Here are some answer to some of the most frequently asked questions I get either from my blog, Twitter or my clients at work. I wrote this so I don't have to keep answering the same questions over and over again.
Are you a real prostitute?
Yes, I'm a real prostitute working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Most notably I personally handed over the petition signed by 414 prostitutes of the Red Light District to the mayor of Amsterdam to stop closing down window brothels and to re-open window brothels. Besides that I've also done plenty of interviews, as you can also see on my media page.
Do you give interviews?
Due to the fact that I got a lot of interview requests in the past, I've decided to limit the amount of interviews. If you still wish to meet me or talk with me, you can join the 'Meet A Prostitute Tour' or 'VIP Red Light Tour' from RLD Amsterdam Tours. You will get a fully guided tour through the Red Light District and will get to meet me. You will get a chance to ask your questions during the tour. For more info about the tours of RLD Amsterdam Tours visit our website: http://redlightdistrictamsterdamtours.com
If you wish to know more about prostitution, or talk to sexworkers I suggest contacting PROUD and asking them. Also the Prostitution Information Center offers good information regarding prostitution.
Most of the questions I got during interviews in the past however are already explained here on my blog. In my experience 99% of all questions I received during the interviews I did in the past where already answered on my blog in detail. Things like why I started to do this job, what the realities of and the consequences for Project 1012 in Amsterdam are for me and other sex workers, as well as the subject of human trafficking, are all wel covered on my blog. So please help yourself in finding the answers you're looking for and feel free to quote from my blog.
How can I get in contact with you?
Well, you can follow me on Twitter at @FeliciaAnna27, you can become friends on Facebook here, or if you want to meet me, you can join one of the tours featuring myself of RLD Amsterdam Tours.
Why did you start this blog?
I started this blog because there was a lot of misinformation about my job and the Red Light District in Amsterdam, but also prostitution in Holland and prostitution in general. Apparently there are a lot of people making claims in an attempt to make prostitution or it's clients illegal. Often those people will pretend to be saviors of victims, or pretend to care about the safety and well being of prostitutes. Make however no mistake, there are many people out there speaking for prostitutes without their agreement.
If you want the true story and opinion and facts about prostitution, I either suggest you talk to a real prostitute or go to the PIC (Prostitution Information Center) located in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. You can find the website here.
Do you work for a pimp?
No, I don't work for a pimp, and neither does the vast majority of the girls in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. We get protection from the police, and therefore have no need for pimps.
Do you know any girls that are victims of forced prostitution, exploitation or human trafficking?
No, in the 7 years time I've been working here, and talking to many of the other girls working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam, I've never came across any girls what are forced. I do know one girl that used to be forced in that past, but she came back to work in prostitution because she made much more money that way. I do occassionally come across some girls that are being exploited, but this certainly isn't the majority. It's also very difficult to say how many sex worker are being exploited, and are therefore are victims of trafficking.
There's however one thing I can say for sure. Almost all the women in the Red Light District choose to become a prostitute, rather than being forced against their will. Some women are being exploited, although it's unclear how many. If you want to know more about this, I suggest you read my post on the most recent statistics on human trafficking in prostitution here.
Why did you want to become a prostitute?
The answer is very simple: money. Prostitution is a job where women can earn a lot of money, more then most other jobs would ever pay. Since prostitution is legal in Holland, and in a lot of other countries is not legal, Holland was the most obvious choice to work. It offers good protection to prostitutes from the police, and offers prostitutes a lot of freedom to work whenever, however and how much they want.
What are the prices in the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
Since prostitutes in the Red Light District are self-employed, prostitutes set their own prices for their services. The starting rate is 50 Euro for 15 minutes, although some girls are already setting their own minimum price at 100 euro. Depending on what you negotiate with a prostitute the price can be more, but of course this all depends on your own requests. The starting rate usually offers a blowjob, some might also offer intercourse, but that's differrent for each prostitute. The minimum price really is 50 euro, so do not try to negotiate to get inside for any less than that!
