Star Whores: return of the courtesan?

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Star Whores: return of the courtesan?

August 19, 8:27 PMCleveland Open Relationships Examiner

Gaylen Moore

Despite an increasing public tolerance for erotic diversity, the mixing of sex and money is till taboo in the minds of most people. Very few public figures are willing to come out and publicly support the rights of sex workers. There are a variety of obvious reasons for this ? the ever-present threats of public scandal, conflicts with the moral codes of almost all of the world's major traditional religions, and of course a generally low of opinion of non-monogamy of any sort. Other possible reasons for the oppression of sex workers, however, are not quite so obvious. Consider the nature of socio-economic and political power, for example.

If it were respectable for women to publicly gain wealth and influence through sex, it seems there would be a significantly larger number of women in society gaining power and wealth. Indeed, it seems as though the entire balance of power between the sexes could shift. And, perhaps even more worrisome for almost everyone who favors old-fashioned family values, this shift in economic and political power would be in favor of women who are utterly unashamed of their erotic lives. (Obviously there are male prostitutes as well, but here we will focus on the female version.)

This is certainly not to say that women are only capable of gaining power through sex. Both logic and history demonstrate that women are perfectly capable of gaining vast power on the world stage through brainpower, determination, and sheer guts. But if sleeping to the top were a respectable sort of profession in itself, imagine the number of options that would open up for women who, under the current social paradigm, would be unlikely to gain any sort of acceptable public recognition. No doubt a great many people feel nauseous just thinking about it. Lucky for these people, they rarely have any reason to think about it. It seems almost inconceivable that prostitution could ever be respectable, and so long as it remains a profession of ill-repute, there is relatively little danger of prostitutes publicly advancing to the top of American government, or (openly) working their way into the boardrooms of the fortune 500.

For lovers of history and anthropology, however, the "inconceivable" is, oddly enough, easily conceivable. There have been times and places in human history in which sexually liberated women did indeed openly gain significant wealth and socio-political influence through the creative expression of their erotic charms. The general term for them is courtesan. The life of a courtesan was vastly different than the life of a common prostitute ? indeed, vastly different that the life of, well...anyone. Courtesans were high-class, publicly show-cased companions for the wealthiest and most powerful men. By modern sensibilities this arrangement would seem to have scandal written all over it, but for the most part just the opposite was true. Widely known for their wit, charm, elegance, and various talents, courtesans published novels, wrote poetry, studied academic subjects forbidden to other women, sang, danced, set trends in the fashion industry, and openly influenced some of the most powerful governments in human history ? largely by flaunting their sexual allures it in ways that other women could not.

Classical Greece, renaissance Italy, and 18th century Japan are among the notable cultures where courtesans flourished. The term 'courtesan' was originally the female version of "courtier" (as in aristocrat or nobleman) which means "of the court." This seems to fit, since courtesans were, indeed, often found openly entertaining the court.

Veronica Franco was perhaps the best known courtesan of the Renaissance. She was the subject of a fascinating book by Margaret Rosenthal entitled "The Honest Courtesan: The Life of Veronica Franco," but movie-lovers may recall her as the central character in the film "Dangerous Beauty." In 1577 she successfully defended herself against charges of witchcraft in front of the Inquisition. It is worth noting that courtesans were often accused of witchcraft around that time ? another reminder that strong, independent women can be frightening to many people.

In ancient Greece the courtesans were called 'hetaeras,' and one very notable hetaera was nicknamed Phryne (her real name was Mnesarete), who is believed to be the inspiration for numerous great works of art (at least 16 oil paintings and 31 sculptures ? most notably serving, it is said, as the model for the sculpture of Venus). Like many courtesans, however, Phryne was sometimes a trouble-maker. In a famous trial (often found depicted in the previously mentioned oil paintings, for example, the see the picture at the top of this page) Phryne's life was literally on the line as she stood accused of blasphemy. When her lawyer ? who was, of course, also one of her lovers ? saw that the trial was not going well, he came up with a brilliant plan. Since physical beauty was commonly seen as a mark of divine favor during those times, he reached over and exposed Phryne's breasts to the jury. She was acquitted. (Notice the painting shows Phryne doing the "full monty" but that is not considered to be historically accurate.)

