“I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy.”
― steve martin
‘Modern Whore – A Memoir’ Book Review
Author – Andrea Werhun, Photography by Nicole Bazuin
In March 2020 while the unsuspecting World was about to be gripped in paralyzing fear of ‘The Pandemic’, a sex worker, real name Andrea Werhun, launched a second Kickstarter campaign as a follow-up to her sold-out original ‘Modern Whore’. The first rendition mostly contained vignettes from her two years as a ‘working girl’ for a Toronto escort agency. The second expanded version combines the first book with her experiences as a stripper/lap dancer.
From a technical point of view, Ms. Werhun is an excellent writer who followed the writer’s creed of ‘write what you know’, which she did with brutal honesty. The short stories loosely tie together a myriad of encounters and back narratives.
The photography (adult oriented) is stunning, provocative, and inventive ranging from the classy Playboy style centerfold to the banality of pissing on a toilet in elegant evening wear. Nicole Bazuin and the author have teamed up several times and many of their creations are found at Ms. Bazuin’s website. One suggestion for a future work would be to use the format of a cocktail table book to take advantage of the photo artistry.
As to the content, from my perspective, this is not a celebratory shout-out vindicating women who work in the sex trade. This is a cautionary tale regarding the superficial, vapid, capitalistic nature of the work which boiled down to separating the customer ie. in Andrea’s case, men, from their money while she shook her money-makers.
It is de rigueur for strippers and prostitutes to use alter egos. Andrea’s escort name was Mary Ann, after the ‘girl next door’ namesake on ‘Gilligan’s Island’. Her stripper name was Sophia, an euphemism for wisdom. My pick for a representative metaphoric duo to describe Andrea, would be Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel/Harley Quinn.
As Doctor Quinzel, Andrea is dangerously naïve of the dangers she places herself in. She describes becoming a teenage loner frequenting sex chatrooms, baring herself for internet pervs and almost being outed at high school. Twenty or so blackout drunk episodes by the age of 25 are only a concern after one too many knocks on the head. She says she gets a thrill from the sex work, does it for the enjoyment, lots of easy money, and then lists multiple times where she is describing clinical depression.
As Harley Quinn, Andrea uses the power of her sexuality to make the ‘piggies’ pay up. The thought process leading up to this epiphany was probably incubated in her Liberal Arts university education. The starry-eyed young girl with a burning desire for exhibitionism and alter ego was hammered with anti-patriarchy, anti-establishment, anti-white, anti-church ideologies. She cemented this worldview by jumping into the criminal underground of prostitution, drugs, and fast money. She and her natural C-cup breasts wielded the power now! Ironic that the politically self-proclaimed ‘Dipper’ took up a livelihood of crass, dirty capitalism where literally a lap-dance song equaled 20 bucks.
Andrea uses duality as a main theme of the two volumes. Message boards regarding the points of view of a particular sexual encounter read as yin and yang. Men are generally portrayed poorly, which considering if a Joker has an escort agency on speed dial, then maybe they are atypical role models. Women are semi-divine, a sisterhood, and are above reproach especially if they are sex workers.
While attempting to work a ‘respectable’ job, Andrea was described by her lady boss pejoratively as a ‘victim warrior’. It is an interesting term and many people act like they must avenge or fight for supposed ‘victim’ groups. Alternatively, there are several instances where she describes being victimized whether by being catcalled, as an escort, or in the strip club. Life will make you predator or prey, Andrea bounces between the extremes.
There is an occasional light-hearted anecdote but on the whole but I don’t think this book will entice women to embrace prostitutes or prostitution. In particular, there is one unsettling, controversial chapter describing when Andrea claims to be raped at the club. Reread the chapter carefully. Her frame of reference is that all women all have been raped. Another frame of reference is what do you expect when you have a history of waving your pussy over a guy’s hard-on and you let the situation literally ride out three times because ‘There was an erotic tension between us, a game of flirtatious struggle’. It is a vivid retelling of a very personal, disturbing incident which is a deep-dive into the demons running around in her head. Andrea played with a lot of fire then seemed surprised when she got burned.
This latest work from Ms. Werhun/Bazuin offers insight, understanding, and a forewarning to the inherent difficulties and dangers of working as a sex worker. It is not light reading or wholly enjoyable, and for some will be outright distressing. As a father, I would recommend having your teenage daughter read this book, then discuss it with them. I can proudly say, I am glad my daughter did not become a prostitute. But a book like this can help keep those communication lines open and bridge some understanding if they do. All prostitutes were once Mommy and Daddy’s sweet little kid.
Buy the book, read the book, reread the book, discuss if you like. It will make you think.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.