
authors only.
Editor: Alexandre Highcrest
Contributing to this issue: Catherine,
Crystal, Delilah, Gwendolyn, Alexandre
Highcrest, Jackie, Laura Jacobs,
Will Pritchard.
Laura Jacobs
Court watch
In this new year, Maggie's is going to
begin a court watch. I plan to be in the
courts a couple of days during the week,
so if you see me, please come up and say
"Hi." If you would like someone to assist
you, or even to just keep you company
while you're in court, give Maggie's a
call at 964-0150. We want to keep track
February 1991
is the newsletter of the
Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP.
of who the good lawyers are, how tough
each judge is, which cops are making the
most busts, how the arrests take place,
and anything else that can help the next
pro going into court. If you know the
score, and how the game is played, you
may be able to do things to improve the
legal odds -- to tip the scales of justice in
your favour. Let's work together.
-~--¥·*-~ n·:,1t::ri;
1
. . .t.i
Gutter utterings
Crime in the wilderness - Gutter utterings, a play by artist/poet/playwright and
Cabbagetown street ho Helen Posno will
be presented on February 16 and 17 at
11:30 pm as part of the 13th Annual
Rhubarb Festival. Call 863-9455 for
further details.
1
New coffee house hours
Maggie's, Toronto's Prostitutes' Resource Centre has changed its coffee
house hours to 10 pm to 2 am on Tuesday
and Wednesday nights. Stop by, load up
on safes and have a hot coffee. See ad on
page 6 for more details.
Production: Will Pritchard.
Address: Box i 143, Station F,
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2T8
Telephone: (416) 964-0150
Call or write for advertising rates.
Deadline for Volume 2, Issue 2 is
March 8, 1991.
to work soon, the
gang at CORP/PSSP
misses you!
Photo by Dan Huziak.
Contributors retain copyright on all signed
material. All other material© Stiletto 1991.
Stiletto! 5
�A new home for hos
On December 5th, Maggie's, Toronto's
Prostitutes' Resource Centre, formally
opened their doors to the city's pro
community. The evening featured good
food, good conversation, and a fashion
show, courtesy of Mary Lou Patchell, the
proprietor of the He & She Clothing Gallery. Maggie's is the new home of the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project, and the
Canadian Organization for the Rights of
Prostitutes, and both groups were well
represented by staff and members alike.
e
I
A number of working women visited
the centre, and the conversations were
very diverse, ranging from safer sex
practices, to Mary Lou's beautiful fashions, to, of course, hard-core prostitution
politics. It was an evening of sharing
experiences, tricks of the trade, opinions,
and friendly gossip. I was there with my
lover, a member of CDP, the Campaign
for the Decriminalization of Prostitution,
and both of us felt that a good time was
had by all.
Maggie's is a drop-in centre, staffed by
Cond
Alexandre Highcrest
"suits"
s
It's a cold winter.
When the street is dead,or the phone isn't ringing,
come by your dub for a hot coffee and a chat.
NEW COFFEE HOUSE HOURS:
Tuesday-10 pm to 2 am
Wednesday - 10 pm to 2 am
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday- 10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday -10 am to 6 pm
As always, the coffee and condoms are free!
7
I
s
298 rrard Street East, u111.1uuirs
Toronto, Ontario
267 (41
whores, for all working pros; a place
where you or I can go to have a coffee,
warm up on a cold night, and discuss
whatever we'd like, without fear of being
hassled. Maggie's is also a visible indication of the growing prostitutes' rights
movement here in Toronto.
Drop by, score a coffee and a few free
condoms, and say "Hello." Get a taste of
whore power. And remember, this is your
centre, so come in and let us know what
you think.
150
Two days following our formal opening,
the staff and volunteers of Maggie's
hosted a light, come-and-go buffet for
local politicians, our board members, our
funders, interested folk from agencies
involved in the fight against AIDS, and,
yes, even the Metro Police. The cops are
going to check the place out anyway; we
may as well let it be done out in the open.
The turnout was very good, as your
centre, the first of its kind in Canada, has
garnered a lot of interest, and support.
We were all kept busy answering the
questions directed our way, and
Gwendolyn's film Prowling By Night was
shown to many interested viewers.
Conversations focused on safe sex
practices amongst prostitutes, our clients,
and our lovers, and I feel that many
people left Maggie's that afternoon a
little more educated about the realities of
the business than they were when they
first walked in.
In conclusion, both events were quite
successful, and I think special thanks
should be extended to Laura and Chris,
who organized both buffets, and to Will,
who designed and created Maggie's
striking sign, which looks so damn good
at night. And thanks to everyone who
helped make Maggie's a reality; our
funders, our board members and volunteers, and of course to the whores involved in CORP and PSSP, who've been
busting their asses for years. Right on!
Alexandre Highcrest
6 !Stiletto
�liiBa:i-·----~~
High fashion at
Maggie's.
Jennifer Ryan, one
of the lovely models
from He & She
Clothing Gallery,
shows off a piece
from the store's silk
lingerie collection
at Maggie's opening.
Check out their
wonderful wares for
yourself at 263
Queen Street East.
Campaign to
Decriminalize
Prostitution member Karen Maki
visiting from
Thunder Bay, won a
$100 gift certificate
from He & She
donated by the
store as a doorprize.
Photo by Dan
Huziak.
Stiletto! 7
�ti
T
tr
here are so many ways that this man
whom I call lover has affected my
life. I feel like I'm walking a tightrope,
and if I take one wrong step, I'll fall. I
have never allowed anyone to get this
close to me before, and the fear of losing
him really gets to me sometimes. What
will happen if he should ever learn my
"dark secret?" I've
stopped doing
many things in my
work that I had no
problem with
before, because
some things "don't
feel right anymore." It can be so
hard to be in love
when you're a
prostitute, especially when you
have to hide this fact from the man you
love.
Each day I live with the horror that he
will find out how I earn my living.
Perhaps one of my friends or acquaintances will accidentally let it slip. Maybe
I'll forget to put the second phone away,
or leave a few phone numbers out, or,
God forbid, a condom wrapper. Will he
find a used condom carelessly thrown
into the garbage instead of flushed down
the toilet? What if some client decides
'that he wants to come over without
calling? Each time the doorbell rings, my
heart leaps to my
throat. Finally, and
worst of all, what
if the love of my
life should happen
to drop by when
I'm in bed with a
client? If any of
these things should
come about, it
would mean an
end to my relationship and to the
first real happiness that I've ever found.
Feeling this insecure also makes it
difficult for me to deal with other problems that we have, so instead of dealing
with them, I let them slide. For example,
sometimes when he says things to me that
8 !Stiletto
hurt, I let them pass, and they build up.
So even if he never finds out that I'm a
prostitute, I might flip out and tell him to
hit the road simply because I feel guilty
about hiding this from him, and overcompensating in order to calm my own guilt.
Can anyone tell me what the answers are?
People tell me that I should come right
out and tell him, because if he can't
accept what I do for a living, then, as the
expression goes, "There are lots of fish in
the sea." My reaction to this is that they
don't know shit! In 28 years, after being
with hundreds of men both professionally
and in the dating scene, I have found only
one man who can make me feel this way.
It's obvious, to me anyway, that a man
like him is a very rare commodity. Don't
get me wrong, he's no saint, and neither
am I to want so much in a man, but we
have real love and that's so rare, and
worth trying to maintain. Besides, the
thought of waiting another 28 years for
another man to come along doesn't tickle
my fancy.
Not only has my love life been affected
by my business, my business has been affected by my love life. I've developed an
intimacy barrier in order to continue with
my work. Whereas before, as long as the
client's breath wasn't horrendous I didn't
mind kissing him; now I can't stand
kissing dates at all. I've had to drop a few
clients who demand that I kiss them and
give them "romantic lover type" service.
I also had to change my hours of work,
which really didn't bother me too much.
Instead of working nights, I only work
days, even though everyone knows that
most big money dates usually happen at
night. So this relationship has really hit
me hard on the business side as well.
Despite all the changes that have happened and the money I've lost, I'd do it
all over again. I hope that we can work it
out and be together for a long time to
come. No one ever said that relationships
are easy. I guess I'll just continue to walk
my tightrope, and hope for the best.
Laura Jacobs
�r ' t
A
s we come upon this "official"
season of romance, many of us take
maybe yet another, or perhaps a rare look
at the individual whom we call our lover - the one person with whom we share ourselves for free. Well, when you are used
to commanding a high price for this
privilege with relative strangers, the
significance of a private relationship is
somewhat magnified. I have taken this
time, as each year passes, to either reconfirm or re-assess the relationship I am
in. If I am not involved at all, this is a
great time for me to do business. Actually, it is a great time to do business one
way or another -- that being my point.
Many years went by during which I had
to duck, hide, sneak and lie to do my job.
The last two years, however, have been
quite different. That is because my lover
is fully aware of who I am and what I do.
In fact, I get support in accordance with
however I am feeling -- whether I have
had a good day or a bad one. What I get
- more importantly -- is non-judgemental support. In the past I have examined
how my work has affected my relation-
1111
1111
1111
ship. Much of this was due to my own
mixed emotions. I somehow felt hypocritical as a result of my involvement
with someone who I felt would judge and
ultimately reject me for doing something
which I feel empowers me. I questioned
myself extensively ... "How could I be
in love with
someone who
really wouldn't
love all ofme? ...
Was I pretending
to be someone I'm
not? ... How could
I sit by quietly
while someone so
close to me
expressed an
ideology which
was so contrary to
my own? ... How could I 'theoretically'
discuss my viewpoints without giving
myself away? ... etc., etc."
As you can see, that could have gone
on forever. I gave up pretending and
dumped the relationship. The next lover I
took, I was up front with -- about every-
I
thing -- this is who I am -- this is what I
do -- right now I'm happy with my own
arrangements -- if you can't handle it
then don't get involved with me. Well,
this person did get involved ... and boy
did I have a lot of habits to unlearn!
Here was someone who loved me and
was saying, "Hey,
what you do with
your body is your
business -- I don't
own you." Now
this was
something I had
been saying to
others for fifteen
years ... finally I
could relax. The
mutual admiration
and respect which
came from this was incredible. My lover
also became my "buddy." When I went to
see a client I said where I would be, who
I was with and when I should return or
call. If I didn't call at the expected time I
knew my lover would be ripping down
the door -- or whatever else was necescontinued on page 12
Stiletto! 9
�1-----\
I
h
~
10 !Stiletto
�raw1" gs
e
ening party to kick
There will
off an exh1b1tan ciatherine's work on
of
?~
Friday March 22 , 1991
10 pm
at
. 's
Maggie
8 Gerrard St East at Parliament
29
(Upstairs)
d
invited guests
pros anWELCOME
Some works w1·11 be for sale.
Stiletto! l l
�sary -- to ensure my safety. I had new
strength and confidence, I was even
admired for my ability to handle my job
and be a pro.
Of course we discussed the safe sex
issues at length and our honesty made this
much easier to deal with. While all of this
was very positive for me and my relationship, it was also very good for my work -up to a point. Describing this "point" is as
difficult as describing love. Suddenly,
certain barriers were gone -- I had
nothing to hide. I no longer had the
distraction or confusion in my personal
life, but I also no longer had that part of
my personal power/anger trip in my
professional life. This really changed a
lot of things about my relationships with
clients.
Suddenly I was much choosier, worked
less often, or found myself thinking of my
lover while I was with clients. Suddenly
certain things became sacred to me. The
bottom line is; this year I am thinking of
how my relationship is affecting my work
instead of vice-versa -- and it is certainly
affecting my work. Those things which
have a lot of emotional significance to me
with my partner, I no longer wish to share
with my clients. The first of these things
is kissing -- NOWAY! As a rule I don't
like to anyway, purely for health reasons
-- but now I am somewhat repulsed by
this phony attempt at real intimacy.
My stance has become a little "hardline." "This is my job -- we can be
friendly -- but not intimate." To me
intimacy is the emotionally involved aspect of sex. Never before has the difference between fucking and making love (if
I may use an old cliche) been so painfully
obvious. Sex with my partner is a powerful method of communication; we have
no restrictions, no stigmas. Often, we
make love to break our defence barriers
or release tension between us ... or between us and the rest of the world. To
me, the ultimate in our sexual expression
of feelings is anal sex. This involves total
relaxation, trust and vulnerability. The
significance of this act was demonstrated
during a particularly "spiritual" session
with my lover. The soul-to-soul connection put me on cloud nine -- high on
endorphines -- not drugs.
This is where my relationship's effect
on my work really takes hold. I have two
clients who take particular delight in assrelated sex of one form or another and
reward me accordingly for indulging
them. The problem is, I no longer wish to
see them -- at all -- for anything. I just
don't want to share this very emotionally
important act with someone who I am not
in love with. I can no longer separate the
sex from the emotions.
In addition, right along the same line -getting off with my partner, experiencing
the physical manifestations of the pleasure of sex -- is now all tied up with my
emotions. This makes any attempt by a
client at "giving me pleasure" a
supremely ridiculous charade -- during
which pretense has become somewhat
strained. Now if the client had never had
r----------------,
I wish to receive Stiletto, the
newsletter of the Canadian
Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes.
Name _____________
Address----------C i t y - - - - - - - Prov---Postal Code - - - - - - - - Telephone ( _ _ ) - - - - - Check one:
D Individual subscription at $1 0;
D Supporting subscription at $20;
D ... ..,... ,,.-., subscription at $30;
for 6 issues
I am enclosing a donation of $ _ __
Mail this form and a cheque or money order
made payable to Stiletto, to:
Stiletto
Box 1143, Station F
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Is getting the latest issue of
Stiletto still a hit and miss
game for you?
Solve your problem by
having us delivered to your
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town!
I A subscription of six issues
I is only $10. So subscribe,
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I
I
I
L ________________ J
12 /Stiletto
�things any other way, all would be fine.
This is, unfortunately, not the case. Very
good pretense and occasional realism was
always on the menu -- now it's not and I
may simply have to recommend another
eating establishment, if you'll pardon the
pun.
Many clients do understand, much to
my initial amazement. "What's the matter
... are you in love?" So clients are
human too. Many are happy for me and
although they mourn the loss of their
favourite pastime, they do realize money
can't buy them love ... only a semblance
thereof.
On Valentine's Day, 1991, I salute my
lover -- the one who provided me with
the historical information of times dating
back to when ...
" ... throughout western Asia and
Greece, women were dedicated to a life
of prostitution in honour of the gods.
" ... when women of noble families
were dedicated to Gilgamesh Ishtar, the
goddess of fertility and also the goddess
of prostitution, in the city of Babylon.
" ... when sacred prostitutes who
supplicated to Aphrodite during the
Persian invasion were honoured by
having their portraits painted."
And here's to my clients, who must
have remembered the following passage
from The Jewel in the Lotus -- read
during an impassioned 60s education and
applied some thirty years later...
"Long before the time of Aholah and
Aholibah ... the oldest profession in the
world claimed holy eminence. The prostitute wore the laurels of womankind, for
hers was an ancient and honourable position. She was sought after while other
women were merely chattels."
Have a safe and sensual Valentine's
Day.
Delilah 1991
11111
I
T
he point of cupid's arrow
is as sharp as it is narrow
Love hurts it's never fair 0
What to do
Let you go or try to change you
Be myself or re-arrange who
Weare
ONLY a couple of parts in the puzzle
But when we nuzzle it fits
When we're together
I don't care whether
it snows
or the whole world blows up
But when we fight
Nuthin's right
Love hurts
Once I asked a date
What it was about me he liked
(fishing for compliments)
He said:
"I like you because you're so feminine
You want so much to please."
Let me fall into your arms
Surrender to your charms
Just tell me what you want me to do
How should I look?
Give me a clue
Is the glass half empty
or half full
Awwwwww
Our cup runneth over
Stiletto/ 13
'
r
It is a bitter brew
But I'll drink it
Suck it back
for you
for you
At home sweet home my sweetheart said:
"Don't talk about work
I don't wanna hear it
Something in that tone
Makes me afraid for you
I hate your work
I fear it
I don't want to share you
He's just some jerk with the money
And he comes first."
Green is the colour of money
Green for growing
for jealousy and knowing
Love heals
Life is a puzzle
The pieces are all over the place
The BIG PICTURE is NOT A TRJCK
It's ABRACADABRA
Wave that magic wand
And we're in the money honey
My honeybun said:
"Don't talk
I'm gonna count to ten
Lie Down
I'll have my way with you
And then ... "
continued on page 14
�school
When I wore my T-shirt with the bateau
neckline
A teacher asked me to go to the front of
the class
But I told you I was tired
And you said:
"You're NOT tired
You 're afraid of being intimate
You can't love
That's why you're a Whore!"
And show off my top
Quit the business for my significant other
Went to George Brown College
Took apparel pattern Drafting and
Sewing
It was an eight month course
I stuck it out for 90 days
There was just one happy moment at
Right ON
I only ever had one lover
And She
And She
Wasn't enough.
SERVICES
General medical practise - - doctors and nurses available
Support for abused and battered women
Social services and housing assistance
Personal support and counselling
Safe - sex information
Free condoms
Needle exchange
Spanish, Portuguese and Vietnamese interpreters available
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday 1Oa.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT
Clinic staff are also available on The Works' van
Tuesday afternoon and Thursday evenings.
Parkdale
Community
Health Centre
1257 Queen Street West
0fVest of Dufferin St.)
Phone 537-2455
Some sweethearts of the golden hearts
Misunderstood their role
Believe it is their duty
To save our body and soul
"You're such a lovely girl
Different from the rest
I'll take you from this gutter
'Cause you deserve the best"
0 princess Charmin'
It's alarmin'
That you should presume the right
to rescue me.
Why do you need to see me
As a victim
Does that get you off?
Being superior
Being on top
I often find myself playing a role with
you
We're living an illusion
I'm supposed to be Poor Baby
You keep control AND you Get Wet
Well girlfriend
I'm tired of pleasin' everybody else
How about me for some small change
OR BIG BUCKS BABY
You might as well be a trick
I'm supposed to entertain you
Never fear I won't detain you
from gettin yours
My history is foreplay for your wish
come true
But your wish is NOT my command
My pleasure is to treasure
Not plunder
If you want to spend some time with me
Understand reality
This is MY geography
I ply my trade with dignity
Accept my work
OR get off the map
Dear darling sweetcream
Honey bun dream
Give me something upfront
0 The point of cupid's arrow is sharp.
Gwendolyn 1991
14 !Stiletto
�LIST
THIS IS
DATES.
OF
OUT FOR THEM,
AND AVOID THEM!
:nally
No,infact,yaupayJess. TheHSTisre .
.
•
lldjus!ed
sexual 17J.ations. Persons from
of
are required 10 pay an additional SO 17 ....
xample,
mak
, lhe"
• ,- encounter 111
e up ,or u- lack of activity Similar!
.d
G~ Bay may lleduc1 S0.76 fro~ their
enu of
IO account for socio-cultural variatio
E10::ke, f::1e=r
•oThelO.!al< only applies if you achieve climax. So relax
.,
1~ when you wanna do · R
•
come.
I!. elax, when you wanna
lists are updated weekly
and are distributed on the
street by the staff of the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
If you've been assaulted,
harassed or ripped-off by a
date, call us anytime and
tell us what happened!
Canada's HST. Let's come together.
I•
We ask for details about
the incident only.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
GIVE US ANY
INFORMATION ABOUT
YOURSELF.
pa~Z:t
'
Revenue and
Taxation Canada
This priceless parody comes to us from Frank magazine.
Thank you to Jamie, who gave us
the idea for a new button from
CORP - ask for one from any pro
who works for PSSP, or drop by
Maggie's at 298 Gerrard East and
pick one up! (See the ad on page
six for hours.)
