Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York is in very hot water after the New York Times linked him to a high-priced prostitution ring. Keith L. T. Wright, a Democratic assemblyman from Harlem, said it most entertainingly when he tried to describe the news' affect on Albany:
“We’re at a total standstill. Everybody is stunned. Everybody is absolutely stunned.”
Unequivocally. Absolutely. Totally. Darn tootin'.
I hustled to the dictionary to understand the difference between a prostitute and a call girl, having come in contact with neither during my lifetime. (Honest). Prostitute is the umbrella term. It defines a woman who has sexual intercourse for money. Its root is the Latin prostituere, meaning to expose for sale. There's also the variant statuere, which is to cause to stand. And I'll let that stand right there.
A call girl is a prostitute with whom an appointment can be made by telephone. In America in the 1930s it was also used to describe a prostitute who could be called upon at a brothel, but that description has fallen out of favor. Today call girls are generally more expensive prostitutes favored by wealthy businessmen, athletes and, um, politicians who are trying to be discreet.
Doesn't always work out that way, however.
2 comments:
What is more interesting, from a wordsmith standpoint, is the New York Times using a politically incorrect term. Prostitutes and call girls are the equivalent of the "n" word among the profession. the correct term nowadays is "sex worker."
However, there may be a caveat to the use. When talking about the rights and abuses of women in the world's oldest profession (next to farming) I imagine one needs to use the term sex worker. But when someone famous is availing themselves of the service, it's a prostitute.
But in any case, "call girl" needs to be changed to "call womyn" in today's enlightened times.
On New York's new governor:
``He is the total opposite of Eliot in terms of temperament,'' said political consultant Joseph Mercurio, who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. Paterson demonstrated those traits this week, alluding to his almost total blindness when a reporter asked him about Spitzer's status. ``I'm pretty much in the dark about it,'' he said.
I already love the guy.
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