If the patriarchy is about men making decisions for women…why do some feminists want to control other women’s decisions? – “Lauren”
The situation described by this article – girl does sex work to pay for university – is so typical as to be a case of “dog bites man”, and nowadays doing porn won’t stay secret for long. But the article actually says more about its author than about its subject: “Lauren” seems like an intelligent, sensible, pragmatic young woman, while writer Katie Fernelius appears to be a supple-spined airhead who lets other people do her thinking for her. In response to this:
I worked as a waitress…and not only did it interfere with my school …but also I was making $400 a month after taxes…For people to tell me that doing porn and having sex, which I love, is more degrading than being…somebody’s servant and…being treated like a lesser, second-class citizen, that…makes no sense…I felt more degraded in a minimum wage…service job than I ever did doing porn…
…Katie crawls into her navel, quotes Gloria Steinem and babbles about “patriarchy”, “power dynamics” and words being “problematic”. Yet I’m sure she thinks she’s better-adjusted than Lauren is.
There’s a word missing here, but I just can’t think of what it might be:
African artists hired by a Korean museum have been laboring under conditions “similar to indentured servitude”…The 24 artists came from various countries…to sculpt, perform, and do other tasks at the Africa Museum of Original Art in…Pocheon…They…were promised salaries of…minimum wage — 1,269,154 won ($1,183) per month — and comfortable accommodations; instead, they were paid [only] 500,000 or 650,000 won…and forced to live in cold, mice-ridden rooms. Their salaries barely covered the cost of three meals a day, and the museum gave them only spoiled rice to eat. Their contracts stipulated three performances per day, but they were often forced to do four to six performances…when they complained…their concerns were either ignored [or] dismissed…
The new claim: “The number of British children being trafficked for sexual exploitation has more than doubled over the last year…The figures…are thought to be just the tip of the iceberg…” And the truth:
…these statistics are…drawn from…the National Referral Mechanism…a…process adopted in 2009 to identify…potential victims…the most recent NRM statistical bulletin states…“the number of referrals…is not a measure of human trafficking in the UK”…[but only those suspected by officials]…
Human rights activists in Kyrgyzstan are concerned that…police…[are] forcing sex workers…to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases…and…[have] carried out numerous raids since…November…Prostitution by individuals has been decriminalised in Kyrgyzstan, although organised activities like running a brothel are illegal. Sex workers report widespread harassment and extortion by police…
Prostitutes in Spain…[protested] a planned crackdown on streetwalking…Hetaira said it would rally…against plans to fine prostitutes and [clients]…fearing it will force them to work in dangerous conditions….[a new] law would make offering or soliciting sex in prohibited areas punishable by a fine of between 1,000 and 30,000 euros…
Backwards Into the Future (TW3 #41)
Theatre for a Change says there has been tremendous progress…in its efforts to raise awareness on rights of sex workers…[in] Malawi…Eric Saforo…says since 2012 the Malawi Police Service is beginning to recognize that abuse against sex workers is…not acceptable and that the police service is opening up to…[improving] working relationships between the two parties…
…Jennifer Whalen…was charged…with felony and misdemeanor counts for ordering…misoprostol and mifepristone online…for her 16-year-old pregnant daughter…She said she couldn’t find an abortion clinic nearby, she didn’t want to go out of state, and she didn’t know she needed a prescription…The felony…is for “medical consultation and judgment”; the misdemeanors are for not being licensed as a pharmacist, endangering the welfare of a child, and “simple assault”…The same thing happened to a mother of three in Idaho in 2012 who took RU-486…[because]…the closest clinic was hours away, would have charged $500, and because of state law, required multiple trips…
A mob armed with wooden clubs and iron bars, screaming that they were going to “cleanse” their neighborhood of gay people, dragged 14 young men from their beds and assaulted them…Four of the victims were marched to a police station, where they…were kicked and punched by…officers who…threatened that [they] would be incarcerated for 14 years…under Nigeria’s new Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act…[activist Ifeanyi Orazulike said] “They were told ‘If you come back, we will kill you'”…The walls of [their] houses…have been painted with graffiti declaring “Homosexuals, pack and leave”…
This mostly-typical “sex trafficking” gobbledygook is only notable for “Michigan is one of the top five states for human trafficking” and for its use of “sex worker” rather than “prostituted woman”, “trafficked child”, etc. But the picture that came with it, borrowed from one of the numerous Christian sites linking porn to “trafficking”, has some interesting math: 6000 total “rapes” (i.e. transactions) over 7 years is only 857 a year…awfully low for “50 per day”. Even with weekends off that’s just over 3 per day, which is pretty realistic; obviously somebody is deviating from the program.
