Monday, July 8, 2013

Why Eliot Spitzer did what he did

Since Eliot Spitzer has announced he's running for New York City comptroller, it seems like a good time to revisit my Letters from Johns project.

The project ran from January 2008 to January 2009. I requested letters from readers of my blog who had paid for sex, letters in which they shared their experiences and why they did it.

A few months after the project began, Spitzer was busted for patronizing a call girl.

At that time, I wrote about the project for Newsweek: "Dear John."  

"I Am Ashamed of Nothing I Have Done":
One can try to hang a sign on us, the collective john, as perpetuating the global conspiracy of sex/slave traffic, and I'll grant that my Thailand trip may have/probably did contribute to some sort of thuggery. But in the end, I am ashamed of nothing I have done.
"I'm a State Investigator":
I keep a coded diary, in case it's discovered. 1 dot is oral, 2 dots is vaginal sex, and 2 connected dots is anal sex. In the event that someone questions the dots, they are associated with good/bad days: no dots are normal days, 1 dot is a good day, 2 dots is a great day, and 2 connected dots is the best day for that week.
"I Have a Physical Disability":
I am now a regular customer, although not as regular as I’d like to be. This is mostly because my brother has moved overseas, and it is hard to find people who will willingly accompany me. However, each time I go, I no longer feel like a cripple. I feel whole.