When is the Red Light District open?
The Red Light District is just an area where people work, live and visit places, so there are no official open or closure times. Most prostitutes however are working in the evening, the majority of them starting around 10pm in the evening until around 4-5am in the morning. During the day there are also prostitutes working, but considerably less than during the night.
Is this your dream job?
No, this was not my dream job, but the same thing goes for a lot of people who work. That however doesn't mean that I didn't choose this job voluntarily. If I would have to make a choice today between a regular job with a normal income or prostitution, I would pick prostitution, and I think the same thing goes for the majority of the girls in the Red Light District.
What about organisations claiming to save girls from human trafficking?
Those organisations have an interest in keeping human trafficking alive, since their funding depends on it. Many of these organisation make claims about prostitution and human trafficking that are hugely over exaggerating, to justify their own existence, and therefore their own income through donations and funding from governments. There are only a handful of organisations who are not interested in gaining profits over victims, and one of them is La Strada International.
Is your boyfriend okay with the fact that you do this job?
Yes, my boyfriend fully supports me in the choice for this job, like any boyfriend would support his girlfriend with her job. My boyfriend fully supports me with my job, but also my fight against misinformation about prostitution, and helps me out a lot with this blog. In my opinion the most important thing in a relationship is trust and respect. My boyfriend both trusts me with this job and respects me for doing this job.
What is your opinion on the plans of the city government of Amsterdam to reduce the numbers of windows?
It's the dumbest thing ever! The city government pretends they are doing it to fight forced prostitution and human trafficking, yet after they've closed down several windows, they never looked after the girls who lost their place to work. The only thing this plan will achieve, is that they will loose track of the girls that loose their windows, and therefore they will not be able to safe any possible victims. After all, how can you help someone if you don't know where they are? It will only increase illegal prostitution (prostitution withouth the required license), and this has already be admitted nation wide.
Where do most of the prostitutes in the Amsterdam Red Light District come from?
Most of them come either from Romania. A close second are girls from Bulgaria, than followed by girls from Hungary, and after that some girls from Asia, South America, Africa and also a few Dutch girls.
What about those stories of loverboys in the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
The typical image of loverboys is that they mainly aim young Dutch girls, and that the loverboys are usually Moroccan or Turkish. Since there are very few Dutch women working in the Red Light District, and they're not in the age group usually associated with loverboys, I can say most of these stories are stories from the past.
There are however always so called 'loverboys', whom I'd like to describe more as the male version of gold diggers. Guys who pretend to fall in love with girls thar usually are already working in prostitution, in order to profit from them. Though it's impossible to say how big this group is.
Where do you work?
I work in the main area of the Red Light District in Amsterdam known as De Wallen., but due to privacy reasons and to prevent people from harassing me at work I don't give any details on my exact working place. I don't write this blog to get more customers (as some people have suggested), but rather to inform people about the truth. If I wanted to get more customers I would've posted pictures of myself long ago with my exact working location, advertising myself on Twitter, but I don't. So I could be any of the girls working there, perhaps you've met me already, perhaps not.
Do prostitutes live in their working rooms?
No, this is a myth. The working rooms are only for work, you can't live or sleep there (unless of course you fall a sleep at work, but that's something different). Girls who work in the Red Light District often live in an apartment, sometimes together with other prostitutes, sometimes with their boyfriends, husbands and children, sometimes all alone. But you can't sleep or live at your workplace, since the window owners don't allow it, and also the cleaners come every day to clean up the workplaces.
Is it true that most prostitutes have a history of (sexual violence) or abuse?
No, this is a myth very much like the similar myth that gay people would've been abused in their child hood and made them gay. It seems every abolitionist at some point or another turns to the bad childhood stories to victimize whatever they see as wrong, so in this case prostitution. This is a bogus story told by abolitionist, don't fall for it!
