http://wirephoto20.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=11307969&item=337
Camgirl performance // personality.
Camgirl performance // personality.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Camgirls: Celebrity and community in the age of social networks, by Theresa M. Senft > BOOK REVIEW
http://terrisenft.net/writing/Camgirls/Attachment%20B_senft_camgirls_book%20copy.pdf
Camgirls: Celebrity and community in the age of social networks, by Theresa M. Senft
> Review http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/120/120
"what it means for feminists to speak of the personal as political in the age of networks" (115).
>REVIEW http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/120/120
>>2009
defines politics as "leveraging of power between connected entities"
political and personal—make commentators forget to analyze and understand the political values of personal blogs and of other online network/community-building tools, exemplified here by Webcamming (that is, dramatizing one's life and views on the Web with a camera)
ideology of publicity, for camgirls: theatrical authenticity, self branding, microcelebrity
identity amounts to little more than a series of performances directed to particular audiences in our lives.
celebrities are commodities masquerading as people, while those engaged in microcelebrity are people experimenting with branding themselves as commodities, a point that the author discusses in chapter
inherently transformative online aesthetic of the "grab," which allows viewers/consumers to take what they want and rework or discard the rest, makes Webcamming a relentlessly confrontational activity.
emotional labour - how much can a camgirl have in common with other first and third world emotional labourers who don’t broadcast on the web?
"tele-ethicality": that is, to "engage, rather than forestall action in our mediated communities, despite the potential for fakery and fraud"
> Senft refers to Haraway's usage of the word cyborg in discussing a pornographic ideology, defined as the belief that specific, feminized bodies ought to be scapegoats for shifting relationships between public and private in a culture—even if this definition seems to describe a social interpretation of the phenomenon, and not the phenomenon per se. >>??
throughout history, women have responded to their exclusion from the public sphere by establishing counter–public places where democracy is regularly critiqued and strengthened. Camgirls specifically resist the intimate public sphere through performance, creating networks through what is called "strange familiarity"—that is, the familiarity arising from exchanging private information with otherwise remote strangers.
According to the concept of ethical narcissism, if the author of a blog (or any other personal space on the Web) accepts the possibility of interaction with a network, as opposed to a purely nonconfrontational exposition, the narcissistic practice of personal blogs can become ethical in the sense that it becomes dialectic and creates the opportunity to spread a dialogue beyond the established network in which it was originally formulated.
Camgirls is an innovative take on the ethics of rules building in online communities. The book makes a strong point of showing the fallacy of naive beliefs in the not-political nature of narcissism and pornography, two positions stereotypically associated with camgirls and in general with developing personal spaces online.
>> First, tele-ethicality allows women to have a stronger political impact on the Web, and it helps build a larger and more significant arena for micropolitics. Second, activism can spring from spaces not designed for political action but that end up facilitating it, such as Web communities based on the ostensibly personal practice of Webcamming.
it provides an ethical theorization of community building online filtered through a feminist point of view
Next Wave Cultures: Feminism, Subcultures, Activism edited by Anita Harris
http://books.google.ca/books?id=hOVIXxLfqOUC&pg=PT143&lpg=PT143&dq=camgirl+art&source=bl&ots=en-4HNN620&sig=oMX_5i7UVHvPn6lltq0BBzJv41Y&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SA4jVKaoKoWNyATR7oGQDg&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=camgirl%20art&f=false
> camgirl archetypes
Shannon Bell Book Review - Whore Carnival
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3704173?seq=3
Shannon Bell - postmodern feminist, teaches classical political theory. Raunchy feminist pornographer.
Whore Carnival celebratory / confessional.
Her project is not just to deconstruct the old texts but to construct some kind of voice and privilege to the modern (largely young, middle class, western) whore.
Shannon Bell - postmodern feminist, teaches classical political theory. Raunchy feminist pornographer.
Whore Carnival celebratory / confessional.
Her project is not just to deconstruct the old texts but to construct some kind of voice and privilege to the modern (largely young, middle class, western) whore.
