$pread presents…
Grind the Vote: Sex Workers From Pole To Poll
“From the Bay Area to the Big Apple, sex workers are organizing for political and economic justice. It’s time to organize our sex worker electorate into a political force and “Grind the Vote!”
We already have voter registration events scheduled for New York City and Washington DC, but we need you to help us Grind the Vote all over the country! Volunteer to organize an event in your city or town, email infoatspreadmagazinedotorg”
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This is an exciting development. I would love for sex worker rights to become a more talked about political issue. Is it possible? Definitely. Not too long ago politicians would never talk about gays, let alone gay rights. I’d like to see sex worker rights get taken seriously by the candidates.
Posted by Vixen as Activism, Sex Workers at 10:07 PM CDT
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Sex Worker Profile
I’m a former escort, now running Sex-Kitten.Net, a lifestyles site for women who admit that sex is a part of their lives. SK, as we affectionately call it, has many regular columnists as well as guests (both male and female). I started it nearly a decade ago!
If you’d like more of my bio, please see here.
What kind of sex work are you currently doing?
Technically I’m a writer and an editor; but I see myself as a facilitator of conversations.
Are you active in sex worker activism? If so, what are you doing?
I consider myself an activist in the sense that I work very hard to keep sex from being a dirty taboo. By keeping the dialog open and ongoing, I hope to further understanding and acceptance of sex by society. If ‘mainstream’ society doesn’t accept sex, neither sex work nor the workers will be respected.
How I do this is by facilitating conversations and by providing a forum for these conversations.
I believe that it is through conversations that women identify, scrutinize, question, confront & come to terms with their concerns & needs. As women communicate with each other from a place of mutual respect, individual as well as partner needs, insecurities, & desires are exposed & understood.
In short, and I’m not known for being succinct *wink*, I believe that having a place to share and connect, to ask and to answer, to face their own fears and see them mirrored in the insecurities of others, is a place to not only build awareness but to exercise tolerance and understanding of others.
And I help others market their adult sites, products and services as The Marketing Whore.
Similarly, by keeping an open dialog between mainstream and adult marketers, I hope to break down barriers by showing that business is business and that ethics are a part of our business (quite often more than in mainstream business).
What do you think is the best way to promote solidarity with fellow sex workers?
Honestly, I often think the largest problem currently facing sex worker solidarity is ourselves.
I hear too many sex workers discussing the differences between types of sex work and debating the definitions of sex workers ~ and not just in a marketing sense. Like the political ‘red states vs. blue states’, we are focusing on the smaller differences which keep us apart, forgetting that we have much more in common than not, and making it more difficult to come together in terms of understanding & acceptance of one another. This also makes it much more difficult to unify and work for the understanding & acceptance of sex and sex work by the public at large. But this fragmentation of our industry is also far more insidious.
When I hear one pro belittle another pro, my heart aches. When I hear one sex worker claim superiority over another, I feel quite sick to my stomach. I’m not talking about individuals with ethics problems ~ we most certainly should be calling one another out and holding one another accountable for adding to the negative stereotypes; I’m talking about the sex workers who fall for the moral arguments, believing in lines & using them to keep some sense of purity… The “I’m not that kind” thinking not only divides us, but is proof that at some level the person has fallen for and accepts that sex work is dirty (in a bad way).
Bad ethics aside, there is no bad sex work.
Higher rates do not make one sex worker more pure than another; nor do specific acts. Escorts, hookers, hos, those who work directly with flesh & fluids, are no dirtier (or cleaner) than phone sex operators who work with words. Those making or selling sex products for the purpose of sexual gratification (toys, erotic stories, porn films & publications, etc.) are no more (or less) involved in sex work than an escort, a pro Domme, a PSO, etc. Those who write non-fiction works; who create educational sex films & guides; who report on sex health issues; who fight for better reproductive rights; who push for better policies & treatment for gender issues; who treat, medicate, counsel, & create tools with which to better treat, medicate, etc. ~ they all can claim themselves sex workers, should they wish to don the scarlet letters and cloaks.
