Tracy Quan
Encyclopedia
Tracy Quan is an American
writer and former prostitute. She is best known for her Nancy Chan novels
. In addition, Quan writes a regular column for The Guardian
website on pop culture, sex and politics and is involved in the prostitutes' rights movement.
, but grew up in Canada
. Her parents emigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad
; she has spoken of Chinese
, India
n, Africa
n, and Dutch
ancestors. Her parents divorced, and she credits her close relationship to her father to this experience.
Tracy Quan read Xaviera Hollander's book The Happy Hooker when she was 10 years old and decided to be a prostitute. (Her prior aspiration, to be a librarian, was due to her image of librarians as independent, working women who got to collect money in the form of library fines.) By 19 she was supporting herself as a sex worker, working at an escort agency
and a house
before becoming an independent call girl
with her own client list. As she told CANOE magazine in 2005, "I was never on the street
. I've had a relatively easy time." Quan notes she spent 15 years as a working girl in London
and Manhattan
, although she juggled both writing and sex work for a few years.
As a writer, Tracy Quan first made a splash with her Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl column in Salon.com
. Combining sex with a twice-weekly serial
, the semi-autobiographical column centered on Nancy as she juggles her 'straight' boyfriend and family with her clients and girlfriends' problems. The story continues in the novels. Tracy expresses the emotional aspects of her life experiences in her novels, her fiction writing, and keeps her journalism for professional commentary on topics of interest: the plight of sex trade workers, changing sexual mores, topical media frenzies on public personalities such as the Eliot Spitzer
scandal. Quan is currently a full-time writer
, a columnist for The Guardian
website and contributor to The Daily Beast
.
entrepreneur", who advocates decriminalization of prostitution in the US. At the same time, she does not encourage others to go into the business.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and former prostitute. She is best known for her Nancy Chan novels
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
. In addition, Quan writes a regular column for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
website on pop culture, sex and politics and is involved in the prostitutes' rights movement.
Biography
Tracy Quan was born in the Northeastern U.S.Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, but grew up in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Her parents emigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
; she has spoken of Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n, and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ancestors. Her parents divorced, and she credits her close relationship to her father to this experience.
Tracy Quan read Xaviera Hollander's book The Happy Hooker when she was 10 years old and decided to be a prostitute. (Her prior aspiration, to be a librarian, was due to her image of librarians as independent, working women who got to collect money in the form of library fines.) By 19 she was supporting herself as a sex worker, working at an escort agency
Escort agency
Escort agencies are companies that provide escorts for the agency's clients. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room , or at the escort's residence . Some agencies also provide escorts for longer durations, who may stay...
and a house
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
before becoming an independent call girl
Call girl
A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
with her own client list. As she told CANOE magazine in 2005, "I was never on the street
Street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, beaches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a...
. I've had a relatively easy time." Quan notes she spent 15 years as a working girl in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, although she juggled both writing and sex work for a few years.
As a writer, Tracy Quan first made a splash with her Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl column in Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. Combining sex with a twice-weekly serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
, the semi-autobiographical column centered on Nancy as she juggles her 'straight' boyfriend and family with her clients and girlfriends' problems. The story continues in the novels. Tracy expresses the emotional aspects of her life experiences in her novels, her fiction writing, and keeps her journalism for professional commentary on topics of interest: the plight of sex trade workers, changing sexual mores, topical media frenzies on public personalities such as the Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
scandal. Quan is currently a full-time writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, a columnist for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
website and contributor to The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
.
Philosophical and/or political views
Tracy Quan served as a spokeswoman for Prostitutes of New York, or PONY, a sex workers advocacy organization. Quan has been described as a "libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
entrepreneur", who advocates decriminalization of prostitution in the US. At the same time, she does not encourage others to go into the business.
Works
Nancy Chan
- Nancy Chan: Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl ran in Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
from July 1999-January 2000 as a twice-weekly serial. - Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl (2001) ISBN 978-0-609-60724-4. Despite name similarity, the events in this novel are set after the Salon series.
- Diary of a Married Call Girl: A Nancy Chan Novel (2005) ISBN 978-1-4000-5354-4
- Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl (2008) ISBN 978-0-00-724938-1 An adventure in southern France involving the relics of Mary Magdalen
Other
- Orientalia: Sex in Asia (2003) (With photographer Reagan Louie.) ISBN 978-1-57687-186-7
External links
- Official Tracy Quan site
- Op-ed column by Quan New York Times
- Columns by Tracy Quan in The Guardian
- Tracy Quan sex advice column in Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- Court TV Online - Chat transcript
- Author Podcast Interview with Paula Shackleton BookBuffet.com
- Articles by Tracy Quan on the 5th Estate blog