GPS Brings Sex Work Security to Killer Heels

aphrodite_shoes.jpg

Word on the street is the right pair of shoes can be deadly. But if you’re spending a lot of time on said street, you may find this turn of phrase more literal than not.

To take at least a bit of the risk out of sex work (though we still prefer the fatherly ever-lurking gigolo), the Aphrodite Project is developing male- and female-sized platforms that function as both alarm and tracking device. Like when you reach too readily for a hot car that’s not yours, a hooker can fend you off with a high-pitched noise while simultaneously transmitting his/her location to a police station or sex worker’s rights group.

Nighttime strollers can try the shoes at Gallery Aferro in Newark this September.

Falling into dire straights on the streets is a scary thing, but as Wired points out, imagine the mash-up opportunities! With a little magic a la Yahoo Pipes, a sex-starved someone could find the nearest hot-heeled fix in a 10-mile radius just by tapping in a zip code.

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Steve Hall

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