Justice for Magdalenes Research has hit out at the “subterfuge” being employed by the Government [against]…victims of the laundries…the department is writing to women offering formal lump sum payments, while stating that all other aspects of the scheme remain subject to legislation or discussions with other Government departments. Despite the fact that the full terms of the scheme are not finalised, women are requested to sign a waiver accepting “all the terms of the scheme” and waiving “any right of action against the State or any public or statutory body or agency” arising out of their time in a Magdalene laundry…
The UK government’s futile and ham-fisted attempts to purge the Internet of all of its rough edges and naughty bits are about to see international escalation…David Cameron’s government has long-stated they want this filtering to eventually extend to websites deemed “extremist”…and it appears that…[ISPs] will soon [be ordered] to include websites declared to be promoting terrorism…as we’ve seen with the porn filters, there’s probably no limit to the number of entirely legal and legitimate websites UK citizens will find suddenly inaccessible.
UK readers who use Chrome and haven’t yet installed “Go Away Cameron” should probably do so immediately.
…Nine men [arrested in a November raid]…were convicted of prostitution and sentenced to between three and nine years in prison…[followed by] a three-year…period for rewiring…in…mental institutions…The police report…and the results of anal examinations do not connect the…men to prostitution. But…the arrest and prosecution of men who don’t fit acceptable standards of masculinity reassures Egyptians that the ruling military regime is as conservative as any Islamist party…
The moral purification of the Armed Forces continues:
The commander of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit at Port Canaveral has been relieved of duty for allowing two strip clubs to sponsor a military-related golf tournament last year…“Those type of organizations just don’t reflect positively on the Navy” [a spokesman]…said…
Matthias Lehmann has put together a short video of highlights from a symposium about the German Prostitution Act last December.
Where Are the Protests? (TW3 #350)
Miranda Barbour has a delightful conversation with credulous cops:
A Pennsylvania woman charged in the…slaying of a man she and her husband met through Craigslist [claims]…she killed many more victims…A law enforcement source close to the investigation said Miranda Barbour’s new claims could be “the real deal”…the 19-year-old Barbour [said] she participated in at least 22 killings in the past six years in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California. “When I hit 22, I stopped counting…I can pinpoint on a map where you can find them”…Barbour [said] she had her first experience with killing when she [was] just 13, shortly after she…joined a satanic cult in Alaska…she [says that she] felt no remorse for her victims and…killed only “bad people”…
Whatever They Need To Say (TW3 #350)
No justice for victims of the Soho pogrom:
…at least six sex workers have fought the closures, [saying] they had not been coerced into working and that closing the brothels would make their work more unsafe. In the first of three appeals…two women…lost their battle to have their flats reopened after a judge [claimed] that unknown figures were “controlling” prostitution in the area…However…the Reverend Simon Buckley wrote that trust in the police had been severely undermined by the “seemingly ham-fisted” nature of the operation. “The girls who continue to work in the unclosed flats say that they would not feel confident in turning to the police if they were a victim of crime…[they] previously…had a good rapport with the police”…
As preparations for the World Cup accelerate, Brazilian authorities are attempting to sanitise the country’s image by clamping down on sex-related businesses. More than 2,000 websites have been targeted, and prostitutes are being threatened with prison sentences for…[advertising]…according to Thaddeus Blanchette…media hype…rests on the false assumption that fans will…seek out sex with children…Tatiana Mauro…of Promundo Brazil…points to a report published by the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, which finds no evidence that large sporting events cause an increase in trafficking or prostitution. Sensationalist reporting on trafficking and mega-events is not only unfounded, it is also paving the way for a more repressive prostitution policy…
Canadian readers, here’s your chance to be heard:
The Conservative government wants to hear from Canadians about how to rewrite the country’s prostitution laws [which] were struck down by the Supreme Court…A month-long online consultation period on the Justice Canada website…runs to March 17. The high court gave the government one year to come up with new legislation…the…government has made it clear that simply allowing the laws to lapse…is not an option…
