51–60 of 295 posts
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By your definition, I'm not a human. But then again, I always have thought that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs was upside-down.
You value self-actualization above food and shelter? Like, have you ever been stuck out at night in the cold and rain without eating all day and thought, "I need to focus on pursuing my passions"?
I read a lot, and seldom have I run across a writer possessed of this level of skill. A writer's central task is to place the reader in another world, living another life. At this, the author succeeds with what seems like effortless grace.
Few of today's award-winning novelists display this power.
I do hope HN folks will take the time to read this essay.
I feel like I'm missing some cultural context here that made this a semi- difficult read: obviously? the word "massage parlour" is some local euphemism for some kind of sex work and its implied they aren't actually masseurs/masseuses? but can someone explain to me exactly what the nature of the arrangement/work/ business she's working in is? is it just prostitution and for some reason they don't call it that in Canad…
https://torontolife.com/city/the-parlour-game/
But then it's not even grey where I am in New England and we still have "massage parlors" that are constantly getting shut down for prostitution.
Especially towards the end, I feel that she tries to emphasize the nobility and radical nature of this work, taking umbrage at Eric Adam’s use of the word “low-skill” to describe some of these sorts of jobs. But it seems somewhat belied by the fact that, afaict, as soon as she had the means to escape, she did. And the romanticization of sex work as the only job where women get to call the shots and make profit off of men… I am curious the degree to which this is really true for these massage parlors, which are often managed or extorted by male-run organized crime. [0]
But the central message, one that seems like a call for dignity, really resonates with me. It is one of the most beautiful vignettes I have read in a long time.
[0]: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/us/massage-parlors-human-...
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i actually agree with this sentiment quite strongly. part of the reason gender identity and dysphoria, queerness, and fluid gender roles are so despised by conservatives and religious fellows, especially when it comes to masculinity, is that it threatens the dominant power structure of the last few thousand years. sex work, and women’s empowerment is especially looked down upon. what else is labour but selling your b…
Criminalising and punishing sex work has more support among women than men.
I have to say now working a “real” job now (for salary benefits etc.) I know way more forestry folks who could do my job today (consulting) than current coworkers who could dig out a stuck pickup truck properly, fix a broken generator, put out a brush fire…
there are jobs which require accreditation or whatever but there’s no such thing as truly no-skill-required labour
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It's not a long article or slow-paced. It literally intersperses POV scenes from a brothel. If that can't at least hold your attention for a few pages, nothing will. I suggest that people read a few novels if they think this article is too long.
Novels have to justify themselves to be worth the read. Articles of this length would definitely do with a short comment or summary made by someone else to assess whether there's a point to reading them. There's a lot of journalists who are wannabe novelists and seem to suck at both skills.