DAVID HENRY STERRY describes that period in his life — back when he was a 17-year-old living in Hollywood and studying existentialism at Immaculate Heart College in Hollywood — as the time when he was "an industrial sex technician." And it's that experience — during which Sterry was paid to work mostly with women, but also to verbally and physically humiliate men — that inspired him, years later, to put together and edit his latest book, "Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex."
"This anthology, as it is, could only have happened because I used to be in the Life," Sterry said in an e-mail. "These are voices it would be virtually impossible to get if you were not ... someone who had been in the business. But I was determined to show America the human face of all the people in the sex business, to get people to understand that we are sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandmothers, dads and moms. ... And if I hadn't first done this myself, struggled for years to try to tell my story, then finally to come out of the sex-worker closet, I wouldn't have been able to help other people do it."
The collection, which has been praised by The New York Times Book Review ("brutally honest and frequently funny"), Publishers Weekly ("heavy with raw emotions") and the New York Press ("it's not just about sex"), runs the gamut from taking pride in the profession ("40 Reasons Why Whores Are My Heroes") to describing its horrifying moments ("Helping Daddy Pay the Rent").
There are pieces both from anonymous writers — with titles like "Boys Shouldn't Kiss Their Father on the Lips" and "Co-Co County Boy" — and established personalities, like porn star and educator Nina Hartley, who proclaims in her entry, "Playing in the Sandbox," that she "became a sex worker for narcissism, altruism, for voyeurism, for exhibitionism, and as a long-term field study." If "Boogie Nights" made you cover your eyes, then you should probably pass the book to a stronger-stomached friend.
But for Sterry, "Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys" is about more than just the ins-and-outs of the sex industry: It's a chance for the men and women involved to tell their stories.
Sterry — who has written a number of other books, such as "Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent" and "Unzipped: A True Story of Sex, Drugs, Rollerskates and Murder" — spoke with Express about his idea for the collection, America's most commonly held misconceptions about the sex industry and whether the book should go in the "entertainment" or the "educational" portion of your bookcase.
BEING DRIVEN UP THE WALL by work is no good, but driving yourself up the wall for a workout can have some real fitness benefits. That's what Sean Hannah, a trainer at the Sports Club/LA (1170 22nd St. NW; 202-974-6600; Mpsportsclub.com), learned after discovering parkour, a sport that looks like a chase sequence from an action movie.
The idea is to run in a straight line, overcoming any obstacles in your way by scaling, vaulting and leaping (and it already has a following in D.C., thanks to Primal Fitness in Mount Vernon Square, the first parkour-based gym in the world).
Acting like a stunt man might not sound like something for everyone. After all, as Hannah says, "Most people will never have to jump off a building." But working these skills at a basic level can still help you better navigate wherever you're going in life, which is why he's offering a parkour workshop at the club Thursday night (6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., contact Sean to register).
Continue Reading "Over-the-Top Exercise: Parkour Teaches You to Climb and Leap While On the Run" »
THE "PAPER SHROUD" of a patchwork girl has finally trod into town in platform heels. She is Hedwig, the handmade creation of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, from their groundbreaking musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," about a "slip of a girlyboy" from East Berlin who grew up to become an "internationally ignored song stylist" and, thanks to a botched sex-change operation, someone of unclassifiable gender. We spoke with the show's director and star, Joshua Morgan and Chris French, respectively.
» FRENCH: It's an epic story and it takes a lot of work to tell it.
» MORGAN: In order to do a good job as an actor, a writer, a director, this piece has to have a context, a reason to be done. We have every reason to do this show right now. When I talk about what "Hedwig" is, audiences are not turned off, but they tend to be a little wary. And they realize that it has nothing to do with what the show's about, but it has everything to do with who we are, how we decorate ourselves with B.S. and consumerism, with the need to impress. It's about fighting impulses, the things that hold us back every single day.
Continue Reading "Free To Be He and She: 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'" »
OVER THE PAST couple years, in-the-know foodies have burrowed into underground dining at secret restaurants in New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
In Washington, though, it's drinking on the DL that's catching on. Since Todd Thrasher began shaking and stirring at the speakeasy-style Alexandria lounge PX in 2006, a wave of underground watering holes has surfaced. These bars are featured everywhere from local food blogs to the New York Times, and while some establishments are grateful for the attention, others have a more complicated relationship with the press. On one hand, mixologists want to share their craft with as many people as possible; but, they also want to encourage quality over quantity.
Continue Reading "Undercover Cocktails: DC's New Speakeasies" »
VROOM VROOM! The International Motorcycle Show wheels its way into the Washington Convention Center this week, offering roaring fun for the whole family. Bring your chopper on down, and don't forget a sidecar for the kids.
» Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW; Fri.-Sun., Jan. 9-11, adults $13, ages 6-11 $5; 202-249-3000. (Mt. Vernon Square)
Written by Express' Eric Anderson
AS THE BALL DROPS in Times Square, there are three facts you can count on: Ryan Seacrest is wearing too much makeup, a lot of the people in Times Square are screaming because they need to pee and, try as you might, there's a millisecond when you believe how you've spent the evening foreshadows what the next 365 days will bring. Never fear, dears: D.C.-area restaurants will help you fight this gut instinct by serving spectacular New Year's Eve menus. If anything, expect 2009 to be very — urp! — full.