New socialisms futures beyond globalization // Queer Socialist Pornography
New socialisms futures beyond globalization
http://books.google.ca/books?id=YUGAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT242&dq=New+socialisms+futures+beyond+globalization.+queer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZTsrVNG0EsGTyAS984L4CQ&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=New%20socialisms%20futures%20beyond%20globalization.%20queer&f=false
The moral pornographer would be an artist who uses pornographic material as part of the acceptance of the logic f a world of absolute sexual license for all the genderes, and projects a model of the way such a world might work. A moral pornographer might use pornography as a as a critique of current relations between the sexes. His/her busness would be the total demystification of the flesh and the subsequent revelation, through the infinite modulations of the sexual act, of the real relations of man and his kind [diverse degendered relations of humankind]. CARTER 1978
it is art of the disaster whose saying witnesses the singularity of beings
if sexual actions construct meaning between bodies, then the labour of performative sexual praxis constructs and records new meanings between sexual bodies
performative sexual praxis, belonging to marx’s broad understanding of labour as creative, self-affirming life-activity, is not reduced to labour-power in hegemonic pornography
the sexual practices take place in the context of an “eight billion dollar a year industry” in which sex is presented according to industrial formulae premised on variations of an overarching sexual script according to which females re endlessly fuckable, lustfully unable to control their sexuality, and “bad girls”, the repressively desublimated remnant of the phallic mother, exist under the law and pleasure principle of the father. what is implied about male sexuality is equally alienating: men are always hard, big and masterful, and able to temporarily give up control when it suits them.
sssspread = nonnormative pornography
SM is a really powerful way of acknowledging embodiement, especially for people who are “elsewhere than their body because your body isn’t where you’re at home”.
she discloses how the capacity for female ejaculation was socially designed out of the female body during the eighteenth century, only to be submerged in male pornography in the nineteenth century and codified as psychological and medical problem until well into the latter part of the twentith century, when it was rediscovered and redesigned by the lesbian and transgendered communities.
ssspreaad images, stories and interviews demonstrate that it is possible the produce nonrecuperable pornography and that this production falls necessarily into the terrirtory of the pervert.
phallic-widow mother, the post-male/post-female bastard orphan and the de-oedipalized stranger, those who are outside, don’t belong, incapable of belonging to heterosexuality. content is collectively determined by those involved in making the images and writing the texts and those actively viewing these images and texts.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=YUGAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT242&dq=New+socialisms+futures+beyond+globalization.+queer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZTsrVNG0EsGTyAS984L4CQ&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=New%20socialisms%20futures%20beyond%20globalization.%20queer&f=false
The moral pornographer would be an artist who uses pornographic material as part of the acceptance of the logic f a world of absolute sexual license for all the genderes, and projects a model of the way such a world might work. A moral pornographer might use pornography as a as a critique of current relations between the sexes. His/her busness would be the total demystification of the flesh and the subsequent revelation, through the infinite modulations of the sexual act, of the real relations of man and his kind [diverse degendered relations of humankind]. CARTER 1978
it is art of the disaster whose saying witnesses the singularity of beings
if sexual actions construct meaning between bodies, then the labour of performative sexual praxis constructs and records new meanings between sexual bodies
performative sexual praxis, belonging to marx’s broad understanding of labour as creative, self-affirming life-activity, is not reduced to labour-power in hegemonic pornography
the sexual practices take place in the context of an “eight billion dollar a year industry” in which sex is presented according to industrial formulae premised on variations of an overarching sexual script according to which females re endlessly fuckable, lustfully unable to control their sexuality, and “bad girls”, the repressively desublimated remnant of the phallic mother, exist under the law and pleasure principle of the father. what is implied about male sexuality is equally alienating: men are always hard, big and masterful, and able to temporarily give up control when it suits them.
sssspread = nonnormative pornography
SM is a really powerful way of acknowledging embodiement, especially for people who are “elsewhere than their body because your body isn’t where you’re at home”.
