Posted on 2014.09.08
Movie Review – American Courtesans
American Courtesans provides an in-depth look at the lives of eleven sex workers living in the United Sates. The movie was made by courtesans so that they could address the stereotypes that taint their business and explain that despite it all they are just regular women who are providing a life for themselves and their families.
The conversational style of the film is touching because it is sex workers interviewing each other. The trust they have for one another lets them delve deep into their histories and choices. You watch on as these women bare their souls to one another and express the joy and pain they’ve gone through working in the escorting industry.
The film’s executive producer, Kristen DiAngelo, does the majority of the interviewing and provides some of the most raw looks at the industry. Her life as an escort had its ups and downs and despite the downs being beyond horrific, she still speaks about the industry with warmth and compassion. Her job has made her who she is today and she’s proud of it.
Although these women come from all over the country, their stories are strikingly similar. The majority of them started working in the sex industry due to poverty or bad situations at home. All of them speak about the liberation sex work brought them and how they’re all sexual beings and enjoy their work. One courtesan, known as Juliet Capulet, even expresses that if you don’t love what you do and you don’t find joy in it than you’re in the wrong industry. This is a woman who turned to escorting in her later years as a way of finding herself again. She’s passionate about the industry and that shines through during her interviews.
The film goes on to interview clients and family members of escorts. Their stories are just as important as the escorts themselves because together they create a whole picture of a complicated and misunderstood industry. Clients explain how they got involved in the industry and what it brings to their lives, while family members speak about the pride, shame, and fear they have for the women they love working as courtesans. There is a real mixture of feelings here, but all of them centre around love and the yearning for acceptance. That is this film’s most powerful message – everyone wants to be accepted and loved no matter their circumstance.
American Courtesans is a real-life expose of what it’s like to be an escort in North America and a touching film made up of inspiring women. Watch it today:
