Hard Money - The Naked Truth Behind The Red Light

By Verity Louise Marshall

During the 1980s, a childhood friend of mine inherited a suburban brothel from her former husband. She decided to retain ownership of the business and operate it herself. After listening for many years to her wild and bizarre tales, I decided to chronicle the conversations. I penned my observations and used them as the inspiration for Hard Money. Eventually my friend retired, and I realised I needed to update my research for the project.

My friend advised me to speak with a madam she knew, "Miss Lulu", and arranged for me to meet her. Miss Lulu generously provided me with office space suitable to conduct interviews. She also gave me unwavering support and encouragement. Her persuasive abilities are well known, and she used them on clients and workers alike in order to cajole them into opening up and sharing their experiences with me. This manuscript is the result.

Hard Money is a collection of short stories, facts, and anecdotes about the daily activities of an inner-Sydney massage parlour. To create the stories, I documented and examined the exploits of a regular cast of characters, wove fact with fiction, and changed all the names to protect the 'not so innocent'. All the stories are written in the present-simple tense to maintain a sense of immediacy when describing the conversations and actions that take place in the massage parlour.

The pivotal character is the madam of the brothel, Miss Lulu, who takes an unusual approach to running a business notorious for its use of heavy-handed tactics. However, Miss Lulu is a kind and caring employer who often puts her employees' happiness and harmony before profit making.

Miss Lulu's co-stars in this theatre of social deviancy are an eclectic group of women who, during their working day, accept a reality of life that most people prefer to ignore. Ironically, this realistic career involves a good deal of fantasy and necessitates the ability to role-play. The story entitled The Girls' Room features candid conversations between the prostitutes while they're discussing customers. Other stories include recounts of the physical machinations the workers experience during bookings and the workers' emotional reactions to them.

Suspending my usual tendency to make moral judgements, I unexpectedly experienced admiration for the women I interviewed. This admiration is expressed throughout the book. Having expected to find the massage parlour populated by victims, I found it a refreshing revelation to encounter individuals who were both decisive and autonomous, and many who had the characteristics of forthrightness and conscientiousness.

I graphically recount each story, and each one has a humorous undertone. In crafting the commentary, I've attempted to give readers an insight into the motives of both sex workers and their clients. The stories range from titillating to the weird and comical. The workers and their clients have a diverse range of personalities, moral beliefs, and ethnicities, and are far from stereotypical. Throughout the book are 'factual inserts' of interesting statistics and general observations of the people I interviewed. I include many happy endings, not always the expected one!

This is a tale with multiple happy endings!

Autorentext

During the 1980s, a childhood friend inherited a suburban brothel from her former husband. After listening for many years to her wild and bizarre tales, I decided to chronicle the conversations and use them as the inspiration for Hard Money.

My friend arranged for me to speak with a 'madam' well known to her, Miss Lulu. The madam's immediate enthusiasm for the project enabled me to tap into a wealth of material. I was invited to sit in the girl's lounge room to hear the gossip and assigned a small office area for interviews and surveys.

The pivotal character of Hard Money is the madam of the brothel, Miss Lulu, who takes an unusual approach to running a business notorious for its use of heavy-handed tactics. Miss Lulu is a kind and caring employer who often puts her employees' happiness and harmony before profit making. Her co-stars in this theatre of social deviancy are an eclectic group of women who, during their working day, accept a reality of life that most people prefer to ignore.

The story The Girls' Room features candid conversations between the prostitutes while they're discussing customers. Other stories include recounts of the physical machinations the workers experience during bookings and their emotional reactions to them.

Each story is graphically recounted and has a humorous undertone. In crafting the commentary, I've attempted to give readers an insight into the motives of both sex workers and their clients. The stories range from titillating to the weird and comical. The characters have a diverse range of personalities, moral beliefs, and ethnicities, and are far from stereotypical. Throughout the book are 'factual inserts' of interesting statistics and general observations of the people I interviewed. I include many happy endings, not always the expected one!