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Welcome to my blog, the Musings of Crane and Lotus, a blog for my ongoing research into the histroy, arts, and culture of the Korean Peninsula, usually for the purpose of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). My persona is a Korean Gisaeng (a courtesan so to speak) named Soo Yun. As a Caucasian person who has not worked as a sex worker, I can only speak on these topics from an academic/research perspective. I highly encourage you all to visit the following sources which can provide some perspective from people who are of Asian descent and/or sex workers as I recognize that I cannot provide these important perspectives: 

Gold and Jade This blog is managed by the admin of the SCA Korea FB group and is known in the SCA as Seong Myeong Su Daesaseong. She provides excellent perspective as a Korean American into her research and issues in both within and outside of the SCA. 

The Cultural Whiplash of a Second-Generation Korean American by Seoyoung Kwon is a great glimpse of what it is like to grow up as a Korean American. She is also a poet who has very moving pieces crafted from her life and experiences such as copy-paste. 

8asians is a collaborative blog written by Asian Americans and Asian Canadians who regularly post on media, discrimination, issues, and their experiences. Being a collaborative blog, it provides diverse perspectives on many diverse topics, from problematic and insensitive comments made on “The Biggest Loser” to a book review on a heartwarming YA novel about a Bengali teen. 

Shae Ashbury writes a blog about her life as an escort, which she best sums up why she writes in her though-provoking post, Why I Write. 

Tits and Sass is another collaborative blog written by people who “work as strippers, porn performers, pro-dommes, and prostitutes, and have a love of ripping apart stereotypes”. They write on the public image of sex workers, their experiences, and issues they face. 

This is just a small snippet of what is out there and I encourage you to use these recommendations as a starting point as both the lives of sex workers and the lives of Asians are very diverse. While there are lighthearted posts and heartwarming moments, there are just as many difficult conversations and heartbreaking times. It takes emotional work to make yourself vulnerable like this and put your hopes and trauma into words and on display to provide just a snippet into what life is like to those who do not live that life – it’s important we take the time to listen, truly listen, to perspectives of those who are less priveleged and to be thoughtful in all we do and how it can affect those who are different than us. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and I look forward to having you on this journey with me.