A FREE SERVICE .. 24 HOURS
Stiletto! IS
�~~
tr 11 i
i t
ti
O
n November 1 of last year, I started
working for the Prostitutes' Safe
Sex Project as a part time AIDS educator,
doing the stroll in Parkdale. Boy, has this
been an education. In the beginning, I
thought that the working girls I saw on
the street were so different from me. I
thought that all the things that were
happening to these women were terrible,
and I felt I had to do something to assist
these people in protecting themselves.
I still see the violence and harassment
of the street girls as horrendous actions
that no one has the right to inflict upon
anyone. I also see this as not just some
news story involving a stranger, but as
something that could happen to myself,
someone I know, or someone I could get
to know. And I've learned something
pretty basic about street prostitutes.
Whenever I thought of the street
women before I got involved with the
Project, and CORP, I pictured them as
these tough, scary women, much like the
stereotypes we all have heard about. Although I would've said, with real conviction, "Escorts and call girls aren't like
that," I didn't know anything about street
girls. I would only see them working as I
drove by, on my way somewhere. When I
began doing street outreach for PSSP I
was actually scared when I approached
the first street pros I met, asking them if
they needed any condoms. However, the
women I approached looked a little
apprehensive about me!
I've talked with many street prostitutes
since then and I've learned that they're
not so very different from me. For the
most part I find these women very
pleasant. We all eat, sleep, dream, laugh,
and cry -- just like everyone else. I will
also say that most of us pros, no matter
where we choose to earn our money, have
a great sense of humour. I guess what
I've been trying to say is that, whether
working inside or outside, a prostitute is
just another person, like anyone else.
Laura Jacobs
r
4
(Please use Sherbourne St entrance of All Saints Church.)
Strictly; GClmfiBemtial amEI ma tiassles.
16 IStiletto
�7
II
r
T
o those of us who knew her, the
death of Patrice O'Donnell leaves us
torn between relief and grief. I was particularly close to Patrice, in fact she was
arrested for being at large at my apartment when she was diagnosed with
AIDS. I write this in sorrow because I
miss the terrific person she was, but I
know that now she no longer suffers.
I remember the sister I never had,
p rk
fri
found in Patrice, who was warm and had
beauty in her personality. The fact that
Patrice helped others to deal with her
disease was so typical. Not many people
have the gift to make others laugh and be
happy the way Patrice did. The Patrice I
knew would take me for coffee and a
sisterly chat when I was down, or just
needed someone to talk to. She was also
very open about AIDS and tried to get
I
I
1111
I
165 Dufferin Street (south of King), Toronto, Ontario
(41 531
11
HOURS:
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to noon and 2 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday
2 pm to 6 pm
Thursday
noon to 7:30 pm
across to people that AIDS and unsafe
drug use can go hand-in-hand; in fact she
was a living example of this.
Patrice didn't want grieving and sorrow
over her passing from this life. And she
didn't want to have died in vain. This was
a woman with a lot of guts and spunk, the
type of person who left a legacy for
others concerned about safe sex and drug
use. I will miss her, especially when I see
flowers opening up to the sun or hiding
from the rain - such were her moods.
Unpredictable, fun-loving, but serious
enough to open up with the facts of her
slow passing from this world.
Only people who have known great sorrow or hurt could really understand where
she was coming from. I remember telling
one of the hos in Parkdale the time of the
eulogy to Patrice, and she put her head
down and said she didn't want to talk
about it, she also was a friend of Patrice's. Well hey, I was hurting too but
Patrice would not have wanted this, selfpity wasn't her trip, despite what some
people think.
Sure Patrice made some mistakes, these
days you don't get AIDS if you are
careful. It's not like it was when the
disease could be transmitted through
blood transfusions. I realize also that
Patrice had anger in her, that's why for
the last year she gave condoms to
women, in a bar we frequented, with real
determination. The anger was there, but
at the disease, not at the people. We
talked together and at great length, and I
will always remember her words of wisdom and strength, from someone who
knew it would only be a matter of weeks
or months before death silenced her, and
eventually silence her it did.
But the words of wisdom and love she
shared with others will not be silenced.
Silence in this case would be wrong and
would only lose more lives to a disease
we all have to learn to fight.
I remember when I introduced Patrice
continued on page 18
Stiletto/ 17
�:111······s1flllllfi-11······:··.1··!
to another pro; Patrice asked me if she
was a working girl and I replied, "Yes,
she is." Patrice looked at her wistfully
and said that she must make a mint with
her looks. Little did Patrice realize that
the eyes mirror the beauty of the soul,
and in Patrice's eyes we saw real beauty
shining through. My life has not been the
same since Patrice entered it a few years
ago, and she gave me not only encouragement but hope, and a dream that will not
die.
Unfortunately I had an asthma attack
and was not well enough to attend
Patrice's service, but from what people
who attended have related to me it was a
beautiful service. Condoms were passed
around in a basket and everyone sang
Happy Birthday to Patrice. Those were
Patrice's wishes. She, like everyone else,
must have had her bad points. But I
didn't know a selfish, or hateful, Patrice
- and not many of us can leave a legacy
like that. Live and let live was Patrice's
motto, and judge not, because judgement
has a habit of coming back on you.
Maybe in time we can all learn the truth
of Patrice's words of wisdom to people
involved in the sex trade, or using drugs.
Recently a friend told me that I have
very beautiful eyes, eyes that are expressive, and I cried when I remembered the
last person to tell me that-- my friend
Patrice. Let us not allow her to have died
in vain; let us rather spread the same
message that Patrice did, and as valiantly.
The newsletter of
90's Ladies and Friends,
a group working for the
repeal of laws against
prostitutes.
OPT
1125-9th Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814,
USA
Shared in Sorrow
Jackie, 1991
1111
I
for birth control and sexually
566 Church St., at Wellesley,
me 's Clinic
hours:
Oldest
Profession
Times
I
diseases
floor, Ste. 2
phone
Mon, Wed, Fri - 10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
by appointment
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
Tues & Thurs - 4pm to 6pm
Men's Clinic
hours:
phone 922-0603
Mon & Wed - 4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 2 pm
Fri - 4 pm to 7 pm
Sat - 10 am to 2 pm
WORKING
GIRL
no appointment necessary
Free and confidential health care services.
Hassle Free does anonymous HIV testing.
18 /Stiletto
A magazine published by the
Prostitutes' Collective of Victoria
PCV, 131 Grey St, St Kilda,
AUSTRALIA 3182
�Pissed off with
your lawyer?
Legal Aid
College Park - 598-1260
Old City Hall - 598-0200
University - 598-0200
Parkdale Community
legal Services
531-2411
Neighbourhood Legal
Services
961-2625
Justice for Children
(under 18 years)
920-1633
lawline
978-7293
Dial-a-law
947-3333
Lawyer Referral
Service
(includes free one hour
consultation)
947-3330
Call CORP at 9640150 and leave a
message on our
machine. We can help
you find the kind of
legal advice you need.
AIDS Committee of
Toronto
464 Yonge Street
926-1626
Alexandra Park
Community Health
64 Augusta Avenue
364-4107
Bay Centre for Birth
Control
790 Bay Street, 8th
Floor
351-3700
Birth Control and VD
Information Centre
2828 Bathurst Street
789-4541
Davenport~Perth
Community Health
1944 Davenport Avenue
658-6812
South Riverdale
Community Health
126 Pape Avenue
461-2493
Nellie's
(for women)
275A Broadview Avenue
461-1084
Hassle Free Clinic
556 Church Street
Women 922-0566
Men 922-0603
The House
(planned parenthood
youth clinic)
368 Prince Arthur
Avenue
927-7171
Robertson House
(for women)
291 Sherbourne Street
392-5650
Niagara Neighbourhood Health Centre
674 Queen Street West
363-2021
Open Door Centre
(needle exchange)
315 Dundas Street East
366-7124
The Works
(needle exchange)
660 Dundas Street West
392-0520
EME!ii~l§JlruCY
SHEl/,lffiEffil1
Parkdale Community
Health Centre
1257 Queen Street West
537-2455
City Hostel
(for families)
674 Dundas Street West
392-5500
St Lawrence Health
Service
45 Lower Jarvis Street
864-6000
Seaton House
(for single men)
339 George Street
392-5522
Stop 86
(for women under
21 years)
922-3271
416
Street Health
(free nursing services)
863-1610
Stiletto is your voice. If you work in the sex trade and
you've got something to say, send it to us and we'll
publish it. The next deadline for submissions is
March 8, 1991. Please send written articles (preferably
typed or printed), artwork or photographs to:
Stiletto
Box 1143, Station F
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Artwork and photos will not be returned unless otherwise
requested. Please do not send your only copy!
Stiletto/ 19
(daytime drop-in for
women)
416 Dundas Street East
928-3334
Street Haven
(for women)
87 Pembroke Avenue
967-6060
Daily Bread Food Bank
will tell you locations of
food banks near you.
769-5155
�tr
I
rf t r
1111
1n
Most prostitutes use condoms with our tricks, but like so many other people, some of us think we do not need
to use condoms with our lovers. Many people get AIDS from lovers they think are healthy - from lovers
who don't know themselves that they are carrying the virus.
If someone will not use condoms with you, chances are they have had sex with other people without a condom. People are not always honest about what they did before you met them.
A lot of people get AIDS from sharing a needle when using drugs.
If you shoot drugs, do not share a needle with anybody, not even a lover. If you do not have your own
needle, clean the needle first. Draw bleach into the needle and squirt it out a couple of times to kill viruses
and germs. Then do the same thing with water.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Stiletto - Vol 2 (1)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Stiletto was the newsletter of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) from 1990-1991. This issue includes contributions from Catherine, Crystal, Delilah, Gwendolyn, Alexandre Highcrest, Jackie, Laura Jacobs, Will Pritchard.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Alexandre Highcrest, editor
Publisher
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From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
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February 1991
Format
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11" x 17" photocopy folded in half
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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85ce6e9025a7f36fe699b0392c860210
PDF Text
Text
"communicating for the purpose
The newsletter
prostitution"
the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
In this issue....
The cops vs NOW magazine
Trick or treat?
Poems and drawings by Helen Posno
Money Matters: Pros and the GST
Personal Story: On a European Tour
Safe Sex is Our Business: At the Fair
News: Maggie's opens•AIDS testing in
California•Stripper MP in Manitoba•
Murders in BC
Plus: Resources, Just for Laughs, a
Review of Personal Services
Photo by Konnie Reich
�W
Are we disposable people?
ell hasn't this been one hell of
a summer to be a working
prostitute? First of all, in the spring,
the Gord Junger case blew open. You
remember Gord, don't you? He was
the 52 Division constable who got involved in the sex trade after beginning
a relationship with a "highly paid call
girl." Apparently business was good
until Junger's lady friend and partner
got pregnant by him, and he ditched
her. She blew the whistle on him to internal affairs and shortly after, Junger
took a drug bust as a result of a sting
operation. Chief McCormack and the
police commission did a lot ofbackpedalling over that one. Charges
against Gord were subsequently dropped - hmm. Seems there are two versions of the Criminal Code, one for
cops and one for the rest of us. But
didn't we always kind of figure that?
Then in June, the Supreme Court of
Canada upheld section 213 of the Criminal Code, the communicating law,
even though groups such as the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes told the court that this
law had not decreased street prostitution at all. Why uphold a law that does
not work? According to the report of
the Fraser Commission on Pornography and Prostitution, back before
they passed the law, only 36% of
respondents felt that the police in
Canada should spend more time trying
to bust pros. Why enforce a law that
so many Canadians didn't even want
enacted?
Then in September, NOW was
charged with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution, an action unheard of in this
country. The police fucked up royally
on this one, as an article in this issue
of Stiletto explains in detail.
What are these actions indicative of?
Have the powers that be decided to
wage open war against the sex trade?
Perhaps, but I think this current runs
deeper than that. The Junger case is an
example of the type of hypocrisy and
corruption t.11at one can find within the
ranks of the Metro police.
When the Supreme Court upheld section 213, the judges who voted in
favour of the decision admitted that the
communicating law limits the right to
freedom of expression guaranteed by
the Charter ofRights and Freedoms,
yet the law was upheld. Justice for all except for hos, who are a nuisance.
I think the police action against NOW
magazine sums everything up rather
tidily. The questions that arose out of
the NOW incident indicate that there's
more to this than simply an increased
reaction to prostitution. The police
tried to user the communicating law in
an attempt to censor the paper, totally
disregarding NOW' s rights to freedom
of the press and freedom of expression. The Toronto Sun carries quire enticing, sexual ads, escorts do advertise
in the Star, Bell's Yellow Pages contain 26 pages of escort service ads yet only NOW was charged. The Sun is
generally pro-police, the Star is fairly
middle-of-the-road, Ma Bell - well,
she just didn't figure in this. NOW has
been critical of the police all summer,
so they get hit. With communicating.
Why? ...because they're a "nuisance?"
The police have said time and again
that street prostitution must be "controlled." I think that what the cops really
mean is "directed" - by them. Visible
sex trade workers, street pros, provide
the police with a renewable source of
arrest statistics. When the Metro police
need to show how efficient a force
they are, they go out and sweep pros.
Arrest statistics go up and, in the eyes
of the few, the police look good. Ever
wonder why there are always huge
sweeps before every major event that
occurs in Toronto, such as before the
Shriners' convention last year? Imagine what would have happened if
Toronto had gotten the Olympics?
Standing room only at the West!
This city is in financial trouble. The
number of people requiring social assistance to get by has increased dramatically, the TTC is singing the no-money
blues as their ridership is way down,
2/Stiletto
social services are or will be suffering,
and the Metro police have gone way
over budget. Metro chairman Alan
Tonks has gone begging to Queen's
Park only to have Bob Rae tell him
that the cupboard is bare. Tonks immediate solution to Metro's financial
woes is to "cut the suit to fit the cloth."
So what of Emperor McCormack' s
new clothes? Foot patrol activity will
be reduced and police response time to
calls will increase. June Rowlands cancelled a trip to a police convention,
and cancelled a magazine subscription!
What of morality? Highly paid investigators examining NOW's business
personals. How much did that cost? In
July I watched a small part of a sweep
happening on the Carleton stroll. The
sting used five plainclothes cop and an
unmarked car, and scored four or five
client busts before we figured out a
way to fuck the operation and forced
the heat out of the neighbourhood.
How much does a one or two night
sweep cost? Visible patrols can reduce
the incidents of real crime, as would
quicker response time, making our
neighbourhoods safer for everyone ...
including prostitutes. McCormack has
not mentioned any planned cutbacks in
morality operations.
Why are cutbacks being made in
areas of policing that many of us deem
necessary at the same time no changes
are being proposed in areas that so
many of us see as unnecessary - or unwanted. It's time the police became
financially, as well as socially and
politically, accountable.
The disregard for the "guaranteed"
human rights and freedoms of prostitutes is typical of the effects of the
wave of right-wing, moralistic, conservatism that has swept over the country.
Most societies have always considered
prostitutes to be "disposable people."
Think about what's been inflicted on
the sex industry over the summer, and
over the years. I don't like it. CORP
doesn't like it, and we're doing something about it. The time for change is
long overdue, but we'll have to bring
about the change ourselves, together,
as a movement.
Alexandre Highcrest
�The cops go after NOW magazine
I
f you ask most anyone in Toronto
to describe a working prostitute,
you would probably get the same sort
of response form most people.
"High heels, short skirt, a tight, revealing top." Or: "Tight jeans or spandex,
heels, ... you know, sexy looking."
Not all working prostitutes dress in
this manner when they're on the stroll,
but you get the idea. the term "working
prostitute" does conjure up a certain
image - a stereotype - be it right or
wrong. I'd be willing to bet the money
earned from my last date that you
wouldn't, however, get this sort of
description: "Well, let's see, the working pro is a rectangular green box,
about three feet high, with little black
designs all over the front of her. She
doesn't say much, but if you give her
fifty cents, she'll give you a newspaper
- the current copy of NOW." No, not
likely.
t
irl
Yet on August 31, NOW magazine
was hit with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution. On September 6, four of the members of NOW' s Board of Directors;
Michael Hollet, Alice Klein, Lelien
Schaffer and Greg Keilty; were each
served summonses charging them with
similar offences. No other publication
had been charged. Previous to his action, no other publication in Canadian
history had ever been charged in this
manner The case against NOW was
definitely a first.
When the story broke, the first thing I
asked myself was, "why?" Metro
Police Superintendent Jim Clark said
the police were acting on a complaint,
but he wouldn't reveal the source of
the complaint or if there was more
than one. The charges came about as a
result of a six-month police investigation of advertisements in NOW' s Busi-
I
ness Personal ads section. A Metro constable earns a salary of approximately
$45,000 a year. To read ads in the
back pages of NOW? Nice work if you
can get it. Of course not everyone
agreed with Clark. NOW has been criticizing the way the police have handled
a number of controversial cases. Were
the police striking back? McCormack
said the police had no "ulterior motive" in laying their charges. Clark also
said that morality consulted with the
Toronto region of the crown attorney's
office and they were advised that there
was sufficient evidence to lay charges
against the publication.
Yet, in the September 11 issue of the
Toronto Star, John Yoannou of the
regional crown attorney's office, said,
"The police ignored their advice
against charging NOW," and that the
police comments regarding the presence of sufficient evidence were, "in-
After the charges were dropped: NOW's publishers and their supporters meet the press
Stiletto/3
�correct, a mii,re1r>resen1tation of the situation." In other words, the cops acted
without the approval of the crown. The
police chose to interpret the law as opposed to simply enforcing it. It seems
the police interpretation was wrong on September 21 all the charges
againstNOWwere dropped.
The hue and cry did not end there. A
number of people involved in the case
demanded an explanation from the
police, but as of yet, nothing has been
forthcoming. Clayton Ruby, the lawyer
retained by NOW to handle their
defence, has stated that the police must
be held responsible for bringing the
magazine to court over a charge that
was so quickly dropped. He also questioned the role of the Metro Toronto
Police Commission, accusing them of
"failing to provide direction."
"Who is in control over there?" Ruby
asked, "Is anyone in control? Police
policies have got to be examined, and
the commission is directly responsible."
June Rowlands, the chair of the commission, responded by saying that the
commission isn't responsible for how
the police lay individual charges. "It
appears a mistake has been made,
though I'm not sure by whom Unfortunately the police are going to take
the blame, even though they're not
responsible."
We would like to know who is
responsible. The crown attorney's office, the police commission and the
police themselves are all claiming that
"it's not our fault."
NOW is to be congratulated on the
way they continued to conduct business during all of this and the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes (CORP) would like to
say "thank you" to NOW for continuing to publish ads placed by sex trade
workers. Prostitution is a perfectly
legal occupation in Canada and pros
should have as much access to print
media advertising as do landlords,
employers, and other entrepreneurs
who advertise their services in this
manner.
Section 213 of the Criminal Code of
Canada, the communicating law, was
"designed to control the nuisance
problem of street soliciting." Toronto's
police have added section 213 to their
arsenal of weapons to be used against
all form s of prostitution, even though
prostitution itself is legal.
This new strategy that the police
have employed is insidious. When the
cops charged NOW, the case was wellpublicized, and public support quickly
fell in behind NOW. The police underestimated their opponent. So the police
have chosen to attack the most vulnerable element - the individual. There
will be no media coverage of this, no
public support will rally around the individual prostitutes who are being
threatened or charged as the public
will not be aware of the activity. Sex
trade workers may see themselves as
being alone when facing the police and
this attitude makes them potentially
more vulnerable to intimidation - and
~9w.?
~
the cops know this. That is
they
have chosen this particular tactic and
why they have remained closedmouthed about their actions.
But we know. We know about the intimidating phone calls and the visits to
the homes of escorts. we know about
the forms of entrapment that the police
are using to bust individual women.
We know about the hell this has
caused in the lives of some of the
people who have suffered under this
form of harassment. It's time more
people knew.
With information, we can act and
fight this harassment. As long as the
police continue their efforts to wipe
out prostitution this issue will not end,
and as long as prostitutes have to suffer under unfair laws, CORP will be
around. Want to talk to us? Phone 9640150.
