FUCKING (WITH THEORY) FOR MONEY: TOWARD AN INTERROGATION OF ESCORT PROSTITUTION by AUDREY EXTAVASIA AND TESSA DORA ADDISON Literary and Cultural Theory Carnegie Mellon University (Addison) (Extavasia) _Postmodern Culture_ v.2 n.3 (May, 1992) Copyright (c) 1992 by Audrey Extavasia and Tessa Dora Addison, all rights reserved. This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the authors and advance notification of the editors. This paper is intended as an introductory interrogation of the terrain of escort prostitution mobilizing terms from both _The Telephone Book_ by Avital Ronell and _A Thousand Plateaus_ by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. For the purposes of this paper, the client will be presumed to be a man and the model presumed to be a woman. We are not trying to provide a comprehensive account of all aspects of the terrain of prostitution, or even of escort agencies. Cross-referenced terms are in upper case. Contents: THECALLTHEMODELTHECLIENTTHEAGENCYCYBORGASSEMBLAGEB ODYWITHOUTORGANSTIMESPACETHETELEPHONEVALUE/EXCHANG EDESIREFACIALITYTOOLSFETISHISMDETERRITORIALIZATION $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T H E C A L L THE CALL is the interaction of THE MODEL and THE CLIENT within a particular spatial and temporal frame (see SPACE and TIME). THE MODEL is a student, an actress, a nurse's aide, a teacher, or a secretary.... THE CLIENT is a businessman, a dentist, a banker, a construction worker, or a computer programmer.... The temporal borders of THE CALL are delineated by THE TELEPHONE (which connects THE CLIENT, THE MODEL, and THE AGENCY), in conjunction with the watch, or instrumental TIME. The arm of authority behind THE TELEPHONE and instrumental TIME is THE AGENCY. THE MODEL gets ready for THE CALL, prepares to become a 'fantasy girl,' by imitating (media) representations of women as objects of DESIRE: she wears garters and hose and high heels; the nails of both fingers and toes are painted. These are signifiers on a fragmented, coded body, signifiers that THE CLIENT will be drawn to (through DESIRE), that will reinforce his FETISHISM and in turn contribute to the construction of his BODY WITHOUT ORGANS (BwO). THE CLIENT has a BwO which he is drawn to construct, which has an already written set of rules/conditions by which it must be constructed, conditions which include the fetishized system of signifying effects with which THE MODEL has attempted to encode her body (and which already encode her body as woman). THE MODEL goes to THE CLIENT's hotel or motel or private home or apartment or to a bar or restaurant or hot tub spa.... When THE MODEL enters the SPACE of THE CALL, THE CLIENT gives her a substantial fee in EXCHANGE for an opportunity to spend a designated amount of TIME with her, an opportunity to interact with her cyborg subject-position 'fantasy girl' (a subject-position which is composed of both fact and fantasy), an opportunity to construct his BwO. After she has been paid, THE MODEL calls THE AGENCY on THE TELEPHONE to announce that the EXCHANGE has been initiated and that it is now time to begin measuring the length of THE CALL. THE MODEL and THE CLIENT now interact together, their bodies intermingling with DESIRE, FETISHISM, representation, the SPACE of the room, the TIME measured by THE MODEL's watch as well as the TIME elusively marked by THE CLIENT's memories, fantasies, and anticipation of orgasm (which is not the object of his DESIRE but a fetishized signifier which masks the perpetually deferred BwO, the plane of consistency of his DESIRE). When the end of THE CALL is announced by instrumental TIME (or by a telephone call from THE AGENCY if THE CALL has transgressed the boundaries marked by instrumental TIME), THE MODEL telephones THE AGENCY, says goodbye to THE CLIENT, and exits the SPACE of THE CALL. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T H E M O D E L AdrienneAlannaAlexandraAlexisAllisonAman daAngelaAnyaArdenArianaAshleyAudreyAvery She will become part of the CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE which you are purchasing (you want to purchase the fulfillment of your BODY WITHOUT ORGANS, to draw her into its logic, to name her through your DESIRE which is based on representations of women, on fetishization), after you have picked up THE TELEPHONE, after you have called her. What will you call her? You must first call her a partner in the EXCHANGE in which you are about to take part; you must call her the producer of the commodity for which you will give her $ (in an amount purportedly based on equivalence but in fact VALUE is