Less Meat, More Fete
Holy (un)cow! Logan Circle's Vegetate serves its New Year's menu a la carte (6:30 to 7 p.m. seatings) and offers up the whole four-course shebang — including roasted beet carpaccio as well as sweet potato and wild mushroom ravioli — at later seatings (9:30 to 10 p.m., $50) as a DJ spins rare grooves and funk.
» 1414 9th St. NW; 202-232-4585. (Mount Vernon Square)
A Grape Night
Taberna del Alabardero's five-course Spanish meal (9 to 10:30 p.m. seatings, $98) is succulent enough with its foie gras terrine and roasted suckling pig, but what seals the deal is the restaurant's New Year's grape ceremony. Guests receive 12 grapes to pop one per each second for the last 12 of 2008. It brings good luck— and hilarity.
» 1776 I St. NW; 202-429-2200. (Farragut West)
Speaking of Good Fortune …
Up your karmic ante by dining at Oya — its street address is a fortuitous 777, after all. And if you're still concerned about, uh, getting lucky, Sex sparkling wine will be available for purchase by the glass or bottle. Of course, there are three-course (5 to 8 p.m., $28) and five-course seatings (8:30 to 10 p.m., $95) with the likes of tuna tempura rolls and grilled beef potato pot stickers.
» 777 9th St. NW; 202-393-1400. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)
Continue Reading "Ring in the New Year: D.C. Restaurant Deals" »
DAVID REES was perhaps the first popular Web cartoonist to realize that you don't need to be able to draw to be a popular Web cartoonist.
While some Web artists resort to stick figures, Rees turns instead to clip art to accompany his political satire. His strip is so popular that it's been made into a play — and Rees will be speaking about his contribution to political discourse at the new Busboys and Poets space on Sunday.
» Busboys and Poets, 1025 5th St. NW; Sun., Nov. 23, 6 p.m., free; 202-789-2227. (Mt. Vernon Square)
Photo courtesy Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
THE ECONOMY IS NOT WORKING OUT so well these days, but you might be, considering the number of gyms sprouting up (two — a new Vida and Results — opened just last week). Top-of-the-line equipment should help take your mind off financial crises. And if you invest your membership money wisely, you're sure to get a solid return no matter what happens on Wall Street.
» Vida Fitness Metropole
"It's not just a gym," clarifies David von Storch, owner of Vida, indicating Bang Salon and Aura Spa. Located on the entrance level of the 28,000-square-foot space in Logan Circle, that's where folks can get blown out and body-wrapped before descending into the three floors of fitness downstairs. Sound cavernous? An open design means huge windows on the street level are visible from two floors (and 50 feet) below. "It feels urban and sexy without feeling sexual," von Storch says.
It starts with a cardio area, featuring a D.C. exclusive: Real Ryder stationary bikes that shift from side to side to create more of a core workout. TVs are mounted on virtually every piece of equipment, but the real show may be downstairs, where the weights and machines are; they're divided by body part rather than grouped into circuits. Locker rooms lead to the Zen Spa, with two endless pools and a steam room.
1515 15th St. NW, 202-588-5559, Vidafitness.com.
» Results Gym Mount Vernon
There isn't a pool here, but there is pool. It's just the kind with an eight ball. A pingpong table completes the quirky game room that greets all visitors to Results' digs at City Vista, which were designed to maximize natural light. Think wraparound, floor-to-ceiling, southern exposure windows -- providing quite a view of the developing neighborhood.
But there's plenty to see inside, too. The abs area has TVs loaded with class content, so you can be guided through a core workout. Peek through an aquarium to spy on the co-ed Jacuzzi. A disco ball winks from the ceiling of the cycling studio. And there's a low-tech but clever innovation: "express" lockers on the fitness floor for people who want to lock something up quickly but have no need to change or shower. Owner Doug Jeffries seems almost giddy about the new Hoist line of weight equipment, which makes you move your own body in addition to the traditional weights. "It's more fun because the body rocks. Anyone who does this has a smile on their face," he says.
445 K St. NW, 202-234-5678, Resultsthegym.com.
Continue Reading "You Can Find Me in the Club: D.C.'s Newest Gyms" »
HAS THE WORLD recovered from its China fever? That's a definitive no, because though the Olympics are over, Long View Gallery has its exhibit "Made in China" on display.
The show features drawings, paintings and video by Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow based on a lengthy trip to the country. Sports, art, what's next? Oh yeah — world domination.
» Long View Gallery, 1302 9th St. NW; through Sept. 20, free; 202-232-4788. (Mt. Vernon Square)
Photo courtesy of Long View Gallery
"THE WORLD'S BECOME completely unpredictable on a large scale," says writer Bernard Welt.
He says that pollutants and man-made alterations have rendered our rock-steady notions of Earth as stable algorithm totally obsolete, and while he would love for this to be manifested as "a rain of frogs," we'll just have to settle for ice caps melting, winters becoming intemperately warm and other subtle indications of irreconcilable climate change.
He says all of these things when summarizing the message of a seminal piece of environmental literature: Bill McKibben's 1989 book "End of Nature," which helped plant the idea of global warming into the lives of everyday Americans.
Welt, along with fellow writers Judith McCombs and Nan Fry, will be tackling McKibben's ideas in a poetry reading on April 19 at the Warehouse Gallery, in conjunction with the art exhibition "The End of Nature."
Continue Reading "Natural Poetry: Bernard Welt, Judith McCombs & Nan Fry" »
Addison Road