On the stigmatization of punters

Punters are rough, drunk, violent types. They tend to abuse women more often than other men etc. etc.

This kind of reasoning is often used by lobby groups, often with Christian backgrounds, and politicians to propose legislation and rules that should 'protect' sex workers. The agenda is trying to abolish or at least minimise the sector, since prostitution is of course an indignified act that threatens the holy act of sexual intercourse (sex is not supposed to be a recreational activity, but has to happen within the boundaries of at least some sort of relationship).
These people criminalise and marginalise prostitutes and put them to even more danger by effectively disabling them from actually taking part in the public dialogue. This is done in the most despicable way: emphasising the stigma on sex work that already exists in society.

Anyone who ever took this serious and talked to a prostitute will know: punters are 'just like real men'. Actually, there is no difference. Many of them are in relationships, also these guys, regardless of what you think about 'cheating', tend to be nice. Yes, nice.

Punters are being stigmatized as well. This is done in a very simple way: by using the age-old theme of the man as agressor in a sexual relationship. Women are passive, men are agressive.
This deliberately overlooks the fact that men can be vulnerable as well. There are sexual issues (impotence, erection disorders), there are handicapped or old men. And yes, some men are just shy.

Actually, even in the virtual world of Second Life many clients are just shy. They are careful not to hurt our feelings or just a bit insecure about living out their fantasies.

Even the man who caused me to wear the bruises layers for the roleplay that resulted in the first photo was considerate. He was actually nice and asked about my limits. Then we had fun roleplaying something in a safe environment. Neither of us would have done this in RL.

And yes, also fantasies are being stigmatized. It is weird to dream up something 'wild' or 'perverted'. Thoughts are not free. We have to free them ourselves.

Of course, people who are on the abolitionist side in the debate will try to disable me from taking part in the discussion as well: I am just hiding behind my avatar. Yes, I am, that is because of the stigmatisation of my fantasies... You are doing this. That doesn't mean that I am not a concerned citizen that sees what happens in the world around her.

How to become a prostitute - Part 1, finding a place

I guess there are all kinds of reasons for a girl to become a prostitute. In Secondlife, apart from the money, there is primarily one good reason:

You like cybersex, but most of all you love the feel of being paid for it...

  
So, how do you start out?
First of all you would need to be sure this is what you want. Being a whore may sound exciting, but it's a bore for much of the time too. Be prepared for hours and hours of sheer nothingness, digital rain and virtual disasters (crashes, silent logouts etc.) It's not glamourous and much of the time it's not raunchy or dirty either.
If you're just in it for a quick buck: become a banker
If you want lots of silly semi-afk cybersex: go to a 'nude beach'

Then, be prepared. I will go into stuff like good shapes, skins, skimpy or sexy clothing in all forms later, if I feel like. For now, I'm going to talk about places. Provided you are 'well-dressed' for the job, you don't look too awful and you have some experience in cybersex and dealing with scripted furniture, you're good to go. Only where do you go?

A sweeper truck for cleaning the landing point

Stephanie demonstrated a new tool for cleaning the landing point the other day: this nice van with brooms and brushes. I was quite amazed that someone took the trouble to make one in Second Life, especially with all the moving parts that I saw on it.

Stephanie stepped into the sweeper truck and I watched. Meanwhile Whotter, the baby otter, just slept, undisturbed by all the noise the van was making. I insisted it should be painted pink and so she did.

There were no men standing AFK at the teleport routing point, which happens a little less since Steph made it rotate, to have it move the men to it's periphery slowly after rezzing. But fortunately Chez was quietly standing nearby, which is the usual thing that time of morning, so she tested it on her. I could not held a laugh as Chez was moved 4 metres down the square by the pink humming vehicle.
I hope we'll see more of it.