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jhameiaSo, with the whole Eliot Spitzer scandal and all, there's been reignited discussion again on sex work and whether a person can advocate for sex work and still be feminist (or equalist, or progressive, or what-have-you).
Now, I understand it when people say that prostitution shouldn't be legalized more on economics - the economics required to maintain the cleanliness, fairness and basic human rights of the sex industry would be enormous. I mean, look at those big capitalist corporations which turn out corrupt - it would take a LOT of power-restructuring and labour to prevent shit from happening.
I have a problem when people argue against prostitution on the basis of morality, because more often than not, it just diminishes a woman - that the most precious thing a woman has is her body, and thus she should do all that she can to preserve it and not spread it around. It's pretty much dictating what a woman can or cannot do with her own body (and not just women, but men too), and this kind of tripe is found in a LOT of discourse, from the feminist to the progressive to the religious.
And look, if a woman likes sex, likes having sex, and likes sleeping with different men in order to gain an income, what should she be stopped from doing it? She's providing a service, which is obviously appreciated. Why make prostitution illegal then? Seems like most of the problems with prostitution doesn't stem from the prostitutes themselves - they stem from the clients: clients who don't see the prostitutes as people, but as objects to be hurt, demeaned and abused.
Abusing a prostitute for being a prostitute is like abusing a kid in a minimum wage job - both are powerless to stop it, both often work it because there's little else they'd rather do (or can do), and most importantly, both are still human beings, no matter what the job they do. They're not the ones exploiting people - they're the ones being exploited. If a sex worker wants to exploit hirself, rather than subject hirself to being overworked by some boss, then that's pretty much at their discretion, right? They're not hurting anybody, and they open themselves to being hurt. And it's stupid to say stuff like "of course they're going to be hurt; they put themselves in positions where they will be".
HELLO, ACCOUNTABILITY?
If I get hurt by someone, it's not because I was asking for it; it's because that someone who hurt me? HURT ME. Let's put responsibility where it belongs: people wouldn't get hurt if there weren't people out there who get off on hurting others.
Back to the politics of the body. If I want to rent my body out (I wanted to say "sell" but then I realized, even if I did sell it, it's still attached to my brain and thus me, and thus, still mine), why should I get shunned for it? Why should I be accused of "not respecting myself"?
There are three things which should be ours: our body, our mind and our spirit.
People are constantly trying to manipulate or control our minds - look at the rhetoric of the politicians, the guilt-tripping of family and friends, the education we receive. And we let this happen.
Our spirits, too, are at risk when we work hard jobs that are mind-numbing, dead-end, boring, without respite and we get no respect from our employers. On a regular basis, people out there are having their spirits broken in a multitude of ways.
So if we can allow our minds to be manipulated and our spirits to be broken by other people, why the hell can't we rent out our bodies to be used by others as well, as long as it is on our own terms?
Now, I understand it when people say that prostitution shouldn't be legalized more on economics - the economics required to maintain the cleanliness, fairness and basic human rights of the sex industry would be enormous. I mean, look at those big capitalist corporations which turn out corrupt - it would take a LOT of power-restructuring and labour to prevent shit from happening.
I have a problem when people argue against prostitution on the basis of morality, because more often than not, it just diminishes a woman - that the most precious thing a woman has is her body, and thus she should do all that she can to preserve it and not spread it around. It's pretty much dictating what a woman can or cannot do with her own body (and not just women, but men too), and this kind of tripe is found in a LOT of discourse, from the feminist to the progressive to the religious.
And look, if a woman likes sex, likes having sex, and likes sleeping with different men in order to gain an income, what should she be stopped from doing it? She's providing a service, which is obviously appreciated. Why make prostitution illegal then? Seems like most of the problems with prostitution doesn't stem from the prostitutes themselves - they stem from the clients: clients who don't see the prostitutes as people, but as objects to be hurt, demeaned and abused.
Abusing a prostitute for being a prostitute is like abusing a kid in a minimum wage job - both are powerless to stop it, both often work it because there's little else they'd rather do (or can do), and most importantly, both are still human beings, no matter what the job they do. They're not the ones exploiting people - they're the ones being exploited. If a sex worker wants to exploit hirself, rather than subject hirself to being overworked by some boss, then that's pretty much at their discretion, right? They're not hurting anybody, and they open themselves to being hurt. And it's stupid to say stuff like "of course they're going to be hurt; they put themselves in positions where they will be".
HELLO, ACCOUNTABILITY?
If I get hurt by someone, it's not because I was asking for it; it's because that someone who hurt me? HURT ME. Let's put responsibility where it belongs: people wouldn't get hurt if there weren't people out there who get off on hurting others.
Back to the politics of the body. If I want to rent my body out (I wanted to say "sell" but then I realized, even if I did sell it, it's still attached to my brain and thus me, and thus, still mine), why should I get shunned for it? Why should I be accused of "not respecting myself"?
There are three things which should be ours: our body, our mind and our spirit.
People are constantly trying to manipulate or control our minds - look at the rhetoric of the politicians, the guilt-tripping of family and friends, the education we receive. And we let this happen.
Our spirits, too, are at risk when we work hard jobs that are mind-numbing, dead-end, boring, without respite and we get no respect from our employers. On a regular basis, people out there are having their spirits broken in a multitude of ways.
