Letter from the Editor, Vol. 6
Updated: Oct 24, 2022
BY PENELOPE DARIO
It’s hard to stay present in a time of change. It’s almost as if we’d prefer to just wake up at some point and feel adjusted.
We think that because we can hit buttons and instantly fulfill certain needs that everything in life can adhere to that pace. How do we know when to practice patience? The wisdom to tell the difference between what we can push to achieve in the modern world and what tides we must inevitably wait to turn. There is beauty and humility in that balance.
I don’t think that our patterns change so much as a species over time, but our perception of what we are doing does. The symbolism of our rituals and actions become redefined over generations and we reach a point where we wonder why we do it at all. After a while, the only thing that still resonates is the marking of the passage of time.
Culture is like a game of telephone, as time moves on everything gets distorted.
Myths and legends have been shared for centuries as a way for us to better understand ourselves and the dynamics of our relationships. In more modern times, spiritual dogma was replaced with science, yet, the more we learn about the human brain and the nature of ourselves as a species, the more we want to challenge these truths. It makes me wonder if we are disgusted by the fact that we are just animals after all. Is this whole business of challenging our nature an attempt to escape ourselves and become gods?
Mere mortals are at the mercy of nature, having to adapt to circumstances as they arise. We make choices we can’t reverse and live with the consequences of our miopia.
As humans we find ourselves pulled taut between what we have and what we want. The future is so appealing when it seems malleable. That distant horizon we can hardly make out, so seductive in its ambiguity, so sure of its promise.
What happens internally when you embark on that journey from what you know to what you dream of?
Like a rocket being launched to space, the initial impulse is like a shot of adrenaline straight to the moon. Our manic resolve only lasts until the second or third roadblock. Then the doubt creeps in.
If only we were omnipotent, and could transform our entire reality with the snap of our fingers.
On the road between then and when, everything you recognize is gradually replaced with dissonant versions of what you used to know. You never realize the comfort you derive from such things until they’re gone.
Although physical movement is an obvious analogy, the terrain our spirit must cross when faced with change can often feel so much longer and more arduous than any geographical expedition. We often have to go backwards before we can go forwards again; untangling judgments and negative associations born from misinformation and trauma.
A lot of the folx in the adult industry are all too familiar with this process. Sex work is like a secret service-elevator to opportunities beyond your reach. The only barrier to entry is in our minds.
To move with confidence, we must deconstruct all of the myths and legends we’ve been taught about virtue and value. By redefining shame into power, a whore becomes a goddess—transforming her sexual energy into physical security.
Worshiped in secret, we are the keepers of liminal spaces.
We carry a pivotal role in human civilization—inspiring clients and subscribers to explore their hidden desires; sometimes guiding them from who they were taught to be to who they truly are. We challenge gender binary and the economic status quo. Teaching the world how to feel more alive.
As the weather gets warmer and the world re-opens this spring and summer, we at Petit Mort hope that sex workers can establish a more integrated role in the society we serve.
PHOTOS BY SYDNEY TATE