Lot Lizards: The World of Truck Stop Sex Workers

Mother Jones, July 2013

ARTICLE SUMMARY:

I've always been fascinated by the relationship of women in the "world's oldest profession" and the society they work. Amsterdam was my first (well, only) experience with seeing how prostitutes exist in a society, and if you've ever been, seeing women sell themselves behind glass raises a lot of questions about if it is a choice, right, or form of slavery--regardless of coercion or not. It feels like in America, we turn a blind eye and assume that it is an issue other countries deal with, or that there is somehow more independence in the practice here. A new documentary, still unreleased, called Lot Lizards really piqued my attention; it's the story of women who work truck stops, and the relationships these sex workers have with the truckers, the police, their pimps, and their own families. It's an incredibly eye opening interview with the filmmaker. And, if you find that article interesting (which is hard not to), you might also enjoy the debate of if prostitution is really inevitable and how other countries have dealt with regulating it, and the documentary Whore's Glory.

SITE: http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/07/lot-lizard-alexander-perlman-truckers-prostitution