Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: Hooker-Turned-Teacher Compares Sex To Teaching
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 28, 2010
Modified Sep 28, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 28, 2010
Modified Sep 28, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Melissa Petro, an art teacher at P.S. 70 in the Bronx, was reassigned from the school after writing about her past as a stripper and Craigslist sex worker in various online publications, including The Huffington Post ("I accepted money in exchange for sexual services I provided to men I met online in what was then called the 'erotic services' section"). Of course, Petro also performed as various open mic events, and there are videos!
In one video (below), Petro says of stripping in Mexico, "I did it for the money but it was also true that I enjoyed it," and her mentor, "She kissed me, she touched me in ways that a woman had never touched me before." She also compares teaching kids to having sex with her boyfriend, "It’s fun and it’s especially fun in the beginning. And then its over and then you gotta do it again and again and again."
Then, in another video (below), she discusses her memoir, "I started as a stripper and worked on and off for years, and I did other activities in that industry," and then launches into an excerpt, "I like the taste of what tastes like the mouth of an older man.."
Parents of students are furious—one told the Post, "I'm not going to have my daughter in the classroom with a prostitute"— as are fellow teachers, one of whom praised Petro to the Daily News but added, "If you want to be a teacher and that's your goal, it's stupid [to discuss one's sex worker past]. If you want to sell books then maybe not - that's her prerogative." However Petro has been joking about it on Facebook. According to the Post, she wrote on her wall that "she hoped a car outside was a teachers-union escort and not 'one of the 200 creepy dudes now trying to 'friend' me.'"
Tagged
bronx
hooker
melissa petro
open mic
ps 70
sex worker
teacher
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
The city's "blue highways" program aims to get freight out of trucks and onto the waterways.
By
Liam Quigley
News
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
The city's "blue highways" program aims to get freight out of trucks and onto the waterways.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Company that won $23M NYPD building contract was investigated by LI watchdog
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .