She invited people, and said, "It's nothing big, come if you want, we will be getting married today, the ceremony will last 15 minutes." This is a story of love, light and hope. After several years of hardship and struggling with the courts as she fought for her maternal rights, she met an amazing man with whom she chose to commit her life to.Surrounded by family and friends at what could only be described as a destination wedding, the girl, formerly known as Peyton Rivers was married a gentleman, who one could tell by the way he looked at her and from the tears he shed that he would be the perfect husband and father. She had chosen wisely. She didn't expect so many people to show up nor did she expect the day to last as long as it did. Her wedding day. A perfect day.
The moral of the story is not for us, but for you, the reader, the follower. There is life after prostitution and I feel angry that I even have to post this. I feel bad that Peyton might feel that she has to hide her real identity. I hate that as a society we have so much shame about sexuality and that we still frown upon and use derogatory phrases such as sleeping around, being promiscuous, being loose, being a slut, being used by men, especially for women. There is still a lot of judgment in my opinion about the choosing of partners when it involves having several in a short time. We still live in a time of double standard, such that it’s okay for men to pay for sex, but for women it suggests that something is terribly wrong, if she engages in any sexual activity for money or even not for money if it is not within a committed relationship. Okay, once or twice is fine, but god forbid she chose to have a different partner every night of the week, society would sigh in horror. Men would secretly wish to meet her, women would wonder what is wrong with her but silently wish they could be so free. Shackled and bound by shame. We have turned sex into the most important thing on the planet, that which should be shared only with someone special. On the one hand I agree, our bodies are our temples. But I don't agree with the shaming. It's causing us to hide from our true selves. Men and women alike.
You know, people tell me or ask me almost daily what they see this project doing, where it should go, how it should be. Mou, it should be about you. They wonder aloud, what is it about? Is it about religion? Is it about sex? Well, at the end, it's all of the above and none of the above. This story started out as an investigative study into the world of institutionalized prostitution and polygamy, but is turning into an expose on our societies obsession with guilt and shame, and how it's expressed solely through sex and religion. Even the most open, honest, expressive, liberal person is affected on some level. There is an underlying layer of shame that dictates our lives. How can you tell if you are being inflicted by shame? If you hide any part of yourself from anyone, if you choose to omit parts of your story, if you avoid talking to certain people about certain things, if you lie, cheat, steal, have secrets, then you are likely operating from shame. It's a terribly repressive place. Secrecy will cripple you.
Everyone is entitled to passion, joy, romance and pleasure. Everyone is entitled to express it if and how they choose. Everyone is entitled to come out of hiding. Everyone is entitled to a perfect day, if they so choose. Everyone.
