The Bleak World of Truck Stop Prostitution

Jennifer, an ex-addict and single mother who recently quit prostitution, struggles to maintain her sobriety. She buys a house but can’t find a job. With time and money running out, she weighs the economics of earning minimum wage at a McJob versus hustling on the lot again. (Guess which pays more?) It’s a particularly wrenching moment in a film loaded with them.

Mother Jones has a really great interview with filmmaker Alexander Perlman, who made a documentary about truck stop sex workers. The documentary is called Lot Lizards, the term most truck drivers use for the sex workers, who are mostly women. The experience of making this documentary had a significant effect on Perlman — he’s now looking to get a master’s in social work.

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