After a lifetime of work, Mexico City's elderly prostitutes find shelter

[emad]

Jo Tuckman in Mexico City
Wednesday April 27, 2005
The Guardian

Marilú Torres' knees hurt when they swell, her varicose veins are a constant bother, and cataracts are slowly stealing her vision away. Even so, the 72-year-old hits the streets looking for work every day, although she has to walk much further to find clients than she used to.

"This year is my golden anniversary as a sex worker," laughed Marilú, who became a prostitute as a young widow with no other means of feeding her three children. "I'm not complaining, I've learned a lot about life in this job. But the old bones are turning to dust like the mummies, and it would be nice to be able to stop soon."

She was talking in an abandoned sports museum in the run-down colonial city centre, which is being adapted as a shelter for elderly prostitutes who work the area.

There are about 120 of them working the district, charging a standard 70 pesos (£3.30) a job, unless they are desperate enough to accept less, or are offered a little more by a client who insists on not using a condom.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1470864,00.html

[MercutioATC]

1. Ewwwww!

...just ewwwwww.

[Cleita]

2. That's disgusting that any country would allow their

elderly to be treated like that even if they were prostitutes. This is the world Bush wants to bring to us with his Social Security piratization.

[etherealtruth]

3. It's not OK period ...

... I think women end up prostituting themselves because there are no other options. "even if they were prostitutes," to me they don't deserve this because they were prostitutes and had an extremely difficult lives ---- they deserve a little comfort in their old age, they sure as hell gave others "comfort".

[Cleita]

4. Save me the lecture.

Maybe I didn't articulate this very well. What I was saying is countries shouldn't throw away their elderly because they maybe did stuff that there was no approval for in their culture at one time. You, can be sure if Bush and his religious nutjobs get their way, prostitutes and gays and other marginalized Americans will be treated as badly.

[etherealtruth]

5. Why be hostile?

I responded to what you wrote. We all express ourselves "inartfully" at times and when called on it, we clarify our position. Wouldn't you prefer to clarify your position immediately than to have what you wrote open to interpretation? I would (and like most others, have had to, but try to do it graciously)

[Cleita]

6. Two criticisms about me being unartful and now hostile.

I apologize that I am not as gracious as you would like me to me, but that's just me.

I don't come to these boards for tea chatter. I do like to make my position clear and thank for giving me a cyber wedgie for that, but please don't expect too much graciousness.

[flordehinojos]

7. does any one remember melina mercuri in her role as a prostitute on NEVER

ON SUNDAY?

She had all the prostitutes rebelling against state unfairness against them ...

MEXICO needs a melina mercuri (or a character like the one mercuri portrayed in that movie).