Alexandre Higbcrest
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Maggie's opening
T
he Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) will
be sharing quarters with the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP) at Maggie's -the prostitutes' resource centre.
Our new address is 298 Gerrard St.
East, second floor. We're still getting
the place set up. If you want to take a
look at it, or if you have time to give
us a hand, call and leave your name
and number on the answering machine
at 964-0150.
Maggie's will offer condoms, coffee,
and good company. B.Y.O. mug for
coffee or tea - if you can spare a
couple, bring an extra.
The centre could also use your help
with decorating. Do you do art work
that could be put up on the walls? Do
you have ideas or and/or offers of performances for when we do our coffeehouse nights? Art and performances
Volume 1, Issue 3 - October 1990
is the newsletter of
the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP
Signed articles represent !he opinions
of the authors only.
On the cover this issue: Sasha and
Helen. Our cover girls just flew in from
Buffalo where they did an interview for
cable TV about the famous short prostitute movie, Prowling By Night which
they both worked on aong with Gwendolyn and many other girls.
Contributing to this issue Chris Bearchell, Erik, Gwendolyn,
Alexandre Highcrest, Helen Posno,
Will Pritchard, Sasha.
Production - Chris Bearchell,
Will Pritchard
Address - Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Phone -(416) 964-0150
Call for advertising rates.
Deadline for Volume 1, Issue 4 is
November 15, 1990.
should be by people in the business.
(See the ad on page 4 of this issue of
Stiletto for our hours.)
Bad date list hits the
streets of Toronto
The staff and volunteers of the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project began collecting information for and circulating a
Bad Trick Sheet in September.
You may have seen it already - in
bright yellow, green or pink. The first
few were all yellow but now the colour
changes every time it's updated. A
new one is printed when there's new
info - and so far that's been every two
weeks.
As the sheets themselves explain, you
can pass information along to a PSSP
worker or you can call it in to a special
phone line. Most of the reports
received until now have come in person, rather than over the phone. In any
case, you don't have to give any information about yourself, just as much as
possible about the bad date. (See the
ad on page 14.)
The Bad Trick Sheet has just been
distributed on the street but PSSP is
looking for ways to make similar information available to indoor workers.
Suggestions,anyone?
Condoms available in
Alexandra Park
If you live or work in or near the
Alexandra Park housing project just off
of Queen Street West, a new source of
condoms and other AIDS-prevention
resources is available to you. Kenn
Quayle, a supporter of CORP who has
worked the streets himself in the past,
has been hired as the new Alexandra
Park AIDS educator. If he comes up
and introduces himself to you, welcome him to the neighbourhood. If you
need to track him down, he has a temporary office at Scadding Court Community Centre or you can call and
leave a message at 363-5392. (He
Stiletto/5
works some days and some nights so
you'll just have to catch him when you
can.)
Unsolved BC murders
There have been too many unsolved
murders of women in the Vancouver
area in the last couple of years. And
many of the victims have been women
in the business, including 12 known
prostitutes and two strippers.
Most recently, on September 19, the
body of Cheri Lynn Smith was found
on Vancouver Island. An article in a
recent issue of the Toronto Star talked
about the situation and quoted a street
ho named Brandy who says, "I think
it's a serial killer who's hunting
hookers and nobody cares because
we're hookers."
Trevor Rodney Peters was charged
this September with the August murder
of Nancy Jane Bob in Vancouver.
According to the article, he is being
investigated for links to the other murders. But the Star also quotes a Vancouver cop who says, "there are some
similarities in some of the cases but
we're not prepared to say there's any
link," and an RCMP sergeant who
says, "there's no evidence to connect
the murders."
However, the cops do believe that
there is a connection between at least
three kidnappings of Vancouver pros
who have been tied up, raped and
stabbed or threatened with a knife.
Prostitutes, social workers, feminists
and other members of the community
have been pressuring the police to set
up a special unit to investigate the killings, but so far they are refusing to.
Of course, some of the do-gooder
aren't much help. One of the social
workers quoted in the Star calls the
murder victims "kids" and says "adolescence often extends up to 25, 26
with some of these women because
emotionally they're only 15 or 16.
We're dealing with young children
here." (He's obviously so mature that
he wouldn't complain about the murder of prostitutes unless he thought that
they were too young to know what
�were
The article, and the social workers it
quotes, didn't think to mention how
much of Vancouver's police budget
goes into busting the girls (and guys)
and their customers for "communicating," either.
California AIDS testing
of Prostitutes
Recent issues of the US newsletter
Oldest Profession Times (OPT) contain
reports on the California law, passed in
1989, that requires a test for HIV the
virus associated with AIDS, for '
anyone convicted of prostitution.
Two prostitutes who tested positive
for HIV, one from Van Nuys and the
other from Oakland, were released
from jail on the condition that they be
electronically monitored.
Meanwhile a challenge to the testing
law, brought to the California Supreme
Court by nine women and two men
has resulted in a temporary order to~
~lock its enforcement. The 11 prostltutes are claiming that the intrusion
caused by the forced testing law does
not serve any valid public interest.
The law which a San Francisco court
has ruled valid on the grounds that concern for public safety outweighs the
right to privacy, also says that those
correction
In the last issue Stiletto Alexandre
Highcrest' s article on the Supreme
Court's decision to uphold the law
against communicating for the purposes of prostitution referred to the
anti-communicating law as section
195.1 of the Criminal Code of
~anada. For most of its history, that
1s what it was. However, the govem~ent recently did a housecleaning
Job on the Criminal Code - adding a
few things, taking a few away - and
re-numbered it all. Those of you who
have been bllsted for communicating
in the past couple of months may
have noticed that the law is now
called section 213.
are
testing positive can face much
more serious charges.
The September OPT quotes
a San Francisco Women's
AIDS Network (SWAN)
staff person who says, "research shows that professional prostitutes consistently
practice safe sex; not only
do they routinely use condoms with customers, but
many practice only oral sex,
which poses virtually no risk
to the recipient."
The SWAN staffer also
quotes the conclusion of the
US National Research Council's recently-released report
AIDS: the Second Decade
which says that the fear that
female prostitutes would become widely infected and
spread HIV to their customers appear to be unfounded, at least in the
United States. "Rather the
evidence suggests that the
risk of transmission for this
population is more closely associated with drug use than
with multiple sexual clients
and that the threat posed to
and by prostitutes through
With
sexual contact is greater in
personal relationships than in
paying ones." (Which is to say that
female pros face the same risks in relation to HIV that all women do.)
StriJ)p~r fi!IP visits
Wmmpeg
Declaring herself "an :MP of the
world," the Hungarian-born stripper
Ilona Staller, who was elected to the
Italian parliament in 1987, brought her
show to four Winnipeg nightclub
audiences of about 150 in late September.
As well as being a stripper, Ilona,
whose dance name is La Cicciolina _
"the little Fleshy one," has acted in
more than 2CO porn flicks. Her other
job, as a Member of Parliament for the
6/Stiletto
sensual love: La Cicciolina
~dical Party, sees her fighting censorship and promoting legislation to save
the environment.
Born in Hungary of a minister father
and a gynecologist mother, she told
reporters before her show, with the aid
of an interpreter, that she believes that
"with love and sensuality I can return
peace to the world." She has often got~en ~ttention for her causes by appearmg m scanty costumes at press conferences and has most recently made
headlines by offering to sleep with
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if he
agrees to free foreigners being held as
hostages.
She planned to visit Iraq after her
Winnipeg appearances and told
reporters, "I have an appointment, I go
there as an :MP, not an artist."
�Notorious Mustang Ranch closes
After many years as the US's most
preeminent brothel, Mustang Ranch
has closed its doors due to bankruptcy.
At first there were reports that the US
government itself planned to run
Nevada's oldest legal whorehouse (located in Mustang, about 10 miles outside of Reno) until a buyer could be
found for it. But the state's health laws
force workers to be re-tested for sexually transmitted diseases every time they
return to a brothel and since the girls
had fled in response to rumours of an
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raid,
the tax men couldn't get it operational
quickly and so decided to close it instead.
(Because of the Nevada testing law,
many US pros condemn places like
Mustang as virtual prisons and shun
the state despite the legalization of
prostitution there. Such legalization is
not to be confused with decriminalization which would force the cops to
treat prostitutes as they would any
other group of business people.)
Former Mustang owner Joe Conforte
was reported to owe $13 million in
back taxes. Conforte claimed that IRS
harassment killed a $5 million deal to
sell the brothel forcing him into
bankruptcy.
News from Down Under
According to the AIC' s report, in Victoria many women choose to work illegally rather than in the brothels because brothel owners take up to 60%
of clients fees.
Wife
whore
A woman in the city of Teramo in
central Italy filed assault charges
against her truck driver husband after
Doctors in Hamilton and Toronto have
recently seen ten cases of extreme sensitivity to latex in patients who
developed life-threatening allergic reactions comparable to those caused by
penicillin or bee stings in some people.
A report to the annual meeting of the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons described the cases in which
patients suffered severe reactions to
particles of latex that got into their
bodies from doctors' gloves during
surgery.
The article pointed out that the risk
of such a reaction from condoms was
far less than the risk of contracting an
STD. But that is probably not much
comfort to a prostitute with such a sensitivity whose work requires constant
up when
out that, unknown to him, she was
working as a call girl, according to a
story from Associated Press.
The hypocritical husband apparently
found out about his wife's secret
profession when he showed up at an
exclusive bordello and asked to see a
woman who had been highly recommended to him by a friend. The
woman turned out to be his wife.
Chris Bearchell
exposure to latex condoms. Anyone
who finds her or himself in such a
situation one might want to consider
using lambskin condoms, which aren't
as good a barrier to STDs as latex is,
and sticking to hand jobs. Or blow
jobs, if they can stand to put the stinky
lambskin condoms in their mouths.
Like anyone who notices they have a
sensitivity to latex, a pro with this
problem should alert her or his MD or
dentist if they are going to have
surgery. It seems the good doctors can
get sterile gloves made out of something other than latex. Maybe we
should be finding out more about just
what these gloves are like in case we
find we need to demand that condoms
be made this way too.
Chris Bearchell
Speaking of legalized prostitution, the
latest issue of Working Girl, the
newsletter of the Prostitutes' Associa-
tion of South Australia, has a story
about a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) on
problems there.
In Melbourne, prostitutes complained
to AIC researchers about in-house
fines in brothels for things like not
matching nail polish on fingers and
toes.
The paper documented harassment in
Queensland "where prostitutes had
been arrested at supermarkets simply
for being prostitutes" and although
women can legally work from their
own homes in Queensland, police had
some pro's phones cut off.
I.S
Parkdale Community Legal Services
Our new address is:
165 Dufferin Street (south of King), Toronto, ON
531-2411
Monday
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to noon and 2 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday
2 pm to 6 pm
Thursday
noon to 7:30 pm
Stiletto/7
�Tric or Treat
Fall is the time of year
when leaves change colour.
Fall is a loaded word
As in "I fell for you darlin'."
Don't kid yourself, honey,
We're fallen women
Here for the money.
Seein' squirrels scurry about
buryin' their nuts
reminds meGot to stash some cash for winter.
How's tricks?
An' the date is an old friend
October 31 Hallowe'en
You dress up as the real you
or be anybody you want to be.
Lots of cross dressers
do their first taste of bein' a girl
on All Hallows Eve.
The one night of the year
when kids can run free
talk to strangers
get sugar high.
On Hallowe'en
I always dressed as a witch.
ABAD GIRL
Back in the middle ages
they burned witches at the stake
tied the women
to a great big phallic pole
and burned them to death.
On Hallowe'en I remember our history.
Women who were different
who disobeyed the church
the independent, mouthy broads
punished for their SPUNK.
In modem stories
the witch is always scary and bad
or else they play her for some old,
forgetful fool.
They lie about us
But we know
Witches were healers
Women who worked with herbs
chanting meditations, riding
broomsticks, flying high.
And long ago in another time
the whore was a priestess.
We tricked in the temple
giving head and handjobs
riding our dildos, flying high
And they call us wicked from Wicca
for wise
Because we know
The Oldest Profession is a holy calling
Giving pleasure is healthy and healing
So Happy Hallowe'en
And Blessed Be
to all the BAD GIRLS who ever have
been
And forever will be
fallen
May you be bad
May the money be good
May the trick be a treat.
OOB (for Boo backwards).
Gwendolyn
October 1990
Wicked and wise:
Helen and Sasha.
Photo by Konnie Reich
�Truth is hard to
hold
money is
cold mankind the matter
old with relevance haunting
the steps of flesh revealing
mysteries secreting wisdom
throughout human nature come
seek and you shall
find incredible and intangible the
ways of magic immense in the
making small packaging
the final undoing rise up take
up your bed and
walk
your faith has made you
whole
whore heart
Helen Posno/90
Freedom of screech
em
d
•
dra I g
by
In
Pos 0
this is the way god is
meeting each day
prepared and
preparing for love
lovers wandering
over the face of the
earth haunted and
haunting
that is
what god is
preparing to meet and
love and accept all fonns of
loneliness
Helen Posno/90
Stiletto/9
choosing things to
suit the purposes
selecting the purposes to
uphold the reasons
collecting the reasons to
maintain the precepts
claiming the precepts to
support the philosophies
hurling the philosophies to
foster the theories
nurturing theories to
cultivate the laws
declaring the laws to
question realities
Helen Posno/90
�r
r
F
or those of you who haven't been
to Europe, let me tell you, everything you've ever heard about it is
true. I travelled a few of the major
centres of the "old world" and fell in
love, with the sights, the sounds and
the people. Being there for a month
was barely enough to absorb everything. But it was just enough to get a
good taste of a very relaxed society.
Amsterdam was the first stop on my
agenda. Mainly known for its legalizing of prostitution and drugs and
refusal of architectural alteration causing any of the original buildings to be
demolished. it's a beautiful little town,
quaint and friendly. People told me it
would be filthy and garbage ridden, I
didn't find it so terrible (they obvious. ly have never been to New York).
The RedLight District is just that.
Red lights line the streets as if it were
Christmas. It's the perfect place for
window shopping. You pass houses
with wide, open windows and in each
is a girl in sexy lingerie - usually
white to be accentuated by the black
light above their lavish perch. In the
same area are theatres where they have
live sex shows. I didn't get a chance to
see one, but judging from the pictures
outside, I figured they must be something else.
So, if you're looking for a place
where you would be able to vacation
and pay for trip at the same time, I
highly recommend Amsterdam.
Paris is a majestic city - definitely
the capital of Europe. It is quite expensive, but well worth it, in the downtown area anyway. Now, as far as
work, the girls seemed to be everywhere. They're quite discrete and judging from the way they're dressed are
doing extremely well.
The mother-tongue of course is
French. The Parisiennes aren't really
that stuck up, they just prefer you to
speak French. But if they like you
photo by Chris Bearchell
10/Stiletto
enough they'll speak English, because
most do. And if they know you're
Canadian they're even more amiable.
All in all, Paris is tolerant of our business affairs. I didn't get a chance to inquire about its laws on the subject, but
I'm sure there is really no difficulties.
Barcelona is really tropical, situated
on the Mediterranean it's quite beautiful as well but you're more aware of
the poverty that resides there. The
people speak Spanish and Catalane (a
language very similar to French in writing but not when pronounced) and almost no English. I found it difficult to
get along for that reason.
Prostitution is used more for a means
of survival, than an actual business,
due to the lack of jobs and high cost of
living. A girl can make about $10-20,
a boy about $5 (Canadian currency).
So I wouldn't recommend working
there since people practically give it
away.
I had planned to also go
to Germany, Italy and
England. But I bit off
more than I could chew
with the places I'd gone
to. But I did get a chance
to talk to people who
were vacationing from
those places, and found
out some useful information. Germany is very
tolerant to prostitution
and quite abundant
money wise. It helps also
to specialize in certain
things such as S&M or
B&D.
Our work is legal in
Italy, but it is best to
work through houses or
agencies, otherwise there
isn't much money to be
made. Work is abundant
in England as well but
it's highly risky. The
Vice Squad is everywhere. (Sound familiar?).
Erik
�OLDEST
PROFESSION
TIMES
A newsletter published by 90's
Ladies and Friends, a group
working for the repeal of laws
against prostitutes.
OPT, l 125-9thStreet,
Sacramento, CA, 95814 USA
Working
Girl
A magazine published by the
Prostitutes Association of
South Australia (PASA).
PASA
PO Box 7072, Hutt Street
Adelaide 5000
Australia
th
W
ith all the talk about Ottawa's
. . new tax, I couldn't help wondenng if the federal Tories are prepared to admit that the government of
Canada wants to "live off the avails?"
I called the GST enquiries number. A
machine put me on hold and told me,
in English and French, that my call
would be answered as soon as possible. Then Sandra answered. She
snickered when I explained that I was
writing about the GST for Stiletto and who the newsletter is for.
She put me on hold when I asked if
pros had been calling to find out if the
tax applies to sexual services. She said
I'd have to get that information from
someone in Ottawa then gave me a
wrong number there. I got the machine
again when I called back to get the
right number, then another person
(who didn't say his name) put me on
hold to find Sandra and, in the process,
I got cut off. That's what I get for calling the government.
I finally got through to Gordon Lee
at Revenue Canada in Ottawa. He
spluttered when he heard my question
and answered sarcastically "All services are taxable. If the madam of the
house wants to register with Revenue
Canada ... " I interrupted him and explained that working in a brothel is illegal under the bawdy house laws, so
most of Canada's prostitutes work as
independent freelancers. Lee
responded that it didn't matter that
prostitution was illegal, it was still taxable. I explained that prostitution per
se was not illegal, just communicating
for it in public and working in brothels
- but such subtleties were oqviously
lost on him.
I made one more stab at trying to get
useful information. I said that I understood that certain health care services
were exempt from the GST and asked
if that included the services of sexual
surrogates. He replied indignantly that
Stiletto/11
I was "getting a bit intimate." Clearly
he wouldn't have been able to answer
if I had asked him if the GST would
apply to the poor premature ejaculator
or the guy who pays for sex but then
can't get it up.
•
I pieced together what I was able to
find out in all these conversations.
Here it is:
A freelancer in any profession is required to register with Revenue
Canada and charge Goods and Services Tax if they earn more than
$30,000 a year. To register as a freelancer, you fill out a form which you can
get from the Post Office. Or you can
have it sent to you by Revenue Canada
(if you can stand to go through the
hassle of trying to get a hold of them).
The form comes with a little booklet
that's supposed to help you decide
whether or not you should register.
The form asks you to briefly describe
your business activity.
I was able to ask Sandra whether a
description like entertainer, consultant,
or artist would be good enough? She
said that they might want to know
more but, since the regulations haven't
been applied before, she wasn't sure
so, "you could try and see."
I asked if the new tax law will say
which services are or are not taxable?
Sandra said that there is a list of some
services which are not taxable and
gave the example of health care and
educational services. Escorts, prostitutes, artists, consultants, and entertainers are not on the list of exemptions. So, if in the past you have filed
yo~r taxes in any_ of those categories,
or 1f you plan to m the future, the
government wants you to collect taxes
for them on your services.
It would seem that the federal Tories
have no problem at all with "living off
the avails of prostitution" - as long as
they're the ones who get the bucks!
Chris Bearchell
�PSSP goes to Cabbagetown's Festival '90
Pro tit tes t th Fall Fair
G
wendolyn looked as tense as I
was as she hurried toward me
from across the park. I had already
cased the grounds with my little girl in
tow.
The day was busy, crisp and bright
Everyone in Toronto seemed to be out
to thoroughly enjoy the festivities of
the well-publicized Cabbagetown Fall
Festival '90:
Gwendo's and my anxiety
would seem out of place on
such a day as this. The
uplifting mood of the
numerous artists and sellers
whose booths wound
through the parks and
streets certainly dispelled
any feelings of tenseness in
the day. Families flocked
together up and down to
view creative works and
goods on display.
