A few months ago I made one of the best decisions as a Sex Workers Right's Advocate I could have made. I took the advice of friend and blogger iamcuriousblue and bought a book called Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered by Kamala Kempadoo from Amazon.com.
Book Summery
Trafficking and prostitution are widely believed to be synonymous, and to be leading international crimes. This collection argues against such sensationalism and advances carefully considered and grounded alternatives for understanding transnational migrations, forced labor, sex work, and livelihood strategies under new forms of globalization. From their long-term engagements as anti-trafficking advocates, the authors unpack the contemporary international debate on trafficking. They maintain that rather than a new 'white slave trade,' we are witnessing today, more broadly, an increase in the violation of the rights of freedom of movement, decent employment, and social and economic security. Critical examinations of state anti-trafficking interventions, including the US-led War on Trafficking, also reveal links to a broader attack on undocumented migrants, tribal and aboriginal peoples, poor women, men and children, and sex workers. The book sheds new light on everyday circumstances, popular discourses, and strategies for survival under twenty-first century economic and political conditions, with a focus on Asia, but with lessons globally.
From the Publisher
Contributors: Natasha Ahmed, Vachararutai Boontinand, Lin Chew, Melissa Ditmore, John Frederick, Matthew S. Friedman, Josephine Ho, Jagori, Ratna Kapur, Phil Marshall, Jyoti Sanghera, Susu Thatun
This is an A-MAZ-IN book and anyone who wants a better perspective on Prostitution and Human Trafficking then the propaganda the media, politicians, and the abolitionist feminists have to offer should definitely invest in it.
I have found it not only informative but following the work of the people who contributed to this book has lead me to many great resources. The other night I picked a name at random-Jyoti Sanghera-from the book and just googled it. Low and behold I was lead to a gold mine of corroboration for the views I and my fellow Sex Workers Rights Advocates have been presenting on YouTube in the form of transcripts and Audio from the Symposium on Human Trafficking by the Council on Foreign Relations.
I then made the following video proving that anyone telling you they know the whole story when it comes to human trafficking is a liar.
On Sept. 2, 2010 Monica Shores of Spread Magazine did a very even tempered blog post for the Ms.Blog entitled How to Respect Sex Workers.
In this post she makes and elaberates on the following suggestions for having a healthy dialogue with Sex Workers Right's Advocates/Activists.
1-Don’t diminish or mock sex workers’ agency.
2-Don’t assume your problems with the sex industry are the industry’s only problems.
3-Use language with care.
4-Educate yourself.
Inspired by the polite tone of this blog and a hope for peace with the Anti-Porn feminists I happen to share space with on YouTube I made the following video...
Being that I have heard more than one Anti-Porn feminist express a desire for "a healthy dialogue" you would expect this blog post and my efforts to reach out respectfully to be received with a modicum of consideration...and you would be wrong!
In this video made by the commonly know Anti-Porn YouTube feminist iremythpurr not only does she reference me by name but she proceeds to mock my comments on this blog post and many things about me that have no relevance what so ever.
This is just one example of how the "antis" take every well meaning gesture and twist it to not only sow more division within the feminist community but to character assassinate as well.
If you watch it on YouTube you will notice the comment section is full of unwarranted personal attacks and misrepresentations of my positions. One commenter even said:
"That woman has ZERO class. She's a bull in a feminist china shoppe."
another said:
"dick in ya ear is agency! i'm not a "victim" feminist but I am a victim. gawd. i'm going to become an manger of a strip club and then become a "sex workers rights advocate" ie industry rights, not worker rights. muney muneeehhh munns."
Mocking the fact that I used to be a stripper and have since embrace a position of authority in hopes of making the bar more sex worker considerate. But of course, it's easy to mock when you have nothing personally invested in the well being of women you don't even respect.
Medusa was one of three sisters born to Phorcys and Ceto. Though she was born mortal, her sisters Stheno & Euryale were not. Medusa was originally very beautiful. Her crowning glory was her magnificent, long hair and she was courted my many quality suitors. Before she could be betrothed to a husband, Poseidon/Neptune found her worshiping in the temple of Athena/Minerva and ravished her. Athena was outraged at her sacred temple being violated, and punished Medusa by turning her beautiful tresses into snakes and giving her the destructive power to turn anyone who looked directly at her into stone.
