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Dahlia Schweitzer - Seduce Me From the press release:
I call her Nov. 2. "Berlin is cheap, and you get paid more as an artist," she says. "And you have closer proximity to these other European cities." Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Dahlia graduated from Wesleyan University in 1998. Her parents (dad is a Justice Department lawyer and mom (Varda Fish) is an English literature professor in Tel Aviv, they divorced when Dahlia was 18) wanted her to study architecture or law, but Dahlia says neither was an option. She wanted to become an artist. "My father strongly disapproved of my life choices. He can't get over that I don't have an MBA or law degree or something impressively conventional. "I hung out with no crowd in highschool [in Washington D.C.]. I ran a bunch of the school's clubs. It was an excuse for me not to sit alone at lunch. Every day there was a meeting. Emblematic of the way I've been treated much of my life, the general student body respected me. They were intimidated by me yet never invited me anywhere. "I was definitely more goth (a fascination with the dark side of life, the antithesis of cheerleaders) than anything else. There were only two other goth girls at my highschool but they were really scary. I didn't want to hang out with them. "My only pair of shoes in highschool were my combat boots. There was a lot of angst and anger." We chat about Dahlia's therapy. "I have a lot of father figure issues," she says. Luke: "Let's imagine I am your therapist and you are feeling safe. Why did you do all the sex work?" Dahlia: "A deep-seated need for attention from men." Luke: "Because you didn't get it from your dad?" Dahlia: "Correct." "My father hasn't talked to me in five years. He told me then that he disaproved of my life choices." Luke: "Did you ever tell him what you told me?" Dahlia: "No." Luke: What is your mother's attitude to your sex work? Dahlia: "That if I just found a good boyfriend, I wouldn't need the performances so much. "She thinks a lot of it is the fault of my father. She wouldn't take much responsibility. "Male attention is also very important to my sister (seven years younger). I'm fine if I don't have a boyfriend for years at a time but for my sister it is very important to have a boyfriend." "My father is an atheist. My mother's Jewish roots are important to her but she's not religious. I had a bat mitzvah but we never went regularly to synagogue. We didn't keep kosher but we celebrated all the holidays." "I haven't been to synagogue in about 15 years." Luke: "Could much of your yearning be for a male representation of God?" Dahlia: "Very possibly." Luke: "What do you love and hate about your life now?" Dahlia: "Oooh. Intense questions. My life is in transition. I didn't expect the move to L.A. to be so disorienting. I feel like everything is in flux and I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing." "My sex work has exacerbated my issues with men and my fear of being objectified. I'm really sensitive to that. "I don't know if my ability to shut off during sex allowed me to be a sex worker or my being a sex worker caused me to shut off during sex. I'm very good at not being myself in bed." I email author Dahlia Schweitzer:
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