she discloses how the capacity for female ejaculation was socially designed out of the female body during the eighteenth century, only to be submerged in male pornography in the nineteenth century and codified as psychological and medical problem until well into the latter part of the twentith century, when it was rediscovered and redesigned by the lesbian and transgendered communities.
ssspreaad images, stories and interviews demonstrate that it is possible the produce nonrecuperable pornography and that this production falls necessarily into the terrirtory of the pervert.
phallic-widow mother, the post-male/post-female bastard orphan and the de-oedipalized stranger, those who are outside, don’t belong, incapable of belonging to heterosexuality. content is collectively determined by those involved in making the images and writing the texts and those actively viewing these images and texts.
When Art Becomes Work
When Art Becomes Work Paperback – Apr 25 2012
by Terry Norton-Wright (Author)
WHEN ART BECOMES WORK, is an Artist's Book that comments in form and content on the legalization of prostitution in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and the subsequent "Art Stay" program that closed Red Light District brothels and converted them into artist ateliers resulting in the prostitution of the artist in the name of urban renewal. Based on the reverse attached book WHEN SEX BECOMES WORK, the word "art" was substituted for the word "sex" throughout the text calling the readers attention to the substitution of one type of worker for another. With this change, the entire book changes in purpose. What was previously a manual for the sex worker, now functions as a manual for the artist similarly to the way the brothel window functions as a new space.
Dialogue / Monologue notes
http://worklabournewsresearch.tumblr.com/
“Sex workers are average Canadians. They’re Caucasian, in their 30s and 40s, and have education and training outside of high school. Most of them don’t feel exploited, they don’t see buyers as oppressors,” the study’s lead author Cecilia Benoit, a researcher at the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, told Maclean’s. “They’re not weird, unusual people. They are people trying to do the best they can with the tools they have to live their lives.”
"The five-year study began in 2011 and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Researchers interviewed 218 sex workers, 1,252 clients, 30 spouses or intimate partners of sex workers, 61 managers of escort or massage businesses, and 80 law enforcement officials. The interviewees were from six cities: St. John’s, N.L., Montreal, Kitchener, Ont., Fort McMurray, Alta., and Victoria."
http://www.understandingsexwork.com/
http://www.understandingsexwork.com/sites/default/files/uploads/BillC36brief.pdf
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pivotlegal/pages/660/attachments/original/1404320254/C36_Info_Sheet.pdf?1404320254
http://www.johnsvoice.ca/
RESEARCH
PURCHASING
People purchase sex for a range of reasons including: adventure, loneliness, sexual
insecurity, companionship, and sex/gender exploration
purchasers of sex are stigmatized by their association with the sex
industry and often labeled as either immoral, sexually perverted, or as women-haters
Purchasers of sex are often looking for someone to fulfill a confidant or counsellig role in their lives.
men do not want to feel as though they are coercing potentially sexually exploited
youth, trafficked and/or drug-addicted people into having sex
Little is known, about the women or transgendered/transsexual people who purchase sex
SELLING
the stereotyping of sex workers that goes on in the popular media and among people with little firsthand experience of sex work can have a profound impact on the health, safety, and security of sex workers, as well as their friends and families, those who pay for their services, and those who play a managerial role in the sex industry.
sex workers are adults who earn at least part of their income through the sale of direct sexual contact.
the term sex worker emphasizes the work relations of the individuals involved. As such, they should be entitled to the same rights and responsibility as all other workers in Canada, including fair and equal treatment by managers and clients, health and safety at work, employment benefits, and legal protections. The term sex worker also encourages us to envision individuals engaged in this kind of economic activity as complex people whose worker status is just one aspect of their self-identity.
There are no accurate estimates of the gender breakdown of sex workers.
in Canada, Australia, and the UK the majority of sex work takes place in private venues, including escort agencies, massage parlours, hotels and motels, clients’ residences, and sex workers’ homes.