And I hope they do.
For each one of us wants sexuality to be safe, sane, consensual, and pleasurable ~ be it free or paid. Yet every time we justify our work as better, more pure, more acceptable than the work of another, or limit entrance into the movement or industry, we move away from those goals.
We are all part of the same struggle. We should be welcoming one another with open hearts as well as open minds. After all, that’s what we are asking others to do with us, with sex work.
What project(s) are you working on now?
I am an editor, not just for the website, but two book imprints:
Sex-Kitten books
Gracie Passsette Productions
I also will be writing at Women Blogging For Democrats with hopes that ’sex’ can appear as part of a political platform ~ heaven knows there are plenty of these
issues, such as reproductive health, sex education, and basic rights which are linked to gender and sexuality, which should be a part of every candidate’s platform.
—
Gracie’s comment “If ‘mainstream’ society doesn’t accept sex, neither sex work nor the workers will be respected” really hit home with me. She’s right but she’s also timely. If ‘mainstream’ society didn’t have such a stigma around sex would Jeane Palfrey still be alive today? But this idea reaches beyond her. How many murdered prostitutes might be alive today? How many women who hide their sex worker past could come out of the closet if they were free from stigma? Would sex workers be able to put their work on a resume for a ‘normal’ job without fear of discrimination? The list can go on and on.
We have a lot of work to do to get the acceptance, respect and rights we want. I believe we can get them, though I’ll admit it’s a long road. Gracie makes an excellent point about sex workers getting caught up on our smaller differences. It’s a trap many activist groups fall into. Focusing on our similarities instead of our differences is vital.
I like to focus on the little details that we share in common. I was just talking to Jesse Cox earlier tonight. We were laughing about how our clients want to buy our expensive panties. She never sells the panties she wears on stage and I don’t sell the panties I wear in photos. We’ve carefully picked them to coordinate with our work clothes. Getting rid of the panties would ruin a good outfit. Though she strips and I do phone sex we find a lot of similarities in our work.
She comments that “We are all part of the same struggle. We should be welcoming one another with open hearts as well as open minds. After all, that’s what we are asking others to do with us, with sex work.” Well said Gracie, well said.
Sex Worker Solidarity Series
Sex Worker Solidarity: Introduction
Sex Worker Solidarity: Audacia Ray
Sex Worker Solidarity: Dallas From Babeland
Sex Worker Solidarity: Secondhand Rose
Sex Worker Solidarity: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Sex Worker Solidarity: Libertine
Sex Worker Solidarity: Jesse Cox
Sex Worker Solidarity: Amanda Brooks
Posted by Vixen as PSO Confessions, Interviews, Sex Workers at 11:33 PM CDT
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From Raw Story via What Really Happened:
Jury finds ‘DC Madam’ guilty on four counts
“A Washington jury has convicted Deborah Jean Palfrey, who became known as the DC Madam, on four counts including money laundering and racketeering in connection with a running a prostitution ring, according to news reports.”
From the Washington Post:
Escort Service Boss Found Guilty
“A federal jury convicted Deborah Jeane Palfrey yesterday of running a Washington-area call-girl ring in the guise of “a high-end erotic fantasy service,” rejecting her argument that she was unaware for 13 years that female escorts she employed were performing sex acts with clients for money.”
(snip)
“The U.S. attorney’s office said that under sentencing guidelines, Palfrey probably faces a prison term of four to six years.”
(snip)
“Although lawyers in the trial said in court that Vitter, Tobias and Ullman were on their witness lists, no prominent alleged ex-clients were called to testify.”
—
I’ve had a busy week and completely missed this news story until Mr. Radical mentioned it. Damn. Damn damn damn damn. I just went to her website and it’s gone. “deborahjeanepalfrey.com is off line until further notice.”
This comment comes from the Raw Story:
“When a man agrees to pay $250 for 90 minutes with a woman, what do most men expect in that time?” prosecutor Daniel Butler said during closing arguments Monday. “In that context, it’s pretty clear. Most men want sex.”
I disagree. Lots of prodommes charge $300/hr and the men don’t expect sex. A stripper friend of mine was an escort for over a year and never had sex with her clients. She mostly stripped for bachelor parties but did the occasional nude photo shoot. Some men do expect sex obviously. I once did a session where the guy kept trying to inappropriately touch me. It got to the point where I had to smack his hands away. But I find the prosecutors argument here weak.
But obviously the jury didn’t. Since she was found guilty what will happen to her well publicized clients like Vitter and Tobias? The cynic in me figures nothing.
All I can think right now is damn. Damn damn damn.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 10:21 PM CDT
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From Yahoo! News:
Sen. Vitter may testify in sex case
“Louisiana Sen. David Vitter may be called to testify on behalf of a woman accused of running an upscale Washington prostitution service, attorneys said at the opening of trial.
The Republican senator was among several possible witnesses identified Monday in the racketeering and money laundering case against Deborah Palfrey. Among others on the list is Harlan Ullman, a military strategist who created the concept of “shock and awe” that the United States used to open hostilities against Iraq more than five years ago.
Prosecutors said they planned to call about a dozen former escorts and several clients.”
—
This could turn out so many ways I’m not sure what to hope for.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 11:50 PM CDT
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Sex Worker profile
I’m a native Texan who is currently a little out of water in California (the foggy part, not the sunny part). I’m someone who has been interested in sex work since 10 years old and I feel very at home within the adult industry. I’m creating a reference series for Internet escorts and am becoming involved in activism. It’s a way to try and right a lot of wrongs I’ve noticed since I was a kid.
What kind of sex work are you currently doing?
I spent my 20s as a stripper and independent Internet escort. I’m currently not engaged in sex work.
Are you active in sex worker activism? If so, what are you doing?
I’d always been curious about it, but it didn’t seem to be for me. A few months after my first book was out Jill Brenneman contacted me through MySpace and we started corresponding. She described my book (and series) as “harm reduction.” It’s an appropriate description and that got my interest. She invited me to join SWOP-East as a board member.
In July 2007 I attended (and presented at) the Desiree Alliance conference. It was a moving experience. There is no way I can let these passionate people down. Though everyone has a slightly different area of focus, the overwhelming impression is of motivated, informed people who are trying to make a difference in a positive way. There’s a lot of love among activists, even those who disagree with one another. Looking forward to the 2008 conference in Chicago!
Through SWOP-East I’ve gotten to start Pledging Action – a condom donation program for sex workers in Chile. I’ve recently joined the Desiree Alliance board. My focus there is as a liaison for SWOP-East and working to create a Media Center for sex workers through DA. (This is in the thought/planning stages, so don’t ask for specifics yet!)
My books are very much an activist statement even though they’re not overt. The idea of producing information for escorts so they can choose their work, determine their work environment and control their destiny in the safest manner is activism at a broad level. I’m all for empowering escorts as women and as sex workers.
What do you think is the best way to promote solidarity with fellow sex workers?
Since every sex worker has their own pet issues, it’s important for all of us to step back and view the big picture. The truth is, every sex worker faces the same basic social issues - only the degree and intensity changes. Those who work in criminalized fields face additional legal and social issues which are essentially the same regardless of what “class” the sex worker belongs to.
Promoting solidarity isn’t hard with blogs, discussion forums and real-live groups. When you start to feel a sense of belonging with others who understand your obstacles, it’s easy to present a united front in public even if you have disagreements in private.
Sometimes the distance of the Internet backfires and we splinter into arguments over things that matter only to us. Then it’s important to remember what I said above: we all face the same basic issues.
Promoting solidarity comes from every sex worker reaching out to another on an individual level. We’re all people-persons; otherwise we wouldn’t be sex workers. But feeling involved requires that we learn the individual. Sex workers aren’t going to feel loyalty to someone whom they only know from a mass e-mail (like current mainstream-marketing wisdom suggests). Meeting the individual sex worker isn’t hard to do and it isn’t difficult. But since there are so many sex workers it’s going to take a long time to reach everyone!
I have to add, this series is a great starting point for introducing an audience to sex workers we haven’t met before. I’ve contacted a couple of your interview subjects because of their interview here.
What project(s) are you working on now?
Too many!
Working on Book #2. The manuscript is back from the typographer and I’m proofing it before sending it to the printer. Yay! Also, working on fleshing out the outline for Book #3 and doing preliminary research (the basic outline has been in place for a couple years but this is detail-work).
Trying to promote Pledging Action and solicit condom donations. I’m not the best at this but I don’t consider it a closed issue.
Working with SWOP-East on whatever issues we have on the table. We have many things in the planning stages and hope to move forward on a lot of projects. Fundraising is a big issue right now.
Working with DA in whatever capacity I can.
Trying to promote Book#1 and myself
Writing a monthly column for EscortSupport.com
Blogging
The Notebook (the book’s blog)
After Hours (personal blog)
Bound, not Gagged (moderator and contributor)
SWOP-East (news blogging)
Amazon and MySpace blogs (my stepchildren locked in the basement)
Working on my Squidoo lenses …and a million other little things that all connect to everything above and eat my time – but you don’t want me to list everything!
—
Amanda’s comment “There’s a lot of love among activists, even those who disagree with one another.” really struck a chord with me. Since the Spitzer scandal first broke I’ve been seeing a lot of the “love among activists” that Amanda mentions. While the many stories in the mainstream press focused on portraying Kristen as a “good girl gone bad” sex worker activists were not only supporting her but creating solidarity with each other as well.
Whenever I would get enraged or depressed with the Spitzer coverage I would turn to the sex worker community online. Writer after writer was bringing up important issues, using the scandal to shine a light on our many causes. Scandals like these seem to come as regularly as the seasons but this one really brought home to me just how much solidarity and activism is really out there.
Amanda’s makes an excellent point about the online community. It does create more solidarity and bring us closer. Just like she says, we sometimes “splinter into arguments” amongst ourselves. But again and again we return to support each other because “we all face the same basic issues”. Focusing on our common grounds makes us closer and our movement stronger.
Sex Worker Solidarity Series
Sex Worker Solidarity: Introduction
Sex Worker Solidarity: Audacia Ray
Sex Worker Solidarity: Dallas From Babeland
Sex Worker Solidarity: Secondhand Rose
Sex Worker Solidarity: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Sex Worker Solidarity: Libertine
Sex Worker Solidarity: Jesse Cox
Posted by Vixen as PSO Confessions, Interviews, Sex Workers at 11:39 PM CDT
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Libertine emailed me about this the other day. I think it’s pretty groovy!
Red Light District Chicago
“Sex workers making media so the media doesn’t make us.
Red Light District Chicago is a new webpage featuring real sex worker made media including podcasts and videos made by the members of Sex Workers Outreach Project-Chicago.”
With reporters like Diane Sawyer doing such a disservice to sex workers, projects like Red Light District Chicago are definitely needed.
Posted by Vixen as Activism, Sex Workers at 11:16 PM CDT
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With the Spitzer scandal I’ve read a lot of news stories portraying sex workers negatively. So when I came across the following Reuters story it felt like a breath of fresh air. This story is an update on the Lusty Lady co-op and the sex workers are portrayed in a positive light.
From Reuters:
When strippers take over the club
“When dancers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady turned the exotic club into an egalitarian co-op, they found it tough to reconcile their lofty ideals with the aesthetic realities of the sex trade.”
(snip)
“The Lusties, as they call themselves, enlisted the help of other local co-ops such as Rainbow Grocery and Good Vibrations, a local female-run sex-toy shop.
They learned the ins and outs of running a collective business and hammered out articles of incorporation within days.
Seven committees were created to oversee mundane but necessary business items such as insurance and licensing, finance, incorporation, bylaws and media relations.
All new proposals, from bylaw modifications down to buying new carpets, would need approval from general co-op membership and the board of directors. Every worker, whether support staff or performer, had the right to submit a proposal, and decisions would be made by majority vote via paper ballot.”
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 2:43 PM CDT
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Thinking about sharing an abstract, workshop, or training at the 2008 Desiree Alliance conference? Got something to teach other sex workers? Why not submit a presentation idea?
Sex Worker Conference In Chicago July 16-20, 2008
On July 16-20 of 2008, hundreds of sex workers and sex worker activists will converge on Chicago at the Desiree Alliance Conference:
“Pulling Back the Sheets: Sex, Work and Social Justice”
Deadline for submissions: Friday March 21st, 2008
Email submissions to: dasubmissions@yahoo.com or call: 1-866-525-7967 extension 702 for assistance.
All presentations will be considered, and confirmation will be provided by April 11th for all submissions.
A Proposal should include:
Title for your presentation
Affiliation with an organization or social justice movement you’d like to have listed
A short paragraph with your background and experience in sex work or the sex workers rights’ movement
A one paragraph summary of the workshop or presentation (four to eight sentences)
The time frame needed to present, whether 15 minutes, half-hour or an hour.
Please include whether or not you will need any technical support, such as a projector or AV, etc.
We are accepting practical workshops from all genders and working backgrounds including, but not limited to the following subjects:
Advocacy/Outreach, Court Support and Solidarity, Fundraising/Grant-writing, Self-Defense Training, Planning for Retirement, Protecting Our Families, Health & Safety Issues, How to Run a Business, Direct Services, Substances in the Workplace, Strategies for Alternatives to Criminalization, Policy Reform, Grassroots Organizing, Building Community, Labor Organizing, Lobbying, Media Training, Wellness Leadership from Sex Workers, Technical Training for the Web, Marketing Strategies for Organizing and Sex Work, Screening Clients, Policies related to Sex Work and, Bridging International Sex Work Communities, Workshops about Clients, Allyship with the Prison Reform Movement, Impacts of Criminalization and Incarceration on Our Community, John Schools, Impacts of End Demand and Anti-Trafficking Policies, Media Advocacy Toolkits, Federal Law and Sex Work, Issues Specific to Trans Sex Work Communities, Resisting Oppression, How to be an Ally to…. Sex Workers.
The Desiree Alliance is a diverse, volunteer-based, sex worker-led network of organizations, communities and individuals across the US working in harm reduction, direct services, political advocacy and health services for sex workers. We provide leadership development and create space for sex workers and supporters to come together to advocate for human, labor and civil rights for all workers in the sex industry.
Posted by Vixen as Activism, Sex Workers at 9:27 PM CDT
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The photos above are both from the same New York Times story. The top picture I saw when I first read this story. I saved it planning to write up a blog post later. By the time I came back to the story the NYT had replaced it with the bottom photo. I find this quite telling.
From the New York Times:
Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring
“Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who gained national prominence relentlessly pursuing Wall Street wrongdoing, has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a law enforcement official and a person briefed on the investigation.
The wiretap captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Manhattan. The person briefed on the case and the law enforcement official identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
Mr. Spitzer, a first term Democrat, today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a “private matter.” He did not address his political future.”
(snip)
“Though his signature issue was pursuing Wall Street misdeeds, as attorney general Mr. Spitzer also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.
In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.””
—
How ironic that shortly after I blog “There is nothing shameful about seeing a sex worker” the governor of New York comes out apologizing for his behavior. He is shamed. But should he be? Yes and no. Yes he should feel shamed for prosecuting prostitutes. But no he shouldn’t feel shamed for seeing one himself.
This story makes me feel conflicted. On one hand I enjoy whenever a hypocitical politician or public figure gets caught. When Ted Haggard got exposed I’ll admit I loved it.
But on the other hand, I’m tired of prostitutes being a scandal. Prostitutes fulfill a need and there work is vital to society. In his press conference Spitzer said the situation was a “private matter”. I agree. His meeting with prostitutes should concern only one person-his wife. If he feels shame it should be shame in dragging his wife through this mess, not in seeing a sex worker.
As these scandals pile on top of each other I find I’m tired of the rhetoric. The shamed person drags himself through the media circus. Sometimes a resignation happens and sometimes not. Remember, despite his gay scandal Larry Craig is finishing his term.
What I’d like to see come out of these scandals is progress. Prostitutes are not going to go away no matter how many politicians are caught with one. Why not talk about the need for legal prostitution? Why not talk about the difficulties prostitutes face because their work is illegal? Why not talk about the benefits to both prostitutes and their clients if prostitution were decriminalized?
Do I think Spitzer should resign? It depends. If he continues saying his actions “violates my or any sense of right or wrong” and continues his history of prosecuting prostitution rings then yes he should resign. He is prosecuting people that he has no problem with in his personal life. If he expanded on this “private matter” concept and took the position that only his wife should be concerned then no he shouldn’t resign. If he took the position that transactions between a prostitute and a client were private and if he began to advocate for the legalization of prostitution then no he shouldn’t resign.
But if past events are an indicator (as well as the NYT preferring to show Spitzer as walking away), I suspect he will resign, the media will have their scandal of the week and sex workers will have to deal with any negative impact.
Bound, Not Gagged has the best media coverage of this scandal because they are covering the story from a sex worker perspective. From them I found this Valleywag post:
Three things you can learn from Client 9
“Let’s be clear: Today’s takedown has nothing to do with stopping prostitution. It’s about bringing down the governor of New York. There are three things you need to know before tonight’s cocktail-party chatter. Most people will get them wrong — and that’s the way the media wants it.
-“Christin” won’t be found online. Don’t bother trolling the Internet Archive for her photo. The way high-end agencies work is the pics on the website aren’t the actual girls. Potential clients go in person to a madam after they make a deposit towards the first appointment. They then get to look at a photo book and decide who to hire from there.
-There’s no such thing as a “$5,500/hour escort.” Agency-based prostitutes who command these rates don’t turn hourly tricks. These are evening, overnight, and weekend appointments. Spitzer wasn’t just “paying her to leave” after a blowjob, he was time-sharing a mistress.
-Could it happen to YOU? No. You’ll never see a headline, “Prostitution Bust Nets 8 Alpha Geeks.” Federal prosecutors, who almost never make prostitution arrests, are using the Emperors Club to take down high-profile clients, just as Spitzer once did himself. Busting a bunch of techies gets nobody nothing. They’d sooner nab the newspaper editors and TV producers who’ll rush this story out today before going to their own appointments. If Jimmy Wales had hired, he’d have saved himself a lot of bad publicity.”
Posted by Vixen as Political Rants, News, Sex Workers at 12:49 AM CDT
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A few weeks ago Amber Rhea sent me a link to this story:
One man’s battle against Midtown prostitutes and their johns
“Armed with a flashlight, a video camera and pepper spray, the longtime Midtown resident takes the MPSA’s white pickup truck on regular predawn patrols of his neighborhood’s tree-lined residential streets.
Auto break-ins are the neighborhood’s most persistent crime, he says, but definitely not his focus. Gower is at war with the neighborhood’s prostitutes. “It’s the most visible sign of disorder in the neighborhood,” he says.”
(snip)
“Activists point out that driving prostitutes out of Midtown won’t actually solve the underlying causes of prostitution. It just moves the prostitutes a few blocks away.”
Now that story was pretty upsetting. Not only is Gower harassing sex workers he’s being butt ass stupid. What if he videotapes a man cheating on his wife? The wife sees the video of her husband with his girlfriend on the side and divorces him. Couldn’t the husband sue Gower? Or say a woman gets arrested for prostitution who wasn’t a sex worker at all. Say she’s just dressed up sexy to go to a bar with friends? Couldn’t she sue him as well?
But I didn’t blog about the story right away. Life, as it tends to do, got busy and I forgot all about it.
Luckily Amber didn’t. She’s been keeping an eye on this story and just recently sent me another link. Same type of story but with another guy.
Behave, the Video Vigilante is watching
“It was a bright-blue winter morning in this Bible Belt capital, and Brian Bates was happy. The balmy weather conditions, he explained, were conducive to his peculiar line of work: public humiliation.
Steering wheel in one hand, camcorder in the other, Bates slowly drove a white Ford Explorer with tinted windows past a procession of sad-eyed prostitutes. But his camera was not trained on them; it was targeting their customers.
Bates, the self-styled Video Vigilante of Oklahoma City, sneaks up and surprises men consorting with prostitutes and then posts cleaned-up versions of the footage on the Internet — to disgrace them.”
(snip)
“What started out as the modern equivalent of a tarring and feathering in a town square has become a paycheck for Bates, a former marketing manager for a hospital. Bates still has a regular job cobbling together lists of people jailed the night before that he sells to ambulance-chasing attorneys every morning. But he’s hoping to leave that behind for a full-time career as a public humiliation professional.”
There is nothing shameful about seeing a sex worker. Sex workers of all kinds meet specific needs. Outlawing different types of sex work doesn’t make these needs magically disappear. If Gower and Bates really wanted to deal with these “problem prostitutes” how about being an activist for legalizing prostitution? If these women didn’t have to fear arrest they could work out of their homes. They wouldn’t be hanging out in these men’s neighborhoods and they wouldn’t be risking arrest. They would have better working conditions and likely make better wages.
As an actual activist I’m annoyed that they use “activist” to describe Bates. What’s worse is he’s making a job out of it. Both men have a suspicious loathing of prostitution. Sure there a lots of people that don’t like prostitution but these stories paint these two at practically foaming at the mouth with rage. This makes me suspect that they have some sexual skeletons in their closets. I could be wrong. But in the six years I’ve been working the phones I’ve developed a sort of “pervdar”. People with venom for a sexual activity or fetish often secretly desire the very thing they proclaim to despise.
If I’m right and these men one day act on their repressed desires it is my hope that someone is there to not only videotape their actions but to upload the footage to the internet. Let the public shamers get publicly shamed themselves.
Amber also pointed me to a Violet Blue story from February that relates to these stories.
Kink.com and Porn Hysteria: The Lie of Unbiased Reporting
“Steve Rubenstein and Jesse McKinley are reporters, and so we require that they report and not serve us with opinion, instead. In both articles, slanted phrases such as “dirty movies” were slipped in like a hostess silently sliding a coaster under your drink — blink and you don’t even notice it’s part of the judgmental scenery — when a more accurate term like “adult” could serve better. Rubenstein’s piece went the distance, making Kink’s employees into “manacled performers.”
But the most interesting example was the presentation of unchallenged material in the form of quotes from people on the street as anti-porn pundits — with no weigh-in from pro-porn pundits. Protesters were quoted as saying, “This neighborhood is already plagued with enough violence and prostitution as it is” and “Kink degrades the neighborhood, degrades women and offers ‘dead end’ jobs that no decent person would want.” Such statements bracket the piece — with no counter-opinions about pornography — and are presented in such a way that readers could interpret opinions as fact. Kink.com was indeed quoted — but only about their use of the space.”
Posted by Vixen as Political Rants, News, Sex Workers at 11:22 PM CST
2 Comments »
