K. Morris's Blog, page 830

Victims of Circumstance

The causes of human action are a source of endless fascination to me. There is a tendency inherent in much discourse to ascribe simple explanations to why humans act as they do. Marxists argue that it is the economic base (the wealth of individuals and their status in society) which largely determines why persons behave in specific ways, for example people living in poverty are more likely to turn to criminality while the rich are likely to vote for parties which will sustain the capitalist status-quo. Others argue that it is genetics which explains human motivation and that of other animals. Thus the individual possessing “good” genetic material is likely to do well academically, attain a well paying job and be less likely to turn to criminality than the individual who has “inferior” genetic material.

Both positions are reductionist in that they attempt to ascribe simple explanations to the behaviour of highly complex living organisms. While it is undoubtedly the case that many people filling our jails are from deprived backgrounds most of those from “the wrong side of the tracks” do not become criminals. Again individuals from apparently loving and well-to-do backgrounds do, on occasions turn to crime for reasons which are difficult to fathom.

All of the above brings me to the point of this post, why do educated middle class girls turn to the world’s oldest profession? The prostitute is often portrayed as a victim of circumstance by the media and in literature, a poor down trodden drug addicted person possessing little (if any) autonomy). There are of course women and men who fit into this stereotype, however many sex workers are not drug addicts and by no means all of them are ill educated. I will explore in a future story why a lady from an affluent background turns to sex work of her own volition. While I have ideas for my story they are far from being set in concrete. The longer I live the more I come to realise that reductionist approaches contain at best only partial explanations to complex issues. Yes social and economic forces do help to shape the lives of humanity but humans are not mere feathers blown hither and thither by them. The ideas emanating from human brains and the actions flowing from them also shape our lives and those of others for better or worse.

Rachel Moran Memoir of a Former Prostitute

The Irish Times for 13 April carries a piece about Rachel Moran, a former Irish prostitute and her book which details Moran’s experiences in prostitution (see http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-myth-of-the-happy-hooker-1.1358702?page=1. For my review of Moran’s book please visit http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/4075228-paid-for-my-journey-into-prostitution-by-rachel-moran).

Moran’s experiences as a street prostitute and, later an escort has lead the author to advocate that Ireland and other nations introduce the Swedish model under which people who pay for sex are criminalised while prostitutes are offered assistance to leave the trade. In Moran’s view men who purchase sex are abusing women and take positive delight in doing so. Abuse is by it’s very nature unacceptable and those who buy women’s bodies should be named and shamed.

Having just read Moran’s book I was unsurprised by what she says in the above mentioned article in the Irish Times. However the comments from those who are either (or have been engaged) in the sex industry which follow on from the article are of interest. Other prostitutes and those with knowledge of the industry question Moran’s perspective that prostitution is necessarily exploitative. She is accused by one lady in particular of misrepresenting the effectiveness of the Swedish Law on Prostitution in preventing the trade. The commenter further contends that in contrast to what Moran states the Swedish approach makes the lives of prostitutes harder than was the case prior to the introduction of the legislation.

In my short story, The First Time we meet Becky a young student who enters the world of prostitution as an escort in order to pay off her credit card bill. The psychological effects of working in the sex industry on both Becky and her fellow escort and Friend Julie are examined as are the ladies interactions with their clients. No doubt Rachel Moran would see the fictional Becky as being exploited by Mike, the first man who purchases her services as an escort. However Mike does not threaten Becky either verbally or physically. In fact Julie informs her friend that there are clients “much worse than Mike Carter” and goes on to describe an encounter with a client who wanted her to pretend to be his teenage daughter.

Moran has understandably been deeply traumatised by her participation in prostitution, however whether she can speak on behalf of all prostitutes is, to my mind a debatable question as is exemplified by the comments generated in response to the above article and memoirs of other prostitutes which do not paint the same picture as Moran. Whatever one’s views on the issue of prostitution I’d recommend reading Moran’s book. As it provides a fascinating portrayal from one lady’s perspective on the oldest profession.

Don’t Make Me Blush!

A week or so ago I was at my local station on the way into work when I fell into conversation with a gentleman who works as an editor. As a writer this was a perfect opportunity for me to discuss writing and perhaps (naughty me) even obtain some free advice! What did I do? I listened politely to my companion’s description of his work but not one hint of the fact that I am a writer did I give!