Gwendolyn hurried us
back to the meeting place. I
could see Alexandre, puffing worriedly over a
cigarette.
I do believe in all of our
hearts, we were feeling
more than slightly out of
place. Family day at the festival is somewhat questionable grounds for the establishment of a Prostitute
Information booth. Our decision had
been made, however, to follow through
with our contribution to the public, and
when prostitutes are ready to work,
work they do.
We loaded our table and chairs along
with posters and goods to a fairly
respectful location. We somehow felt
that setting up our red light between
the lemonade stand and the corn roast
line up wouldn't go over too big. Business might have bee stickier than the
discrete side street we chose.
We busied ourselves with the work of
stringing up our lovely red light from a
near-by tree. We propped up our
posters and covered our table with condoms and literature. Our famous buttons were displayed as well.
Needless to say, by this time we were
getting some interesting looks from the
passersby. Ours was not a used clothing booth, easily approached.
For all of you hos our there who've
been receiving your literature, con-
doms and buttons free from us, you'll
be pleased to know that we charged
the public for buttons and Stiletto. A
buck a throw.
After setting up our display,
Alexandre had to leave us to attend
another of the numerous conferences
where we represent the many people in
our profession.
Shortly after however, we were
joined by Chrissy who brought more
goodies to sell.
Then, strangely, they all left me.
Even my daughter. Errands here and
there, things to do places to go. They
did come back a little while later. In
the meantime, there I was, all alone.
12/Stiletto
Me and my whore booth. At least I
was ready for action. My pop and comon-the-cob would be coming along
soon. Time to relax and get ready.
My first prospect was lurking and
pacing right across the street. I gave
him the wink and he scurried toward
me, head bent low, eyes shifting from
back and forth. I engaged him in light
safe sex conversation for
quite a while. It was a necessary ice breaker for other
people, seeing someone else
talking so openly with an advertised prostitute. People
came slowly but surely, and
then, steadily.
Older people, wiser than
the middle-aged. More able
to speak freely. Very
pleased to see us. The
remarks were animated,
from "It's about time," to
"What's really happening
out there?"
A close running to our
seniors were straight
women. Perhaps curious,
but mostly truly interested
in what we had to say, and
offer. Stiletto sales were a
big hit with the women.
Young people came. Some
of them after walking past
us five or six times. They wanted to
know what was going on. Needless to
say they walked away with a few free
condoms. Hopefully with an ingrained
message on how to use them.
Men came, HA HA, and left with condoms.
Button sales were big with everyone.
We had our token drunk for the day.
He drew a little more business just by
being there, but we had to get rid of
him. A few times. Sadly he left his
cigarettes behind on his last trip out.
We considered it payment for dealing
with all his bullshit.
�We shared with
people from many
walks of life. There was
a school teacher we
talked with quite extensively. Later, after we
closed our booth, I
walked through the festival grounds with my
daughter. I saw this
teacher sitting off to
one side from people.
He was propped up
against a tree, quietly
reading Stiletto. I
watched him for quite
some time, just contemplating, I think. He
had earlier made his
concern
our uneducated, unworldly
young people very clear to us. Nobody
wants anybody to contract AIDS.
Would school-going people listen
more closely to whores than to
teachers in an auditorium? Perhaps the
freedom of speech we offered during
our display in Cabbagetown struck a
note with him.
With all professionals and the many
parents who came to us with their
children we believe we struck more .
than a note.
It was suddenly okay to talk about
everything with us. To ask anything,
and be answered, straight ahead.
Sasha
"communicating for the purposes of prostitution"
Subscribe to Toronto's sharpest new magazine.
And help us keep on communicating.
I/we want to help CORP keep on communicating.
Enter this Stiletto subscription as:
_
_
_
_
an individual subscriber, at $10 for six issues
a supporting subscriber, at $20 for six issues
an agency subscription, at $30 for six issues
I am also enclosing a donation of $_ _ __
·Name:---------------------------Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
City/province/postal code: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Telephone:-----------------------Please mail this form and your cheque or money order, payable to Stiletto, to:
, Stiletto, P.O. Box 1143, Station F, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2TB
,
L-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~
Stiletto/13
�Rent it for your next video party
Personal Services is brilliant
Personal Services is a recently released
video directed by Terry Jones. It is set
in London, England in the late '70s to
late '80s. Taken from the life story of
Cynthia Payne, it's a factual, realistic,
plus positive look at prostitution in a
conservative, hypocritical city.
Julie Waters, who's been in movies
such as Educating Rita, Monty
Python's The Life of Brian and The
Holy Grail, is cast in the leading role.
In this comedy/drama she gives a
hilariously incorrigible, yet worming
performance of being a sex worker, in
a sexually suppressed society.
It all begins when she discovers that
the lady she cleans house for once a
week is a prostitute (dominatrix style),
due to the frequent visits of gentlemen
while the lady is on holiday. Assuming
that she herself is in the business, the
men blatantly ask her of her
availability. At first shocked and appalled as any proper English lady
would be (guffaw), she refuses them.
At the same time, she finds that she's
quite intrigued by the idea of sex for
money and thus slowly works her way
into becoming a successful sex worker,
then later an entrepreneurial Madame.
Written by David Leland, of Mona
Lisa fame, it's a brilliant rendition of
an existence we indoor pros are all
quite familiar with, therefore I feel you
will agree with most of the contents of
this film.
And maybe, just maybe, it '11 give you
some fun new ideas for home and
office.
Erik
Hassl Fre
linic
for birth control and sexually transmitted diseases
566 Church St., at Wellesley, 2nd floor, Ste. 2
Women's Clinic
hours:
phone 922-0566
Mon, Wed, Fri - 10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
If you've been assaulted,
harassed or ripped-off by a
date, call us anytime and
tell us what happened I
th~ incident only.
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
GIVE US ANY
INFORMATION ABOUT
YOURSELF.
Tues & Thurs - 4pm to 6pm
hours:
lists are updated weekly
and are distributed on fhe
street by the staff of the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
We ask for detai Is about
by appointment
Men's Clinic
THIS IS A LIST
OF BAD DATES.
WATCH OUT FOR THEM,
AND AVOID THEM!
phone 922-0603
Mon & Wed - 4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 2 pm
Fri - 4 pm to 7 pm
Sat - 1 O am to 2 pm
no appointment necessary
Free and confidential health care services.
Hassle Free does anonymous HIV testing.
14/Stiletto
760-3752
A FREE SERVla - 24 HOURS
�LEGAL
SERVICES
• Legal Aid:
Old City Hall - 598-0200
College Park - 598-1260
University A venue - 598-0200
• Parkdale Community Legal
Services - 531-2411
(See ad for hours.)
• Neighbourhood Legal Services
- 961-2625
• Justice for Children (under 18
years old) - 920-1633
• Lawline - 978-7293
• Dial-a-law - 947-3333
• Lawyer Referral Service
(includes free 1-hour
consultation) - 947-3330
Pissed off with your lawyer?
Call CORP at 964-0150, leave a
message on our answering
machine, and we '11 get back to
you as soon as we can. We can
help you find the kind of legal
advice you need.
• Hassle Free Clinic - 556
Church St,
Men - 922-0603,
Women - 922-0566.
(See ad for hours.)
• Niagara Neighbourhood
Health Centre - 674 Queen St
w, 363-2021.
• Parkdale Community Health
Centre - 1257 Queen St \V,
537-2455.
•St.Lawrence Health Service 45 Lower Jarvis St, 864-6000.
• Street Health (free nursing
services) - at
All Saints Church, Open Door,
315 Dundas E, Tues 2-4 pm.
Or Fred Victor Mission at
Queen and Jarvis Wed 5-7.
863-1610.
• South Riverdale Community
Health Centre - 126 Pape Ave,
461-2493.
• The House (planned parenthood youth clinic) 36B Prince
Arthur, 927-7171.
• The Works (needle exchange) 660 Dundas Street W, 392-0520
• City hostel (for families) 674 Dundas W, 392-5500.
• Covenant House (Catholic; for
men and women under 21)
- 70 Gerrard E, 593-4849.
• 416 (drop-in for women;
daytime) - 416 Dundas E, ·
928-3334.
• Nellie's (for women) - 275A
Broadview, 461-1084.
• Robertson House (for women)
- 291 Sherbourne, 392-5650.
• Seaton House (for single men)
- 339 George St, 392-5522.
• Stop 86 (for women under 21)
- 922-3271.
• Street Haven (for women) 87 Pembroke, 967-6060.
FOOD
BANKS
Daily Bread Food Bank will tell
you locations of food banks
near you. 769-5155.
HEALTH
SERVICES
• AIDS Committee of Toronto 926-1626.
• Alexandra Park Community
Health Service - 64 Augusta,
364-4107.
• Bay Centre for Birth Control 901 Bay St, 920-1263.
• Birth Control and VD
Information Centre - 2828
Bathurst, 789-4541.
• Davenport-Perth Community
Health Centre - 1944 Davenport, 658-6812.
I
�,-----------------------
•••
'
T!
Most prostitutes use condoms with our tricks, but like so many other people, some of us think we do not need
to use condoms with our lovers. Many people get AIDS from lovers they think are healthy - from lovers
who don't know themselves that they are carrying the virus.
If someone will not use condoms with you, chances are they have had sex with other people without a condom. People are not always honest about what they did before you met them.
A lot of people get AIDS from sharing a needle when using drugs.
If you shoot drugs, do not share a needle with anybody, not even a lover. If you do not have your own
needle, clean the needle first. Draw bleach into the needle and squirt it out a couple of times to kill viruses
and germs. Then do the same thing with water.
For more info, call ACT 926-1626, Public Health 392-AIDS, or Hassle Free Clinic 922-0603/922-0566.
Produced by the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP), Box 1143, Station F, Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8.
PSSP can be reached at (416) 964-0150.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Stiletto - Vol 1 (3)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Stiletto was the newsletter of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) from 1990-1991. This issue includes contributions from Chris Bearchell, Erik, Gwendolyn, Alexandre Highcrest, Helen Posno, Will Pritchard, and Sasha.
Creator
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Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Source
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From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
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October 1990
Format
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11" x 17" photocopy folded in half
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Maggie's
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Sex workers
testing
Toronto
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/14511/archive/files/344fa0b68391bde87b0dfa6d5a3973c4.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=gJfmfEecsyQ7RzPIgNjUSMrr-bQX5b1CquiMro-XXvEDrrVa6TDrbTiQ8A0xQ%7ENG60tT91znbCG%7EJj8y06K4VUtv6Hq5AEJlhiQem0qjpV4k8AJ8FYT7OdNVZP2NCeq7FYtM90NTq9jjjKdhBUnu%7E7RY8sIVCOMFd088OMVQR4T9SRcujbMqawpczR4hxm-6uy9ndXpeVn25KhElVR01syuyGmR27GwZ-Wf8kzsz9S8uS-BJiguHhfEHNG1oD7aAaLsj3rdJ8u1S7tAiRqSKsIK1GLpVvltb0SVLNKcwhPHQEAjK41NchUonjFOgwPH7Jw1sCmUKjNM4P2PLAQ836A__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
1c8bc9cf8c698a7ec819995c1b6001bc
PDF Text
Text
"communicating for the purpose of prostitution"
Drawing by Mary
In this issue ,. ....
The Supreme Court decision
A look at Prowling By Night
Lamp Post: Notes from Cabbagetown
On Call: A Piece of the Action
Money Matters: More on Undercutting
Personal Story: Recovery, Our
Profession, and US Treatment
Programs
News: Whores in uniform (Or, Isn't
hypocrisy fascinating?) • Interstate
Soliciting • Al DS update • You can find
us in the phone book! • Pro Press
Plus: Safe Sex is Our Business •
Just for laughs • A review of
Working• Merchants of Love goes to
England • Poetry • Letters
�--------------------------------------------------
-----------
Volume 1, Issue 2 - June 1990
Our "dubious honour" this issue
goes to a group of four.
The majority of judges of the
Supreme Court of Canada, who
decided that it was just fine if the
communicating law violates the
rights of street hos, really earned
their the "Incredible Jerk Award".
What a bunch of guys, eh? (See
the story on the next page for more
details. And send us your nominations for the "Incredible Jerk
Award" for the next issue of
is the newsletter of
the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP
Signed articles represent the opinions
of the authors only.
Contributing to this issue Chris Bearchell, Catherine,
Danny Cockerline, Gwendolyn,
Ryan Hotchkiss, Alexandre Highcrest,
Hell-in, Julian, Mary Anne,
Will Pritchard.
Stiletto.)
Production - Chris Bearchell,
Will Pritchard
Address - Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2TB
Phone - (416) 964-0150
FIRST RUNNER UP.
William McCormack
Call for advertising rates.
What a contest it was this issue! Metro Police
Chief William McCormack placed a close second
with the comment, "Who would you believe, the
chief of police or a prostitute?"
(See the story on page 5 for details)
2/Stiletto
Deadline for Volume 1, Issue 3 is
October 1, 1990.
---
�Giving the green light to whore-bashers
T
The Supreme Court's June ,
1990 decision to uphold section
195.1 of the Criminal Code,
which makes it illegal to"communicate" for the purpose of
prostitution in a public place,
gives the cops the goahead to entrap, arrest
and harass street prostitutes.
Alexandre Highcrest
recounts the story behind
the country's most recent
"business as usual" legal
benchmark.
iagara Falls, Ontario,
was known as a good
place to ply the trade, at least
among some American hos and
their Canadian sisters and brothers working in the industry.
Canada's honeymoon capital
had more to offer residents and
guests than over-priced motel
rooms, tacky souvenirs, and a
nice view of the falls. The
Niagara Falls Police Department, though, didn't care too
much for the idea of the sex
trade flourishing in their community (although making
money indirectly off of non-commercial sex is okay!) and ratepayers
groups were bitching about the developing strolls.
Niagara's Police Chief decided to act;
he met with other police chiefs from
across the country and they decided
that a stiffer law was needed "to control the problem of street prostitution."
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of
Police is a powerful lobby in Ottawa.
They went to work and, by December
r
1111
11111
I I
of 1985, Bill C-49 had been passed.
The infamous "communicating law"
came into effect.
We are all familiar with the bare
bones of C-49. The bill created section
195.l of the Criminal Code, which
makes it an offence to communicate
for the purpose of prostitution in a public place. "Communicate" can mean
anything; a short conversation, a nod, a
wink, or a wave. For the purpose of
this law, a client's car is considered "a
public place." Some of you hos think
it's okay to negotiate in your date's
Ford - uh-aah! If the prospective date
is really a cop and you talk business in
his car, you are busted. Quiet, secluded
parks and back lanes are considered
the same, so be careful, guys.
Stiletto\3
n
Since section 195.l became law, it
has been repeatedly challenged. A number of working girls who were busted
for communicating pleaded not guilty
on the grounds that the communicating
law infringed on their right to freedom
of expression, something guaranteed
under section 2 (b) of Canada's Charter of Rights and
Freedoms. The Canadian Organization for the Rights of
Prostitutes (CORP) has been
campaigning along similar
lines - and on the grounds that
the new law did not, and does
not, work.
C-49 included a clause that
required that section 195.1 be
reviewed after three years. So,
in December 1989, three representatives of CORP went to
Ottawa to present a brief supporting the decriminalizing of
prostitution to the House of
Commons' Committee on Justice. Our presentation addressed the unconstitutionality of
the communicating law and its
ineffectiveness. A study called
Street Prostitution: Assessing
the Impact of the Law, conducted by the Department of Justice as part of the review, confirmed what we were saying
about the fact that the new law has not
decreased street prostitution at all.
There were a number of nodding governmental heads around the table - and
they were nodding in agreement with
what we were saying, not nodding off.
A thin ray of hope in a fog of conservative, right-wing moralism. Truthfully,
we did not expect to see decriminalization take effect simply as a result of
this presentation, but we felt we had
driven a few more nails into C-49's
�coffin. Defeating the communicating
law would have been one more step towards achieving our ultimate goal decriminalization of prostitution.
In addition to the pressure applied to
the federal government in general, the
Supreme Court was also feeling the
heat. In May, 1987, the Nova Scotia
Court of Appeal said that the law violated the Charter, and struck it down;
the police in Nova Scotia stopped enforcing it. Another case was decided in
favour of the law by the Manitoba
Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court
was forced to decide between these
two interpretations of the law.
As we waited for the Supreme
Court's decision to come down, we
watched the Mulroney government cut
back funding for services for women.
We watched as the conservatives reinstated abortion into the Criminal Code.
And we cried when the Supreme Court
finally said it was upholding section
195.l of the Criminal Code.
Defeat is a bitter pill to swallow. The
nature of this defeat made the pill especially hard to swallow. The Supreme
Court judges voted on the issue along
gender lines: four male judges voted in
favour of retaining section 195.l as it
stands; the two female judges voted to
dump it. A heartbreaker.
Both Supreme Court justices Bertha
Wilson and Claire L'Heureux-Dube argued against the law on two of
grounds: that it enables the police to arrest citizens who are bothering no one
simply because they are engaged in
communicative acts concerning something that is not illegal; and that the
definition of communicating "in any
manner" is too broad. A citizen may
be charged with communicating when
he or she has nothing more serious in
mind than hailing a passing taxi. To
quote Judge Wilson, "some definitional
limits would appear to be desirable in
an activity labelled as criminal."
The four judges in the majority
agreed that section 195.1 lirnits the
right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Charter of Rights but said
that "the limit passes the Charter's test
of being reasonable and demonstrably
justified in a free and democratic society." Chief Justice Brian Dickson wrote
that "ending the nuisance-related problems caused by street solicitation is a
valid legislative aim."
But the communicating law has failed
to do this - a parliamentary study has
proved this failure. It seems that the
Court did not wait for the parliamen-
tary review before it sat to consider the
law (which sure makes it clear what
government studies are for).
CORP will not give up the fight
against the communicating law in particular and against the other laws which
surround prostitution. In spite of the
fact that prostitution is legal in Canada,
there are a myriad of laws which surround the business and which make it
difficult for sex trade workers engaged
in prostitution to conduct their business
and their own personal lives.
As the situation stands now, we cannot refer dates to other workers, we
4/Stiletto
cannot support our older children or
lovers financially if we choose to do
so, we cannot work out of our own
homes, and we cannot look to our
homes as places of security. Even our
bank accounts can be subject to freezing by police if we are unfortunate
enough to get busted. This form of discrimination must be stopped. No other
group of people is subjected to this
level of government-approved, courtsanctioned discrimination.
To quote the June 6, 1990 Globe and
Mail, "The federal anti-soliciting law
was a sledgehammer when it was introduced and it remains a sledgehammer." The communicating law gives
the police the power to harass and arrest people for communicating with
their potential clients, clients who want
to engage the services of someone engaged in a legal profession, because
some people see the presence of the
working prostitutes as "a nuisance." A
prostitute may be tossed into jail if she
or he "impedes the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic." Lawful assemblies and/or demonstrations often
do the same thing; will this activity
also be stifled in the future by similar
laws? The Supreme Court decision has
set a dangerous precedent. How many
more basic rights of Canadian citizens
will be limited or stripped away before
this form of legislation becomes unacceptable?
Another government study, this one
undertaken in the mid-eighties, found
that the majority of Canadians do not
see street prostitution as a problem. According to the report of the Fraser
Commission on Pornography and Prostitution, only 36% of respondents felt
that the police in Canada should spend
more time trying to catch pros. And
we all know that the communicating
law is ineffective in controlling the socalled problem. Still, the Court upheld
the law. Where is the justice, the desire
for Canada to function as a democracy,
in that?
�Have you heard the one about the cop running an escort business?
serve and protect - t
lot of street girls had heard
about Gord Junger before the
story hit the press. Not that Stiletto has
a problem with someone being in the
escort business. Obviously the cops
don't either, if you're a friend of theirs.
