I Paid for College

Things have been slow for IPFC this week. I’d love to devote more time to maintaining this site, but it’s still a side project for me (and it doesn’t pay the bills). It’s a fun side project, but I’m fresh out of school with student loans and a failing economy looming overhead…

In the hopes of putting more time and energy into IPFC, I’m adding yet another side project to the repertoire. I’d like to put together a fun, collaborative zine with contributions from past and current sex workers (not limited to those paying for college). I’m looking to collect short paragraphs, phrases, and “Mad Libs” style sentences with an emphasis on sex positivity and sex work awareness.

I’ll post a few prompts below, and feel free to leave a comment or send an email to ipaidforcollege [at] gmail [dot] com with your contribution!

I am a sex worker because…
I love it when a client…
My friends think…
I’m out to…
I quit my “day job” because…
I kept my “day job” because…
I feel the sexiest when…
To me, a feminist is…
When I’m not working, I’m…
If I could say one thing to make you understand…
I wish someone had told me…

If you post your name/alias, occupation, location, or web address with your contribution, I will include these in the zine. Feel free to include as much or as little additional information as you’d like. When the zine is completed, I’ll send a zillion copies to contributors for distribution!

Best wishes,

B.

In my recent but dogged quest to create a network of college sex workers, I keep asking one question: “How do you reach a group of people who tries rather hard to remain incognito?” The internet seems like a good start, but what’s the best method? Blogging…social networking sites like Myspace…Craigslist? If anyone has any suggestions, please do let me know. I’m no tech tard, but it’s easy to get discouraged in the early stages of a project.

I’m whipping up a Myspace page, but for someone who is fairly computer literate, it’s probably the most frustrating, slow and buggy interface I’ve ever worked with (barring Windows Vista, which does not claim to be a user-friendly social networking tool).

Started posting on craigslist as a way to advertise the IPFC project. My logic is as follows: If we’re looking for stories written by college sex workers, and college sex workers use craigslist to advertise and find gigs, this could be a fast and easy way to reach large numbers of people with relatively little grunt work.

Of course, I had forgotten that craigslist wags a finger at cross-posting, so I’ve been dancing around language barriers in an attempt to share with a large audience what I consider to be important work.

So, if you stumble upon this site and know some folks who fit the bill, please do send them this way.

Hi everyone.  After an 8-month hiatus, the “I Paid for College Project” is back on track and ready to hit the ground running.  As the administrator of the website and the muscle behind the project, I wanted to be sure that I was committed to seeing this through.  First, this meant graduating from college, which I did in May.  Second, this meant pulling my act together, which I’m still working on.

I am finally beginning to actively seek out submissions.  This means putting up posters, networking through the blogosphere, and lots of online advertising.  If you’d like to be a part of the outreach process, drop an email to ipaidforcollege [at] gmail [dot] com.

‘Til next time!

B

Greetings,

I am writing to announce the official launch of the “I Paid for College” website, a collaborative online resource that aims to lend a voice to college sex workers nationwide.  Though the site is still in its infancy, my hope is that it will inspire a long overdue dialogue about the role of sex workers in academia.

Though access to Higher Education can be viewed as a symbol of privilege, the insular nature of college life leaves little room for critical class analysis.  As the economy falters and college tuition continues to rise, more students are turning to sex work to offset the cost of student loans.  College sex workers may operate from a place of privilege, but are in no way immune to social stigma.

From the Spitzer scandal to Belle de Jour, sex work is a hot topic for activists and media pundits alike.  Despite all the publicity, increased coverage has not yet led to increased awareness.  While nearly one million viewers tuned in to watch the US premiere of “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” Proposition K (a measure that would have decriminalized prostitution in San Francisco) was defeated by a landslide in last month’s election. Though political progress is on the horizon, sex workers have a long, difficult battle ahead.

Theoretical discussions about sex work have been present in academia for some time, yet sex workers have (until recently) been largely absent from these discussions.  As sex workers continue to speak out, we can begin to disseminate cultures of silence and shame.  For every sex worker who is willing to share their story, many are still being denied a voice.  It is imperative that we lend our voices to this discourse.  It is imperative that we move forward together, because we cannot take this next step alone.

I hope that the “I Paid for College” project will provide a space for social and creative networking amongst college sex workers.  Though we all have something in common, our individual stories and experiences are unique.  I look forward to seeing this project develop, and I look forward to the development of a new, supportive community.

Love n’ Roses,
Bebop

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