Is it true that mostly Eastern European women work for cheap prices?
Although there will always be some girls who do this, the majority of the girls don't do this. The type of girls I've seen doing this come from both Eastern Europe and Holland, so in my experience it's not something just related to Eastern European women. Usually the women who do this have trouble with heavy competition from other women who are more successful, mostly from the fact that they're simply not attractive or interesting enough for clients to go to. Many of the girls from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria spend a lot of money on their looks, by silicon implants in their breasts, butt, botox injections in their lips, basically anything to look good. Especially Eastern European women spend a lot more money on these things compared to Dutch women, who prefer to look more natural.
Working for cheap prices happens not just with Eastern European prostitutes, nor are they a majority in it. The idea behind this often brought up idea, is that Eastern European prostitutes would be more often victims of human trafficking. Research however, from all sources, show that the largest group of victims of human trafficking are Dutch, which conflicts with the idea that it would be mostly Eastern European women doing this. In my experience working for a low price has nothing to do specifically with being a victim, but rather with the harsh competition of women among each other.
Is it true that mostly Eastern European women do it without condom?
The answer to this question is virtually the same to the previous question about working for cheap prices. Yes it happens, but most of the Eastern European women don't do this, nor is it restricted to just Eastern European prostitutes. Probably just as many Eastern European prostitutes offer sex without condom as prostitutes from other parts of the world. Again the idea behind this story is usually that mostly Eastern European women would be trafficked, and would be 'forced' to do it without condom.
Again, just like with the previous question, in my experience this has nothing to do specifically with being a victim, but rather with the harsh competition of women among each other.
How many girls are forced into prostitution?
Often people claim that 'most', 'many' or 50-90% of the prostitutes in the Red Light District are forced. Fact is that we don't know. The estimations reach from 1% to 95% and anything in between, so there's really no way to tell. From personal experience I can say that any percentage above 50% is absolute bullshit, since I know more than half the girls that work in the Red Light District, and those are not forced. How many are really forced however is unknown.
Interesting fact however is that researches that speak of high percentages are never done by actual research, but by pure guesswork. Actual research done among prostitutes show much lower percentages, usually around 10%. For more information about researches about forced prostitution read my overview on all the researches that are available about this here.
There are so many stories out there about prostitution, which ones are true and which ones aren't?
A good question, since indeed there are many stories out there about prostitution, some are true, some are partially true and partially manipulated or edited to cover up the truth, and some are complete lies.
First of all, if you really want to know the truth about prostitution, bear in mind that there are just as many truths out there, as there are women doing this job. There is not one universal truth. Every woman doing this job made their own choices, and some unfortunately didn't have that choice.
But if you're interested to know the truth, I suggest going to the source would be the best, the prostitute herself. Because even though others might speak for us (or pretend to speak for us), there are extremely few people who can explain the complexity of our job and our world as well as we can.
So don't trust any politicians, policy makers, journalists, book writers, help organisations or researchers. They're all just people trying to understand us, and most of them have a very hard time succeeding in this.
Of course there's also the problem of people who willingly manipulate or sometimes even lie in their own interest (out of financial gain through funding or real estate for example, or simply because of a moral conviction) about prostitution. In all cases these are always people with negative stories about prostitution, as there has never ever been a single person who lied about a positive thing about prostitution (read more about that here).
Notorious manipulators in the prostitution debate in Holland are people like: Patricia Perquin, Perdiep Ramesar, Lodewijk Asscher, Eberhard van der Laan, Gert-Jan Segers and Renate van der Zee.
From personal experience I can tell the following people have a very good understanding about prostitution: Mariska Majoor, Metje Blaak, Ronald Weitzer and Laurens Buijs
But the only real way to find out, is to go out there and ask prostitutes themselves.
Is there a map of the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
My boyfriend keeps accurate track of all the current window brothels in Amsterdam and created a map as the Red Light District stands today. You can click on the picture for a larger size:
Are you a real prostitute?