For those of you who haven't been
the story closely, this is how
it goes:
Gord
had been on the
Metropolitan Toronto Police Force
since 1981.and was officer of the
month in July 1986. He was a constable at 52 Division before he was
forced to resign; before that he had
been on the morality squad. He met a
"highly-paid call girl" at the home of
another morality squad officer and got
involved in a relationship with her in
the fall of 1989.
It wasn't long before he got involved
in her business too, using the name
"Greg." They ran ads in NOW
magazine offering "executive style
males, females and couples." They
recruited a couple of other male cops
to work with them; women were hired
too but not until Junger had run their
names through the police computer to
make sure they didn't have a record.
Business was going along well. Then
his lady friend got pregnant and Junger
was enough of a cad to ditch her. She
Constable Gord Junger
recorded some incriminating
calls that she had with him and took
the tapes to police internal affairs. Internal affairs investigated lunger by setting him up with a female undercover
cop who posed as a customer.
On December 5, 1989, they
him red-handed - making the deal with
the undercover cop and with a small
amount of hash in his townhouse
kitchen. They laid criminal
against him for possession of
He was suspended with pay the next
day.
Although Junger's former partner's
tape recordings include him
about a deal with the cops, Chief of
Police William McCormack told the
Star that no deals were made. The
cops dropped the drug charges against
Junger on February 28, the day before
he resigned from the force. Junger was
threatened with charges under the
Police Act unless he resigned and he
agreed to resign if the force gave him
a letter of reference. (Presumably the
drug charges were also part of these
non-negotiations.) They dropped the
charges and gave him the letter, and
Junger resigned on March 1. That was
the end of it as far as the cops were
concerned.
But that was hardly the end of it for
his pregnant former girlfriend and
Stiletto\5
ir own asses
William McCormack
partner. She wanted the tapes that she
had given to internal affairs back so
she could pursue a paternity suit
against Junger. They refused to return
them until she got a lawyer after them.
Alan Story, a Toronto Star reporter
who was doing research about the sex
trade, got wind of her situation. He interviewed her and a story about Junger
appeared in the Saturday Star on April
7, sending the Chief of Police and the
Police Commission into a tailspin.
Most commissioners couldn't remember having heard anything about the
case until fr appeared in the Star. Commission chair June Rowlands refused
to comment on the case. The chief of
police explained that he had made only
very brief reports on it to the commission, at the end of meetings after the
person recording the minutes had left.
The press kept after McCormack
about the woman's allegations that
there were other cops involved in the
escort service. McCormack' s response:
"Who would you believe, the chief of
police or a prostitute"? A funny question considering that her claims so far
have proven to be true, while he has
looked like a man covering his ass at
every turn in this case.
�The Ontario Police Commission
(OPC) was appointed to look into the
Junger affair. Then Douglas Drinkwalter, chairman of the OPC, told the Star
April 18 that the case was "a tempest
in a teapot" - before he had seen any
of the files on it The Ontario Solicitor
General's office had the good sense to
be embarrassed by this and OPC vicechairman Frank D' Andrea was assigned to head up the investigation instead.
The OPC has since looked into it and
Drinkwalter has changed his tune. He
is now saying that they "are finding
some very disturbing things" about the
case and that there should be a public
inquiry. The Police Commission has
set up a task force, made up mostly of
cops, to study how to handle the cases
of officers who are being investigated
by the force. We're not holding our
breath on that one. But we are waiting
anxiously to see if the OPC is going to
drag Junger's former partner up before
a
inquiry, recommend a major
crack-down on escorts, or do someequally vindictive.
People living with AIDS in danger
Ontario's ief medical officer wants
power to quarantine
The Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project
(PSSP) was well represented at the
April 25 demonstration against Richard
Schabas, the Chief Medical Officer of
Health for the Province of Ontario.
The demonstration was held outside
the Westbury Hotel where the Ontario
AIDS Advisory Committee was hearing a report from Schabas, in which he
recommended that the status of AIDS,
under the province's public health
laws, be changed from that of a "communicable" disease to that of a
"virulent" one. This would give public
health officials greater power to lock
up people who they believe are putting
other people at risk for AIDS. According to an interview he gave the Toronto Star, that includes people who know
they are infected with HIV, the virus
associated with AIDS, who have any
kind of intercourse - even if they' re
using a condom.
Schabas's proposal is dangerous for a
number of reasons. First of
people
photo by Konnie Reich
6/Stiletto
living with AIDS (PLW As) do not
have a "virulent" disease the way tuberculosis is virulent. To say otherwise is
to give people the mistaken impression
that they are in danger from casual contact with PLW As. Secondly, to suggest
that people with HIV shouldn't have
sex, even using condoms, suggests that
condoms don't really work - so why
bother with them. Third, giving people
the idea that tl-ir~ government is quarantining everyone who is a possible
danger suggests that all individuals
don't have to take responsibility for
protecting themselves from AIDS and
other sexually transmitted diseases.
These misconceptions undennine the
work being done by AIDS education
groups all over Ontario and around the
world. It is outrageous that they should
be
forward by the province's Chief
Medical Officer of Health.
Schabas and his ideas are a particular
threat to people in the business. At a
meeting during i.\IDS Aware-
�OLDEST
PROFESSION
TIMES
A newsletter published by 90's
Ladies and Friends, a group
working for the repeal of laws
against prostitutes.
OPT, l 125-9thStreet,
Sacramento, CA, 95814 USA
orking
irl
ness Week last fall, Schabas told the
largely gay audience that it isn't them
he's worried about, because gay men
have done a good job of adopting
responsible safe-sex behaviour. It's
those other, less responsible groups in
society who are affected, like IV-drug
users, who he's worried about.
The City of Toronto's newly released
report, Women and AIDS, says that 10
of the 100 or so women who have
tested positive for HIV in the city are
prostitutes. Nine of them are believed
to have got the virus through sharing
injection equipment. (A man with
Schabas' s kind of logic is apt to decide
that this means that all pros are sharing
needles.)
In a letter to the Star saying his comments about sex with condoms were
taken out of context (whatever that
means), Schabas used a couple of examples of people he wanted to control.
One of them was an HIV-infected prostitute who shares needles. Of course,
no one should share needles now that
we know that it spreads AIDS,
hepatitis and other diseases. Schabas 's
implication is clearly that this person is
a particular problem because she's a
prostitute - otherwise he wouldn't
have mentioned her job.
The Toronto Board of Health has
taken a position against Schabas' s
recommendation and has urged the Ontario Ministry of Health to reject it.
And so did the noisy demonstrators.
Chris Bearchell
A magazine published by the
Prostitutes Association of
South Australia (PASA).
Pros' Press
The prostitutes' rights movement
media is looking good these days.
New from Prostitutes Of New York
(PONY), The PONY X-press, is a 28page glossy magazine with some great
articles and humour and lots of images
and graphics. It's an inspiring way to
find out about PONY and life in the
business in the Big Apple.
Old reliable Oldest Profession Times
(OPI) has been designed and laid out
using desktop publishing for the past
two issues and is looking much more
professional and presentable. Unfortunately, that means that their costs are
up and they aren't sure that they'll be
able to keep doing OPT in the new format. If you've thought about subscribing in the past, now's the time to send
them your cash. (See ads this page.)
Scarlet Harlot's "Interstate Solicitation
Tour" roared into New York City on
May 24.
The outrageous performance artist
and whore has set off to deliberately
and publicly challenge the law - by
breaking it - in her own dramatic
style. She took her street theatre, with
a bevy of Prostitutes of New York
(PONY) supporters, right to where the
money is. The colourful activists
gathered a sizable crowd in front of
TV cameras outside the New York
Stock Exchange on Wall Street for a
rousing rendition of Scarlet's raunchy
song, Bad Girl. It was a hit, as usual.
Look in the book!
PASA
PO Box 7072, Hutt Street
Adelaide 5000
Australia
Finally! After much wrangling with
Bell Canada and some welcome assistance from the Canadian Radio and
Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC), you can find both the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
Stiletto\7
�white pages.
Bell was, of course, hung up about
the word prostitute. But after PSSP's
funders made a few enquiries and the
CRTC told them, in a rapid exchange
of faxes, that they were out of line,
they backed down.
Naturally we're getting a few more
prank calls as a result of the increased
exposure, but it's worth it to have
. ~
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people in the business be able to look
us up in the book and give us a call.
You will find that we have the answering machine on most of the time
though, so please leave a number and
give us a bit of time to get back to
you. We promise to return every
serious call that we get
Farewell to Danny
Goodbye can be one of the hardest
things to say in any language and
that's particularly true when it comes
to saying farewell to CORP spokesman
and Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project co-ordinator Danny Cockerline.
Danny is, of course, still a member of
CORP and is back on the board of
PSSP. But we sure miss his hard work,
insight, talent, dedication and sunny
smile as the two groups slog through
we're pretty sure
he left some
other broken
hearts behind
among his
friends and customers in the
business, too.
Danny is talcing
a well-deserved
vacation after
working long and
hard to get PSSP
set up and
funded and then
co-ordinating the
project for the
two crucial years
that followed.
He's rumoured to
be having a good
time in New
York (look out
all you folks in PONY!) before he sets
off to visit friends (and make new
ones) in the rest of the world-wide
whores' movement.
We can only say, "Good luck and
come back soon."
lf-----------------------------"11
Parkdale Community Legal Services
1239 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON
531-2411
Monday
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
1O am to noon and 2 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday
2 pm to 6 pm
Thursday
noon to 7:30 pm
8/Stiletto
�Notes from Cabbagetown
ome nights there are so many
girls out working it seems like a
harem. Other nights I'll ride around for
hours and not see anybody. Usually
that means a sweep but sometimes it's
just the moon.
"What about that red-haired cop? He
turns ya, then he takes the money
back."
"Who's supposed to be patrolling this
street, 51 or 52? They're both always
over here. Somebody should stay in
their own division."
New funds
mean
a new home
for PSSP
For the first time, beginning July 1, the
federal government will be funding the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
The three-year, AIDS Community Action Plan grant will cover the cost of
one staff salary and will help cover the
cost of operating a more accessible
resource centre/office space/meeting
place. It will be open sometime this
fall. Yes, your tax dollars will actually
be going to something that is for
people in the business!
In the meantime, if you see a likely
looking location that you think the
project should know about, call and
leave a message on the PSSP answering machine at 964-0150.
"I wasn't even working; I
was jus~ walking home. A
guy pulled up beside me
and said, I feel like getting laid. I said, yeah,
that's nice, and kept on
walking. I recognized
him; I knew he was a
cop. Then he pulls up
beside me again and says,
you 're under arrest for
communicating. I said, we
never discussed a price,
how'd you know I wasn't
gonna do you for free?
And you never showed
me your badge so it won't
hold up in court. He said,
who's the judge going to
believe, the police or a
whore?" [He's been
taking lessons from his
chief.]
"Yeah, you haven't seen
me for a while; I've just
done 92 days. I was sitting in court. The judge
was arguing with the
prosecutor for half an
hour on the case before
mine. When I came up
Stiletto\9
the judge was in a bad mood - he
didn't want to hear any details ofmy
case. He called me "a burden to
society" and gave me 90 days. I'm really pissed off."
The cops got this old guy to pretend he
wanted me. He took me in his car to a
parking lot and parked beside an unmarked cop car. They busted me
before anything went down and gave
me a ticket. Then, when I was walking
home, the old guy pulled up beside me
again and asked if I wanted a date.
[Was this another bust or
did she get him horny?]
"Where is this 'zone of
tolerance'?"
Ran into a girl I haven't
seen in months. Turns out
she's got a curfew so she
can't work nights.
"What can we do about
the 20-dollar hos?"
Favourite pieces from
issue one of Stiletto:
"Spermwhale," "Wild
West Hos" and "Feed
your pussy well."
"I can hand out as many
Stiletto's as you can give
me. Girls are asking for
them from as far away as
Oshawa. They've been
photocopying my copy."
[Sheila Pieschke]
"Have you got any more
of that magazine? Oh,
I've had that one sitting
on my coffee table for
months."
Gwendolyn
�I
1
111:11:::11111111111111111:::;:i:1:11111111:111111,1:11111111111111:1:111111111 Jlilililill!lilil!llililiili!il!illl! lil!II
...,j:::t
have seen many films about
the business; those made by social
workers, big-buck Hollywood
producers, T.V. documentary
filmmakers and the like. But
I've never seen a film about
working made by hos - that is,
until I saw Prowling By Night.
This film is unlike any film
dealing with prostitution that I
have ever seen.
To read my initial description
of Prowling By Night, the film
sounds almost innocent. Gwendolyn, an outreach worker with
the Prostitutes' Safe Sex
Project, comedienne and parttime ho, made the film to document the experiences of two
other Safe Sex Project workers
and the street girls they work
for. The format used was that
of an adult, puppet cartoon - no
JO/Stiletto
actors, no big budget, no glitzy special
effects. But she did use working girls;
street pros drew the pictures to represent themselves in the film, pro~ did
all the talking and there was riO SCript.
Everyone spoke freely and openly
about their experiences working Toronto's strolls. Valerie and Ryan, the two
girls who work for the project, did the
same.
The film follows Valerie and Ryan as
they walk the stroll in Parkdale, passing out condoms, doing the AIDS rap
and talking the politics of the sex
trade. But the film focuses on the girls
who work the street and the harassment they face at the hands of the
cops. The language used is as real as
the women who are speaking and the
effect is moving and powerful. Hos,
friends of hos and people who get
upset when they see other people being
abused or disadvantaged will all be af-
�fected by this work. Prowling By Night
is not a cartoon version of Pretty
Woman. The film's imagery is vivid,
often stark, but the message is driven
home clearly. Cabbagetown's bikeriding "Condom Lady" and the twenty
or so prostitutes who helped make the
film have done one hell of a job.
Films, even shorts like Prowling By
Night, need money to be produced and
Gwendo's efforts were funded by a
grant from the National Film Board's
women's studio, Studio D. This year
Studio D is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary by sponsoring the Five
Feminist Minutes Project, which
funded fifteen women filmmakers to
each make a five-minute film
documenting experiences of women in
each of their communities. They will
all be screened together at several festivals this summer. Prowling By Night
i
drawing by Catherine
was one of the fifteen proposals
harassment of Toronto's street prosselected from a field of many contitutes, but the stories the girls tell
tenders and I have to give Studio D
could have happened anywhere. The
credit for making a wise choice.
sad part of it is, they probably already
Keep your ears open on the stroll or
have.
read Stiletto for information about
when and where you can see this film.
Alexandre Highcrest
Prowling By Night is about police
SPECIAL SCREENING
Prowling By Night will be shown at the
416 Drop-in Centre for Women,
416 Dundas Street East
on Friday September 28, 1990 at 2:00 pm.
All pros and your invited guests
WELCOME
Prowling By Night will also have two showings at
the Toronto Festival of Festivals which runs from
September 6 through to September 15, as part of
the Five Feminist Minutes Programme.
Call the Festival for time and place.
drawing by Mary Anne
Stiletto\11
�Ryan Hotchkiss revi~5?
The secret to being happy and successful in any career is having a job you
are suited to. Football players are
suited to playing football. Meteorologists are suited to being weather
forecasters. I am suited to being a prostitute. - Dolores French
orking is a fine addition to the
genre of books by prostitutes
about the life such as The
Mayflower Madam, by Sidney Biddle Barrows or Personal Services, by Cynthia
Payne. These books are
first-person accounts written by those most qualified
to write about the business
- those in the business.
Working was written in
collaboration with New
York writer Linda Lee and
documents Ms French's
career as a prostitute over
a ten-year period. She has
crammed a lot of experience into those ten
years. Her sense of adventure and desire to travel
and try new things have
served her well in the business. She worked as a call
girl, a streetwalker and a
brothel worker. Her
curiosity has taken her all
over Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S.A. She
has even worked in the
windows of the red-light
district and in a brothel in
Amsterdam.
The two years that she spent in the
Caribbean made for some of the most
entertaining stories. Dolores worked
for part of that time at the Black
Angus in San Juan, a loud and raucous
place, " ... it was like a boot camp for
prostitution. It prepared you for battle,
it made you physically fit and it was a
!:~!~~
by Delores French
darned good place to meet other foot
soldiers."
Dolores answers all of the typical
questions: How did you get into the
business? What was your childhood
like? Do your parents know that you
work? What about taxes? Do you have
normal relationships? In the process,
she explores the myths about pros-
titutes, destroys the stereotypes, and
humanizes us.
Working has an easy-going, off-thecuff story-telling style which, along
with its humour, disguises the fact that
it's a highly political book. It gets
across basic ideas about things like
prostitutes' rights and AIDS, painlessly.
121Stiletto
Dolores is angry at a hypocritical justice system that batters and dehumanizes women who are providing a
legitimate service. Out of her anger,
the Atlanta prostitutes' rights group
HIRE (Hooking Is Real Employment)
was formed in 1983. HIRE is a political lobby group that, like CORP, tries
to lobby for the decriminalization of
prostitution. HIRE does
public speaking and complains about how the cops,
courts, health clinics, and
hotels treat prostitutes. Like
any prostitutes' organization, HIRE has had some
trouble involving prosti. tutes. Dolores quips, "It
was like trying to organize
raw eggs."
Dolores turned her first
trick at twenty-seven while
working in a small radio station in Atlanta as an administrator and fund-raiser. She
said of that first experience,
"That man treated me with
more respect than I had gotten in most other occupations, and he paid me a lot
closer to what my time and
mind were worth. He paid
me with a smile on his face
... and I was proud to
have been able to help him."
Dolores's pride in her
work and her love of the
women she worked with
shine through in this book. Dolores
found, as many of us have, that working as a prostitute increased her feelings of self-esteem and self-worth. The
attitude that you adopt towards the
business has so much to do with how it
will affect you.
Ms French says a lot of positive
things about the business without
�glamourizing it. She acknowledges that
it can be a difficult and dangerous
profession. It is made dangerous by the
laws that we are forced to work under
and by moral prejudice. Working is
chock-full of tips about how to deal
with the down side of prostitution. She
talks about what to look for in a trick,
how to avoid creeps and cops, how to
defuse potentially violent situations,
how to put a safe on with your mouth,
and what to do during your period. She
says of one of her teachers, "She
trained me to bring deeply buried
thoughts, perceptions, suspicions to the
front of my mind: You're alone. A mistake could mean anything from simple
unpleasantness to jail or death."
Dolores is a highly skilled professional. She is good at dealing with
people, uninhibited about sex, intelligent and articulate, and she thinks
well on her feet. If you know anyone
who thinks prostitution is an unskilled
profession, have them read this book.
Working is a real morale-booster that
makes you feel good about working
without skirting the tough issues. One
caution, however: Dolores makes you
yearn for the open road, and if you
have the wanderlust, this book is sure
to fuel it.
Working by Delores French with Linda
Lee. Published by E.P. Dutton, New
York, 1988.
Announcement:
Women's Press is publishing a book
called Words from Within: Women
Prisoners Write.
If you are a woman who is or has
been in prisori and you have a message
to share, they want to hear from you.
All forms of writing, including songs,
essays and poetry, will be considered.
Pen names can be used and a fee will
be paid upon publication. Send your
writing to #233, 517 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 4A2, or contact them for
infonnation. Phone: 921-2425.
;····:···~~,~··-~e~···i···o:.~··bus,.;;;···················································-----
:....:..:.:.:.i.:.i...:.:...:..:...:.:..:...........:..
co v enan t House Hypocrisy
I
can't say that I haven't been
doing. The social services agencies are
delighted by all of the bad press
trying to save people from prostitution.
Covenant House (CH) of New York
They don't seem to realize that by
has been getting lately.
treating prostitution like a problem that
Father Bruce Ritter, the founder of
must be wiped out they are indirectly
CH, has been accused of using CH
supporting the arrest, harassment,
money to get young male clients of
abuse, rape and murder of prostitutes.