I am by nature shy and relatively reserved. I find it easy to promote my writing using this blog and other social media tools such as Twitter. Sitting here at my laptop my face retains it’s natural colour when I say “I am a writer”, however face to face with a stranger I blush with embarrassment and am at times almost apologetic when stating this fact. I guess that I am typically British in that I’m deeply imbued with the belief that it isn’t the done thing to blow one’s own trumpet. Of course as an author I need to promote myself, but this doesn’t prevent me from feeling embarrassed when telling an acquaintance that I write. Maybe I’ll get business cards produced saying “Kevin Morris writer” with my blog address printed on them and press the cards into the hands of random strangers irrespective of whether they wish to receive them or not. Then again maybe I will continue to blush when informing people that I write while remaining hidden behind this computer screen!

Photographs

I’ve just uploaded a photograph of myself with my guide dog Trigger to my Amazon author page. Anyone in search of a good laugh please click here! http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00CEECWHY

The Thing

Like a living thing it lurked in the spare room quietly clicking away to itself. No one knew about it save for the boy and he told no one. What would have been the point of telling? Had he told they would have called him mad, a strange child with a tenuous grip on reality the adults would have remarked. Sometimes even he doubted the existence of the thing. During the day the room stood silent and empty except for the presence of a chest of drawers, a single bed and a wardrobe. The homely presence of the furniture, solid and dependable reassured the boy during daylight that all was well in the house. When the sun shonne on the walls the horses imprinted on the wall paper filled the child with delight. He imagined them galloping across sunlit green fields their long mains blowing in the wind. He galloped with them wild and free, nothing could hurt him, his spirit was one with the sky and the wind.

At night the thing came. Click, click it said crouching in it’s corner coiled and ready to pounce. The thing never left it’s lair but the knowledge of the loathsome presence filled him with dread. Click, click it said waiting patiently in the dark for it’s prey.

Looking back he never could recall having entered the room. Some how or other he was there in the presence of the unspeakable clicking thing. It never spoke, perhaps it was incapable of speech, the thing merely bided it’s time and when the time was right struck like a beast launching itself upon his prey. Click, click the machine whispered to itself it’s tentacles reaching for the boy’s neck. Choking he fought with the thing. It was strong but he always managed to wriggle away somehow. Perhaps the thing wanted him to escape. Like a cat which takes pleasure in catching a mouse, releasing it and giving chase once more the thing would let him go only to wait, patiently for the next tussle.

He called it the strangling machine on account of it’s propensity to choke him. Click, click, click echoing down the years the thing reached into his nightmares, filling his brain with the terrors of the night. Click, click click …  …

Kindles are forever but you don’t need to own one to read ebooks

When I told my friends and acquaintences that I had published my book, Samantha they expressed interest in reading it (well feigned it convincingly anyway)! However a number of people remarked that as Samantha is an ebook and they don’t own an ebook reader it would not be possible for them to read Samantha.

It is a commonly held misconception that possession of a Kindle or similar device is essential for the reading of ebooks. In fact Amazon offer a range of free apps which allow for the reading of Kindle content on computers, Ipads and Ipods (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_164007747_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000425503&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-9&pf_rd_r=1MNRJQD1S63J3G4XJ48E&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=396445167&pf_rd_i=1000423913). I love the portability of my Kindle but it is good to know that there are other options available for reading ebooks  sold by Amazon.

Paid for: My Journey into Prostitution by Rachel Moran

I am currently reading “Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution: One Brave Woman’s Account of the Violence that is Prostitution [Kindle Edition], by Rachel Moran (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C7735X8?ie=UTF8&ref_=oce_digital). The author grew up with two mentally ill parents. Her father committed suicide when she was still a young girl.  Rachel’s mother’s schizophrenia worsened following his death leading to increased pressure on Rachel and the other children of the family to grow up before their time. For example the author relates how she had to collect her younger sister from the hospital unaccompanied by her mother while still a young child.

The pressure cooker environment leads to Rachel leaving home in her early teens. She moves from hostel to hostel experiencing periods of homelessness in between. Due to hunger she turns to shop lifting but not being adept at it frequently ends up in the local police stations.

At the age of 15 Rachel’s 21-year-old boyfriend suggests that she enters prostitution. Believing that sex work will empower her Rachel agrees to this suggestion and at the age of 15 enters street prostitution.

I am under half way through the book and have therefore not formed a view as to it’s overall merits. What I can say is that Rachel Moran knows how to string a sentence together and that the reader feels compelled to agree with her assessment that given her chaotic childhood the author’s entry into prostitution was predictable (I don’t think that one can say inevitable).

