Thank you Alexa.

I am not an escort, but because I enjoy sex and am not afraid to ask for what I want, I apparently can't think or possibly know anything that isn't sexual.

People seem to think women who work in the sex industry or enjoy large amounts of sex must not have any brains. *sigh*

I have to say i strongle agree with you one that, Its sad how we can put ppl in boxes becous of some flaw they might have, by there job or some other thing. For excamble what do we think when we see a 35-50 year old man working at burger king, im sure most of ous whould think he was proble little bit slow and there for was not able to get a better job. But for all we know this might just be a person that had a hard time geting a better job becous of high unemployment rate, like many ppl out there, but he had deside to put his pride a side and take the job, so he whould at least have some food to put on the table for his children. Should we look down on a person like that ? For me if a person does something like that, it shows honor.

But the example i can relate to is dislexia, when i was in school and was not able to read around the age of 10 my parents were brod in and told i was not stupid i was just lazy. It was then made pretty clear to me by teachers that i could never get a good job even tho i was able to read (slowly tho) becous my spelling was bad, and only lazy ppl and dumb ppl spell badly(think god thinks have change alot about that in my small country since i was in school). But ppl that know anything about dislexia know that this just means your brain is wire little bit diffrent and you are better in other stuff. Where whould we be if man like bill gates and Einstein whould not have been lisen to becous of there dislexia ?

But so we get back to the point. Yes its sad how we can put unfair label on ppl and deside that they are this way or that way based on very limited parts of there life (or look) we know about them.

People lump tend to lump escorts in the stupid category because of the way sex seems to be viewed - as a crude thing to be ashamed of. Therefore, by extension, those who do it for a living MUST be stupid. On top of that, how many people lump escorts together with whores? Or better yet, how many don't? And seriously, when's the last time you spoke to an articulate streetwalker? It's all biased perception. Blame HBO and Republicanism.

I don't think it's so much you being an escort as it is (some of) your clients' need to feel superior to someone.

Currently reading "Amusing Ourselves To Death", by Neil Postman.

Basically, he argues that methods of communication inherently influence the types of ideas discussed - so for a simple example, you can't talk philosophy with smoke signals, because the signalling rate is too slow, but you can talk philosophy with books, because the mass of argued information is there and can be refered back to.

Postman argues that TV is our culture's dominant communication medium.

He argues that TV is visual, transient and notes there are multiple competing channels all of which want you to watch *them*; he argues it is inherently an entertainment medium, and as such, everything on TV is entertainment or becomes entertainment - including the news, for example.

This, he argues, has stupified the process of public debate.

He makes a lovely, lovely point which is why I've brought all this up: the 27th President of the USA weighed 300lbs. Huge, multiple chins, flolloping around. He was elected in a time when people read books and pamphlets in the process of deciding what they believed and thought.

"These days, although the Constitution makes no mention of it, it would appear that fat people are now effectively excluded from office. Probably bald people as well."

I discussed this with Phoenix. He came up with a very interesting swing on this ...

People stereo type for a basic reason lets take sex workers, men do not want to think of an escort having a brain as then they could become emotionally attached to them. They do not want to think of her having feelings or intelligence as that would mean what they are doing is wrong.

It is all about what makes people feel comfortable in their ability to deal with those around them.

alexa-

this latest post in particular resonated with me because a) i'm bald and have been since my 19th b-day b) i've likewise been dropped into preconcieved "boxes" by most people.

losing my hair at such a young age before the like of mike jordan and vin diesel made the shaved head look fashionable was catastrophic to my ego...for a while. i was lucky to have a nicely shaped skull so once i embraced the situation the issue evaporated for the most part. i still notice, however, that if i take a walk at night or enter a convenience store after 10 PM, people i encounter get jittery, leaving my wondering if the reaction would be the same if i had the rakish locks of say, tom welling.

more to your point

i've been an artist all my life and subsequently all my life i've encountered the sometimes mocking, oftentimes derisive, perception people have about truly creative people and the vocation they pursue.

i can recall the reaction i got to announcing my studio art major choice to the older folks in my life - "what are you going to do with THAT?" they'd snort. at job interviews i'd often hide that i was a practicing artist, by that time it had been drilled into my head that artists were lazy, stoner, scattered liberals who spent more time agonizing over the color of their ice-cube trays than actually doing good work, or were crazy, or alcoholic, or any number of pejorative misconceptions.

anyway like you i take EXTREME delight in proving these dopes wrong. my day job has me running a large creative studio in a major metropolitan area, and i'm often managing older professionals with secondary degrees in business, marketing or design. theres a certain delicious satisfaction i feel when they go fishing for my resume and find out while they were blindly following the academic, safe, sheep-path to success, i was in my studio doing somehting truly creative, and thats precisely why they report to me now.

correcting the restauraneur on his table seeting must have been a similar moment, good for you

Which way does the knife go?