CH to have sex with him. It's unforRather than trying to save people from
tunate, though, that Ritter is being atprostitution, CORP and PSSP are
tacked for
trying to
his homosave prossexuality
titutesand for
ourselves
being a
includedtrick when
from the
it is his
laws and
hypocrisy
attitudes
that is the
that hurt
scandal. Ritus and
ter opposes
make our
gay rights
work
and prosmore
titutes'
dangerous.
rights and
We want
yet heapprostitupears to be
tion
both gay
decriminand a trick.
alized so
Isn't there
that prossomething
titutes
in Catholihave the
cism about
same
being
rights and
honest?
respect as
Tim Warner, the Pro who blew Ritter's cover
CH's
other
moral thinking has always been someworkers.
what fucked up. They say they want to
Unlike the agencies which treat proshelp young people who are turning
titutes as "clients" or "victims" who
tricks on the street but they won't give
need to be helped by educated social
them condoms. Better to let them die
workers, CORP and PSSP are run by
and have God sort them out, they
prostitutes and we want other prosfigure.
titutes to get involved. Join us. Call
It is because of CH, and agencies like
(416) 964-0150 or write Box 1143, Stait, that the Canadian Organization for
tion F, Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8.
the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP)
decided to start Prostitutes' Safe Sex
Danny Cockerline
Project (PSSP). We wanted to try to
undo some of the damage they are
Stiletto\13
�Undercutting only benefits the johns
hen the first issue of Stiletto
hit the streets there was a
piece in there written by a ho who was
bitching about the undercutting of prices on
the street and by the
boys who work inside.
I work inside and I
thought, "Well, it can't
be as bad as all that.
I'm still scoring my
decent money dates."
But he was right. I run
a lot of fantasy and
fetish scenarios and
usually these kinds of
gigs involve a fair degree of time and some
preparation, yet the
johns are balking at
realistic prices for this kind of service.
For plain sex they practically expect
you to give it away.
We're into summer and business
should be picking up for everyone as
·~
Qr,,..,,.,,
VE""fl,'!'
I
.
\
"olELFr.:;
,:,., · .
=- ,
'
Toronto fills up with horny tourists and
the like. These people all have money
to spend and I for one would like to
make some serious dollars over the
I
1111
's Clinic
I
diseases
Ste. 2
phone 922-0566
Mon, Wed, Fri - 10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
by appointment
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
Tues & Thurs - 4pm to 6pm
Men's Clinic
hours:
'
'-~-m'i,,;:_,"'~~~¾;'~sf-
rth control and sexually
Church St., at Wellesley,
hours:
00..,,:.;,
~
phone 922-0603
Mon & Wed - 4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 2 pm
Fri - 4 pm to 7 pm
Sat - 10 am to 2 pm
I
next six months. No one has to roll
over for forty or fifty bucks and if no
one did we'd all make
more money. The
clients will pay, they
have no choice; a customer's urges are not
linked to his wallet.
And it has nothing to
do with your age,
either; in the January
26 issue of Xtra they
interviewed a 45-yearold pro who charges
$50 per date regardless
of what he has to do.
A "Bargain Ho" if I
ever heard of one. I
also know a 20-year-old ho who bases
everything on the $50 date. Sure,
maybe you can make money turning
cheap tricks but you have to work all
the time. I'm in The Business because
I love it, but I also havt.; a life outside
of prostitution. I don't want to spend
all of my waking hours waiting for the
phone to ring or sucking cock.
We can educate the clients to the
realities of The Business only after we
have educated ourselves. We are the
commodity; we can dictate the price.
Come on ladies and gentlemen, lets
conduct ourselves like the freelance
business people we are. Undercutting
only benefits the customer while we,
as a group, suffer financially. My rent
is not going down, is yours? The Scarlet Harlot, a politically active whore
out of San Francisco, summed it up
quite nicely in a line from a poem she
has written, entitled Cheap.
"Cheap is when you want less than
pleasure, a baby or a hundred dollars."
And that's a hundred bucks American.
Alexandre Highcrest
no appointment necessary
Free and confidential health care services.
14/Stiletto
�Recovery, our profession
and U A treatme t programs
I
am a recovering heroin addict and
may name is Julian. I have also
worked Grosvenor street as a hustler
for about six months this past winter,
fall and summer. My chosen profession allowed me to support a one- to
two-bag-a-day junk habit on the good
days. However, I wasn't without sick
days, on and off the job.
When I heard the words "social
worker" - when I hear the words "social worker" today - I cringe. My
experience on the street with the dogooders was consistently bad. As I
said in a previous commentary in
this 'zine, a lot of times there were
more social workers on the street
than hustlers and johns. I had
made a conscious decision to work
the street without help from social
services and I resented the outreach these workers were forcing
on me and my co-workers. After
all, their very presence caused us
to lose money. My resentment was
amplified by the fact that more
often than not I was junk sick and
needed that money to restore me
to a fully functional state of being.
Their presence hampered my efforts to
achieve this goal.
As I sit writing this, I am fully functional - or as much so as I could hope
to be - and I achieve this without junk.
I have been clean for a month and a
half, approximately, and firmly believe
I wouldn't have lasted more than a few
days in this attempt had I not received
the help I did.
I had sort of hit bottom. Meaning I
had fucked everyone there was to fuck
in several different ways and was left
with an uncontrollable urge and an
empty hype. There seemed very little
hope of any sort of happiness in my
life and I had burned all my bridges to
resources.
I made a decision to enter a treatment
facility in the United States and to see
if the thirty days clean could start me
on a different course.
I knew upon entering that the centre
based its principles of recovery on the
philosophy of the twelve-step
programs of Alcoholics Anonymous
and Narcotics Anonymous and I had
no intention of conforming to these
principles.
As more time passed, I became more
aware that these people were not as
moralistic as I had anticipated. In fact
they were only concerned with the issues in my life that I personally had
trouble with.
For instance, the prostitution issue,
which I knew would come up, has
never been a moral problem for me so
consequently when I explained my
past financial endeavours and my attitude towards them (fair trade) I ran
up against no opposition or socialworker rhetoric. I'm sure these people
do have these opinions on the subject
as a whole but I was not made privy to
them, which was fine with me. I was
there for my recovery - not theirs. My
career choice does not force me to use
drugs but conversely my drug depend-
Stiletto\15
ency did help immensely in my career
choice. To sum up, I maybe talked to
my counsellor (also a recovering addict) for about fifteen minutes in a thirty-day period about the subject of prostitution.
Back to the program basis - the
twelve steps, and more importantly,
the god concept. For one, the only
thing I was asked to do while I was
there was admit that I was powerless
over my addiction and that my life had
become unmanageable; then, to consider and be open to the possibility that there is a power
greater than myself. It was totally up to me how I defined
this power. I could call it God
or I could call it George - the
name and religion are irrelevant. For me, at the risk of
sounding Pollyanna-ish, this is
just the power I witness when
love is demonstrated in
relationships and in the beauty
of nature - a thunderstorm, the
blije sky of a clear day. These
are things that I did not create
and that demonstrate to me an existence far greater than this afflicted body.
So, upon leaving the facility, my attitude to the program had changed. I
am still Julian, I am healthy, I am
clean and I am a much more contented
individual. The twelve steps have allowed me certain insights, although I
do not spend twenty four hours a day
wrapped up in their written word. For
me, this treatment was extremely
beneficial and has allowed me a certain amount of peace and serenity and
the ability to regain control in a drugfree existence - to get on with my life.
Julian
�Gwendolyn's
show,
Merchants
Love,
goes
it makes a di!'feren_ce just what colour bag you choose
to carry. and 11:- which h~d. also as you realize that you
are leavmg this place this time walking out as they so
often say with every care behind you but the close
deliberation ?f each step you take each mark you make
before
fmd yourself run all full fool circle and the
pattern starts again as 01;1e more lonely gambling lady
leans out the sun for Just a moment thinking yes i
~an o[ course i can pretending as she dawdles by the rail
m qme_t warmth that she can f!.y is weightless yes
and childless too no anchors tie her silver steps and
then you know for sure that you have caught her eye as
you put one bag down to measure faith and distance for
the present for the price of one night shuffling and you
eye her too because you both know there is no touch no
communication and there will be always balconies just off
the street
and solitary strolling passersby and each
knows each as they say i must really keep to my own path
but if your mind is open or(e) my bags get too damn heavy
then i will consider entering your place
and maybe i will
stay false promise in the dust you know but both of you
rush to the meeting blind as they do say and nobody
ever stops to look at all leaves falling as the heart of
this articular! colourful street truth flows b
16/Stiletto
Merchants ofLove, prostitute activist
Gwendolyn's r:mlti-media presentation
about "a sex worker's experiences in
therapy," which was the hit of last
year's "Fringe of Toronto" theatre festival, was performed in Britain twice in
May.
Gwendolyn appeared at the "Edge
90" festival in Newcastle upon Tyne
on May 20 and then did the show
again in London a week later for the
London Film Makers' Co-operative.
Some of the notorious British tabloid
press got in a predictable flap about
the fact that a self-confessed hooker
was representing Canada at these
events. "The Hooker ... sponsored by
her government!" screamed the headline on a story which quotes Alan
Beith, Liberal Democratic MP for Berwick-on-Tweed, saying: "The reports I
have had of the show and the profession of this women are disgusting.
"The taxpayers in Canada should be
asking their government to explain
why they are supporting such a person
and burdening the British public with
her."
�Dear Editor:
Thanks for the copy of Stiletto that I
received from one of your workers at
the International Women's Day fair.
I found the magazine to be well-written, witty and full of helpful information.
However, I'd like to point out an
error. I represented the Elizabeth Fry
Society at the meeting Valerie reports
in the News section. Jennifer Stephens
represented NAC. The views expressed
in the report seem to be a mixture of
Jennifer's and mine, but it is certainly
true that the Elizabeth Fry Society is
for decriminalization of the criminal
code offences surrounding prostitution
and that we feel prostitutes have the
right to be treated "as human beings
deserving of dignity."
Good luck with the magazine. Sign
us up as subscribers!
Yours truly,
Rosemary Aubert
Director of Community Relations
Elizabeth Fry Society
Fm TO SEX TRADE WORl<ERS
AVAILMJLE IN BULK FOR RETAIL
OR AGENCY DISTRIBLmON
MAIL $.75 EAOI FOR 10
OR MORE. PLUS $3 POSTAGE
AND HANDLING TO:
PSSP, BOX 1143 STATION f
TORONTO ON M4Y 2T8
Editors:
First, let us say that we found your
magazine both informative and interesting and look forward to future issues.
As counsellors at The Works, we
would however, like to respond to the
article about our program that appeared in your first edition of Stiletto.
Unfortunately there has been some
misunderstanding about the function of
The Works and how it operates and we
want to clarify this.
The Works is an AIDS and Drug Use
Prevention Program. The purpose of
our program is to prevent the spread of
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,
among injection drug users and their
sexual partners. At The Works you can
exchange used needles/syringes for
new ones, get free condoms and get
free needle cleaning kits. We also offer
counselling, support, health information and drug treatment referral. All
services at The Works are free and confidential.
PLEASE SPECIFY DESIRED SI.OGANS
Stiletto\17
When someone comes to The Works
they are given a code. In the article the
writer was very concerned that being
assigned a personal code could result
in the person being identified by name.
This is not true. There is no possible
way that this code can be traced to a
specific individual or identification,
like a social insurance number. The
code was designed so that people
could remain anonymous but could
also remember their code. We ask for
the first initial of their first name, the
second and third letters of their
mother's or pet's name, the month of
birth and the year of birth.
Each person has a code so that we
know how many people return and
what type of services people are asking
for. Having this information helps us
in two ways. First, we are able to find
out how useful our service is by the
number of people who return. Second,
this information helps us plan and
develop our programs to meet the
needs of our clients. We encourage
people who have questions about The
Works to contact us at 392-0520 or
drop by our office. The Works is located at 660 Dundas Street West and
we are open Monday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday from 1:00 pm to
9:00 pm and on Tuesday from 5:00 pm
to 9:00pm.
We hope this letter has cleared up
any misunderstanding.
Sincerely,
Sheila Scott, RN
Counsellor
The Works
�H
A Piece of the Action
aving been a pro for about 13
years, I'm not used to paying to
get screwed; the money usually flows
the other way. Of course that doesn't
apply to advertising and since I
work inside, advertising is an essential part of my business.
NOW magazine knows how important an inside sex trade
worker's advertising is; they've
been taking advantage of their
,f.\
position, and us, for years. NOW J
is not the only place for a ho or
escort service to advertise; most
personal contact magazines will
accept ads from us, as will Xtra.
However, none of these publications can boast of a readership
comparable to NOW' s (240,000
per week, according to the publication) nor are they as publicly visible
and accessible. These features, along
with the fact that NOW allows fairly
explicit ads, make advertising in NOW
potentially lucrative in spite of the fact
that we are gouged weekly (the "Business Personals" are the most costly ads
of their kind in the mag; we pay
'
double everyone else's rates).
Enter Metropolis magazine, a publication which just recently opened its
doors to advertisers from The Business. As of March 1, their weekly print
run was 150,000 copies - respectable.
Little Ho Humour
couple's conversation, overheard in the lobby of a downtown hotel:
Well-dressed man: "Would you go to
bed with me ifl paid you $10,000.?"
Attractive woman: "Hmmm ...well, I
might."
Well-dressed man: "Would you go to
bed with me if I paid you one dollar?"
Attractive woman: "Certainly not!
What do you think I am?"
Well-dressed man: "Oh, I think
we've already established that. Now
we're just haggling over the price."
Back stage at a major network
television studio, a prominent TV evangelist and a well-known local prostitute were waiting to go on camera to
debate the pros and cons of the sex
trade. As part of the intro to the talk
show the host was airing a couple of
the evangelists videos where the minister was pitching his religious beliefs
while soliciting money for his church.
The minister asked the pro to watch
the vids, as he felt she might learn
something about his faith. At the end
of the video broadcast, just before the
two guests were to be introduced, the
whore turned to the evangelist and
said, "Well honey, in spite of our differences we do have one thing in common."
"Oh, what's that?" asked the evangelist.
"Obviously," replied the ho, "neither
of us believes in free love."
18/Stiletto
Metropolis is also visible and accessible and their advertised rates are
cheap; $10 per initial insertion (one
"form" of 100 characters) and $8 for
each additional insertion. A month's
worth of advertising can be bought for
$34, right? Wrong! Not for prostitutes.
We pay $25 per week, flat,
with no deals for multiple insertions. That's 2.5 times the
rate for initial insertions and
more than three times the rate
for subsequent insertions.
NOW just charges us double
and they're up-front about it
when they publish their fees. I
don't agree with their rationale for doing this; they claim
that our ads take more effort
to administer, but I do appreciate knowing exactly how
much I'm paying for something. Metropolis's $25 per
week is exclusively for us and
this special rate is not advertised anywhere in the publication.
Among Toronto's major papers,
NOW has enjoyed a virtual monopoly
on sex trade workers advertising until
Metropolis loosened up its policy. The
big three papers won't touch our ads at
all unless they're suitably camouflaged
as "personal" ads - whores in good
girl's clothing. Then I heard from a
reliable source that Metropolis would
be accepting ads from people in The
Business, provided they weren't too explicit. A major pizza firm delivers Metropolis to many houses unsolicited, so
the editors are concerned about the possible "lewd content" being delivered
into the homes of children. I thought,
someone is taking a quiet run at
NOW' s monopoly. Apparently not - it
seems that all Metropolis is doing is
trying to cut itself a piece of the action. Considering the fact that NOW' s
Business Personals are rumored to
generate approximately $8,000 per
issue, there's a fair bit of action to be
had. But lvfetropolis got none of mine.
Alexandre Highcrest
�• Legal Aid: Old City Hall - 598-0200,
College Park - 598-1260, University
Avenue - 598-0200.
• Parkdale Community Legal Services 531-2411
• Neighbourhood Legal Services - 9612625
• Justice for Children (under 18 years
old) - 920-1633
• Law line - 978-7293
• Dial-a-law - 947-3333
• Lawyer Referral Service (includes
free 1-hour consultation) - 947-3330
Pissed off with your lawyer? Call
CORP at 964-0150, leave a message on our answering machine,
and we'll get back to you as soon
as we can. We can help you find
the kind of legal advice you need.
HEALTH SERVICES
• AIDS Committee of Toronto - 9261626.
• Alexandra Park Community Health
Service - 64 Augusta, 364-4107.
• Bay Centre for Birth Control - 901
Bay St, 920-1263.
• Birth Control and VD Information
Centre - 2828 Bathurst, 789-4541.
• Davenport-Perth Community Health
Centre - 1944 Davenport, 658-6812.
• Hassle Free Clinic - 556 Church St,
Men - 922-0603, Women - 922-0566.
(See ad for hours.)
• Niagara Neighbourhood Health
Centre - 674 Queen St W, 363-2021.
• Parkdale Community Health Centre 1257 Queen St W, 537-2455.
•St.Lawrence Health Service - 45
Lower Jarvis St, 864-6000.
• Street Health (free nursing services) at All Saints Church, Open Door, 315
Dundas E Tues 2-4 pm. Or Fred Victor Mission at Queen and Jarvis Wed 57. 863-1610.
• South Riverdale Community Health
Centre - 126 Pape Ave, 461-2493.
• The House (planned parenthood
youth clinic) 36B Prince Arthur, 9277171.
• The Works (needle exchange) 660
Dundas Street W, 392-0520.
• City hostel (for families) - 674 Dundas W, 392-5500.
• Covenant House (Catholic; for men
and women under 21) - 70 Gerrard E,
593-4849.
• 416 (drop-in for women; daytime) 416 Dundas E, 928-3334.
• Nellie's (for women) - 275A Broadview Ave, 461-1084.
• Robertson House (for women) - 291
Sherbourne, 392-5650.
• Seaton House (for single men) - 339
George St, 392-5522.
• Stop 86 (for women under 21) - 9223271.
• Street Haven (for women) - 87
Pembroke, 967-6060.
FOOD BANKS
Daily Bread Food Bank. Will tell you
locations of food banks near you. 7695155.
"communicating for the purpose of prostitution"
i
Subscribe to Toronto's sharpest new· magazine .
.And help us keep on communicating.
~-------~~~~-~-~------~------~----~-~~--------En dosed
or money order, payable
'
is a cheque
Check one:
to Stiletto.
_ individual subscriber, at$ 10 for six issues
_ supporting subscriber, at$ 20 for six issues
__ agency subscription, at $ 30 for six issues
__ I am also enclosing a donation of $_ __
Name:----------------------------Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
City/province/postal code: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Telephone: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
�FOi MOIE INRlllWIOll CAil 926-1626 OR ffl.AIDS. fflP CAIi iE lfAClliD
AJ M-01!1 AIID IIABE,fE OIIIC AJ 922~.as66.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Stiletto - Vol 1 (2)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Stiletto was the newsletter of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) from 1990-1991. This issue includes contributions from Chris Bearchell, Catherine, Danny Cockerline, Gwendolyn, Ryan Hotchkiss, Alexandre Highcrest, Hell-in, Julian, Mary Anne, Will Pritchard.
Creator
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Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Source
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From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Date
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June 1990
Format
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11" x 17" photocopy folded in half
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Injection Drug Use
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
-
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PDF Text
Text
-----------------------------~----
--~~---
"communicating for the purpose of prostitution"
In this issue...
News
City politicians consider a
"zone of tolerance" pg 3
A report on The Works pg 4
NY is getting it together pg 5
Prowling by night pg 4
Editorial
Introducing Stiletto pg 2
Personal stories
Surviving do-gooders pg 6
Safe sex is our business
Who are those whores with
free condoms, anyway? pg 11
The wages of sin
Minding our business pg 9
Body Talk
Feed your pussy well pg 8
History
Wild west hos! pg 7
�·::··~··:;·,·~:~.·: : ~ l ~ "' ::.