The Meaning
As a Sex Workers Right's Advocate I see a lot of symbolism in this legend that parallels the lives and experiences of the Sex Workers I speak out for.
1-As someone who has casually studied archetypes in my spare time I have come to understand Athena in a certain way. Though I have a great deal of respect for her in other ways, her archetype is one of a Goddess in service of and empowered by men. She is the protectress of the patriarchy. She was born of Zeus and Zeus alone and though one might expect her to come to the defense of a woman in need she had a tendency to look down on what she perceived as weakness.
I hear many Anti-porn and Radical Feminists talk about "overthrowing the patriarchy" but if you look closely at the companies that publish their books and the people on the Religious Right they tend to join forces with you will see that they doth protest too much! Much of the outward contempt they express for "the patriarchy" is a pathetic attempt at hiding the true nature of their connection to it.
2-Medusa was worshiping at the temple of Athena at the time she was "ravished."
The temple to me represents the feminism we think we all know and believe in when we are naive to the true nature of feminist politics today.
3-Poseidon/Neptune raped Medusa in the temple of Athena but rather then Athena getting mad at him she punished Medusa and turned her into a snake headed Gorgon for the rest of her days.
Poseidon obviously represents what we typically think of when we think of Patriarchy. He is powerful and he takes what (or who) he wants when he wants it. I hear many antis go on and on about how the Patriarchy puts women in the position to go into sex work by limiting their choices. I have noticed; however, that once a woman does go into that line of work they are quick to demonize her and accuse her of "Kowtowing to the Dick."
4-Medusa's gaze can turn anyone to stone instantly.
Marginalized by a society that sets many up for failure many women turn to sex work to make ends meet. You would think most human beings would have a great deal of compassion for them and you would be wrong. Once in "the lifestyle" many women find themselves so Stigmatized by the nature of the work they do you would think the hearts of everyone around them had turned to stone.
5-Know as an archer Medusa's Arrows were sharp and deadly accurate. Once she set her sights on her target their was little that could be done to distract her. As she was an underworld creature sunlight was not a friend to her but if you think you had escaped her once it found you might be mistaken. She may not peruse you but her arrow might follow you into that light and bring you back into the underworld she called home...the hard way.
Once marginalized and stigmatized by society a woman has little choice but to adapt to her new state of being or shrivel away in defeat. Taking up the cause of Advocacy is not only a way to heal but one might find that their words are capable of reaching those who would otherwise exist in a state of blissful ignorance.
Using our voices to spread this awareness is not only a way to heal but also a way to make a difference. Sadly, sometimes the greatest wounds are caused not by sex work itself but the stigma that goes along with it and the betrayal of those who claim to care.
I have found a solid support system in the Sex Workers Advocates on YouTube I have come to know and am grateful for it.
FeministWhore has been a mentor to me and I have learned so much since I met her.
YeOldeHeretic has been there for me in ways I can't go into but her friendship has given me strength when I wanted to quite and I thank her.
xxxild has taken me under her wing and guided me threw the underworld and for this reason I call her Kore.
And dynamiteruby is always ready to cheer me up...even when I don't wanna be cheered up!
Thanks Ladies!
Together we will shoot those arrows straight and hit those disinformationists...
RIGHT IN THE ASS!
For a little extra insight into why Medusa means a lot to me (hint-it has something to do with my childhood) watch this video. It also features a great song by Solace called Journey's end.
The Sexual Services Section of Craigslist has been closed. All is right in the world...right. Or is it?
Those who made the push to have it removed claimed that Craigslist was a catalog where anyone could find underage prostitutes and trafficked persons being exploited sexually. But do they not realize that worked in favor of those people trying to find and help them just as much as anyone else? In the following video you see how police use these online websites like Craigslist to find girls that need their help:
Another problem I have with this is that prostitutes that once used the site to conduct their business in a way that is safer for them now have to face having to go back into street prostitution which is 10 times more dangerous. In my video "Craigslist" below I make my concerns known.
Already I have received many comments from people who feel the same way I do and even a very provocative video response from johntheother entitled "Damage Keeps The Money Flowing" where he discusses his theory on what he calls the "Victim Industrial Complex."