measured by, determined by FETISHISM, DESIRE, and taboo...). I hear you're looking for some company tonight... CameronCamilleCaroleCarolynCeceliaChantal CharlottaCherylChristyClarissaColbyCorinne She is called the call-girl: she is connected to both THE CLIENT and THE AGENCY by THE TELEPHONE. Claudette embodied a sophisticated, elegant New York look, so she always had a more fashionable hairstyle and very chic accessories. Tricia represented the girl next door, and she tended to wear dresses rather than suits-- especially dresses with a Peter Pan collar or puffy sleeves. Michelle was a model. She was very tall, and her clothing would be slightly trendy, with more dramatic hair and makeup. Colby represented the healthy, outdoorsy type, with a wind-swept, off-the-farm look. Marguerite was exotic and tended to wear tight skirts. THE MODEL works as an independent contractor for an agency. We are very particular about the young ladies who work for us. They must work or go to school during the day, or be actively pursuing a career in the arts or in modeling. THE MODEL, like THE CLIENT has a BwO; her BwO is deterritorialized though, onto the commodity form money. DanieleDarleneDeidreDevinElaineEileenEliseEl izabethEricaGabrielaGingerHeatherHelenaIrene You must always wear a skirt or a dress. Please don't wear anything very short or very trendy... you'll need at least one suit... you'll also need a dress, which should be lady-like and tailored, with no frills or ruffles. THE MODEL can never fulfill THE CLIENT's BwO--there will always be a gap... JaimeJanineJenniferJessicaJerriJoannaJuli aSeverineShawnaShelbyShelleyShevaunSophia $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T H E C L I E N T THE CLIENT becomes a potential client when he picks up THE TELEPHONE. When you talk to friends about your work, you're going to end up talking about the weird clients and the mean clients and the bad clients, because they make hilarious stories. But even weird clients are usually nice people. THE CLIENT becomes a client when the EXCHANGE is initiated. Some of our clients are made of gold, and you'll meet your share of them. But that's not true for everybody. In some cases, the evening he spends with you will be his biggest treat of the year. theclientisafashionphotographerbusinessmancabinetmakerdentis tsconstructionworkerbankercomputerprogrammerpestcontroltechn iciandoctorconsultantmusicindustryprofessionalhousepainterla wyeraccountantrealestatedeveloperarchitecttheclientisshortth inbaldaveragelookingoldmarriedattractivefatsingletalluglydiv orcedtheclientisalegmanboobmanassmantheclientisafashionphoto grapherbusinessmancabinetmakerdentistsconstructionworkerbank ercomputerprogrammerpestcontroltechniciandoctorconsultantmus icindustryprofessionalhousepainterlawyeraccountantrealestate developerarchitecttheclientisshortthinbaldaveragelookingoldm arriedattractivefatsingletalluglydivorcedtheclientisalegmanb oobmanassmantheclientisafashionphotographerbusinessmancabine tmakerdentistsconstructionworkerbankercomputerprogrammerpest controltechniciandoctorconsultantmusicindustryprofessionalho usepainterlawyeraccountantrealestatedeveloperarchitectthecli entisshortthinbaldaveragelookingoldmarriedattractivefatsingl etalluglydivorcedtheclientisalegmanboobmanassmantheclient THE CLIENT is paying to interact with his 'fantasy girl,' his object of DESIRE; he is paying to construct his BODY WITHOUT ORGANS (BwO). I guess I'd like to know if there's any way to tell in advance what strange sex acts will turn a particular person on... absolutely anyone can be turned on by absolutely anything...part of my job is to respond to these people.... THE CLIENT has a BwO which has an already-written set of rules, system of logic, by which it is to be constructed. We did all of the usual sucking and fucking. Then he put me in the Muslim prayer position so familiar to me, at the edge of the bed. Then he knelt on the floor and licked my asshole for a while...he started sticking his tongue in my ass. He stuck it in very deep, so deep I could feel it moving around inside me...then he really surprised me. He blew air into my ass and then inhaled deeply as the air came back out. He did it over and over, more times than I could count. Integral to the logic of THE CLIENT's BwO is the fetishization of representations of women (by the media, by his memory, etc.) as objects of DESIRE. It is the signifying system, the codes inscribed on THE MODEL's body which is being fetishized, rather than woman %qua% woman. Remember, you're a fantasy for these guys. If someone asked you to sit down and spell out your description of what a high-class New York call girl would be like, you'd probably say, 'Well, she'd have a beautiful hairdo, gorgeous makeup, she'd be very pretty and elegantly dressed, and sophisticated.' That's exactly who our clients expect you to be. You just can't walk in there looking like the women he sees every day at work, like his secretary, or the wife he goes home to, or the girls he passes by on the street. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T H E A G E N C Y T H E A G E N C Y T H E A G E N C Y THE AGENCY serves as the arm of the law, sets up the boundaries/limits of (and is part of) the CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE which constitutes THE CALL, which in turn effects the possibilities of the logic of the BwO which may be fulfilled. Sometimes he might want to touch you back there. Technically it's known as Greek, and we don't allow it at all. We do not touch them there and they do not touch us there.... THE AGENCY is headed by an agent, who is the personification of these limits. Now when you're talking to the client, please don't refer to us as the office or the agency.... Every man has a fantasy that he's calling a private madam...and we try to foster that image. THE AGENCY is responsible for screening THE CLIENTs, which means screening out unwanted DESIREs, unwanted BwO's. For the man who asked, 'Whaddya got tonight?' the answer was a dial tone. THE AGENCY receives a percentage of THE MODEL's earnings from THE CALL. THE AGENCY is not a partner in the primary EXCHANGE with THE CLIENT; rather, the EXCHANGE between THE MODEL and THE AGENCY is a separate agreement based on different terms, different standards of VALUE. THE AGENCY is paid to function as protection, both before--through the screening procedure--and during THE CALL. Once you're in the room, ask if you could use the phone.... Call the office at the special number.... If you do want to leave...if you're not comfortable, then we'll take care of it for you. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ C Y B O R G A S S E M B L A G E It is neither THE MODEL's body which is being purchased nor is it THE MODEL's TIME. What is being purchased is an opportunity to interact with the subject-position "fantasy girl," a subject-position which is constituted by THE MODEL, technology, fiction, SPACE and TIME: we would describe this subject-position as "cyborg space-time" and the assemblage which contributes to the subject-position's creation--see below for elements of this assemblage--as a "CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE." A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.^1^ The CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE surrounding the subject-position "fantasy girl" is composed of fiction as well as the material or concrete. Fiction: representations of beauty, fetishization of signifiers than encode the body (= lines to media), etc.. The ASSEMBLAGE is also composed of the circuit of THE TELEPHONE, of TIME, of SPACE, of the escort AGENCY (= the Law), of the EXCHANGE (= lines to capitalist system). There has been much criticism of Haraway's cyborg myth as romantic--Mary Anne Doane: "What is missing in this account--and seemingly unnecessary in the advanced technological society described here--is a theory of subjectivity"^2^--but we would argue for the importance of the myth of the cyborg in that it is a similar myth which forms the commodity in prostitution: it is formed through both the concrete and the abstract, through the organic and the technological. The cyborg myth is also, we think, important in that it breaks down binary oppositions--the breaking down of oppositions such as public/private and smooth SPACE/striated SPACE is crucial to the enterprise of the escort agency and to the VALUE of the commodity which is being sold. We would want to think cyborg as articulation (using Stuart Hall's concept of "articulation" here, with its connotations of gaps, constructedness, provisionality) of human subject and technology--the cyborg subject necessarily foregrounds fragmentation, gaps, partial/incomplete identity.^3^ For our project--and any project, we would argue--a theory of subjectivity is necessary in order to discuss power relations, to make distinctions and show relations between/among subject-positions; indeed, in order to distinguish cyborgs. Cyborg theory must be able to discuss power, DESIRE, interest. Gayatri Spivak criticizes Deleuze and Guattari for not being able to do this: "The failure of Deleuze and Guattari [in _A Thousand Plateaus_] to consider the relations between desire, power, and subjectivity renders them incapable of articulating a theory of interest."