Yes, I'm a real prostitute working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Most notably I personally handed over the petition signed by 414 prostitutes of the Red Light District to the mayor of Amsterdam to stop closing down window brothels and to re-open window brothels. Besides that I've also done plenty of interviews, as you can also see on my media page.
Do you give interviews?
Due to the fact that I got a lot of interview requests in the past, I've decided to limit the amount of interviews. If you still wish to meet me or talk with me, you can join the 'Meet A Prostitute Tour' or 'VIP Red Light Tour' from RLD Amsterdam Tours. You will get a fully guided tour through the Red Light District and will get to meet me. You will get a chance to ask your questions during the tour. For more info about the tours of RLD Amsterdam Tours visit our website: http://redlightdistrictamsterdamtours.com
If you wish to know more about prostitution, or talk to sexworkers I suggest contacting PROUD and asking them. Also the Prostitution Information Center offers good information regarding prostitution.
Most of the questions I got during interviews in the past however are already explained here on my blog. In my experience 99% of all questions I received during the interviews I did in the past where already answered on my blog in detail. Things like why I started to do this job, what the realities of and the consequences for Project 1012 in Amsterdam are for me and other sex workers, as well as the subject of human trafficking, are all wel covered on my blog. So please help yourself in finding the answers you're looking for and feel free to quote from my blog.
How can I get in contact with you?
Well, you can follow me on Twitter at @FeliciaAnna27, you can become friends on Facebook here, or if you want to meet me, you can join one of the tours featuring myself of RLD Amsterdam Tours.
Why did you start this blog?
I started this blog because there was a lot of misinformation about my job and the Red Light District in Amsterdam, but also prostitution in Holland and prostitution in general. Apparently there are a lot of people making claims in an attempt to make prostitution or it's clients illegal. Often those people will pretend to be saviors of victims, or pretend to care about the safety and well being of prostitutes. Make however no mistake, there are many people out there speaking for prostitutes without their agreement.
If you want the true story and opinion and facts about prostitution, I either suggest you talk to a real prostitute or go to the PIC (Prostitution Information Center) located in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. You can find the website here.
Do you work for a pimp?
No, I don't work for a pimp, and neither does the vast majority of the girls in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. We get protection from the police, and therefore have no need for pimps.
Do you know any girls that are victims of forced prostitution, exploitation or human trafficking?
No, in the 7 years time I've been working here, and talking to many of the other girls working in the Red Light District in Amsterdam, I've never came across any girls what are forced. I do know one girl that used to be forced in that past, but she came back to work in prostitution because she made much more money that way. I do occassionally come across some girls that are being exploited, but this certainly isn't the majority. It's also very difficult to say how many sex worker are being exploited, and are therefore are victims of trafficking.
There's however one thing I can say for sure. Almost all the women in the Red Light District choose to become a prostitute, rather than being forced against their will. Some women are being exploited, although it's unclear how many. If you want to know more about this, I suggest you read my post on the most recent statistics on human trafficking in prostitution here.
Why did you want to become a prostitute?
The answer is very simple: money. Prostitution is a job where women can earn a lot of money, more then most other jobs would ever pay. Since prostitution is legal in Holland, and in a lot of other countries is not legal, Holland was the most obvious choice to work. It offers good protection to prostitutes from the police, and offers prostitutes a lot of freedom to work whenever, however and how much they want.
What are the prices in the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
Since prostitutes in the Red Light District are self-employed, prostitutes set their own prices for their services. The starting rate is 50 Euro for 15 minutes, although some girls are already setting their own minimum price at 100 euro. Depending on what you negotiate with a prostitute the price can be more, but of course this all depends on your own requests. The starting rate usually offers a blowjob, some might also offer intercourse, but that's differrent for each prostitute. The minimum price really is 50 euro, so do not try to negotiate to get inside for any less than that!