Indigenous people disproportionately represented in street-level sex work.
periods of financial need or outright poverty are often key drivers, these are not the only ones. Many choose this work for the autonomy and flexibility it affords – that is, the ability to choose when and where to work, who they work with, and how much money they
earn each week61,81. Still others see the sex industry as an opportunity to explore their
sexuality, to validate their desirability, and to be a part of something that defies
social-sexual norms and values.
common myths are that all sex workers are victims, all sex workers are drug addicts, all sex workers are survivors of sexual abuse, and sex work is inherently violent.
1) they do not recognize the diversity of the sex worker population;
2) while street-level workers tend to be comparatively disadvantaged, some prefer the
“flexibility, autonomy, and unstructured nature of this sector” of the industry; and 3)
while street-level work is the most visible aspect of the sex industry, research suggests
the majority of workers do not work on the street61
STIGMA
while a sex worker might be many things, they are reduced to single thing: their occupation
perceived stigma: some sex workers will avoid certain social interactions out of fear that people will treat them differently if they find out they work in the sex industry
enacted stigma: a sex worker may seek out police protection or health services but find they do not always receive appropriate care
sex workers are easy targets for discrimination because they are blamed for such things as the breakdown of the traditional family, sexually transmitted infections (but especially HIV/AIDS), escalating crime in urban areas (especially those related to drugs), and the subversion of youth.
the sex industry is disproportionately made up of groups of people who have been historically scapegoated for social problems, including: women, Aboriginals, visible minorities, immigrants, those with sexually transmitted illnesses, illicit drug users, disabled persons, single-parents, as well as, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or transsexual individuals
many sex workers feel they play an important role in society, either as legitimate artistic performers, emotional and/or sexual health counsellors, or by providing an important service for disabled persons and by deflecting violence away from women in the general public.
VIOLENCE
Many sex workers reject the notion that sex work is inherently violent and attribute the disproportionately high level of violence associated with the sex industry to its stigmatization and criminalization.
sex workers have historically often not been believed by police and
service providers when they say they have been raped because mainstream society
considers the bodies of sex workers undeserving of integrity and violable at all times
Because sex work is so deeply stigmatized sex workers are usually unwelcome in
residential neighbourhoods and busy commercial districts and therefore pushed into
industrial parks or other marginalized areas of cities or towns
women are not statistically more likely than men or transgendered sex workers to experience beatings and robbery on the job. However, women may be more likely to be raped
, it is widely reported by sex workers, globally, that police engage in “excessive use of physical force, forced removal and subsequent abandonment [to] outlying areas, and coerced sex to police in exchange for freedom from detainment, fine, or arrest”
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women in the
street-trade are more likely to be injured, go missing, or be murdered in places like
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, or on what has become known as the “Highway of
Tears” (Highway 16 located in Northern British Columbia near Prince Rupert) than
are white women
studies report that anywhere from 60-80% of indoor workers report never experiencing any work-related violence
it is likely that a relatively small number of men posing as clients are repeat offenders, committing a large number of the violent crimes against sex workers
THE LAW / SCC
In recognition that current federal laws are unconstitutional, Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Himel struck down three provisions of the criminal code mentioned above (sections 210; 212(l)(j) and 213(i)(c)) in September 2010. Himel found these laws prevented sex workers from taking steps to enhance their safety and reduce the risk of violence. A stay of effect – whereby current laws are suspended – was put in place pending appeal. While sex workers and sex worker advocates have applauded this progressive ruling, the Conservative government appealed to the Ontario Count of Appeal
All five upheld the earlier decision that the Bawdy house provision (s. 210) was unconstitutional but suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months
Section 212 (living on the avails of prostitution) was not struck down but amended. All five agreed to reword the section to say “prohibition applies only to those who live on the avails of prostitution in circumstances of exploitation.” The amended living on the avails section of the law takes place 30 days from the release of the decision.