I'm willing to bet money that NO ONE involved in making this decision consulted a Sex Worker Advocate of any kind. Everyday it becomes clearer and clearer to me that those of us who believe in this cause must band together and fight for our voices to be heard. It is obvious to me now that those fighting against the sex industry care nothing for the safety of those they claim to care about and must be exposed for who and what they are! We must not allow our stories to be exploited by those who just want to use us to further their agenda!
Just about anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the past 3 years is familiar with Eliot Spitzer and his discrepancies. But how much of the story do you really know? Did you know; for instance, that Spitzers career was ruined not even a month after he published an article in the Washington Post entitled
In this article he made a bold accusation that the Bush administration not only turned a blind eye to the predatory lending practices that were bringing our countries economy closer and closer to peril...but enabled it! He laid bare the connection between what the Attorneys General of all 50 states had been doing to try and combat predatory lending practices and what The Bush Administration did to stop them. And then his career was destroyed!
Ironically, the tool used against him was the very anti-prostitution laws he helped to pass. For more just watch the video:
How many times has this happened to you? You're talking about sex workers rights and someone who supports the Swedish Model decides to offer their two cents. After talking to them for about 2 minutes you get the distinct feeling you're dealing with someone who doesn't know SHIT other than the propaganda they are spoon fed by the media.
Try this. Ask them:
"What is the official U.S. definition of Sex Trafficking?"
If you're lucky enough to get a straight answer at all it will probably be something to the effect of:
"Sex trafficking is modern day sex slavery"
Sounds about right...right?
WRONG!
According to the U.S. code; as stated by the Cornell University website, the definitions for Sex Trafficking/Human Trafficking are as follows:
(8) Severe forms of trafficking in persons
The term “severe forms of trafficking in persons” means—
(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
(9) Sex trafficking
The term “sex trafficking” means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
(notice there is nothing in this definition about being forced AT ALL!)
So I've chosen to write an entire blog post about something so basic WHY? I wish I had a nickle for ever ANTI
("Antis" is what we on YouTube call the pro-Swedish Model, Anti-porn, Anti-prostitution, Anti-choice, Anti-HARM REDUCTION supporters)
that wanted to engage me in "debate" that didn't even know the basics of what their abolitionist leaders have been fighting for.
Rad-Fems and the Religious Right fought for YEARS to get these definitions made official and now that the ugly true colors of the consequences of the ambiguous wording of these laws is coming to light many of their supporters are simply seeing fit to deny them.
It's funny (in an unfunny way) to me the position I have found myself in with these people over and over again. The last thing I want to have to do is explain to my opposition what they're positions really are. I suspect many already know. It seems to me that some feel content to distract an S.W.R.A. (Sex Workers Right's Advocate) by playing dumb
AND OTHERS ARE NOT PLAYING!
If you find your self in this tiresome position feel free to direct them to this blog post or simply ignore the pest as my latest video advises.
Being a Sex Workers Right's Advocate is not just about asserting that: women can and DO choose to be in the sex industry, they're right to say yes is just as important as they're right to say no and that they should NOT be punished if they do. It's also about calling attention to the kind of human trafficking you DON'T hear about...Labor Trafficking!
WHY DO WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT LABOR TRAFFICKING?
I'm only venturing a guess but I think it could be for the same reason many S.W.R.A.'s (Sex Worker's Rights Advocates) grumble about radical, abolitionist, feminists working with the religious right. Corporate greed prettied up with righteous, religious language!
In this video uploaded to YouTube by FeministWhore called "Delay and the Northern Marianas," proof is given to support this assertion.
I am doing a piece on this now because when she uploaded it we were both pretty new to YouTube and it didn't get as much exposure as it deserves.
FeministWhore has been my mentor in all of this and just about everything I know and any exposure I get is because she has VERY patiently guided me. I can't count the number of times I have said the words
"F.W. how do I...?" or "F.W. where do I find...?"
& sat there on "the skype" giggling (sometimes not so secretly) listening to her try to explain something to me while she chants her mantra
"CAT! I WILL KILL YOU!"
Anyone who follows my work needs to be following hers. If they do they will see...I am the peas and she is the steak. Her blog is filled with information I haven't even begun to learn yet...but I'm workin on it.
