August 2, 2007
View Comments | Post CommentReturn Of The Courtesan?
There's a San Francisco woman calling herself a modern-day courtesan, and charging prices far higher than the hookers on the street. Elise Vanderhof has a website (Gallery section is NSFW), with her rates and packages posted, as well as photos of herself. She continually invokes the history of the courtesans of old, and she apparently aspires to their legacy.
I am a Courtesan, in the age-old tradition of those who came before me in a distinct and elite class. I combine intelligence, beauty, elegance, and charm. I offer scintillating conversation as well as soft, inviting companionship.
And sex.
Or does she?
By agreeing to see me, you understand that money exchanged is for my time and companionship only. In no way is this an offer for prostitution.
But one is left wondering whether that's there merely to protect her legally, or whether it really reflects her services. Her website is clearly crafted to make potential clients think they will get sex. From the naked, sexy photos of herself (although the ones she seems to display most prominently look to be terrible photos of her), to the carefully worded language:
What can I expect during our date? You can expect me to be elegantly dressed, with a warm, friendly demeanor, though I will be discreet in public. You can expect lively, intriguing conversation, and moments of deep and delicious connection.What else is going to happen on our date?
If you need to ask, I suggest you may be in the wrong place.
And although she says that her "primary offering is [her] heart and mind," she does say that her "body is secondary." Secondary, perhaps, but it's still part of her offerings, yes?
So what do you think? Courtesan = prostitute? If you pay $2000 for a four hour dinner date, do you get sex? Four hours is a long time for just dinner. What about if you pay $10,000 for two days and two nights? Then do you get sex?
Posted at August 2, 2007 11:42 AM | Comments (5)
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All this ambiguity would go away if we would just legalize prostitution like we should. Either way, I'll have the song "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" stuck in my head for the remainder of the day, so thanks for that.
Posted by: Mike at August 3, 2007 10:32 AM
We had a prostitute, now pro-dom speak to our human sexuality class, and "legal" prostitution is a words game. Her now ex-husband (though they were married for 20 or so years) is a lawyer. She recorded all her conversations and sessions, and actually protected herself against prosecution by doing so.
Perhaps, the most interesting thing she said was that in the 30 years she was a prostitute the prices never rose, so essentially she makes the same amount of money now as she did 30 years ago, which has driven her out of business. I wonder if this modern day courtesan is an answer to that.
Posted by: violet_flames at August 3, 2007 1:31 PM
Interesting. Did she say what the going rates were? Not $500/hour, presumably. Do you remember what she said about it being a words game--what are the right words, and how does recording the sessions help?
Anyway, I suspect that the ambiguity in Courtesan Elise's site is not there to protect her legally, but to protect her safety and choice. I think her intention is that paying her fees gives you the right to meet her, and then, once she meets you, she will decide whether she feels comfortable enough with you to have sex with you. I think she is ambiguous so that, if she doesn't like you, she can legitimately say that the date just included dinner. But if she does want to have sex with you, she will.
In other words, it's no different than taking any other woman out on a date, except that it costs $2000 more: You pay for dinner and a movie, and then, if she likes you enough, she'll have sex with you.
Posted by: Barzelay at August 3, 2007 1:39 PM
While the geisha tradition (which is like this, but also performance art in combination with companionship) in Japan has mostly faded into history texts, this sort of paid companionship is still extremely common. There are bars called Hostess Bars where business men go to drink and hang out with funny, witty, and extremely pretty women. Buying drinks and stuff doesn't guarantee sex...you're not buying that. But hell, if you both get drunk and are having a good time...why not? Just to be clear, I've only read about these and seen them on the street. =P I doubt my language skills are even good enough to get much out what you'd be paying for.
I suspect that what this woman is doing is very similar. And I bet her site is pretty much telling the truth. If things go a certain way, she'll go with the flow...but you're not handing her cash flow for it.
Posted by: Dan at August 6, 2007 2:40 AM
For $2000... one would expect her to be... prettier ...just sayin...
Posted by: Daniel at August 14, 2007 12:44 AM