^4^ Conceptualizing CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE through concept of articulation which accounts for provisional identity makes it possible to think subjectivity, interest, DESIRE, power.... callgirltelephonevisaagenthotelcashmemoryfantasyclientmo deltaxiprivatehomeamexlingeriespacemastercardtimecondoms vicesquadmotellubevibratorvenerealdiseasewineyellowpages CALLGIRLTELEPHONEVISAAGE NTHOTELCASHMEMORYFANTASY CLIENTMODELTAXIPRIVATEHO MEAMEXLINGERIESPACEMASTE RCARDTIMECONDOMSVICESQUA DMOTELLUBEVIBRATORVENERE ALDISEASEWINEYELLOWPAGES callgirltelephonevisa agenthotelcashmemoryf antasyclientmodeltaxi privatehomeamexlinger iespacemastercardtime condomsvicesquadmotel lubevibratorvenereald iseasewineyellowpages CALLGIRLTELEPHONEVISAAGENTHOTELCASHMEMORYFANTASYCLIENTMO DELTAXIPRIVATEHOMEAMEXLINGERIESPACEMASTERCARDTIMECONDOMS VICESQUADMOTELLUBEVIBRATORVENEREALDISEASEWINEYELLOWPAGES (CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ B O D I E S W I T H O U T O R G A N S The BwO is the commodity being sold by escort agencies. It is enacted by THE CLIENT, THE MODEL, the parameters of SPACE and TIME (which are permeable), THE TELEPHONE, representations of women through the media, the EXCHANGE (commodification of the BwO), TOOLS/paraphernalia--in short, by the CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE. The BwO is a program, a limit which marks the edges of the plane of DESIRE--it can never be reached, fulfilled. The BwO is both inside and outside the concrete, both inside and outside the abstract. "The BwO is desire; it is that which one desires and by which one desires...There is desire whenever there is the constitution of a BwO under one relation or another."^5^ DESIRE is the motor of the BwO, the driving force and predication of the logic of the BwO. "The BwO is the field of immanence of desire, the plane of consistency specific to desire..." (D&G 154). The BwO is an assemblage of various bodies: "The masochist constructs an entire assemblage that simultaneously draws and fills the field of immanence of desire; he constitutes a body without organs or plane of consistency using himself, the horse, and the mistress" (D&G 156). The BwO is THE CLIENT, THE MODEL, the words, and the absent presence(s) upon which the conditions/logic of the BwO is based: girlfriend, mother, ex-girlfriend, girl next door, girl in magazine, stripper, etc..... Let me be your little boy. "...the BwO is not a scene, a place, or even a support, upon which something comes to pass" (D&G 153). What it is is a limit...it can never be achieved. "The BwO is what remains when you take everything away. What you take away is precisely the phantasy, and significances and subjectifications as a whole" (D&G 151). The BwO is a program, with its own rules and logic and conditions.... Let me be your slave. "The masochist is looking for a type of BwO that only pain can fill, or travel over, due to the very conditions under which that BwO was constituted" (D&G 152). THE CLIENT is looking for--and paying for--a BwO which has already been scripted, already has a specific set of conditions within whose framework it must function. This set of conditions determines, too, THE CLIENT's DESIREs: "You can't desire without making [a BwO]" (D&G 149). I want to give you all my money and all my cum. "You never reach the Body without Organs, you can't reach it, you are forever attaining it, it is a limit" (D&G 150). Re: the masochist: "Legs are still organs, but the boots now only determine a zone of intensity as an imprint or a zone on a BwO" (D&G 156). Like the object of DESIRE of the masochist, so too the fragments of the body of THE MODEL becomes for THE CLIENT "an imprint or a zone on a BwO." That is, she as signifying system (see FETISHISM) is part of the assemblage that constitutes the BwO, the plane of consistency of DESIRE.... Do you like to see men jack off? THE MODEL is your invitation to build a BwO, as your invitation to interact with her [cyborg] subject position-- that is, to have her become part of your BwO, to help you build it, to be built into it.... Tell me what to do. Tell me who's boss. THE MODEL can never fulfill THE CLIENT's BODY WITHOUT ORGANS...even COCK RINGS, even TANTRIC SEX...only suspend the inevitable.... "Orgasm is a mere fact, a rather deplorable one, in relation to desire in pursuit of its principle" (D&G 156). "It is not a question of experiencing desire as an internal lack, nor of delaying pleasure in order to produce a kind of externalizable surplus value, but instead of constituting an intensive body without organs" (D&G 157). Let me worship you. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T I M E So you get in the elevator and you go on up. Before you knock on the client's door, be sure to look at your watch, because it's important to know what time you arrived--and nobody likes a clock watcher. Incidentally, it's helpful to wear a watch that's especially easy to read in a dim light with just a glance. TIME becomes VALUE: THE MODEL's rate is based on hourly increments; after an hour has passed, THE CLIENT must pay more if he wants THE MODEL to stay for the next hour, and so on. "I took a look at my watch while I was in the bathroom, and I couldn't believe what time it was.... I don't want to rush you, but I do have to call Sheila in a little while and tell her if I'll be staying or leaving." For THE CLIENT, TIME often functions as a dialectic between memory and anticipation--"You never know what just happened, or you always know what is going to happen" (D&G 193)-- his DESIREs revolve around memories and fantasies, past and future.... The BwO comes from the past and is aimed at the future--it never comes into being, never exists now. Orgasm marks anticipatory (goal-oriented) TIME. Often THE CLIENT will treat THE CALL as over if he has come and not over if he has not yet come, regardless of the instrumental TIME as measured by THE MODEL's watch. [See agency as arm of the law....] Although escort services are technically legal, they are at times raided by the police and forced to shut down--if only temporarily. To protect ourselves from being arrested under the prostitution laws, we always make it clear to our clients that we are charging for the girls' time. Think, a person moves from here (space/man/time) through here (space/man enters into negotiation/time) to here (space/client meets fantasy girl/time) and through (space/client enters fantasy girl/time) to exit (space/man and model leave/time)--similar scenario for model, first they are separate, then intersect, then separate.... $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ S P A C E THE CALL: it is a public SPACE that gives the illusion of being a private SPACE. It is this illusion which THE CLIENT is paying for, this illusion which is produced and regulated by THE AGENCY, the capitalist system, THE TELEPHONE--e.g. public (social) SPACE. The physical SPACE of the room is criss-crossed by THE TELEPHONE, room service, beepers, etc.. "In this space [of sex/ pleasure/ leisure], things, acts and situations are forever being replaced by representations...."^6^ [See FETISHISM] "For these bodies, the natural space and the abstract space which confront and surround them are in no way separable.... The individual situates his body in its own space and apprehends the space around the body" (Lefebvre 213). BwO and SPACE: "It is not space, nor is it in space; it is matter that occupies space to a given degree..." (D&G 153). privatehomehotelmotelofficehottubspa For some of these men, an hour or an evening with an escort was their only opportunity all week to drop their guard, be themselves, and relax. The SPACE within THE CALL is [illusionarily] smooth SPACE-- it is the illusion of smooth SPACE which THE CLIENT is paying for. Striated SPACE is SPACE gridded by boundaries: constructed by VALUEs of THE AGENCY, circuits of THE TELEPHONE, standards of U.S. Treasury, logic of BwO, etc.. Marks the edges of illusion of smooth SPACE. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T H E T E L E P H O N E Okay. So there you are, sitting at home. Your makeup is on, you hair is done, your bag is packed, and you're ready to go. Suddenly THE TELEPHONE rings. Your picking it up means THE CALL has come through. It means more: you're its beneficiary, rising to meet its demand, to pay a debt. You don't know who's calling or what you are going to be called on upon to do, and still, you are lending your ear, giving something up, receiving an order.