When is the Red Light District open?
The Red Light District is just an area where people work, live and visit places, so there are no official open or closure times. Most prostitutes however are working in the evening, the majority of them starting around 10pm in the evening until around 4-5am in the morning. During the day there are also prostitutes working, but considerably less than during the night.
Is this your dream job?
No, this was not my dream job, but the same thing goes for a lot of people who work. That however doesn't mean that I didn't choose this job voluntarily. If I would have to make a choice today between a regular job with a normal income or prostitution, I would pick prostitution, and I think the same thing goes for the majority of the girls in the Red Light District.
What about organisations claiming to save girls from human trafficking?
Those organisations have an interest in keeping human trafficking alive, since their funding depends on it. Many of these organisation make claims about prostitution and human trafficking that are hugely over exaggerating, to justify their own existence, and therefore their own income through donations and funding from governments. There are only a handful of organisations who are not interested in gaining profits over victims, and one of them is La Strada International.
Is your boyfriend okay with the fact that you do this job?
Yes, my boyfriend fully supports me in the choice for this job, like any boyfriend would support his girlfriend with her job. My boyfriend fully supports me with my job, but also my fight against misinformation about prostitution, and helps me out a lot with this blog. In my opinion the most important thing in a relationship is trust and respect. My boyfriend both trusts me with this job and respects me for doing this job.
What is your opinion on the plans of the city government of Amsterdam to reduce the numbers of windows?
It's the dumbest thing ever! The city government pretends they are doing it to fight forced prostitution and human trafficking, yet after they've closed down several windows, they never looked after the girls who lost their place to work. The only thing this plan will achieve, is that they will loose track of the girls that loose their windows, and therefore they will not be able to safe any possible victims. After all, how can you help someone if you don't know where they are? It will only increase illegal prostitution (prostitution withouth the required license), and this has already be admitted nation wide.
Where do most of the prostitutes in the Amsterdam Red Light District come from?
Most of them come either from Romania. A close second are girls from Bulgaria, than followed by girls from Hungary, and after that some girls from Asia, South America, Africa and also a few Dutch girls.
What about those stories of loverboys in the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
The typical image of loverboys is that they mainly aim young Dutch girls, and that the loverboys are usually Moroccan or Turkish. Since there are very few Dutch women working in the Red Light District, and they're not in the age group usually associated with loverboys, I can say most of these stories are stories from the past.
There are however always so called 'loverboys', whom I'd like to describe more as the male version of gold diggers. Guys who pretend to fall in love with girls thar usually are already working in prostitution, in order to profit from them. Though it's impossible to say how big this group is.
Where do you work?
I work in the main area of the Red Light District in Amsterdam known as De Wallen., but due to privacy reasons and to prevent people from harassing me at work I don't give any details on my exact working place. I don't write this blog to get more customers (as some people have suggested), but rather to inform people about the truth. If I wanted to get more customers I would've posted pictures of myself long ago with my exact working location, advertising myself on Twitter, but I don't. So I could be any of the girls working there, perhaps you've met me already, perhaps not.
Do prostitutes live in their working rooms?
No, this is a myth. The working rooms are only for work, you can't live or sleep there (unless of course you fall a sleep at work, but that's something different). Girls who work in the Red Light District often live in an apartment, sometimes together with other prostitutes, sometimes with their boyfriends, husbands and children, sometimes all alone. But you can't sleep or live at your workplace, since the window owners don't allow it, and also the cleaners come every day to clean up the workplaces.
Is it true that most prostitutes have a history of (sexual violence) or abuse?
No, this is a myth very much like the similar myth that gay people would've been abused in their child hood and made them gay. It seems every abolitionist at some point or another turns to the bad childhood stories to victimize whatever they see as wrong, so in this case prostitution. This is a bogus story told by abolitionist, don't fall for it!
Is it true that mostly Eastern European women work for cheap prices?
