Legalize Frostitution
by Anne Loucks
Picture an 18-year old punk-rock girl with blue mohawk hair, short skirt, tight shirt, and ripped nylons out at night in a bad part of town, waiting for the bus. I am not surprised the police took her for a whore. Still, she was not a prostitute, and she had not offered the use of her body in exchange for money to anyone. She was, in fact, just a roller girl in her derby outfit, trying to see some of the city we were visiting for a tournament. We couldn't take her to the proper after party, as she was underage, but this girl is very headstrong. If she wants to get out and have a good time, she is going to do just that. Still, the cops harassed her, threatening jail and arrest, even though she had done nothing except wear the wrong clothes in the wrong neighborhood.
Now, this girl had been through a difficult life to that point, moving frequently, having social difficulties, never really holding a job, but working lots of different ones just the same. She had even been a mother, though she gave the baby away; I admire her for this decision, as she never could have taken proper care of a child. Despite all the trouble in her life, the girl could roller skate like nobody else on our team. Apparently, she had been in skates since approximately 2 years of age. She was demonically fast, and nearly impossible to knock down. She could do numerous tricks, jumping, spinning, and generally surpassing the lot of us. Her only shortcoming as a derby skater was a lack of endurance. Her speed was great, but had little staying power. I expect this has been remedied though, as she is now a member of the United States Army, serving her country in uniform.
I hope the cops would be a little ashamed to know they harassed this wonderful, though slightly troubled youth. Ultimately, they did not arrest her. The roller derby outfit which got her in trouble may also have saved her. The clothes had our team name, player number, and such on them. Even though she was not dragged off to the city jail, the girl was totally rattled and came back to our hotel, crying and very upset.
I am ashamed to say I had been exhausted by the tournament and was, subsequently, asleep when she arrived. I did not wake up or have any idea something had happened until the following morning, but my wonderful girlfriend, who does not even play roller derby, consoled the shaken young woman, making certain everything was all right.
I felt a little guilty about not waking up to help when the girl came in the night before, but I did get a chance to make up for it. The next day, at a cupcake shop, my girlfriend and I noticed a shirt on sale which said "Legalize Frostitution" in large friendly letters on the front. Of course, I had to buy it for my teammate. Back at the hotel, we presented the shirt, and the smile on her face was worth every penny.