^7^ But you *do* know who's calling. You are on call; it's your agent calling about a potential client. You get the following information: who he is, where he is, how old he is, and some other details about him, perhaps his profession, perhaps a little about his personality. You do know what you are going to be called upon to do, what you are going to be called upon to be. You are meeting a demand, receiving an order but you understand the demand, know the order. You will be THE CLIENT's fantasy girl in EXCHANGE for a substantial fee. THE TELEPHONE rings and you are part of the ASSEMBLAGE of escort prostitution. theclientopensthetelephonebookfindstheadintheyellowpagesandc allstheagencytheagentcallsthemodelthemodelcallstheclientthec lientcallstheagentbacktheagentcallsthemodeltoconfirmthemodel callstheagentonarrival(aftertheclientgivesthemodelmoney)them odelcallstheagentagainbeforeleaving(afterthemodelgivesthecli entaccesstoherbody)andagainwhenthemodelgetshome Pager/beeper--some girls find it more convenient to use a beeper, which leaves them free to go shopping or out to a movie while they're waiting for us to call...if you do use a beeper, you have to be all dressed and ready to go from wherever you are. Call-waiting-- naturally, you'll want to keep your phone free. Most of the girls have call-waiting, and I strongly recommend it. Car phone--the car phone, if you can afford it, is the escort's best friend. It gives you access to the agency when you are out on the road (you wouldn't believe how many girls are on the way to the movie or somewhere else when their beeper goes off), and it gives you more flexibility when calling in to the agency after you've been on a call. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ V A L U E V A L U E V A L U E V A L U E "Exchange is only an appearance: each partner or group assesses the value of the last receivable object (limit-object), and the apparent equivalence derives from that" (D&G 439). In terms of the terrain of escort "limit-object" is not determined solely by rational assessment but rather must be processed through the logic of THE CLIENT's BwO--VALUE is a derivation of DESIRE. I keep hearing from men who want to know if we have any girls who are more expensive, and presumably more beautiful, than the others. VALUE is not based on use value: "[Use value] is always concrete and particular, contingent on its own destiny . . . ."^8^ Use value is determined only after the EXCHANGE has taken place, and is, itself, "a fetishized social relation" (Baudrillard 131). VALUE is the fetishization of commodity's sign system; in escort prostitution, of the sign system encoded on THE MODEL's body. The fetishization of this sign system is reinforced during THE CALL (see FACIALITY). A working girl doesn't really sell her body...she gives the client access to her body for a certain period of time and at a certain price. The VALUE of the commodity before the EXCHANGE--in order for the EXCHANGE to take place--is determined by the fetishization of the commodity. "[F]etishism is not the sanctification of a certain object, or value....It is the sanctification of the system as such, of the commodity as system: it is thus contemporaneous with the generalization of exchange value and is propagated with it" (Baudrillard 92). Reading woman repeatedly as the object of male exchange constructs a victim's discourse that risks reinscribing the very sexual politics it ostensibly seeks to expose and change. ^9^ THE MODEL has a dual register, as both object of and subject of--partner in--EXCHANGE. Reading women as objects exchanged by male desiring subjects partakes of a degraded positivism that relies on an outmoded, humanist view of identity characterized by a metaphysics of presence; it assumes an unproblematic subjectivity for 'men' as desiring subjects and concomitantly assumes as directly accessible woman-as-object. (Newman 47) The terrain of escort prostitution, like the terrain of sex/gender relations, is problematic, in terms of the "traffic in women" paradigm. Women working as escorts are not simply victims of some "pornographic mind" as Susan Griffin claims in _Pornography and Silence_, where she equates the "mindset" (read unified, stable, subject position) of pornography producers with that of Nazis and the Marquis de Sade.^10^ Griffin's argument, as well as many other feminist arguments which want to label prostitutes and other women working in the sex industry as "innocent victims" fallen prey to "false consciousness," presumes a unified subject and thus needs to be reexamined in the light of post-structuralist theories of subjectivity. As both producer of commodity and embodiment of that commodity, the escort participates in disruption of "traffic in women" paradigm. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ E X C H A N G E <-> E X C H A N G E <-> E X C H A N G E When each party has something the other wants, and they're able to make a deal, that constitutes a fair EXCHANGE. The priest did not turn to the west. He knew that in the west lay a plane of consistency, but he thought that the way was blocked by the columns of Hercules, that it led nowhere and was uninhabited by people. But that is where DESIRE was lurking, west was the shortest route east, as well as to the other directions, rediscovered or deterritorialized. (D&G 154) You go into the bathroom to spiff-up, to fix your face but this is harder than it sounds. You look in the mirror and see that your eye makeup has run onto your face, your lipstick has disappeared and your hair is completely disheveled. In addition to fixing your face you have to wipe your crotch for wetness and odor, put on your underwear, bra, hose, and garters, all without spending too much time in the bathroom. You panic. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ F A C I A L I T Y facialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacial ityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfac ialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfacialityfaciality THE MODEL's face is part of THE CLIENT's BwO (see FETISHISM). It is a signifier marking the boundaries of the object of his DESIRE. Her face envelops the face of the prom queen from his high school, of the girl in the centerfold of his magazine, of his mother.... Tell me who's boss. "All faces envelop an unknown, unexplored landscape; all landscapes are populated by a loved or dreamed-of face, develop a face to come or already past" (D&G 173). To come.... Tell me what you like. "The signifier is always facialized. Faciality reigns materially over that whole constellation of significances and interpretations." (D&G 115) Tell me how much you like it. When THE CLIENT says, "tell me how it feels" or some other such thing, it's not just about the words (he could say them himself) but about FACIALITY, watching the words being spoken by THE MODEL, watching the significance process through FACIALITY. After you knock on the door, stand back a couple of feet. A face is such a subjective thing. It's important that the client gets the full image of you when he first opens the door--the total you, rather than just your face. If you stand too close to the door, your face is all that he sees. And you might not be exactly what his fantasy was, because, let's face it, there's almost no way you could be. (The BwO contains gaps and ruptures, never to be closed ...see BODY WITHOUT ORGANS.) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ T O O L S CONDOMSLIPSTICKVIBRATORSTOCKINGSBEEPERBREATHMINTSL UBESMALLCHANGECREDITCARDSLIPSBUSINESSCARDSEYELINER Some men are frightened by the sight of the vibrator. It's about fourteen inches long and you always keep a nine-foot extension cord attached to it. Sometimes a man will say, 'What the hell is that?' or 'Are you going to use that on me?' You say, 'It's a vibrator, and I wouldn't think of using it on you. Not a chance. Don't you wish I would?' Then you use it on yourself while they watch. TOOLS exist only in relation to the interminglings they make possible or that make them possible. (D&G 90) You start telling him what a bad boy he has been. He says 'Yes Mistress.' You go to the dresser in your five-inch heels and pick up a wooden hairbrush. You tell him to stand up and bend over the bed. You pull down his panties, to expose his cheeks, and smack each cheek a few times. In between smackings you tell him what a bad boy he has been. TOOLS and DETERRITORIALIZATION: "there is an entire system of horizontal and complementary reterritorializations, between hand and tool" (D&G 174). suitbriefcasejewelrycocktaildressgartersstockings brasbustierslatexglovesbubblebathmassageoil TOOLS form the appendages of the CYBORG ASSEMBLAGE.... $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ F E T I S H I S M Two kinds of FETISHISM occur during THE CALL--that of the commodity as VALUE and that of THE MODEL as object of DESIRE. The fetishization is not of use VALUE or meaning; rather it is about being drawn to the system of signification, it is a generalization of the structural code of the object: "it is thus not a fetishism of the signified, a fetishism of substances and values (called ideological), which the fetish object would incarnate for the alienated subject. Behind this reinterpretation (which is truly ideological) it is a fetishism of the signifier. That is to say that the subject is trapped in the factitious, differential, encoded, systematized aspect of the object" (Baudrillard 92). This entrapment can be called DESIRE. people who want me to wear costumes, people who want me to sit with them while they watch dirty movies and jerk off, people who want to be tied up, people who want to wear diapers and be given a bottle.... Beauty as FETISHISM: we are "bound up in a general stereotype