Introduction....Who is Douglas Fox......

I am an independent gay male sex worker based in the North East of England. I have worked for nearly twelve years and I have been involved in sex worker activism for several years.

I live with my civil partner who owns and runs an established escort agency in the North East of England representing female and male escorts.

As a sex worker I have worked in Newcastle, London and Edinburgh, both as an independent and as an agency escort. My experiences as an escort and as an activist have allowed me to develop a good understanding of the legalities that affect the lives of sex workers, male and female, independent and agency workers, in the UK.

My contact with so many escorts with so many different experiences has made me very aware of the negative effect of UK legislation for the safety and human rights of sex workers.

I have been involved in sex worker activism for several years, mainly through the IUSW (International Union of Sex Workers). Although I now campaign predominantly as an independent activist I remain closely associated with the IUSW and remain a strong supporter of the ideals of the IUSW.

Harlots Parlour

I am the principle editor of www.harlotsparlour.com which is one of the leading sex industry, pro sex feminist and gender positive blogs.

Harlots Parlour provides a space where sex workers (and their allies) can discuss issues that involve them here in the UK and around the world.

My Activism Work

Only sex workers can talk with any authenticity about their lives and their work. It is important that as many people as possible hear our voices. It is our industry yet so often our voices are ignored in favour of so called experts, who although often very supportive, have little practical experience of sex work or of the effect both criminalisation and the associated stigma has on the lives of sex workers. I have experienced the positive side of escorting and also faced the realities of the criminalising of our industry.

If the Media, Academia, politicians and the public want to learn from a sex worker about the lives of sex workers I am happy to engage in a conversation with them. I am happy to talk about being an independent sex worker, to discuss the role of escort agencies and the importance of third parties who offer representation to sex workers. It is important that sex workers themselves speak about the negative effects of present legislation on their lives and about how different our lives could be if UK legislation was changed to positively protect sex workers rather than to harass and persecute them.

Projects

I regularly write on sex worker issues and have had articles and letters published on various blogs and publications including, CIF (Comment Is Free) in the Guardian.

Part of my activism has involved speaking about sex work on numerous radio and television interviews and appearing in documentaries including a documentary for Channel 4 called “The Escort Agency”

When able, I write erotica and fiction. I am presently working on two projects. A book called “The Escort Agency” detailing the often very amusing antics of clients and escorts and their agents as well as the serious difficulties that affect the owners, receptionists, drivers and escorts”.

The second project is an erotic, Gothic horror that offers a critique of modern feminism through the eyes of the heroine who experiences changing attitudes toward sex and gender through history.

This work is very near completion.

Any literary agents interested in representing my work please contact me (contact details below).

dfharlot@googlemail.com