I will post a full review once I have finished reading Moran’s book.             

Man does not live by bread alone

Today I fell into conversation with a young Polish lady. We conversed about a variety of topics and during our conversation I asked her whether any Poles looked back with nostalgia to the time when Poland was ruled by the Communist Party. I must confess to being somewhat taken back by the answer to my question which was, in the words of my acquaintance that

“you can have to much freedom”.

The lady then went on to say that she thought that things had in some respects been better when Communists governed her country.

For reasons which I will not go into here I was not able to tease out what exactly my companion meant by her statement that people can have to much freedom. Her comment did however get me thinking about why I prize freedom, by which I mean the right of the individual under law to live their life, broadly speaking as they choose without undue interference from the state or society as a whole. As a writer I value the freedom to write what I please without the fear of the midnight knock on the door. We in democracies take freedom of expression for granted, however we should remember that the Nazis burned books by Jews and others they believed to be undesirable while Communist states prohibited works (fiction and non-fiction) which criticised the ruling ideology. Indeed Communist states have banned works by fellow Marxists who happen to have a different interpretation of Marxism from that held by the ruling elites.

I don’t want to live in a society in which books are censored. At the very least this would lead to a truncated intellectual climate and in it’s most extreme manifestation to tyranny.

It is postulated by apologists for various authoritarian systems that they maintain order by fostering equality by, for example ensuring full employment and universal social welfare. The argument often seems to boil down to “sacrifice freedom of a few intellectuals for the greater happiness and prosperity of the community”. Those who argue in this manner tend to downplay or deny the Soviet gulags and the intellectuals confined to mental institutions for criticising the regime. It is a delicious irony that apologists for tyranny frequently reside in democratic societies which (quite rightly) leave them free to express their views so long as they do not advocate violence. The freedom enjoyed by those who express contempt for democracy would be denyed by them to their opponents (oh irony of ironies).

Man does not live by bread alone and if intellectual freedom is sacrificed in the name of economic security we will, in all likelihood, ultimately end up with neither prosperity or freedom.

Update to my Amazon Author Page

I have now added a brief biography to my author’s page on Amazon which can be accessed here http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00CEECWHY

Choice in prostitution?

In February 2012 I published Samantha which tells the story of a young girl forced into prostitution in the English city of Liverpool by her brutal pimp Barry (see http://newauthoronline.com/my-books/). Samantha is subjected to horrific psychological and physical abuse. It is touch and go as to whether she will survive or end her days in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Docks.

Given my writing of Samantha, I was interested to read that Rachel Moran, a former prostitute has written a book recounting her experiences as a prostitute (see ). As a homeless 15-year-old living in Ireland Rachel entered prostitution seeing it as a means of survival. She exited sex work at the age of 22 and is full of anger regarding her experiences. The author calls for those who purchase sex to be named and shamed as happens under the Swedish Law on Prostitution.

Not everyone shares Moran’s view that criminalising the purchasers of sex is the answer. It has been argued by opponents of the Swedish model that criminalising sex buyers means that clients who come across a person who is underage or who has been trafficked will be less likely to report the matter to the authorities than is presently the case. (In the UK it is not currently illegal to pay for sex but anyone who purchases services from someone who has been compelled into prostitution is guilty of a crime irrespective of whether he new that the prostitute was being coerced). Were the law to be further tightened buyers would according to this perspective be less inclined than at present to report their suspicions owing to fears of arrest due to paying for sex, potentially leading to more (not less) exploitation.

Another argument advanced against criminalising people who buy sex is that not all sex workers are forced into prostitution. In my story, The First Time we meet Becky a young graduate who enters the world’s oldest profession in order to clear her credit card debts. She fears being made homeless as a consequence of not being able to meet her bills and turns to escorting as a means of making money easily and quickly. Becky feels compelled by circumstances to become a sex worker however there is no brutal pimp, as in Samantha coercing her into sex work. Would it be right to punish men (and women) who purchase sex from escorts like Becky who have entered prostitution voluntarily? In response to that question proponents of the Swedish approach will respond that no one truly chooses to enter prostitution, they feel compelled to do so by circumstances which are often beyond their control. It is in other words a choice in theory only. Others will reply that not all who face the financial difficulties of Becky in The First Time choose to go down the route of selling their body, consequently Becky does, in the final analysis make a decision of her own free will to enter sex work.