of models of beauty . . . the generalization of sign exchange value to facial and bodily effects" (Baudrillard 94). Thus for clients FETISHISM is being drawn to media representations of women, fascination with the system of encodement represented on women's bodies through images in magazines, porn movies, television, advertising, etc.. After _Mommie Dearest_, suddenly there were guys who wanted to be hit with wire coat hangers. FETISHISM is integral to logic of, to construction of, THE CLIENT's BODY WITHOUT ORGANS: "the boots now only determine a zone of intensity as an imprint or a zone on a BwO" (D&G 156). The only concession we make to overt sexiness is the highest heels you can manage to walk in without falling over. In our experience, men just adore high heels. "Tattoos, stretched lips, [etc.]: anything will serve to rewrite the cultural order on the body; and it is this that takes on the effect of beauty" (Baudrillard 94). For THE MODEL, it is not usually tattoos but rather, high heels, garters, bustiers, lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, painted toenails, long fingernails.... When these men were young the first naked women most of them had ever seen were usually dressed in frilly undergarments in a magazine like Playboy. As a result, seeing a woman dressed only in lingerie would create a powerful, nostalgic yearning that many men found irresistible. [See TIME] This made the experience more pleasant for the girls, because the more excited the man was as the evening became intimate, the easier things would be when it came down to the nitty-gritty. If he likes it I like it. That's part of his fantasy. It isn't even a question of whether I like it or not. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ D E T E R R I T O R I A L I Z A T I O N THE MODEL performs a DETERRITORIALIZATION on her BwO during THE CALL, reterritorializes it onto the commodity form money (via cash, check or plastic), which stands in for her own DESIRE. Your BwO is my physical activity: fucking, sucking, spanking, bending, straddling, arching, moaning, gasping, etc.. I am a material girl. The impossibility of the BwO being ever reached is reterritorialized by THE CLIENT onto DESIRE, onto orgasm, onto THE MODEL as object of DESIRE. "The more the system is systematized, the more the fetishist fascination is reinforced" (Baudrillard 92). DESIRE (for the object of DESIRE) is reterritorialized onto [see FETISHISM] the coded female body, through the system of media representations then again through the escort system. (Escorts are fetishized as "live" versions--but are in fact part of a further systematization--of the system of media.) "Act like you're enjoying it." ------------------------------------------------------------ NOTES ^1^ Donna Haraway, "A Manifesto for Cyborgs," in Elizabeth Weed, ed., _Coming to Terms: Feminism, Theory, Politics_ (New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc., 1989), 149. ^2^ Mary Ann Doane, "Commentary: Cyborgs, Origins, and Subjectivity," in Weed, ed., _Coming to Terms_, 210. ^3^ Stuart Hall, "Signification, Representation, Ideology: Althusser and the Post-Structuralist Debates," in _Critical Studies in Mass Communication_, vol. 2, no. 2 (June 1985): 93. ^4^ Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, _In Other Worlds: Essays On Cultural Politics_ (London: Methuen, Inc., 1987), 273. ^5^ Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, _A Thousand Plateaus_ (Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1987), 165. Cited in the text hereafter as D&G. ^6^ Henri Lefebvre, _The Production of Space_ (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991), 311. ^7^ Avital Ronell, _The Telephone Book: Technology, Schizophrenia, Electric Speech_ (Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1989), 2. ^8^ Jean Baudrillard, _For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign_ (Saint Louis: Telos, 1981), 130. ^9^ Karen Newman, "Directing Traffic: Subjects, Objects, and the Politics of Exchange," in _Differences_, vol. 2 (Summer 1990): 47. ^10^ Susan Griffin, _Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature_ (New York: Harper and Row, 1981). ----------------------------------------------------------- WORKS CITED [Some unreferenced portions of this paper contain reworked material from _Mayflower Madam_ (Sidney Biddle Barrows), _Working_ (Dolores French), and the journals of the authors.] Barrows, Sidney Biddle with William Novak. _Mayflower Madam_. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986. 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