Going down in the downturn

My latest feature about women turning to sex work during the recession was just published on Salon.

Oof, it's been a long time coming. How long, exactly? Well, at least three months, but I don't want to do a more precise accounting of the time put into this 1400-word story because it's a reminder of all the stories left untold. I talked with so many more women than I could actually quote, I learned so much more than I could share -- partly because Web readers will only hang around for so many words, but more so because, from an objective viewpoint, the women's stories were all so similar. On the other hand, my subjective viewpoint told me that each story was unique and profoundly important. That's because I've never been so emotionally connected to a story; I've never before had an interviewee break down sobbing or tell me things they hadn't told a single other soul.

I guess that's why, even having published the piece, the work feels unfinished. These women's crises aren't resolved, nothing has changed for them. They've merely shared some intimacies with strangers, yet again.