The [survey]…is being criticized for…loaded questions and misleading information about available options…It assumes prostitution is dangerous and that all sex workers want to be saved, said Chris Bruckert…[of the] University of Ottawa. She also criticized government for not conducting town-hall style consultations where people have more time to unpack their opinions…She also says the Nordic model could contradict the reasoning for striking down the Canadian laws in the first place…
The Course of a Disease (TW3 #404)
…549 NGOs and civil society organizations…have signed letters to the members of the European Parliament asking them to reject a report by MEP Mary Honeyball, which asks EU Member States to consider the criminalisation of the clients of sex workers. The letter…denounces the conflation of sex work and trafficking, the disregard for sex workers’ health and safety and the lack of evidence [in] the report…signatories include…many women’s rights groups such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation …Another document drafted and signed by [45] academics and researchers…[analyzes] the lack and misrepresentation of evidence in [the] report…amongst other astounding errors…Honeyball completely misinterpreted a [Dutch] report…by…“mistaking” data on coffee shops for data on brothels…
As thousands of cash-strapped Italians take to the streets to protest against their tax bills…[prostitutes] are instead…fighting against a tax code that does not recognise their profession, even though paying for sex is legal, leaving them no chance to…qualify for a pension…What has really irked prostitutes is that…the tax office has now decided to fine them for tax evasion, even though it has given them no way of paying tax…
Another good interview with Melissa Gira Grant about her new book, Playing the Whore; she speaks to Noah Berlatsky of the Atlantic about sex work as work, the range of sex worker experiences, anti-sex feminism and the similarities between the gay and sex worker rights movements.
…Mercy Mushaninga…has taken to social network sites to address her bitterness over the labeling of models as prostitutes…“Modelling is a career…and a profession with some people earning a living through it…Models…use their natural endowment and creativity…”
I’d like to point out that the Canadian government’s request for opinions regarding sex-work does NOT seem to be restricted to Canadian citizens. In other words, EVERYONE reading this, whether you’re Canadian or not, can go to the Justice Department website (the link is in the story in the above column) and let the Canadian government know what you think about prostitution. As most of you are aware, the Canadian Supreme Court recently struck down Canada’s prostitution laws. In response to that, it looks like the government wants to bring in legislation that’s based on the the Swedish Model laws that criminalize the clients of prostitutes. Will the lawmakers actually listen to us and take our concerns into consideration? Probably not, but I’m going to be letting them know what I think anyway.
Thanks for adding that, Chester! Like you I’m skeptical they’ll listen, but the Supreme Court may take all this into consideration when striking down the new laws next year.
I suppose I’m underestimating the ability of politicians to bash their heads repeatedly against the metaphorical brick wall, but why would they go to the trouble of crafting new laws that are so much like the old ones that the court would simply strike them down again?
Or perhaps I’m overestimating the ability of the Canadian Supreme Court to do the right thing twice in succession.
This more of a general question as I’m unfamiliar with the Canadian political system, but why did the court even give Parliament this grace period anyway? Is that common for the court to say “these laws are wrong and we’re invalidating them, but we’ll give you the chance to tweak them just enough so we can’t be bothered to invalidate them all over again”?
The primary goal of all politicians is to stay in power. Politicians all over the world make laws they KNOW will not withstand challenge, because then they can say to their constituents, “I’m fighting for morality against the bad guys/liberals/Republicans/whores/queers/relativists/sinners/Jews/ Hollywood/bankers/Klingons/communists/bandersnatches…”
Wouldn’t say they “know” the court will overturn it, judges have a similar mindset of adhering to the political and social climate. Even if they are not directly accountable, their power is extremely precarious.
By their own precedent in Bedford, the judges will have no choice but to overturn it since there are mountains of evidence it’s even worse for increasing violence than the laws Bedford overturned. Politicians aren’t stupid; most of them are trained lawyers and can certainly read a court decision. They simply want to pass the hot potato to the next government.
Unlike our courts, Canadian courts do not have the final say when they overturn a law. Their Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows Parliament to enact exceptions to it (by putting a “notwithstanding” clause in any bill).