http://www.pivotlegal.org/canada_v_bedford_a_synopsis_of_the_supreme_court_of_canada_ruling
“The prohibitions at issue do not merely impose conditions on how prostitutes operate. They go a critical step further, by imposing dangerous conditions on prostitution; they prevent people engaged in a risky – but legal – activity from taking steps to protect themselves from the risk.” (para 60)
// The prohibitions at issue impose dangerous
(bawdy house) Specifically, the Court stated that “the harms identified by the courts below are grossly disproportionate to the deterrence of community disruption that is the object of the law. Parliament has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health safety and lives of prostitutes. A law that prevents street-prostitutes from resorting to a safe haven such as Grandma’s House while a suspected serial killer prowls the streets, is a law that has lost sight of its purpose.” (para 136)
(avails) “The law punishes everyone who lives on the avails of prostitution without distinguishing between those who exploit prostitutes (such as controlling and abusive pimps) and those who could increase the safety and security of prostitutes (for example, legitimate drivers, managers, or bodyguards.” (para 142)
(comm) “By prohibiting communication in public for the purpose of prostitution, the law prevents prostitutes from screening clients and setting terms for the use of condoms or safe houses. In these ways, it significantly increases the risk they face.” (para 71)
“If screening could have prevented one woman from jumping into Robert Pickton’s car, the severity of the harmful effects is established” (para 158)
SEX WORKERs
"After having appeared at the justice committee, and being given 10 minutes — actually, five minutes and 30 seconds — to speak, and then ignored for an hour and a half, I have no real interest in going through that experience again."
"Sex workers are not just symbolic representations, but living, breathing Canadians who are going to suffer under C-36,” - Nicole Matte
"Our clients, men and women, are not perverts or criminals, and we are not victims." - Maxime Dorocher
"We don't need saving, what we need is to be part of society like everyone else” - Maxime Dorocher
"Bad laws serve us up on a silver platter to sexual predators,” - Valerie Scott
PARLIAMENT
"We believe prostitution is inherently dangerous and exploitative." — Justice Minister Peter MacKay
“[Sex trades] are not harmful because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are harmful." — Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act
“Sex workers are average Canadians. They’re Caucasian, in their 30s and 40s, and have education and training outside of high school. Most of them don’t feel exploited, they don’t see buyers as oppressors,” the study’s lead author Cecilia Benoit, a researcher at the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, told Maclean’s. “They’re not weird, unusual people. They are people trying to do the best they can with the tools they have to live their lives.”
"The five-year study began in 2011 and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Researchers interviewed 218 sex workers, 1,252 clients, 30 spouses or intimate partners of sex workers, 61 managers of escort or massage businesses, and 80 law enforcement officials. The interviewees were from six cities: St. John’s, N.L., Montreal, Kitchener, Ont., Fort McMurray, Alta., and Victoria."
http://www.understandingsexwork.com/
http://www.understandingsexwork.com/sites/default/files/uploads/BillC36brief.pdf
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pivotlegal/pages/660/attachments/original/1404320254/C36_Info_Sheet.pdf?1404320254
http://www.johnsvoice.ca/
RESEARCH
PURCHASING
People purchase sex for a range of reasons including: adventure, loneliness, sexual
insecurity, companionship, and sex/gender exploration
purchasers of sex are stigmatized by their association with the sex
industry and often labeled as either immoral, sexually perverted, or as women-haters
Purchasers of sex are often looking for someone to fulfill a confidant or counsellig role in their lives.
men do not want to feel as though they are coercing potentially sexually exploited
youth, trafficked and/or drug-addicted people into having sex
Little is known, about the women or transgendered/transsexual people who purchase sex
SELLING
the stereotyping of sex workers that goes on in the popular media and among people with little firsthand experience of sex work can have a profound impact on the health, safety, and security of sex workers, as well as their friends and families, those who pay for their services, and those who play a managerial role in the sex industry.
sex workers are adults who earn at least part of their income through the sale of direct sexual contact.
the term sex worker emphasizes the work relations of the individuals involved. As such, they should be entitled to the same rights and responsibility as all other workers in Canada, including fair and equal treatment by managers and clients, health and safety at work, employment benefits, and legal protections. The term sex worker also encourages us to envision individuals engaged in this kind of economic activity as complex people whose worker status is just one aspect of their self-identity.
There are no accurate estimates of the gender breakdown of sex workers.
in Canada, Australia, and the UK the majority of sex work takes place in private venues, including escort agencies, massage parlours, hotels and motels, clients’ residences, and sex workers’ homes.
Indigenous people disproportionately represented in street-level sex work.
periods of financial need or outright poverty are often key drivers, these are not the only ones. Many choose this work for the autonomy and flexibility it affords – that is, the ability to choose when and where to work, who they work with, and how much money they
earn each week61,81. Still others see the sex industry as an opportunity to explore their
sexuality, to validate their desirability, and to be a part of something that defies
social-sexual norms and values.
common myths are that all sex workers are victims, all sex workers are drug addicts, all sex workers are survivors of sexual abuse, and sex work is inherently violent.
1) they do not recognize the diversity of the sex worker population;
2) while street-level workers tend to be comparatively disadvantaged, some prefer the
“flexibility, autonomy, and unstructured nature of this sector” of the industry; and 3)
while street-level work is the most visible aspect of the sex industry, research suggests
the majority of workers do not work on the street61
STIGMA
while a sex worker might be many things, they are reduced to single thing: their occupation
perceived stigma: some sex workers will avoid certain social interactions out of fear that people will treat them differently if they find out they work in the sex industry
enacted stigma: a sex worker may seek out police protection or health services but find they do not always receive appropriate care
sex workers are easy targets for discrimination because they are blamed for such things as the breakdown of the traditional family, sexually transmitted infections (but especially HIV/AIDS), escalating crime in urban areas (especially those related to drugs), and the subversion of youth.
the sex industry is disproportionately made up of groups of people who have been historically scapegoated for social problems, including: women, Aboriginals, visible minorities, immigrants, those with sexually transmitted illnesses, illicit drug users, disabled persons, single-parents, as well as, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or transsexual individuals
many sex workers feel they play an important role in society, either as legitimate artistic performers, emotional and/or sexual health counsellors, or by providing an important service for disabled persons and by deflecting violence away from women in the general public.
VIOLENCE
Many sex workers reject the notion that sex work is inherently violent and attribute the disproportionately high level of violence associated with the sex industry to its stigmatization and criminalization.
sex workers have historically often not been believed by police and
service providers when they say they have been raped because mainstream society
considers the bodies of sex workers undeserving of integrity and violable at all times
Because sex work is so deeply stigmatized sex workers are usually unwelcome in
residential neighbourhoods and busy commercial districts and therefore pushed into
industrial parks or other marginalized areas of cities or towns
women are not statistically more likely than men or transgendered sex workers to experience beatings and robbery on the job. However, women may be more likely to be raped
, it is widely reported by sex workers, globally, that police engage in “excessive use of physical force, forced removal and subsequent abandonment [to] outlying areas, and coerced sex to police in exchange for freedom from detainment, fine, or arrest”
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women in the
street-trade are more likely to be injured, go missing, or be murdered in places like
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, or on what has become known as the “Highway of
Tears” (Highway 16 located in Northern British Columbia near Prince Rupert) than
are white women
studies report that anywhere from 60-80% of indoor workers report never experiencing any work-related violence
it is likely that a relatively small number of men posing as clients are repeat offenders, committing a large number of the violent crimes against sex workers
THE LAW / SCC
In recognition that current federal laws are unconstitutional, Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Himel struck down three provisions of the criminal code mentioned above (sections 210; 212(l)(j) and 213(i)(c)) in September 2010. Himel found these laws prevented sex workers from taking steps to enhance their safety and reduce the risk of violence. A stay of effect – whereby current laws are suspended – was put in place pending appeal. While sex workers and sex worker advocates have applauded this progressive ruling, the Conservative government appealed to the Ontario Count of Appeal
All five upheld the earlier decision that the Bawdy house provision (s. 210) was unconstitutional but suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months
Section 212 (living on the avails of prostitution) was not struck down but amended. All five agreed to reword the section to say “prohibition applies only to those who live on the avails of prostitution in circumstances of exploitation.” The amended living on the avails section of the law takes place 30 days from the release of the decision.
