Topic: Louis Theroux: Selling Sex

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Louis is back tonight on BBC Two with another bleak yet compassionate documentary. Here's the synopsis.

The exchange of sex for money is legal in Britain, so long as it doesn’t involve coercion, exploitation, or any kind of public nuisance. Now, fuelled by websites and social media, a new economy has emerged – bringing a world of transactional sex to people who might never have previously considered it.

Bafta Award-winning film-maker Louis Theroux returns to the UK to meet women legally providing sexual services, either to make a living or to supplement their income, potentially earning hundreds of pounds per hour. But rather than on the streets or in illegal brothels, these women sell sex from their own homes or hotels, utilising technology to share photos, make bookings and vet potential clients - making the exchange more accessible and, according to some, safer than the illegal alternatives.

The age-old issue of whether sex should ever be traded remains, with many believing it to be exploitative and damaging, driven by a society still shaped by the desires of men. Yet there are those who feel that selling sex can be a valid, empowering choice for those who choose to engage in it.

As Louis meets the women and men participating in the new sexual economy, he explores whether selling sex can ever be a healthy way to make money.

I know we all enjoy watching Louis' documentaries and discussing them afterwards, so this is a thread for that.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I should add that I've already seen it, and I think it's a particularly good example of 'mature' Louis filmmaking. He doesn't just wander off at the end with a "Well, that was all very sad and depressing, wasn't it?" shrug, he actually engages with the subject matter in a thoughtful way.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Does he shag any of his interviewees?

[evilcommiedictator]

That semicolonis doing a lot of work, without it Louis would have trouble getting anyone to pay for his work

[Johnny Yesno]

That semicolonis doing a lot of work, without it Louis would have trouble getting anyone to pay for his work

Not only that, the sneaky character is masquerading as a colon.

[bgmnts]

He already did a sex worker episode.

[FerriswheelBueller]

Maybe Louis should do one on the circus or something, constant sex workers and drug addicts/prisoners must get him down.

Louis at the Big Top. I’d watch it.

[Johnny Yesno]

Maybe Louis should do one on the circus or something, constant sex workers and drug addicts/prisoners must get him down.

Louis at the Big Top. I’d watch it.

Louis Theroux: Turning Tricks

[beanheadmcginty]

He should do one where he follows Adam Buxton around.

[rjd2]

I should add that I've already seen it, and I think it's a particularly good example of 'mature' Louis filmmaking. He doesn't just wander off at the end with a "Well, that was all very sad and depressing, wasn't it?" shrug, he actually engages with the subject matter in a thoughtful way.

did you think the criticism from the 2 young arty students about how louis was an exploitative knob fair?

For me its an industry that has been covered to death and didn't see much anything to remarkable tonight.

[wooders1978]

Imagine rocking up to pork a prossie and Louis and his crew are knocking about - gritty

[poo]

were there any knobs going in and out?

[imitationleather]

I didn't think it was up to much. The "A-ha!" moment of the student one having abuse in her past didn't feel like that at all to me. Also Louis eeking out these confessions about peoples' pasts for the benefit of the viewing audience feels very voyeuristic. She should be telling that stuff to a therapist, not Theroux and his film crew. The way she was self-destructing was pretty sad to witness and I felt unpleasant watching it. It was also obvious through-out that she was extremely troubled and that the confident hipster sexworker persona she was presenting was a facade, so there wasn't the resolution that they seemed to be attempting to concoct. I guess they were once again struggling to get a decent episode out of the topic they'd chosen. I thought her friend commenting on how meaningless sex had become for her generation was one of the few actually interesting insights of the episode. The rest of it has been done to death.

The episode was an uncomfortable watch. Mainly because the redhead one looked a lot like my mum.

[sevendaughters]

i thought the peer group of the hip one were spineless enablers. my gf has some friends like that, some of whom fall into the vortex of self-abuse because they're too busy performing supportiveness. there was one interaction that was telling, for me, at least the way i read it.