I’d say it’s at least 60/40 that whatever new bill they come up with has one.
I’m no legal expert, but it’s my impression that the notwithstanding clause is something Parliament can use to overturn a court ruling they don’t like, not something they put in a bill to prevent a court from overturning a law. The government could have used the clause to overturn the Supreme Court ruling in the Bedford case and chose not to. They probably didn’t because, with nine judges ruling unanimously that the current prostitution laws cause harm, the government would have looked bad if they had used the notwithstanding clause to keep the harmful laws in place. They don’t want it to LOOK like they’re doing anything that could harm sex-workers. So, when they propose their Swedish Model law later this year, they will claim that it only targets those evil johns, and they will deny that it could have any negative consequences for prostitutes.
Very interesting, thanks for explaining how things operate up north.
“Canadian readers, here’s your chance to be heard:”
Done! Answered loaded questions with informed, reasoned-out responses (Maggie would approve I’m certain; I paraphrased her more than once. 😉 )
When asked the final question of “do you belong to an organization?” I recommend responding with:
“I am a member of a very large and influential group known as voting-aged Canadians.” 😉
Granted…, I filled it out from my iPhone using a MacDonald’s WiFi. No reason to donate a traceable IP address, right? >.>
One of the issues I see on commenting on “life in sex work” is that it’s such a huge and varied career. There are all sorts of ways to work, from working for one of the large porn companies to being an independent cam girl. So conditions vary widely.
But I must agree with the college student. I never felt as poorly treated working in porn, or as a whore, as I did working for a big box retail store.
I feel more respected by my customers as a stripper than I did working in retail. Sure, once in awhile somebody crosses lines, but even in that situation I now have the right to tell him to knock it off, and avoid him in the future if he doesn’t, instead of having to bend over backwards to give the occasional bad customer even BETTER service and more goodies to prevent a complaint to corporate.
Any expansion on the Magdalene Laundries? I’m a little confused on what those are. I get that the government there is pulling a con job on people, but I’m unclear on what this place is.. I’m assuming some “rescue” i.e. reprogramming place trying to save people from themselves who didn’t know they needed saving?
You can always get more info on a TW3 topic by clicking on the subtitle, but in this case also read “Dirty Laundry“.
“UK readers who use Chrome and haven’t yet installed “Go Away Cameron” should probably do so immediately.”
Finally a good reason to use Chrome … 😀
Alternatively, change your ISP for one less sheepish than TalkTalk, Virgin Media and BSkyB – there’s plenty of small providers who’ll be happy to let you access whichever info you desire (including the Lib-Dem’s website, if you feel “extremist”-inclined) without uncle Dave’s intervention!
… and stop supporting the NSPCC. When I realised that the money I was giving, hoping to keep open a secure hotline where children could report abuse, was actually used to lobby the government to “ban porn” to “protect the children”, I felt like my goodwill had also been “abused”.
I was filling out the feds’ consultation form, and the thought occurred to me that I hope wasn’t original:
You know how people always ask, “Would you want your daughter to be a whore?” I thought two things: “Probably not, but she would be the one making that choice,” and that we should respond to that with, “If your daughter were a whore, would you rather she be afraid to go to the police for help if something bad happened on the job?”
I know that police can be tin-plated, overbearing, swaggering dictators with delusions of godhood, but the people who would ask these questions are unlikely to think so.
Am I thinking simplistically or incorrectly?
Not at all.
Of course it’s an option. I will agree, though, that it isn’t the best option. An explicit repeal of laws prohibiting sex work is a much better option.
Re: The Public Eye
Noah Berlatsky should be eligible for a space on Maggie’s “Stand-Up Guys” list. In the comments’ section of the article linked, he keeps offering sensible argumentation while challenged by a proponent of the Nordic Model (with all the usual bits, “johns buying kids”, “90% of prostituted women want to get out”, etc. ad nauseam), and when he ends up being sent a link to Melissa Farley’s report as “proof” of the poster’s inner wisdom, he re-directs the poster to Maggie’s “Load of Farley” post 🙂 Funnily the other guy doesn’t react, except a short demeaning comment about libertarianism further down…
Hah! Thanks for calling my attention to that! 🙂
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