http://www.pivotlegal.org/canada_v_bedford_a_synopsis_of_the_supreme_court_of_canada_ruling
“The prohibitions at issue do not merely impose conditions on how prostitutes operate. They go a critical step further, by imposing dangerous conditions on prostitution; they prevent people engaged in a risky – but legal – activity from taking steps to protect themselves from the risk.” (para 60)
// The prohibitions at issue impose dangerous
(bawdy house) Specifically, the Court stated that “the harms identified by the courts below are grossly disproportionate to the deterrence of community disruption that is the object of the law. Parliament has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health safety and lives of prostitutes. A law that prevents street-prostitutes from resorting to a safe haven such as Grandma’s House while a suspected serial killer prowls the streets, is a law that has lost sight of its purpose.” (para 136)
(avails) “The law punishes everyone who lives on the avails of prostitution without distinguishing between those who exploit prostitutes (such as controlling and abusive pimps) and those who could increase the safety and security of prostitutes (for example, legitimate drivers, managers, or bodyguards.” (para 142)
(comm) “By prohibiting communication in public for the purpose of prostitution, the law prevents prostitutes from screening clients and setting terms for the use of condoms or safe houses. In these ways, it significantly increases the risk they face.” (para 71)
“If screening could have prevented one woman from jumping into Robert Pickton’s car, the severity of the harmful effects is established” (para 158)
SEX WORKERs
"After having appeared at the justice committee, and being given 10 minutes — actually, five minutes and 30 seconds — to speak, and then ignored for an hour and a half, I have no real interest in going through that experience again."
"Sex workers are not just symbolic representations, but living, breathing Canadians who are going to suffer under C-36,” - Nicole Matte
"Our clients, men and women, are not perverts or criminals, and we are not victims." - Maxime Dorocher
"We don't need saving, what we need is to be part of society like everyone else” - Maxime Dorocher
"Bad laws serve us up on a silver platter to sexual predators,” - Valerie Scott
PARLIAMENT
"We believe prostitution is inherently dangerous and exploitative." — Justice Minister Peter MacKay
“[Sex trades] are not harmful because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are harmful." — Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act
Notes on Speculative Everything Dunne & Raby
It is becoming clear that many of the challenges we face today are unfixable and that the only way to overcome them is by changing our values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour.
Design’s denial that the problems we face are more serious than they appear.
Channelling energy and resources into thing … rather than the ideas and attitudes inside our heads.
Alternative ways of being.
Possible futures as tools.
>> Research meth // Strategic foresight and innovation howto
-- http://2020mediafutures.ca/
-- http://slab.ocadu.ca/project/what-is-foresight-video-series
Guerilla futures :( :( :(
Probable: Most designers operate.
Plausible: scenario planning and foresight. -- not prediction
Possible: Scientifically possible, believable series of events, role of expert is not to prevent the impossible but to make it acceptable.
Fantasy: yawn
Government + industry determine probable / plausible.
If it is possible to create more socially constructive imaginary futures, could design help people participate more actively as citizen-consumers?
Using design to open all sorts of possibilities that can be discussed
1980’s - hyper commercialized, design intergrated into neoliberal capitalism
Victor Papanek - socially orientated designer 1970
Society of individuals, possible to strive for a million tiny utopias
Downgrading of dreams to hopes, planet’s limited resources
Younger generation doesnt dream: it hopes that we will survive, that there will be water for all, that we will be able to feed everyone, that we will not destroy ourselves.
Financial crash of 2008 - new interest in alternatives to current system.
Need pluralism in design, of ideology and values.
Design’s denial that the problems we face are more serious than they appear.