LOUIS: are you curious about Ashley's finding the sex work?
LOUISA [clearly been given permission to ask in a situation where Ashley can't get out]: yeah kind of, I presume you're happy
ASHLEY [abruptly]: Yeah I'm fine [hand touching face and mouth] they know if I say I'm fine they know not to pry

just all felt very British and emotions going unexplored even with the emotional metal detector hovering over the table going BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEP

also the way sex was justified as just some commodity you can trade and give away as a present, it was too hip and calculated and art school detachment (even though, I have to admit, her body was literally on the line).

[imitationleather]

I dunno if they're enablers so much. When you have a friend on the descent like that it can be quite worrying, and at their age (and I am guessing, with their very middle class life experience) they're hardly equipped to deal with it. It might not be the kind of thing you're supposed to do as a friend, but taking a hands off approach and letting them get on with whatever extremely poor decisions they're making often seems like the best choice.

She also seemed like someone who wasn't going to listen to any advice because she had convinced herself that what she was doing was the right choice and empowering. (She actually described it as such, didn't she?) Obviously it took only the gentlest nudge from Louis to break through that, which makes me believe that when her friends do the same the drama it unleashes must be a nightmare and so probably best avoided.

The bit about her friend booking her for his birthday was fucking bleak. No one is going to look back on that situation in ten years and think they came out of it looking good.

[sevendaughters]

maybe. i though the self-justification was weak though, "our generation do sex differently, dating apps" blah blah bah. it was ahistorical navel-gazing. her forceful personality and the drama she is clearly capable of is what leads to me my (harsh) judgement. sometimes you have to leap in the way of the bull. she didn't look terribly happy or empowered to me. when you're admitting you're numb to sexual behaviour and you use it to be a people-pleaser...that's dark.

[GMTV]

Barely scratched the surface really. Just enough to gain a bit of titillation and enough awkward moments to showcase his concerned face and vaguely sympathetic voice overs, but not much else.

[gilbertharding]

He should do one where he follows Adam Buxton around.

I'm not surprised he's given up the When Louis Met *celebrity* format, seeing how many wrong 'uns he turned out to have given enough rope to over the years.

[kenneth trousers]

The most shocking thing in the doc were those death trap loft ladders. Christ, "up you go back to bed 8 year old son. I'll just pop your (only means of escape in the event of a fire) hatch shut."

[gib]

The episode was an uncomfortable watch. Mainly because the redhead one looked a lot like my mum.

i want to watch it now

[chveik]

that title is very misleading, it's just Louis and his stupid questions.

the brothel one in Las Vegas was much better.

[gilbertharding]

The most shocking thing in the doc were those death trap loft ladders. Christ, "up you go back to bed 8 year old son. I'll just pop your (only means of escape in the event of a fire) hatch shut."

Louis Theroux: Contraventions of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations

[Piggyoioi]

I thought the show was interesting. The art school girl clearly had borderline personality disorder rather than Aspergers, but one could see why she wouldn't want to transmit this to the world.

[imitationleather]

I thought the show was interesting. The art school girl clearly had borderline personality disorder rather than Aspergers

I did wonder about this, as I couldn't see anything about her which suggested Aspergers.

[bgmnts]

Are we all doctors now?

[imitationleather]

Not yet, but hopefully before too long.

[Non Stop Dancer]

were there any knobs going in and out?

No but Louis disguised himself as a prosser and got licked out. Fucking loved it as well, the dirty cunt.

[willy crossit]

It feels a bit like they edit some of his questions out to get more of the people talking in. Which is good i suppose but it does make it feel like 'Louis stares down a sex worker until they cry'. Unless that is genuinely what it is

[sevendaughters]

twitter thread by a friend of the hipster one from before it aired, complaining of manipulation
i mean that's what documentary is, but w/ev
https://twitter.com/ggeorginattyson/status/1159413590329348097

[Piggyoioi]

Couldn't read all of that, seems like she was upset that she put across a fake persona and didn't get enough airtime, basically. People with BPD love playing the victim, so I'm sticking with my armchair diagnosis.