So if we can allow our minds to be manipulated and our spirits to be broken by other people, why the hell can't we rent out our bodies to be used by others as well, as long as it is on our own terms?
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Comment Part I
Date: 2008-03-22 04:12 am (UTC)1) A prostitute said she'd rather sell her body and make her own money that way rather than depending on a man for financial support. I can agree with financial independence, but is prostitution really being financially independent? Can anyone truly be financially independent? Prostitutes depend on men/women to earn an income. I guess one could argue retailers depend on customers to spend money in the stores so they earn a profit. etc.
2) A prostitute mentioned that non-prostitute women should please her man or he will find it somewhere else. I personally qualify having sex with a prostitute, or a non-prostitute, while in a relationship an act of cheating/betrayal. Sex with a prostitute, intern, sister-in-law, whatever, while in a relationship qualifies as cheating. And I don't want to hear krap about biology and how guys are programmed that way, etc. Aren't we as humans supposed to be smarter than animals? Do we not just stoop to a new low by using the biology excuse? I find it ridiculous that married men, or just men in relationships, seek this stuff out. I'm sure it's not anything new.
Plus, I couldn't help but feel the prostitutes were validating men's weaknesses because of their (the prostitutes') weaknesses.
Another woman mentioned she went into nursing and said she would work some-odd hours a week to earn the money she earns in just one day being a prostitute.
3) There were interviews with women who were not so much the "high class" models. They seemed to mention the "Pretty Woman fantasy" a lot.
4) A prostitute says she had been in foster care all her life and decided to go into prostitution to make money so she could go to school.
I hold men accountable as well for prostitution. The thing that men want to stop is the very thing men seek. For instance, look at David Vitter. Good wholesome guy on the outside. However, he has been with prostitutes playing out diaper fantasies (and he got to stay in office. WTF?). Take Newt Gingrich. The very man who was pointing the finger at Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky spiel was the very same person who was having an affair with someone himself. Or recently Eliot Spitzer. I'm just giving high-profile people and not examples of regular people. It just seems the very people who can stop this (and by "stopping" I mean quit going to prostitutes) are the ones putting more flame to the fire.
BUT...
There was the issue of legalization in Las Vegas. Prostitutes get health screenings (I forget how often a month) but get tested for HIV/AIDS each month (I believe). One of the prostitutes, however, said she didn't get paid as much and she wanted out. She was a heroin user. A lot of them were except for maybe one or two of the women.
Re: Comment Part I
Date: 2008-03-22 04:15 am (UTC)Based on the idea that the couple hasn't discussed anything about open relations or anything like that. I understand there are couples who have open relationships to I just wanted to note that.
Re: Comment Part I
Date: 2008-03-22 07:53 pm (UTC)2) That's a personal issue, though, cheating. It doesn't matter HOW the man cheats, he's going to cheat if he wants to, period, whether it's with a prostitute or someone else. Now, true, that sort of statement is victim-blaming (upon the cheated partner) but let's not forget who's really transgressing here: the partner who seeks out the prostitute. The prostitute is simply providing a service.
3) We can't all be courtesans. Because prostitution is a criminal act, I imagine you'll find more of the street-walker variety as opposed to the escort service.
4) Sometimes, women just want monies. There are also girls who become strippers in order to finance college. Then there are the Playboy Bunny scholarships.
High-profile men should be more careful with what they espouse, tbh. But the thing is, would they really have fallen so far if society didn't revile the idea of prostitution? If society wasn't so uptight about who gets to have sex with who and when?
Comment Part II
Date: 2008-03-22 04:12 am (UTC)Of course, I must add that if a prostitute does not consent to sex and she is forced to have sex that it is rape. I believe that is rape no matter who you are. I'm still uneasy about the pimp thing, though, and *buzz word* glamourization of pimping and being with a pimp. Entrepreneurial prostitution is alright. Something like that. I need to end it here because I'm really tired. lol. I hope this made sense. Also, I guess flawed politicians are just a snap-back-to-reality where they remind us how imperfect we are. Yet another story.
Re: Comment Part II
Date: 2008-03-22 08:05 pm (UTC)Not all clients of prostitutes are married men. There're a variety of people who use a prostitute's services; not all are married men. Similarly, there're a variety of reasons why people seek out prostitutes... it's not just that they felt like cheating on their spouse. People have a long way to go in terms of relationship-maturity before we manage to get the kinks out and really prevent cheating.
And of course, a prostitute who does not consent is being raped. Not that a lot of people understand that, but it's still rape. Doesn't matter if she gets paid after, too. There is a problem where the prostitute provides services, but she isn't paid. Is that rape? Not necessarily, but it IS a form of cheating, of not paying for services rendered.
The problem with pimps is that it's an easy door to exploitation - a woman SHOULD be able to work on her own terms without anybody dictating to her what she can or cannot do.
The problem with prostitution, on the whole, is that most people are uncomfortable with the idea of the body being a sexual commodity.
Here's some really good reading on sex workers, the trials they face and other whatnot. (http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/03/17/decriminalization-ending-demand-and-choice/)
Re: Comment Part II
Date: 2008-03-25 01:34 pm (UTC)