Although there will always be some girls who do this, the majority of the girls don't do this. The type of girls I've seen doing this come from both Eastern Europe and Holland, so in my experience it's not something just related to Eastern European women. Usually the women who do this have trouble with heavy competition from other women who are more successful, mostly from the fact that they're simply not attractive or interesting enough for clients to go to. Many of the girls from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria spend a lot of money on their looks, by silicon implants in their breasts, butt, botox injections in their lips, basically anything to look good. Especially Eastern European women spend a lot more money on these things compared to Dutch women, who prefer to look more natural.
Working for cheap prices happens not just with Eastern European prostitutes, nor are they a majority in it. The idea behind this often brought up idea, is that Eastern European prostitutes would be more often victims of human trafficking. Research however, from all sources, show that the largest group of victims of human trafficking are Dutch, which conflicts with the idea that it would be mostly Eastern European women doing this. In my experience working for a low price has nothing to do specifically with being a victim, but rather with the harsh competition of women among each other.
Is it true that mostly Eastern European women do it without condom?
The answer to this question is virtually the same to the previous question about working for cheap prices. Yes it happens, but most of the Eastern European women don't do this, nor is it restricted to just Eastern European prostitutes. Probably just as many Eastern European prostitutes offer sex without condom as prostitutes from other parts of the world. Again the idea behind this story is usually that mostly Eastern European women would be trafficked, and would be 'forced' to do it without condom.
Again, just like with the previous question, in my experience this has nothing to do specifically with being a victim, but rather with the harsh competition of women among each other.
How many girls are forced into prostitution?
Often people claim that 'most', 'many' or 50-90% of the prostitutes in the Red Light District are forced. Fact is that we don't know. The estimations reach from 1% to 95% and anything in between, so there's really no way to tell. From personal experience I can say that any percentage above 50% is absolute bullshit, since I know more than half the girls that work in the Red Light District, and those are not forced. How many are really forced however is unknown.
Interesting fact however is that researches that speak of high percentages are never done by actual research, but by pure guesswork. Actual research done among prostitutes show much lower percentages, usually around 10%. For more information about researches about forced prostitution read my overview on all the researches that are available about this here.
There are so many stories out there about prostitution, which ones are true and which ones aren't?
A good question, since indeed there are many stories out there about prostitution, some are true, some are partially true and partially manipulated or edited to cover up the truth, and some are complete lies.
First of all, if you really want to know the truth about prostitution, bear in mind that there are just as many truths out there, as there are women doing this job. There is not one universal truth. Every woman doing this job made their own choices, and some unfortunately didn't have that choice.
But if you're interested to know the truth, I suggest going to the source would be the best, the prostitute herself. Because even though others might speak for us (or pretend to speak for us), there are extremely few people who can explain the complexity of our job and our world as well as we can.
So don't trust any politicians, policy makers, journalists, book writers, help organisations or researchers. They're all just people trying to understand us, and most of them have a very hard time succeeding in this.
Of course there's also the problem of people who willingly manipulate or sometimes even lie in their own interest (out of financial gain through funding or real estate for example, or simply because of a moral conviction) about prostitution. In all cases these are always people with negative stories about prostitution, as there has never ever been a single person who lied about a positive thing about prostitution (read more about that here).
Notorious manipulators in the prostitution debate in Holland are people like: Patricia Perquin, Perdiep Ramesar, Lodewijk Asscher, Eberhard van der Laan, Gert-Jan Segers and Renate van der Zee.
From personal experience I can tell the following people have a very good understanding about prostitution: Mariska Majoor, Metje Blaak, Ronald Weitzer and Laurens Buijs
But the only real way to find out, is to go out there and ask prostitutes themselves.
Is there a map of the Red Light District in Amsterdam?
My boyfriend keeps accurate track of all the current window brothels in Amsterdam and created a map as the Red Light District stands today. You can click on the picture for a larger size:
