MacKinnon And The Swedish Model

While searching for info and documentation on Radical Feminism and Trans-misogyny I happened across an audio of Catharine MacKinnon speaking at Washington and Lee University called "Gender: The Future." This audio didn't talk about transgendered people directly but rather addressed Ms. MacKinnon,s ideas on the Social Construction of gender itself which she calls oppressive in of itself.


In this audio she claims that:

-femininity is a side effect of childhood sexual abuse

-just about everyone that goes into the sex industry was abused sexually as children for which she offers NO sources

-pornography and prostitution are not only the result of this but the cause as well

and ends off with a long diatribe promoting the Swedish Model.


Part 1



Part 2

Part 3



Part 4




Though it's obvious by my commentary in text form over the video that I am not a fan of MacKinnon or of the Swedish Model she seems to be pushing, there is truth to some of what she says. I just happen to find her conclusions based on those truths to be ripe with sweeping generalizations and her idea that femininity is the symptom of some sort of past sexual abuse is frankly misogynistic.

She doesn't seem to have ANYTHING good to say about any gender at all. Her ideal world is one of complete androgyny and while I do find androgyny beautiful it is by no means the only form of beauty there is or should be.

As for the Swedish model my position is clear. According to the Swedish government the Swedish Model does NOT support harm reduction measures so I do not support it. How do I know this? Watch the video below to hear it straight from the horses mouth.






So, as for Ms. MacKinnons Utopian vision of androgyny, who is to say if she is right? I am not a fortune teller and neither is she. I do know that we live in the real world right now where sex workers are subject to unfair treatment & Radical Feminist Abolitionists do nothing to make their working conditions better. They don't even think twice about what sex workers say they want for themselves.


We are continually treated like children with no agency and no right to define the nature of our own experiences. We are told we are brainwashed, uneducated, patriarchy enablers, whores, cunts and NEVER feminists. We wouldn't want to soil the movement now would we?


As a sex workers rights advocate I will continue to do my part to debunk the lies told about us and help fight for our place within feminism because sex work is predominantly a woman's issue. It is a main hub of intersectionality and the continued stifling of the voices within it is nothing short of bigoted.