The best propaganda omits rather than invents. – Mason Cooley
Many prostitutes, myself included, feel that if the public were to know the truth about our lives, were to understand that we aren’t all that different from our amateur sisters and don’t see our work as all that different from anybody else’s, that most of the opposition to decriminalization among reasonable people would vanish. And that, of course, is why the prohibitionists are so dedicated to spreading as much disinformation as possible; since they can’t silence us, they instead hope to drown out our voices in a sea of noise. A great deal of what prohibitionists claim isn’t exactly false, it’s just extremely incomplete; pimps do exist, and so do sex slaves, traffickers, underage streetwalkers, whores who work to support drug habits and those who hate their jobs, women who feel humiliated in sex work and all the other things prohibitionists blather about. The problem is that they prattle so loudly, aggressively and continuously about the 10% that many people in the English-speaking world know absolutely nothing about the 90%.
One example is the case of a genuine sex trafficker recently convicted in the UK; the BBC reported on the story, but conveniently “forgot” to mention that he was initially reported by a client who called the police after the pimp sent him a 13-year-old girl. “There’s no way at all you could have mistaken her for an adult. It made me feel sick,” the man said. “I thought about what I should do and I realized I had no other option but to call the police.” This is exactly what advocates of decriminalization keep saying! In the U.S. or Sweden, this man would have been arrested had he tried to report the exploitation of that girl, and in fact under a recently-passed British law he could be arrested there as well; it is now against the law in the UK to “promise to pay for sexual services from someone coerced”. Since he did not know the girl was underage until he saw her, he would have broken the law unknowingly and could therefore not have reported the traffickers for fear of arrest and subsequent public humiliation. The prohibitionists’ moral crusade against whores aids and abets the trafficking of underage girls, and because governments and media (or in the case of the BBC, government-sponsored media) lie by omitting this vital fact there is no public outcry against the monstrous conspiracy between governments and other organizations to protect traffickers in order to further the persecution of consenting adults.
Another example is the proposed “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010“, which contains lots of noble-sounding propositions like “cooperation agreements with organizations serving runaway and homeless youth” and “a verification process that includes arrangements with state child welfare agencies to allow minor victims of sex trafficking immediate access to State-administered medical care.” It also, however, contains the following: “specialized training for law enforcement officers and social service providers” (whatever that may mean), “prevention, deterrence and prosecution of sex trafficking offenses” (i.e. federal money for stings of voluntary adult prostitutes as in “Operation Cross-Country”), and “law enforcement protocols to screen all individuals arrested for prostitution for victimization through sex trafficking” (i.e. tactics local cops can use to coerce arrested prostitutes into finking others out through threats of federal persecution). The act is a Trojan Horse, designed to take the anti-whore witch hunt to a new level. If you’re a voting person, you might consider calling your congressman and voicing your opposition, for all the good it’ll do.
I’m sorry if that sounded cynical, but considering the behavior of the U.S. and other governments toward Julian Assange, can you blame me? Politicians are well-known for being two-faced, but on the issue of internet censorship American politicians have raised duplicity to an art form. For the past several years we’ve been subjected to their sanctimonious lectures about internet censorship in countries like China, while they simultaneously work to grant themselves the power to shut down websites at will and conspire to shut down Wikileaks via denial-of-service attacks, pressure on companies such as Amazon, Paypal, Visa and Mastercard and a campaign to crucify its founder Assange with what looks suspiciously like a “honey trap”. Read that story carefully; Assange is not accused of rape as the American media claim, but of a Swedish misdemeanor called “sex by surprise” whose maximum punishment is a fine of about $715 US. For an offense which is basically legalese for “broken condom”, he was put on Interpol’s most wanted list and subjected to an extremely expensive extradition process. Remember what I said about “universal criminality”? Once there are enough laws in place, everyone is guilty of breaking some of them every single day, then it becomes merely a matter of finding one which applies to someone a government (or in this case, many governments) want to silence. Of course, it’s probably better to pick an accuser who isn’t so flaky that she runs off to the Middle East and drops her complaint as soon as her motives are questioned. Oops!
