Do As I Say Not As I Do!

Fall is here, autumn, time of harvest. Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season with the fast approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years Eve.

But the onset of the harvest season and especially Halloween is the most important holiday to pagans and wiccans alike. It is their New Year, the time of the samhain feast and sabbat.

Here in the bible belt of the United States I recently faced an eye opening surprise.

I work in the public school system in an area of North Carolina where it is quiet and everyone knows eachother. But when I went into a middle school library I could not believe the amount of paranormal, supernatural and, for lack of a better word, occult themed books! A majority of the students migrated towards this genre and a writing/reading assignment in an 8th grade Communications Skills class was to create a legend based on facts from the colonial period of the original 13 colonies of America. These kids were told to write about ghosts, hauntings and spirits. Me, I loved it but I know there are some parents that are not believers and this could possibly have turned into a situation much like the elementary kids who sang the "Obama" song depending on the severity of bible thumping.

But what was even more surprising was a visit to a book fair at the local elementary school. The different types of paranormal/supernatural books floored me including topics on vampires, seances, and your regular hauntings. These were not just presented in fiction and legend formats but also as researched material. Not a word of shock or surprise was uttered throughout the entire uptight PTA. Holy shit!

I am very opened minded but this all came as a surprise, a bit different from previous years.

What I'd like to know is: has the mentality and the level of acceptance also changed? Can we all accept one another without judgement allowing each to participate to achieve the greatest good for all?

Hmmmm.

Live Well.

Prostitution

Welcome to Socially Taboo?, this being the first in a series of topics that may or may not be considered taboo by mainstream society, it all depends on who you are.

With the entirety of the nation's focus on Acorn's latest scandal of trying to help a so-called prostitute and her pimp get a house to run their business from, I began thinking about prostitution and our viewpoints on it.


9 out of 10 times when one thinks of a prostitute a buxom woman or a child of around 15 is visualized. What about men? Why do we never imagine men being prostitutes?

Remember Richard Gere in one of his first break-out roles in "American Gigolo"? So many women wanted to be Lauren Hutton. And more recently Dermot Mulroney in "The Wedding Date". Women across the world were looking for phone numbers to find a man like that no matter what the cost. And they still are, wake up people.

Think of this:

51% of women in the United States are living without a spouse for whatever reason: divorced, never married, choosing to marry late, the spouse is in the military, etc.

Statistics for the 2005 Census Bureau shows as follows:

• 70% African American women are single


• 51% Hispanic women


• 45% White/Caucasion women


• 40% Asian women

And there is a greater number of women than there are men in this country and men prefer, generally, younger women.

So what are women supposed to do? Would love to have a look at the statistics showing the age of women who purchase adult toys. Wanna bet the majority are over 40?

Yes, they help but the reality of it is, and both men and women will agree: women, or people in general, need to have affectionate human contact. Yes, we need it. Not the sex per se, but the closeness, the touching, the skin on skin, and the kissing is the icing on the cake. Why do you think there are so many lonely and depressed people in the world? It is scientifically proven that people need physical contact.

What do think? Men, let me tell you a little secret: women, sexually, get better with age, they are more in tune with their "body parts", they know what they like and if you give it to her it will be returned, I guarantee it.

But, unfortunately, there is such a limited, next to nothing, pool to choose from. There is that occassional younger man but that's a whole other topic.

Which brings me back to male prostitution. And it's not because women want to get laid, although, sometimes that is the case, but women want someone who is tender, affectionate, attentive, clean, and considerate. And women would be willing to pay for it. Sometimes it is preferred because of their reasons for not wanting any unnecessary baggage. And not only single women.

I have researched sites for male escorts and, really, I could find only 2 that appeared to be reputable: 1 in London, the other in Florida.

So, if you are considering a new business venture, check out your demographics and see what you think might be needed,

Is this socially taboo?

(note: this is no reflection on my personal views as to whether I support or oppose the topic)