I think this is one occasion where ignorance is bliss. I know little about (American) football and to me Matt Hasselbleck looks no more or less a star quarterback than the other two gentlemen. (This comment has nothing to do with the fact that I am also follicly challenged.)

Dear alexa,

If you actually have a 170 IQ, why are you an escort? I've always thought, for good or bad, that theres a reason stereotypes come about...because in most cases, they're true. How in the world would people come up with blondes being ditzy, for example, as opposed to brunettes being ditzy, unless in their experience more blondes than brunettes were ditzy?

The same goes for escorts, and this is probably because if they have 170 IQs they're busy building rockets or designing bridges, not being escorts...but you have a 170 IQ, so you probably made that connection already, right?

Did this IQ number come from an internet test? Mine is 250 according to them.

Michael Jordan is bald.
Charles Barkley is bald.
Shaquille Oneal is (intentionally) bald.
So are George Foreman, Zinedine Zidane, and Andre Agassi.
They all make huge money from endorsements. Why not Hasselbeck?

Alexa,
It is my understanding that one of the primary differences between an escort and a prostitute is that an escort can actually live up to her name - 'escorting' her client. I would assume that means that she is capable in most social situations from clubbing or having a cocktail, to dining in a fine establishment. I would not expect her to be a wine connoisseur, but be pleasantly surprised if she were, and mildly disappointed if her taste did not exceed Pabst Blue Ribbon, or its equivalent - and she were unable or unwilling to expand her 'range'. Above all I would assume that an escort worth the appellation would have the skills necessary to set, and keep, her client at ease. From reading your posts I have no doubt the restauranteur was a socially myopic ass.

I've been reading here on and off but never commented. Figured it was my time.

I can back you up about people you're escorting for wanting to believe that you are brainless. But then in some way isn't that part of their fantasy. Making their fantasy come true is what you're paid for really. I do the same thing. I escort. I'm not your stereotypical on by your standards but I get paid and paid well to do it regardless.

I have a high IQ also safely with in the genius level. I escort at this point to finish paying off my education at a private college up here. I've made the deans list constantly and will graduate this spring with high honors.

That shocks the hell out of people when they know what I do for money.

Does anyone else ever find people who willingly and conspicuously rattle off their IQs to be somewhat suspicious? I mean, you don't notice Stephen Hawking ever chatting up his numbers. Just kind of makes you think...

I had to laugh when you said you were the Other. Fear of the Other has been a topic in nearly every module I've studied over the past three years. It's inherent, even in our significantly more enlightened culture. Without Fear of the Other, we wouldn't have experimentation in literature, film or life, you fit right in Alexa, we all need the Other!

A number of independent escorts actively advertise their intelligence and erudition as much, if not more than looks these days. They promise "the whole package", and thus attract men only interested in such. Men who would never say what that finance guy told you - in fact, they choose you out of many others because they expect to discuss Alan Greenspan with you.

People expect that someone with 170 IQ would do something useful with her brain, instead of being a whore.

um. people who actually think that alexa has a 170 iq clearly don't have a high iq themselves or don't know what iq actually is.

almost nobody actually has an iq of 170. in fact, anyone with an iq of 170 is in the 99.9999 percentile. check out this table of iq scores (http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/IQtable.html)

since alexa is clearly smart, the only inference that can be drawn is that she was being sarcastic about the 170 number.

Everyone here arguing with Alexa fails at reading comprehension utterly.

"According to advertising gurus, even if the Seahawks win the Superbowl on Sunday, Matt Hasselbeck just won’t get the kinds of endorsement deals as Tom Brady, specifically because he’s not as good looking."

Catch that?

"According to advertising gurus"

Clearly, she doesn't think he should get panned over for advertisements, and if you were actually reading, you'd see that. I think this applies to many of the comments that get made on her site. If you're going to post a comment, please, PLEASE, do us all a favor and take your time, read through (even aloud if necessary), consider what it is she's actually saying and THEN if you have a comment to share, constructive or otherwise, post. Don't cut through three sentences and rush to put something down or you'll look like an idiot.