It was literally days after the British news media broke the “sex by surprise” story before the American media stopped calling the accusation “rape”. Since I can’t believe the mainstream American outlets literally did not know the truth, I can only assume that they purposefully chose to lie by using the emotionally-loaded word “rape” in order to whip up anti-Assange sentiment in the U.S. And it has worked on some people; I’ve seen a few feminists up in arms about the general lack of sympathy for Assange’s accusers among opponents of Big Brother. Well to those women all I have to say is this: Don’t try to play the “rape card” on me, honey, cause I’ll trump you five times over. I have been raped, several times, and I can assure you I wasn’t laughing and socializing with my rapists the next day, nor did it take me several days to “realize” I had been violated; even the European group Women Against Rape agrees with me that the whole thing stinks on ice. If Assange is really guilty of this offense, let him send Sweden a check for the fine, as one can do with traffic tickets. But that won’t be allowed because this arrest has NOTHING to do with women’s rights, a broken condom or Assange being a selfish ass in bed, and EVERYTHING to do with revenge for embarrassing those in power.
It’s sad and frightening to see the American media ganging up on someone whom reporters of previous generations would’ve idolized, but unfortunately most of the American media now follows the Torsten Ove philosophy of reporting on government: “Thanks, but I’ll stick with the lies and distortions.” And one can’t totally blame them; the U.S. government has been leaning pretty hard on broadcasters not to rock the boat, and under a new plan proposed by FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, broadcasters would be reviewed every four years and would have to prove to the FCC that they have “made a meaningful commitment to public affairs and news programming” during that time. Does anyone else feel that chilly wind? No wonder so many people have abandoned broadcast news for internet outlets.
But since it is Yuletide, I really don’t want to leave y’all on a down note; with that in mind, here’s a story about a weird new perversion which is apparently sweeping the globe. Since this “orgy lite” is apparently legal, maybe hookers should start advertising “exclusive private cuddle parties”; after all, sometimes our clients don’t want sex either.
What Assange did by disseminating classified US documents was despicable and should be subject to sever punishment up to and including death. That said, arresting him for a pair of noncrimes is ridiculous. Consensual sex is not rape. I’m willing to get Assange wasn’t doing whatever was necessary to break the condom when he used it with that woman, and if the other woman were stupid enough not to ralize he wasn’t wearing one, that says much more about her than about him. I’m all for arresting and trying people for actual crimes. Trumping up charges is beyond the pale though. assange is being railroaded, and even people outraged at the real crimes he committed should be very wary of the chilling precedent being set by this kangaroo justice being visited on him.
Private First Class Bradley Manning, if he really is the leaker, is guilty of a crime. Assange is not. Not anymore than the New York Times was when they published the Pentagon Papers. No more than Bob Novak was when he went public with the news of Valerie Plame Wilson. Irve Lewis “Scooter” Libby committed a crime when he leaked it to Novak, but Novak didn’t commit a crime when he published it.
The reason Assange is being railroaded on a minor sex charge is because he can’t get “sever punishment up to and including death” for his legal actions.
Assange is also an Australian citizen, not an American, so his actions cannot be considered “treason” as some people are calling it. He can only be a traitor to Australia, not any other country.
When a rock star has a drug habit, no one tells him he has to give up music and get a job at Walmart. Everyone (almost) knows that music doesn’t create drug habits. But, if a hooker has a drug habit, it’s because she’s a hooker.
You noticed that too, eh? And let’s not forget lawyers and high-end salespeople, two groups notorious for cocaine abuse. 🙁
What Assange did was akin to letting someone know their lover has been cheating on them. The reaction on the part of the recipient of the bad news depends on whether or not they are willing to let go of the delusion that their mate was faithful to them.
That story about how one of the accusers may not be cooperating with prosecutors anymore is pretty stunning. There’s nothing about that in the mainstream press.
Which is exactly why the days of the mainstream press are numbered. When a hooker blog reports a news article before CNN does, you know something major is wrong with the system.
Every year since 2001, I have attended Project: A-KON, the longest-running anime convention in the US and the largest in the Southwest (excluding California, which now has a larger but younger one). Each year, there are people there with signs reading “FREE HUGS.” I don’t always rush up to these people, because I’m older than most of them and don’t want to come across as a dirty old man. But I always accept free hugs when they are offered to me. I’d even become part of a cuddle puddle if invited.
The hugs have to be free, BTW. If they are not free, the con has to stop them lest they be accused of (can you guess?) promoting prostitution.
Also, they don’t call the rave they have every year a rave, even though it obviously is, because, you know, raves is bad. On the boards I’ve agreed to not call it a rave (on their boards; what I call it elsewhere is my business). Instead, I make references to the sock hop, the shin-dig, the hoe-down, the hootenanny.
You’re a fun read. 🙂
(I have to give you a smiley face ’cause the woman who runs this place doesn’t have a kudos thingy.)
