Hookers Who Blog: Oldest Profession Meets Trendiest
Bonnie Goldstein
Woman Up Editor
Posted:
09/9/09
Thank you, Helena, for pointing out that writing requires great effort and determination. Along with so many other industries hobbled by the recession, books and newspapers have taken a hit, but with universal access to blogging software, the world of writers has grown exponentially.
Though I am grateful to be among women whose muses have been nourished by blogging, I am distressed to encounter so many with neither master's degree nor appetite for letters who have joined the profession.
Today, publishing does not require imagination or iambic pentameter to have imagery and impact. As Politics Daily's David Sessions reported Tuesday, a woman who calls herself "Manhattan Madam" (earlier in her career, she reportedly charged $1,000 for the sexual services of working women), is now taking shots from her personal Web site at the man who led the cops to her door.
Along with the venture known as Emperors' Club VIP, Kristin Davis's prostitution business, Wicked Models, came undone last year in the aftermath of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's shenanigans as client No. 9. (Spitzer denied he had been a habitué of Davis's service.) Although the governor resigned from office, he was not prosecuted, while the proprietors of Emperor's Club and Davis were. She was convicted, lost her illegal enterprise and served four months in jail.
America loves second acts, however, and Davis, in the tradition of Tila Tequila, has rehabilitated, re-branded, and launched a platform for her writing. Last March, after speculatively linking herself to Alex Rodriguez, Davis wondered in text whether to "kiss and tell" from her index of former Johns, or was "there some sort of Madam Code of Ethics I should adhere to?" (Since we are catching up, after the bust, client No. 9's escort, Ashley Dupre -- who also keeps a blog -- was interviewed by Diane Sawyer, is shopping a reality TV show, and seems to have gotten a new business manager.)
Claiming she had "followed this antiquated ethical code," Davis posted slyly she had so far kept quiet (except, presumably, for her sworn testimony), but, "I have plenty PLENTY to say. The clients, the drama, the snitches and users -- it's all sitting there in my head trapped by this code." Apparently the madam's entrepreneurial spirit won the ethical tug of war because she now has a tab on her home page offering readers who want to purchase it "her juicy tell-all," which you won't find in bookstores.
Meantime, Spitzer's post-political life of journalism and teaching has not been that rewarding, apparently, and the man who publicly humiliated his wife and daughters has raised his profile recently. That stirred quiet inquiries about when he might return to politics. Despite support for Spitzer in unexpected corners, Davis, motivated by revenge, a dedication to public service, or possibly, a desire to publicize her book, publicly warns her alleged former client, that if he does, she will further humiliate him. In her signature use of upper case, Davis writes she will declare herself a candidate, run against him, and in true political pot-calling kettledom, "focus attention on ... his abuse of women and the SEXISM" as well as expose "Spitzer's relationships with multiple New York escort services, including several of my competitors."