And then there is this great story: After the Macedons ransacked the city of Thebes, Phryne offered to rebuild the city's protective wall with her own money. This was certainly a magnanimous gesture on her part, but she did impose one requirement. She insisted that the wall be decorated with an inscription which Christina Valhouli translates as: "Alexander may have knocked it down, but Phryne the hetaera got it back up again." The authorities declined her offer.

Now, one might ask: What does all of this have to do with modern times? Perhaps nothing, but let's take a moment to let our imaginations run free. What might a modern-day version of a courtesan be like? Some women today are compared to courtesans, but given the deep stigmas against liberal sexuality, these comparisons are somewhat strained. We can do better. Science fiction writers often allow us to exercise our imaginations, and indeed there we do find some examples of futuristic courtesans. Take the TV series "Firefly" for example. One of the primary characters, Inara Serra (played by Morena Baccarin), is a Companion ? which is just another name for courtesan. Inara- who is nicknamed "the diplomat" by her crewmates on the spaceship Serenity - enjoys a high social standing. Her presence lends legitimacy to the otherwise rebel crew. In one episode, when the captain needs someone with great influence and respectability to help in a delicate rescue mission, the audience is tricked into thinking that a preacher is the person he has in mind, but in a wonderfully scripted twist, we find that by far the most obvious choice was not the preacher, but Inara, the courtesan.

But Firefly is fiction set in the 26th century. What about something in real life today? Here one might take a look at the life and work of Veronica Monet. Ms. Monet is a certified sexologist and sexual rights activist who likes to shake up the status quo through her writing, video productions, and public speaking tours. She is not super rich, and by the standards of general opinion she might not be consider "high class," but Michael Castleman had this to say about her:

Later in the same article he says:

Obviously Ms. Monet is in an open marriage, but this is one of the least radical aspects of her life! All you would need to add is a dose of high-class respectability, and Veronica Monet would be a full-fledged modern-day courtesan. The same could be said for Cosi Fabian. Here is what Carol Lloyd has to say about Ms. Fabian on page two of her fascinating Salon article entitled "Angels of sex":

Later Lloyd offers this interesting quote from Cosi herself:

The subtitle for "Angels of Sex" is especially interesting: "How a new breed of prostitutes are turning stigma into stigmata." Recall the "divine gifts" that helped Phryne escape execution at the hands of the ancient Greeks? Some of today's "angels of sex" are exploring the connections between sexuality and spirituality in deep and interesting ways. Today's "sacred whores" are also healers. Isn't that an interesting twist? Most people don't think of sex as sacred, and they don't think of it as a potential form of spiritual, emotional, and even physical healing But such ideas are slowly making their way into the public consciousness with the help of writers and educators like Betty Dodson, Annie Sprinkle, Dossie Easton, Carol Queen, Joseph Kramer, Margaret Wade and others.

Even without the flourishes of Goddess worship, Tantra, and other overtly spiritual components, one can earn a more secular, academic degree in sex therapy, psychology or counseling and get certified to be a sexual surrogate, which is to say, a sexual health practitioner. Sexual surrogates are essentially trained and certified sex workers who make it their life's work to heal with warmth, dignity, sensuality and compassion.

Of course one should not get the impression that all is joyful and wonderful in the realm of sex for hire. Given the overwhelming social stigmas and legal concerns still haunting sex work, it is not difficult to see why so many common prostitutes spend their lives wallowing in the crime-ridden, drug-drenched gutters of society. But how many of these women really have to live in this condition? What if it became possible for people to pursue a legitimate, socially-accepted career in sex work? Is it possible that someday a majority of prostitutes might be considered high-class companions, sexual healers, educators, artists, legitimate businesswomen, sacred whores, and perhaps even philanthropists?

In history, courtesans ? despite their status, wealth, education, and relative independence ? were still living in a fully male-dominated society. They were rich because rich men made them rich, and they had their political influence in otherwise male-dominated political structures. Give the social and philosophical advances made by modern-day feminists, however, it seems plausible to suppose that future courtesans might live in a significantly different context. Many of today's sexual health practitioners and sacred sex healers, for example, have female customers. Overall, however, it seems likely that most sex workers in the near future will still have to depend primarily on men for their money, at least in the beginning ? just as any business person initially depends on a specific, profitable clientele ? but once established in their business, then what are the possibilities? If Firefly is any indication, it seems that even the sky itself might be no limit.