Hey now, you have to blame WordPress for that! 😉
Why thank ye!
Not to get overly political with you, Barsoom, but Libby wasn’t the source of the Plame name leak. Richard Armitage was. He even admitted to it before Libby was sentenced on some convoluted charges.
Lawyers are victims. They need to be saved.
Well, if all whores are victims…
Yes, that’s true. It does get confusing.
{Vinnie Barbarino face}I’m so confused!{/Vinnie Barbarino face}
“Many prostitutes, myself included, feel that if the public were to know the truth about our lives, were to understand that we aren’t all that different from our amateur sisters and don’t see our work as all that different from anybody else’s, that most of the opposition to decriminalization among reasonable people would vanish.”
Maggie, a certain amount of envy comes into this. As with models, it’s assumed that to succeed as a high-class callgirl/escort you need to be beautiful – or at least very attractive – and this would exclude many of your amateur sisters. Also, your work is seen as less onorous than working 9-5 in an office/shop/factory.
In order to even things out a little your amateur sisters will comfort themselves with the thought that at least their work isn’t dangerous and will accept all “evidence” which suggests that yours is both hazardous and squalid.
Oh, I’m sure you’re right; I know I sense envy from some who attack us, especially when the word “lazy” gets thrown about. But in actuality, the first and third of the popular assumptions you mention aren’t really true; I have known quite a few successful escorts who are pretty but not spectacular, and though we certainly have more danger than some professions we have less than many others which pay far less. The perception that our work is less onerous than 9 to 5 is dead on, though, which is one reason many of us do it.
I haven’t read this whole piece carefully yet, just skimmed it, so I apologize if I’m commenting without full context, but I did feel it is important to highlight one part of your post which seems based on misinformation: Assange is not accused of “sex by surprise,” nor of any law having to do with broken condoms. Jessica Valenti has a great—and provable—rundown of where those bits of misinformation came from.
It seems that some of the best propaganda does, indeed, invent.
So we have two conflicting stories, and they can’t possibly both be true. But which to believe, and why? I’ll wait before I say one or the other is gospel.
“Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice. The conflict in stories makes the charges even more suspect; I don’t think I’ve ever before heard of a case where a celebrity was charged with a crime, yet different sources claimed different charges! 🙁
That is a totally valid position. 🙂
Also, now that I’ve read this whole post, I just want to offer you a solid affirmation, noting the exception to the issue of “sex by surprise” as you portray it here. (I agree with Valenti, as stated.)
You might also be happy to learn that I’ve posted numerous times about sex worker rights’ issues, and that we are on the “same side,” to use such phrasing. See also my most thorough post on the matter: Why Being Anti-Craigslist is Anti-Justice.
Thanks, MayMay! It’s inevitable that those who support sex worker rights will disagree from time to time on one point or another (as in the recent “Real Princess Diaries” outing), but the important thing is that we all agree that consenting adults should be free to pursue whatever mutual activity works for them.
That post you linked to was excellent; I’m sure I’ll end up linking to it at some point in the near future! The Rebecca Project and its playing fast and loose with facts is also mentioned in my column for December 11th. 🙂
“Once there are enough laws in place, everyone is guilty of breaking some of them every single day, then it becomes merely a matter of finding one which applies to someone a government (or in this case, many governments) want to silence.”
So nice to know I’m not the only one who feels that way!
Sex by surprise….wow. I think that now we may have heard it all! LOL 🙂
KJ
I call that practice “universal criminality”, and it seems to have been achieved in the U.S. as of about a decade ago with the raft of post-September 11th laws and the Supreme Court decision that it’s legal for a cop to arrest anyone for any infraction whatsoever. There are several recent books on the subject (one of them, Go Directly To Jail, is on my Amazon wishlist), and Ayn Rand predicted it would eventually happen (in Atlas Shrugged) way back in the ’50s.
You would probably like this post over at 538:
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/a-bayesian-take-on-julian-assange/#more-4365
He argues that the circumstances strongly suggest that the entire prosecution of Mr. Assange was political. The main sentence was:
“The handling of the case has been highly irregular from the start, in ways that would seem to make clear that the motivation for bringing the charges is political.”
His conclusion: “in a world of limited information, the political motivation behind the charges might be the most important clue we have in evaluating their merit”.
Don’t go too far, Tom; I’ll be posting today’s column (which is on that very subject) in just a few minutes. 🙂
[…] whole thing stinks on ice”. (read Maggie’s detailed explanation on this issue here and […]