Whoreview: The Penguin

I love Batman just as much as the next whore, but I hadn’t considered that a television show set in his universe would provide some of the best sex worker representation I’d see in media in 2024. DC Studios doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to producing quality works, so audiences were pleasantly surprised when The Penguin was released this past fall and won over critics and hardcore comic fans alike. Equally as shocked and delighted was little old me, a real life whore who is tired of but accustomed to seeing sex workers portrayed on screen as sad, helpless stereotypes. Even in the cursed yet “progressive” year of 2024, it was rare to see a sex worker represented in a way that didn’t make me cringe, roll my eyes, or –  god forbid – start an online discourse. The bar for sex worker representation is in hell, and one of the last places I expected to see it raised was in a show whose target audience is men who love male superheroes. And yet, The Penguin delivered.

The Penguin takes place in the same universe as Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) and focuses on – you guessed it – the Gotham villain begrudgingly known as “The Penguin,” whose government name is Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell). (So sex worker coded of him to have a stage name!) Oswald Cobb is a terrible human being who uses everyone around him to get what he wants, which is money and power. Evil men are simple creatures who always tend to want the same things, after all. So, then, it’s no surprise that he’s also a trick. 

Equally as shocked and delighted was little old me, a real life whore who is tired of but accustomed to seeing sex workers portrayed on screen as sad, helpless stereotypes.

We meet The Penguin’s sex working character, Eve (Carmen Ejogo), in the pilot episode when Oswald desperately needs her help. Right away, she is portrayed as someone reliable, like most sex workers are, despite what other media representations would have you think. Oswald has just killed Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), the newly appointed crime boss of Gotham. It was a heat of passion murder triggered by Alberto being a bit of a prick and making Oswald feel small. After unloading multiple rounds into him, Oswald immediately realizes how royally fucked he is and starts scrambling to get away with the impossible. He gets rid of the body and then he pays a visit to Eve to ask if she can cover for him. The nature of their relationship is immediately obvious. She’s young and stunning, and he’s… not. He clearly feels comfortable putting her in harm’s way to help himself, and she is clearly annoyed by this but willing to play along so long as he continues to provide benefits, which he does by putting a wad of cash in her hands. Eve is a sex worker who is familiar with towing the line of a transactional relationship with a regular where you give to keep on being able to receive. In this case, Eve decides being Oswald’s alibi is worth it. For now. 

The next couple times Eve graces the screen she is with a group of working girls she clearly looks out for. She even pulls Oswald aside and warns him about getting her girls involved in his bullshit. Oswald has gotten into business with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), the sister of Alberto Falcone and a newly released prisoner of Arkham. Eve clocks the danger of someone as rich, powerful and vindictive as Sofia knowing the faces of her girls, and that kind of street savvy and protective nature is another telltale sign of a sex worker. Society does not look out for sex workers, so we have to look out for ourselves and each other. We keep us safe, because no one else will. In a city like Gotham, this kind of solidarity amongst sex workers would be incredibly important, and I’m so glad the writers had the wherewithal to inject that reality into the show. 

She is portrayed as someone reliable, like most sex workers are, despite what other media representations would have you think.

Sex workers have incredible intuition – it helps keep us alive – so it’s no surprise that Eve was right to be wary about Sofia Falcone. She told Oswald, “I don’t need Sofia Falcone knocking on my door,” and that’s exactly what happens. Eve answers the door expectantly because she even had one of her girls purposefully give Sofia her address so they could have this face to face meeting. A sex worker knows! At this point, Oswald has betrayed Sofia for the third time in her life and she wants revenge. She has come to harm one of the women in his life, Eve. The scene that plays out between the two of them is incredibly powerful – I got goosebumps watching it. The two women have a mutual respect for each other, and it’s palpable. They are both women living in a man’s world where they have to look out for themselves. They’ve both come to realize that men will always let them down, and so they (men) should pay, in one way or another. Sofia spares Eve’s life and in return Eve tells her where she can find Oswald. Seeing a shared respect and solidarity between a sex worker and a civilian woman in media is so rare. Usually the best sex workers get from civilian characters is pity, but this scene made it clear that these women saw each other as equals, at least in that moment. 

Through the character of Eve, The Penguin shows us that sex workers can be strong, admirable people who can take care of themselves, all while having to live in the margins of society. Eve is neither the villain nor the victim of The Penguin, she’s a flawed and sympathetic woman doing what she has to survive in a fucked up world. She’s just like us.

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