-~--,h,__
%:::
Introducing Stiletto, the spunky new
magazine for prostitutes
"White slave ring smashed,"
screamed the Toronto Sun headline.
The story was one of the exploitation
and degradation of young women
lured into, and then trapped in,
prostitution. Pimping charges had
been laid and a couple of men were
being held in custody. These were
big-time operators. Chalk, one up for
the boys in blue.
Later that evening, I got a call from
a girl in the business who I'll call
Debbie. She was crying. Her boyfriend, Dave, had been arrested and
she wanted help getting him out Her
girlfriend was in the same situation.
Debbie asked if I'd seen the Sun
today and then identified herself and
her friends as the "white slave ring"
referred to in the paper.
When I met her in court the next
morning, her eyes were red and puffy
from crying all night. "I didn't know
he could get busted- he's my boyfriend," she said. Dave appeared in
the dock, hand-cuffed, looking sleepy
and disheveled in his prison blues. He
made faces at his girl, trying to get
her to smile.
Dave's lawyer tried to get him bail
so he could go to his full-time job as a
stripper. After seeing the severity of
the charges, the judge refused and
added, "stripping is not a real job."
Dave was remanded in custody.
The girls drove me home in their
beat-up old clunker. As we chugged
along, they discussed whether to get
lunch or put gas in the car.
These were the big-time operators
referred to in "White slave ring"? No,
that was a Sun fantasy invented for
the titillation of its readers. The truth
was the cops had arrested the
,/
boyfriends of a couple of prostitutes
who worked together for safety
because they were friends. The truth
doesn't cast the cops in quite the same
light- or sell as many papers.
The Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) has long
wanted to do a magazine because of
incidents like this. CORP is a group
of currently working male and female
prostitutes founded in 1983 by a street
whore who had been busted one time
too many. We see prostitution as a
job, not a crime. We lobby for the
repeal of discriminatory laws like the
communicating and pimping laws.
We also try to influence public
opinion. We aren't ashamed of being
prostitutes. Since we all have to work,
prostitution is as good a job as any
and better than most.
The straight press, like the Sun, lies
about our lives. They indulge in a
daily orgy of whore-bashing, holding
us up to scorn and ridicule. Those
grotesque stereotypes in ''White slave
ring" are used to justify repressive
laws against us. If we are less than
human, anything can be justified.
Stiletto will be an honest forum for
the exchange of ideas, stories and
information about the law, our rights,
the business, safe-sex practices and
anything else of interest to working
prostitutes. Let's expose the cops,
courts, bad tricks, and manipulative
social workers and all of those who
trample on our human rights.
We need your help, as a prostitute,
to make this work. Write to us about
the magazine, your work, and your
experiences with things like the law.
Send us your personal stories, poems
and cartoons. We hope to publish
every two months.
Those people who trample on our
rights and victimize us rely on our
silence to do so. By remaining silent,
we contribute to our own victimization. CORP hopes that, with
Stiletto, we'll be able to speak out and
fightback.
Were the Campaign to Deaimimdize Pn>Stitution.
Ryan Hotchkiss, editor
And yn (m ,-r hinds) am join by sendimg JRI mmm,. :mailing
nUtber ad l5 unbimlaip fee (120 a1guuatiu:a.s)
ID CDP: do CORP. Bu 1143. Stadia F. Tmalll. ON U4Y 2T8
Ryan Hotchkiss is a member of the
Canadian Organization for the rights of
Prostitutes (CORP) and is one of the three
female AIDS educators who work with the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
~ Weplamle
Don't delay - join the campaign today!
2/Stiletto
�'f!'f!!!!!f:!§15!!=:~~.~~~!!!!
Politicians discuss "zone of tolerance"
W
ard 2 city councillor Chris
Korwin-Kuczynski and
Ward 6 Metro councillor Jack Layton
are seriously looking into the idea of a
red-light wne and/or a "zone of tolerance." Last November 6, the pair held
a meeting at City Hall to discuss the
possibilities.
In the letter inviting people to
attend the meeting, Korwin-Kuczynski wrote that, "it is a medical fact
that prostitution contributes to the
spread of communicable diseases."
We know this so-called fact is simply
not true. At the meeting CORP
strongly objected to Korwin-Kuczynski' s statement and cited several of
the many (local, national and international) scientific studies that prove
our point.
CORP is against mandatory health
checks because they are actually dangerous to our health. If we had to get
checked for sexually transmitted
diseases (STD) every week or so, as
they do in red-light wnes in other
parts of the world, we would probably
be required by a city bylaw to carry a
card with our STD status on it. Imagine how difficult it will be to try and
get a customer to wear a condom if
our STD card says we don't have
anything. Public health departments
don't get guys to use condoms, prostitutes do. These cards will ruin all of
the front-line education to customers
that prostitutes have done over the
years. Connie Clement, representing
the Medical Officer of Health, also
stated that the evidence shows that
prostitutes are not a danger to the
public health because most prostitutes
require their clients to use condoms.
Jennifer Stephens spoke at length
on behalf of the Elizabeth Fry Society
explaining that E Fry is also against
mandatory STD checks because they
would make it more difficult for prostitutes to get clients to use condoms
and because such tests would be
degrading to prostitutes. Stephens
explained E Fry's position that prostitution should be decriminalized,
rather than legalized, because legalization treats prostitutes as mere prod-
ucts to be bought and sold whereas
decriminalization treats prostitutes as
human beings deserving of dignity.
Korwin-Kuczynski, who did not
have any evidence to back up his
position that prostitutes are disease
spreaders, conceded that he was not
well informed on prostitution and the
spread of STDs. To his credit, he
changed his position; many politicians would stick to their position
without regard for how wrong they
were or how many people they hurt.
CORP representatives also got a
chance to express concern about
where prostitutes would be allowed to
work. We said that we would not
endorse an area outside of the city or
in an industrial area. We proposed
that if prostitutes were allowed to
work on streets that are zoned as
commercial, without being arrested
and harassed by the police, then we
wouldn't work on residential streets.
In response to this, Jack Layton
suggested the creation of "zones of
tolerance." He agreed that the best
place for these such zones would be
on commercially zoned streets inside
the city. In the case of a street that is
zoned mixed residential and commercial, like Jarvis Street, Layton
suggested prostitutes and residents
could meet at City Hall to work out
conflicts. For example, if the residents
of an apartment block did not want us
to work outside their building, we
could agree to work on the next
commercial block. As long as we
didn't work on residential streets,
under this proposal, we would not be
arrested or harassed. Layton is aware
that we cannot all be lumped into one
area and that the areas must be large
enough. CORP stated that we would
like to see as few prostitutes forced to
move as possible.
Inspector John Jackson, of 14 division, represented the police in the
meeting. Jackson doesn't have the
power to make any decisions and was
filling in for his boss, Superintendent
John Getty. Jackson said he would.
"welcome any move to lessen the
impact of prostitution in residential
neighbourhoods." However, it may be
difficult to get the police to give up
the easy and profitable work of policing prostitution. We certainly do prop
up the police arrest statistics. But the
situation is not hopeless. If we can
work this out with the residents, our
chances of getting the police to
co-operate will be greatly improved.
There are some differences
between the "zone of tolerance" being
proposed and a standard red-light
zone. Red-light districts are a product
of"legalization," which views
prostitution as a vice that needs to be
contained and controlled. These
controls are always arbitrary and
make the business more dangerous for
prostitutes. Sex workers complain that
they get to keep much less of their
money under legalization. The
red-light zone/legalization solution
does not include prostitutes in the
decision-making process. These are
just some of the reasons why attempts
to "legalize" prostitution always fail.
It is only logical that if a system is
contemptuous of us we will be
contemptuous of it
The "zone of tolerance" approach
sees prostitution as a business that
needs fair regulation. This approach
encourages all groups affected, including prostitutes, to communicate with
each other in order to work out solutions. Working with residents' groups
may be difficult because we have
seen each other as enemies for so
long. It isn't decriminalization, under
which we would be allowed to work
anywhere, but it's not as bad as a.
standard red light zone. Our problem
with both types of zones is that as
soon as a prostitute steps out of the
area, she could be chucked in jail.
This is discrimination. She should be
treated like any other business person
- the worst that should happen is
that she would have to pay a $53 fine
for breaking a bylaw.
A date for the next meeting hasn't
been set yet, but we expect it to be in
late January. CORP will be there and
we hope you will too. Phone us at
588-9037 to find out when the next
meeting is or if you want more information about it. This is your issue and
your voice is damned important here.
Valerie Scott
Stiletto\3
�The goods on "The Works"
You've seen their ads in NOW: "Are
you shooting up? ..." The Works, the
needle exchange at 660 Dundas West
We've all heard about the place so I
paid them a visit and here's what I
discovered.
I dropped in on them in a rather
clandestine manner; no mention was
made of who I was, my CORP
affiliation, etcetera. I was simply a
customer with two used needles to
exchange. They offered me clean
needles at the rate of up to 10 to one.
I wasn't asked ifl was a user, or the
user; I was simply asked how many
needles I would like. I took 20 - why
not? No other questions were asked,
although the person minding the store
was curious as to how I heard about
the project. Lubed or dry condoms,
condom wallets, small packets of
personal lubricant, and bleach kits
(which also contained condoms and
personal lube) were also available
free for the taking, along with the
usual reams of safe-sex and safedrug-use literature. So far pretty
routine, right? Did I say no other
questions were asked? Well, not quite.
Before the project worker gave me
my 20 needles I had to be assigned a
"personal code." When I asked why, I
was told, "It's for the government ...
they want us to keep track of the
number of people we serve." Uh-huh.
This personal code is derived in the
following manner: they use the first
letter of your first name, the second
and third letters of your mother's first
name, and the month and year you
were born.
This information was recorded on a
form which also had areas designated
for other info such as your age and
"general comments." I was the fourth
person written up on one particular
page and while I was there only my
personal code was entered. You could
easily give them any letter/number
combination you wanted to contrive
(in order to totally maintain your
anonymity). My only question is why
bother with such a thing at all? If The
Works must keep a tally of the clients
4/Stiletto
they serve for the Ministry, I would
think that a simple numeric total
would be enough. What difference
would it make if they aided four
people three times each or 12 people
once? A need is a need.
Assigning personal codes to patrons of a service such as The Works
bothers me. What can a person with a
computer discover about me based on
the information I have surrendered?
Can someone determine my social
insurance number? Is the project trying to take a census of the intravenous
drug users in Toronto? If so, why?
And, of course, is any of this information available to the police? I found
The Works to be generous with their
goodies but stingy with information.
You can come to your own
conclusions.
:
Alexandre Highcrest
Wanna make a movie?
In celebration of its 15th anniversary,
Studio D - the women's studio of the
National Film Board (NFB) - asked
for proposals from Canadian women
for films about what was on their
minds and in their hearts. The studio
received 240 proposals and chose 17
filmmakers, each of whom will make
a five-minute film. These 17 films
will be screened together all over the
country. One of them will be made by
Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn is a stripper, occasional
prostitute and outreach worker for the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project You
may have seen her- she's the crazy
lady who rides around Cabbagetown
on her bike giving out condoms in the
middle of the night The film she will
make for the NFB is called Prowling
by Night.
Do you know about "Sperm Whale"?
Any girl who has been on the street a
few months has heard of Sperm
Whale, a huge cop often assigned to
large sweeps. He's dangerous. He
really gets off on power and humiliation. He forces girls to suck him off,
sometimes at gunpoint, and steals
their money. One girl we spoke to had
been assaulted and robbed by him and
then given 30 seconds to run. He told
Prosti+u+es' W;\ahte
Gwde
her that if he could catch her after the
30-second lead, she'd be arrested. If
enough of us complain about Sperm
Whale, we can get the police department to do something. Maybe we can
get him off morality. If you've had
experiences with him, or with other
police- good, bad or indifferent, we
want to hear about them. Contact us at
Stiletto at 588-9037.
�--------
- - ~ - - - --
Prowling by Night will document
the experiences of street girls working
in the Parkdale area of Toronto. The
film will have the look of an adult
cartoon. The story will be told
through a puppet play which will be
filmed. That way people can get
involved and be represented without
having to appear on camera.
The film's characters will be figures created out of paper and fabric. If
you would like to draw a picture or
make a figure of yourself, your dates,
or your local pigs, Gwendolyn wants
to hear from you. She needs ideas for
what should be said, and will need
voices for the sound track. There is
money to pay hos who would like to
get involved. Call and leave her a
message on the CORP answering
machine-964-0150.
Pony rides again ...
Prostitutes of New York (PONY) is
alive and kicking ... again. PONY,
originally founded in the mid-1970s,
when many prostitutes' groups around
the world were first being formed, has
been around and around and around.
The group lapsed after a couple of
years and was then revived in 1979 by
ex-streetwalker Iris de la Cruz. PONY
was particularly active in the summer
of 1980 when New York cops intensified harassment of working girls in
mid-town Manhattan. During preparations for the Democratic Party convention, arrests more than doubled,
fines were 50% higher, and one girl
even threw herself into the East River
because she was so desperate to
escape the police.
PONY worked with supporters to
attempt to monitor the cops' behaviour on the street and to discourage
the brutality and illegal busts which
characterize most arrests of prostitutes in New York. Later that year the
group had an influx of x-rated film
actresses, nude models and peepshow performers while the "moral
majority" and Women Against
Pornography tried to make life
difficult for the people who worked in
those branches of the sex trade. But
PONY eventually lapsed into
inactivity again.
In October 1989, a diverse group of
current and former sex workers and
their friends - including some who
had been involved in the earlier
PONYs-decided to form PONY (&
t!
~
~
'4.s'"
}
'II-.
prot'l.w>
FRIENDS) to get the group going
again. In a statement outlining their
history, the group predicts that the
1990s will be the "Decade of the Sex
Worker." The group's statement says
that they want to "extend (and defend)
women's sexual freedom. Whether
we have sex for reproduction, recreation or financial remuneration is our
own business, not the government's!
A new threat to our sexual freedom,
civil liberties and physical safetyAIDS, and the way local and national
governments are handling it - has also
helped to inspire PONY's rebirth."
Their Statement of Purpose begins:
"PONY (& FRIENDS) is a fonnal
organization of sex workers and sex
workers' rights advocates, dedicated
to the decriminalization and deregulation of prostitution. PONY calls
for an end to all street sweeps, to the
use of entrapment and other forms of
police violence, illegality or harassment in the enforcement of existing
prostitution laws. PONY is dedicated
to raising public awareness that sex is
an essential, nourishing part of life
and that commercial sex is of benefit
to humanity."
Chris Bearchell
Hassle Free Clinic
for birth control and sexually transmitted diseases
556 Church Street, at Wellesley, 2nd floor, Suite 2
Women's Clinic phone:
922-0566
hours: Mon, Wed, Fri -10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
by appointment
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 6 pm
Men's Clinic phone:
922-0603
hours: Mon & Wed -4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 3 pm
Fri - 4 pm tp 7 pm
Sat-10 am to 2 pm
no appointment necessary
free and confidential health-care services.
Hassle free does anonymous HIV testing.
Stiletto\5
�Living well is the best revenge
l' ve been a whore for the last ten
years and it has taken just about that
long to get used to the looks that
people in "straight" society give me.
You know the
looks I mean if
you've ever worked
the streets for a
living. Little bleached
blond bitches from
Rosedale, walking
down the street with
their boyfriends,
giggling and pointing.
(f charge more than
di1mcr and a few
drinks, honey.)
Drugstore clerks that
sell you safes and
judge you in a glance.
(They should be glad
I'm using them.)
Blue-haired grandmas
and housewives who
stare at you while you
eat dinner. (Look Martha, they eat
food'.)
People who are not connected with
the business or know very little about
it show their ignorance on a regular
basis. Over the most human
functions. Eating in a restaurant,
buying groceries on your way home,
going to a movie before work. (Yes
indeed, whores go to movies!) Some
dates and people I meet are amazed
that I have hobbies and interests and a
life of my own.
My one true passion is motorcycling. Nothing gives me the same
kind of thrill as being in the wind and
sailing down the highway. One of the
strangest looks I ever got came to me
this summer when I was riding my
bike downtown. I pulled up to a red
light and looked over to notice one of
Summer survival skills mean
dodging the do-gooders
Leaning against the old brick of
Grosvenor Street, trying to enjoy the
last of the summer's warmth and
higher prices amidst the social
workers and tricks. Both in their
own uniforms, silently frightened of
one another. However, the social
workers prevail, and the tricks leave
the strip with their tails between
their legs, and virgin billfolds.
I try to make some sort of contact
with the john across the street as the
Covenant House motor home draws
slowly up and eases into the parking
space directly in front of me.
Covenant House, Salvation Army,
lnner City Youth, On the Street, and
iJStiletto
a host of other social service weirdo
helping hands. One guy, a cast-off,
fired, I believe, from the Sally Ann,
drives up, me thinking him a leather
fag, and announces himself a saint
who pulls us lost little creatures
from this dirty boulevard and up to
this twisted man's closeted heaven.
Later, getting coffee at the
Covenant House van after an insane
argument about pedophilia with the
staff, I sit and watch a self-proclaimed ex-hustler talk about the horribleness of drugs to an on-van young
woman social worker who is
obviously nodding out on junk, but
nevertheless is in full agreement
my recent dates parked beside me. I
smiled. He recognized me. His mouth
dropped open. (You could almost
hear him thinking, "She does something besides suck cocks.")
I pulled away. Cars honked
at him to go. The shock on
some people's faces is
incredible.
Try to understand the
poor man's confusion. It
was during working hours
and there I was riding
around having a good time
like other people. It's like
those school exercises you
' did when you were small.
One of these things does
not belong: warm summer
night, well-tuned bike, full
tank of gas, whore not
working. (You know which
one the guy in the car
chose.)
Anyway, the point is, the
looks never stop. I don't know if they
ever will. But after ten years, they get
a little easier to take. And sometimes
they are even amusing. When you 're
pulling away from a green light on a
warm summer night
J.
with this sad boy's tired rhetoric.
And so, pissed off, I leave the
do-gooder haven and plunge into the
sea of social workers starving the
street. To my final, broke, junk-sick
dismay, I see a hustler I know
chatting up two Salvation Army
zealots about how he doesn't work
any more, how he's back in school,
how terrible the streets are ... foaming at the mouth, trying so hard to
impress and be accepted by people
who don't have an ounce of respect
for him. Come to think of it, I don't
have a hell of a lot of respect for him
now, either.
Time to call it quits for tonight
No money out here anyway.
Julian
�T
t r
f
ii
t
The life and times of Sarah Jane Creech Orchard by Ryan Hotchkiss
emember the women in
Saturday afternoon Westerns?
Thin, harried, wearing a calico-print
dress, holding a shotgun, surrounded
by a flock of scruffy children. Or, the
straight-laced school teacher who
married the sheriff.
Occasionally, we would get a
glimpse of another kind of woman.
When the saloon doors flew open they
could be seen laughing, drinking with
the men, decked out in
•
feathers, satin and sequins.
The bad girls. These
women were where the
action was. To me and my
girlfriend, who claims that
old Westems made her a
prostitute, they seemed to
be having a much better
time than those good girls.
R
What a sight she must have been
with her stylish silk gowns, snowy
egret plumbs in her hair, a marabou
feather boa around her shoulders and
a flashy necklace made of gold coins
around her neck. She wore her glossy
black hair piled high on her head,
with soft ringlets framing her
features. Although she stood no more
than five feet, she was one hundred
pounds of kinetic energy. Business
O
ne such bad girl was ..
Sarah Jane Creech . ·
Orchard, or Sadie, to her · ·
friends. She had been an
actress in London and came
to America in 1885, at 35.
She settled in Kingston,
New Mexico, which was
dubbed the "Gem of the
Black Range" for its
spectacular gold strikes.
Kingston was a booming
little settlement. It had a
brick hotel, a bank
crammed with gold and silver, 22
saloons, but no church.
Sadie opened her first bordello on
Virtue Lane and employed several
Cyprian Sisters, as prostitutes were
called in those days. The combination
of gold and the fact that men outnumbered women by more than two
to one at that time west of the
Mississippi meant that Sadie's
business thrived. She had some very
influential clients and friends. They
loved her coarse Cockney accent, her
sense of humour and the fact that she
could curse with the best of them.
was so good that she brought Lillian
Russel, the queen of the stage, over
from London, England, to perform at
the Kingston theatre.
When Sadie learned that Kingston
had no church, she sent her girls out
to take up a collection in the saloons
and stores. Gamblers threw in ruby
stick pins and snake-eye rings, miners
tossed in bags of gold dust, her girls
put in brooches and earrings and
Sadie herself donated her favourite
diamond necklace. She raised $1,500
- enough to build a small stone
church. Unfortunately for Sadie, she
had built the church because she
yearned for some of that good-girl
status and respectability. So when the
church was built, Sadie and her girls
got all dressed up to attend a Sunday
service. They were given the cold
shoulder by the good girls of
Kingston. Their husbands, who were
Sadie's customers, gave her nothing
more than knowing smiles. She strode
out of the church, never to return.
When the gold dried up in
Kingston, Sadie moved
on to Hillsboro where she
married James W.
Orchard, who was
president of the Mountain
Pride Stagecoach Line.
The line had 65 horses,
one express wagon and
two of the finest coaches
money could buy.
While she was married, Sadie took a leave
of absence from the life
and became a stagecoach
driver. The route that she
drove was through the
Sierras Diablo, or devil
mountains (so named
because they were
savagely rugged). She
then built a first-class
restaurant called the
Ocean Grove Hotel.
The Mountain Pride
prospered until the mines of Hillsboro
dried up. Sadie refused to help her
husband pay his debts and so he was
forced to sell the stagecoach line.
Shortly after that, she threw him out
for drinking too much.
Sadie's hotel did quite well for a
while. Since Hillsboro was the county
seat of Sierra County trials were held
there. Judges, lawyers and witnesses
were her patrons. Sadie kept a diary
with notes about all the important
men who were her customers. In it
she recorded their pet names, their
comings and goings and their plots
Stiletto\7
�and affairs. If one of them refused to
back a project of hers, she would
threaten to make the diary public.
These projects often benefited the
community.
Eventually she opened two
brothels, one at each end of town. She
spent her days at the Ocean Grove
Hotel and her nights dressed up in her
finest, playing madam at her bordellos. Her houses were frequented by
the most powerful men in those parts.
Hillsboro's fortunes took a turn for
the worse in 1914, with a flood that
was quickly followed by an influenza
epidemic, then a drought and then the
depression.
During the epidemic, Sadie closed
her hotel and tended to the sick. She
cooked and cleaned house for stricken
families; she found homes for orphans
and laid out their parents. She supported whole families and took the
children's coffins to the graveyard
herself. She even cut up her own
dresses to line the children's coffins.
Eventually, the town was abandoned by all but a few. Sadie sold the
Ocean Grove to her cook, Tom Ying,
and the girls left.
Although she died penniless at
close to 90 and was buried in a pauper's
grave, I bet she had a lot of fine
memories to look back on.
This information came from an essay
by Mary' n Rosson, entitled "A good
old gal" in the paperback, The
Women who made the West,
published by Avon Books, 1980.
.History Repeats Itself
The strippers were
burned this time
In 1984, in Toronto, Theatre du
P'lit Bonheur set out to raise
money for the burn unit at
Wellesley Hospital. The benefit, a
perfonnance of striptease, raised
$2,000. However, the hospital
executive rejected the donation.
The hospital refused to take the
strippers' dirty money.
R.H.
8/StileUo
=: ..
:~;=-~~~·~··:==~==:=:=
Advice your mother never gave you
Dear Miss Trix:
The other day, my girlfriend and I
were doing a double. While we were
doing the old two-girl show, the client
produced a 14" cucumber from the
inside right breast pocket of his suit
jacket.
How he ever kept it hidden, I'll
never know. Luckily my girlfriend
was horny at the time and has a great
sense of humour, and so she allowed
him to fuck her with a third of it
However, when he asked me,
"Would you like some, baby?" I
replied, in a rather cold tone, 'Tm not
into vegetables." I don't put anything
in my cunt at work that doesn't come
in a few minutes. He accepted my
refusal without pressing the point.
Later, my girlfriend said I should
have handled the situation more
delicately. She recommended that I
say, "I'm sorry baby, but I prefer the
real thing." What do you think?
Signed,
Cool as a cucumber
Dear Cool:
While I can understand your
resentment toward an act not
previously agreed upon, I must agree
with your girlfriend. Even though you
must have wanted to take that 14"
cucumber and shove it right down his
throat. A trick into such a massproduced, boring fantasy is sure to
respond to a little superficial ego
stroking. "Stroke it right and he'll
come faster," is Miss Trix motto.
Your girlfriend sounds like one smart
whore.
In the event that he left the
offending member behind, you could
also prepare a delicious, nutritious
salad. Just peel, seed and slice the
little beastie (this should provide
some vicarious satisfaction) and grate
it fine or coarse, as you prefer. Mix in
about a cup of yogurt, a handful of
dill (fresh, of course!) and a pinch of
cumin (isn't cooking sensual?). A half
a cup of walnuts is optional but
provides that little unexpected
something extra.
Your ever-versatile,
Miss Trix
~~=l!!~
Yeast? Feed your
pussy well
A few years back - it must have
been the summer of 1985 - I was
plagued by that annoying imbalance
in the system that is commonly called
yeast. When the body's friendly
bacteria become outnumbered by the
nasty bacteria there's an overgrowth
of microscopic parasites that wiggle
their tails and make you itchy and
drippy down there. The sticky
discharge is white or pale yellow and
rather embarrassing.
Like many of my friends, I experimented with diet, eliminating one
food after another. I've used creams
and tablets from the establishment
medical profession. All to no avail.
The only time the symptoms
cleared up from diet was when I was
on a total fast They came right back
with a vengeance as soon as I
resumed eating. The gooey creams,
purple paint and crumbly insertable
tablets didn't work on a pennanent
basis either.
Finally, one day in a small-town
health food store, I stumbled upon a
cure. The brand name of the product I
found is Fem Flora. The pretty box
contains five packets of powdered
lactobacillus acidophilus organisms,
which is basically the same thing
that's in yogurt.
The instructions on the back of the
box tell you to dissolve one fivegram packet in a quart of lukewarm
water for use as a hygienic douche.
This stuff works like magic. The
discharge is gone right away and
stays away for a long time.
The infonnation inside the box tells
you how the natural vaginal flora may
be destroyed by antibiotics,
anti-infective agents and oral
�contraceptives.
Not all health food stores carry this
product but the larger ones may be
open to ordering it.
Fem Flora really works. No fuss.
No mess. No bother. No embarrassing
trips to the physician. I keep it
stocked in my fridge.
heads are almost paying the tricks
instead of the other way around. If we
could just keep the prices up and have
even the smallest amount of patience,
boys, we'd be making a hell of a lot
more money and have better control
over our business.
Let's stop kissing ass to those
tightwads - unless the price is right
Julian
L.
a:::a::I
How to battle the
bargain hunters
A good place to stay away from in the
winter is boystown. Not a fucking
cent to be made. When you do snag a
trick long enough to talk to him, he'll
insult the hell out of you with offers
of tiny amounts of money. They
figure you're cold and desperate so
they can get bargain rates.
Makes me absolutely livid. Boys
out there will go for 30 or 40 bucks.
And so many of the guys in NOW are
are undercutting- some of the fuck-
Two local politcians tied for the first of our dubious honours. Mayor Art Eggleton
and June Rowlands, chair of the Police Commission, were just back from
lobbying against us in Ottawa in early November when they got the chance to
slander pros and ourcustomers in print Rowlands claimed that the cost of
treating prostitutes for sexually transmitted diseases in Metro is $12. million or
more a year. Even the health department is trying to figure out where she got that
information. Would you believe she made it up? Send us your suggestions for
next issue's incredible jerk award.
"communicating for the purpose of prostitution"
Subscribe to Toronto's sharpest new magazine .
And help us keep on communicating.
Enclosed is a cheque or money order, payable to Stiletto.
Check one:
_ individual subscriber, at $ 1Ofor six issues
_ supporting subscriber, at$ 20 for six issues
_ agency subscription, at $ 30 for six issues
_ I am also enclosing a donation of$_ __
·Name:---------------------------Address: _________________________
City/province/postal code: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Telephone:-----------------------Stiletto\9
�-------------------~~-~
-~---
-
~
-
Justice Committee reviews the effects
of the "communicating" law
In December 1985 parliament passed
Bill C-49 which amended Section
195.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada, making it illegal "to communicate
with or to stop a person in a public
place [including a car] for the purpose
of obtaining the services of a prostitute." Bill C-49 also said that this law
had to be reviewed after three years.
Late in November 1989, the
Canadian Association of Chief of
Police appeared before the Justice
Committee, which is reviewing the
law, with the request that Parliament
make "communicating" a much
heavier bust. Now it is only a
summary conviction offence, but if
the cops get their way it will become
indictable. The chiefs said they need
the law changed so they can
photograph and fingerprint the girls
and guys they are arresting before
they are convicted because so many
are failing to appear in court.
They are also afraid that the
Supreme Court will strike down
Volume I, Issue 1 - January, 1990
is the newsletter of
the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP
Signed articles represent the
opinions of the authors only.
Editor- Ryan Hotchkiss
Production - Chris Bearchell and
Ryan Hotchkiss, with the help of
Edna Barker, Danny Cockerline,
Gwendolyn, Valerie Scott,lrit Shimrat
Contributing to this issue Chris Bearchell, Danny Cockerline,
Alexandre Highcrest, Ryan
Hotchkiss, J., Julian, L., Valerie Scott
Address- Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Phone- (416) 964-0150, 588-9037
Call for advertising rates.
Deadline for Volume I, Issue 2 is
March 1, 1990.
10/Stiletto ,
Section 195.1 because it goes against
the Charter of Rights guarantee of
free speech.
But the cops aren't the only ones to
have their say. The Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
(CORP) also appeared before the
review committee and submitted a
written brief. In the brief CORP
repeated all those things that we've
been saying about the communicating
law all along.
We always said that C-49 would
not stop street prostitution - and it
hasn't. CORP has been saying that the
communicating law would adversely
affect prostitutes - and it has. (The
fewer customers there are, as a result
of crackdowns, the less choosy people
working the streets can afford to be
and the less bargaining power they
have.) We said that the new law
would be costly to enforce and that it
would mean less police attention to
serious problems - which has
happened. And we maintained that
the communicating law is a violation
of human rights - which it is. When
CORP representatives Valerie Scott,
Ryan Hotchkiss and Alexandre
Highcrest appeared before the
committee, they repeated it all in
person, too.
As well as hearing from interested
parties, the committee hired researchers in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto,
Calgary and Vancouver to take an indepth look at of the effects of the new
law. This research was published in
Street Prostitution: Assessing the
impact of the law.
The research on Toronto covers
1986 and 1987 and contains such
information as: how many prostitutes
and customers were busted for communicating (5,368), how many of the
charges were against customers (45%
or 2,415), how many of the pros were
guys (5% or 147), how many were
girls (95% or 2,805), how many customers were sentenced to custody
(2% or 48) and how many of the working girls and guys who were charged
did time in jail (23% or 678).
The reports also talk about how the
cops made the busts. In Toronto they
hired 90 more cops, and an unspecified number of new clerks to keep up
with the paper work. This part of the
cost of enforcing the communicating
law totaled at least $4,500,000 in
1988 alone. The police in all the cities
that were surveyed regularly organized large-scale sweeps. In Toronto
these are conducted by the morality
bureau - using cops from a number of
divisions - with male cops posing as
customers or female cops as prostitutes. It seems that they never bust the
customers of male prostitutes; could it
be that there are no cops out there
willing to pose as hustlers?
Working girls responded with
strategies of their own, according to
the Toronto report. Some women
would ask a potential customer to
touch their breasts before discussing
business - or to show them his cock.
Reports from boystown suggest that
guys are asking potential customers to
kiss them before discussing business.
Some girls worked in groups of two,
three or four to increase the chance of
recognizing undercover cops. Some
would wait until the customer talked
about business details first, or wait
until they were in the privacy of a
hotel room to discuss acts and prices;
others stuck to dates with regulars.
Some customers responded to the
heat by asking the women they
approached if they were cops and
some working girls asked men that
question, although the report says the
cops are not above lying in order to
entrap someone.
CORP's solution to this horrendous
abuse of human rights and waste of
tax money is the decriminalization of
prostitution As our brief says, "Decriminalization will satisfy the ratepayers' groups who want prostitution
off residential streets, and it will satisfy the majority of Canadians who
prefer justice to moralism. It will end
the shameful situation wherein thousands of Canadians go homeiess and
jobless, while our governments spend
millions of dollars enforcing a law
that does nothing more than punish
people for trying to make a living."
Chris Bearchell
�and sharing needles." Most prostitutes
knew this and were acting
accordingly; a Western Canada study
of prostitutes found that 80% used
condoms, a much higher percentage
than any other group in society. We
were sick of hearing the social
workers taking credit for being front
the hundreds of prostitutes who were
line workers in the battle against
using condoms, and who were quite
AIDS when prostitutes weren't just
capable of saving ourselves.
telling people to have safe sex. We
1986 was also the year that the
were showing them.
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP)
PSSP produced safe sex pamphlets,
got its· start. Fed up with all the bad
cards, radio ads and buttons ("I'm a
Safe Sex Slut/Pro/Ho,"
"Safe Sex - Make It
•·.·• , Your Business") to show
; ~ that prostitutes were not
.-,,.,
1 part of the problem, we
were part of the solution.
· ~Since 1986 we have fought
to have people give
.·.· ., / . .·.. ~ ~J-i '¼~ prostitutes credit for the
Who are those whores with the free
condoms, anyway?
The story in the Globe and Mail
announced that the Federal
Government was planning a study
that would prove that prostitutes were
spreading AIDS from gay men and
IV-drug users to the heterosexual
population. The year was
1986.
It was the year that the
media in Canada began
blaming prostitutes for
heterosexual AIDS, despite
the fact that not a single
Canadian had gotten AIDS
from a prostitute. It was
also the year that the police,
always looking for an
excuse to bust our asses,
began arguing that they
needed to stop prostitution
in order to stop AIDS. The
residents blamed prostitutes
for spreading AIDS at the
same time they were
whining about prostitutes
littering condoms all over.
And the social workers
jumped on the bandwagon (or is it the
gravy train?) too. "Yes," they said,
"prostitutes are spreading AIDS, but
if you give us more money we'll save
them." They never bothered to defend
_.
:. . ;•
.·_,,<·~,w· .· .
..
~~; ><..
·
~ work wed?, and we ~ave
_,.
fought agamst the pohce
and others who use AIDS
as an excuse to violate our
'rights.
t.'.r/i
In 1988wereceived
~•t
money from the City of
Toronto and the Province
of Ontario to help
prostitutes educate our
customers about AIDS. So
how is PSSP different from the
traditional social service agencies?
Stay tuned to the next issue to find out.
~~J-J ~.~
.· ,._~
~
• '<\
~~
'
/
g.j::;I
1
,,..~!~-
~~
e ··"
press, and all the bad laws, members
of the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes, all of whom are
prostitutes, decided enough is enough.
"AIDS is not spread by prostitution,"
we said, "It is spread by unsafe sex
Danny Cockerline
Working Girl
OLDEST
PROFESSION
TIMES
A magazine published by
the Prostitutes Association
of South Australia
A newsletter published by
90's Ladies and Friends, a group
working for the repeal of laws
against prostitutes.
PASA
PO Box 7072, Hutt Street
Adelaide 5000
Australia
OPT, 1125 - 9th Street, Sacramento,
CA, 95814 USA
Stiletto\11
�Prostitutes are safe sex pros.
Studies are finding that we are more likely to use condoms than people who have
sex for free. We use condoms for fucking to prevent AIDS. Many of us use
condoms for blow jobs too. This way we do not get herpes, syphilis, venereal
warts or anything else.
But some prostitutes think they only need to use condoms for work. Not true.
Condoms are for lovers, too.
And if you shoot drugs, never share a needle unless you clean it first with bleach.
For more information, call 926-1626 or 392-AIDS.
Produced by the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP), Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8. (416) 964-0150, 588-9037.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Stiletto - Vol 1 (1)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex work
Description
An account of the resource
Stiletto was the newsletter of the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) from 1990-1991. This issue includes contributions from Chris Bearchell, Danny Cockerline, Alexandre Highcrest, Ryan Hotchkiss, J., Julian, L., and Valerie Scott
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ryan Hotchkiss, editor
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
11" x 17" photocopy folded in half
Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Sex workers
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Needle Points - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex workers, injection drug use
Description
An account of the resource
From a series of safer sex posters produced for the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project housed at Maggie's in Toronto.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Designed by PSSP employee Danny Cockerline
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy
Injection Drug Use
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Sex workers
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
HEY GIRL! What Prostitutes Need to Know About the AIDS Test - Brochure
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex workers, testing
Description
An account of the resource
Trifold brochure explaining the risks of HIV/AIDS and which different kinds of testing might be right for you as a sex worker.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Designed by PSSP employee Danny Cockerline
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" trifold photocopy, double sided
Maggie's
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Sex workers
testing
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
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A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
HEY GIRL! - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex workers, prevention
Description
An account of the resource
From a series of safer sex posters produced for the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project housed at Maggie's in Toronto.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Designed by PSSP employee Danny Cockerline.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy
condoms
Injection Drug Use
Maggie's
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Sex workers
testing
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Congrats! Keep Up the Good Work - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex workers, safe sex
Description
An account of the resource
From a series of safer sex posters produced for the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project housed at Maggie's in Toronto.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Designed by PSSP employee Danny Cockerline.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy
condoms
Maggie's
Prevention
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Sex workers
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Condom Tips - Poster
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sex workers, safer sex
Description
An account of the resource
From a series of safer sex posters produced for the Prostitutes Safe Sex Project housed at Maggie's in Toronto.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Designed by PSSP employee Danny Cockerline.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
From the personal collection of Andrew Sorfleet.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
8.5" x 11" photocopy
condoms
Maggie's
Prostitutes Safe Sex Project
Safe Sex
Sex workers
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Zine - Coming On
Description
An account of the resource
A 'zine compiled by Kenn Quayle and others from the Queer Anarchist Network n 1988. Scanned in three parts.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Queer Anarchist Network
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Kenn Quayle
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Fall 1988
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text / Images
Toronto
zine
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Zine - Use News: A Harm Reduction 'Zine by Citizens on Drugs Users' Union
Description
An account of the resource
A harm reduction 'zine published by Citizens on Drugs Users' Union in Toronto, ON.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Citizens on Drugs Users' Union
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Kenn Quayle
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Summer 1995
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text / Images
Drug use
harm reduction
Toronto
zine
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Rites - Black PLWAs poorly served by both government and services
Description
An account of the resource
An article on the work of the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, and on the work of hte AIDS Committee of Toronto to initiate discussion about AIDS in the Black community. Written by Mary Louise Adams. Published in Rites, December 1988.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Mary Louise Adams
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
AIDS Committee of Toronto
Black CAP
Black PLWAs
gay press
Rites
Toronto
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Toronto
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS activism in Toronto
Description
An account of the resource
A history of AIDS activism in Toronto.
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document
leaflet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
AIDS ACTION NOW! - "Women get AIDS"
Subject
The topic of the resource
AIDS ACTION NOW!
Description
An account of the resource
An AIDS ACTION NOW! leaflet highlighting AIDS issues for women.
Relation
A related resource
Montreal
AIDS ACTION NOW!
Leaflet
Toronto
Women