On March 10th through 16th, 1997, Linda and I attended the 1st International Conference on Prostitution and annual Hooker Ball, sponsored by The Center for Sex Research, California State University Northridge and Coyote LA, co-sponsored by The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, American Association of Sex Educators and Counserlors, Network of Sex Work Projects and Affiliated Sex Worker Organizations. I am not sure what I expected, but those few days were some of the most memorable and emotional experiences of my life.

I attended this conference after submitting a paper on my life as a sex worker. And after having it accepted by the University, I was asked to speak on a panel discussion regarding my life as a professional Dominatrix. This conference stressed that it was for all sex workers from all over teh world. And let me tell you, the world was represented. There had to be 400-500 sex workers who came in from South Africa, Austrailia and New Zealand, India, Japan, Mexico and South America, Malaysia, Canada, England, and all over the US, including dancers, strippers and prostitutes, Dominatrix, male sex workers, transgendered, peep show workers, and some famous madams.

The men and women who attended were all active in some way in legalizing prostitution and making a safer and healthier environment for all who work and participate in sex work. The Sex Research Dept., headed by Dr. James Elias and Dr. Vern Bullough, had researchers from all over the world presenting their thesis on everything from 'International Sex Slavery' to 'The Study of Lesbians as Sex Workers' to 'Sex Work: Sex and the Diabled: A Fact Rather than a Myth.' There were so many subjects to pick from each hour, it was like standing at the ice cream counter trying to decide on a flavor. Linda and I did our best to catch the presentations that I was particularly interested in, and they included 'Decriminalizing Prostitution: Laws, Legal Reform and Sex Workers', to 'The Sacred Prostitution Today: The New Sex Healers' to 'The Dominatrix as a Sex Worker' to 'No Bad Women, Just Bad Laws: The Price We Pay for Protectionist Legislation' to name a few. I learned so much, I thought I was in college. Along with the education I received, the networking, with all these diverse people was incredible. I became great friends with a sex worker from Japan. She could only speak a little English, but what a warm and friendly person. She is a college student working in a dungeon that does only enemas and a rather new form of pain, nasal torture. And that is all they do. But the servitude they have to endure. They work 12 hour shifts and receive 1/3rd of their earnings. If they take a break to eat, smoke, or take a little nap, they are fined by the house. There was the story of a prostitute from Nicaragua who attended the conference who received a special award for courage, because it took her three days to get to L.A. after being detained and harassed by Immigration and the police. Practically everyone from overseas had their profession listed on their passport. Special rules had to be okayed to even allow them in the country. The Northridge Center and Senator Barbara Boxer of California worked hard to make that possible, but it did no stop the harassment that went on from our enforcement people in this free country.

I spent a lot of time with Mistress Brandy of the Lash. And for those who have heard her story, what I learned is even more incredible. That it can happen to anyone and your life forever changed is pretty scary. But she is a fascinating and special woman, and we became fast and good friends. I met Dominates from Canada and San Francisco and Japan. And on Friday, our own esteemed founder of PEP, Nancy Ava Miller joined us for the panel discussion on telephone S/M work. And she shared with us the Alex award that PEP won on 1/20/97 from the audio-text industry.

We as sex workers spend a lot of time hiding and denying who we really are, I cannot tell you the feeling of empowerment and pride this event gave to me. The stories are tragic and they are funny, but the strength and commitment of all these world-wide sex workers gave me such a sense of self-worth. I cried and laughed for six days. But I learned there is no difference in any of us, from the street walker to the high priced call girl, we are all bound by the fact that we have chosen to do what we are doing and society has labeled.But, we are proud of who we are and what we do, and in fact until after these six days we never realized just how strong we are, individually and collectively.

That was the learning part. Now to the fun part. The first event was the "Whore Carnival", performances by some incredibly talented sex workers. Singers, dancers, a lesbian Dominatrix comedienne, porn star Nina Hartly (and what a fun, sweet woman with an incredible body she is), to performance artist Annie Sprinkle and Blue Jade from San Fransisco (and what that girl did with some vegatables, wow). The next evening there was a gala that displayed art work done by sex workers. Again, the incredible talent displayed by people whom society condemns is overwhelming. The stories those pictures and and paintings told. Then on March 15th, the incredible Hooker Ball was held. The costumes, again the entertainment, it was just too much. I thought Linda's eyes were going to pop right out of her head. We were entertained by several dancers whose performances blew our socks off. One of the dancers was Sharon Mitchell, star of over 1,000 porn films, and whose but was plastered and is on display in the Hookers Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. She still looks like a million bucks and can dance her ass off. What a show!

Next is some of the people we met. Nor just ordinary folk, but the cream of the crop in the sex industry. I've mentioned Annie Sprinkle and Nina Hartly. But there was also Xavier Hollander, the "Happy Hooker"; Sidney Biddle Barrows, the Mayflower Madam (she told us the true story and it was nothing like it was portrayed in the movie); two madams from England: Helen Buckingham (who began what is the escort business today, in the 70's), and Cynthia Payne (who has had two movies made of her life.); Norma Jean Almodovar, the current leader of Coyote LA, who put this conference together (She spent 10 years as an LA traffic cop, before switching to the oldest profession. And what a fascinating book she wrote "From Cop to Call Girl"...check it out). Also there was Margo St. James, the founder of Coyote in 1973; Delores French from Atlanta and Mistress Antoinette from 'Dressed to Thrill'. What outrageous outfits she was in. The list goes on and on. And a couple of unknowns, but with whom we became great friends, Twyla and Michelle, two dancers from Big Daddy's in New Orleans. They had a car, so we cruised Santa Monica and Willshire Blvd., Venice Beach, and the most important stop, at the Wild Pair shoe outlet to get some great fetish shoes. They made me feel 25 again. And if you find yourself in New Orleans at Big Daddy's, mention me and say Hi, they are great fun.

The Keynote speaker at the main luncheon was Jocelyn Elders, the former Surgeon General. Her theme was that there is so much more in this world to be concerned with, like Homeless, Helpless, Hungry, Hopeless and Hugless children, that our government needs to stop focusing on arresting prostitutes and concentrate on bigger issues. What we do as consenting adults is no ones business but our own whether we pay for it or get it free. What a speaker and what a powerful woman. I can see now why Clinton had to fire her. This country was not ready for her and it is really too bad because the time has come for frank discussions on sex to be held and to understand that repressing your sexuality only brings on many more serious problems.

I could go on and on because that was six days that changed my life forever. Please feel free to ask me anything about the conference, I'd love to share and there was so much more I could not cover. Linda and I went there for different reasons, but we both came back with the same perspective. Every one of us are human beings, first and foremost. The perspective I gained from this incredible event is that "after you call me a whore, what else can you call me". We may look different and we may act different, and we may have different ideas about issues, but as long as we are safe, sane, and consensual, we should have the right to follow our conscience and use our bodies as we see fit. This 1st International Congress made some progress. Granted it may have been baby steps, but in every new venture you have to crawl before you can walk. I was an eye-opening and empowering experience, as well as a blast!

Mistress Diane~Marie