Channelling energy and resources into thing … rather than the ideas and attitudes inside our heads.
Alternative ways of being.
Possible futures as tools.
>> Research meth // Strategic foresight and innovation howto
-- http://2020mediafutures.ca/
-- http://slab.ocadu.ca/project/what-is-foresight-video-series
Guerilla futures :( :( :(
Probable: Most designers operate.
Plausible: scenario planning and foresight. -- not prediction
Possible: Scientifically possible, believable series of events, role of expert is not to prevent the impossible but to make it acceptable.
Fantasy: yawn
Government + industry determine probable / plausible.
If it is possible to create more socially constructive imaginary futures, could design help people participate more actively as citizen-consumers?
Using design to open all sorts of possibilities that can be discussed
1980’s - hyper commercialized, design intergrated into neoliberal capitalism
Victor Papanek - socially orientated designer 1970
Society of individuals, possible to strive for a million tiny utopias
Downgrading of dreams to hopes, planet’s limited resources
Younger generation doesnt dream: it hopes that we will survive, that there will be water for all, that we will be able to feed everyone, that we will not destroy ourselves.
Financial crash of 2008 - new interest in alternatives to current system.
Need pluralism in design, of ideology and values.
Design Something 1 Presentation
SLIDE 1
At this point, most of the reliable material I have been able to find on my topic is about sex worker rights.
In Canada, the laws about selling sex are changing. Last December the Supreme Courtstruck down the laws as unconstitutional and gave Parliament 1 year to amend them. Since then committees have travelled the country, and consultations have been conducted online to see how the laws could be changed.
SLIDE 2
As I was saturating my brain, Roderick was sending out emails about the Memefest competition on RADICAL INTIMACIES: DIALOGUE IN OUR TIMES, that requested work focusing on how dialogue is failing, and hopeful alternatives.
In my subject, there is a dialogue happening, and that dialogue is not working. Critics have described it as “everybody shouting, but nobody being heard”, and, where the Government is concerned, “a monologue”.
SLIDE 3
This summer Parliament proposed an amended law that criminalized buyers, and in doing so makes sex work more dangerous for workers. Despite evidence by academics and researchers, and testimonials by sex workers, the laws have been created based on emotional reasoning and ideology.
SLIDE 4
So, I created a poster intended to raise questions about the kinds of conversations that are happening, or not happening, in this dialogue of law making.
SLIDE 5
The text on the top left page is from sex workers themselves, quotes from protests like “Sex worker rights are labour rights”, and from news articles like “We don’t need saving, what we need is to be part of society like everyone else.”.
On the top right page is text from a research report funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health, including information on myths and stereotypes, and the impact of police intervention on sex workers.
SLIDE 6
On the bottom left the text is from the Supreme Court of Canada, with quotes from the document that declared the current laws as unconstitutional.
On the bottom right, there quotes from the Canadian Government, such as “Sex trades are not harmful because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are harmful.” from Stephen Harper.
Key points from the sex workers, researchers, and Supreme Court moves from the centre of their individual pages and onto the page of the Canadian Government, but as it travels it gets disjointed by the separation of pages, representing how the messages are not being heard by the law makers. One such key point, from the researchers, is “Research rejects the notion that sex work is inherently violent and attributes the disproportionately high level of violence to it’s stigmatization and criminalization”.
Because the Government is not listening, and not truly talking to anyone but themselves, no text from the bottom right page moves to the other pages.
SLIDE 7
Advocates for sex worker rights are not optimistic about the immediate outcome of this process of law making, but are taking it as an opportunity to educate Canadians on sex worker rights, with hopes that in the future the issue can be revisited. This means talking to the public.
This poster, in it’s use of black and white ink and cheap, accessible materials, is designed to be wheat pasted around the city. Postering is not intended to be restricted to fringe areas where sex work is most visible, but in all areas that might spark conversation within the public, and expose individuals to the discussions on this topic, and to aid in opposing stereotypes presented in the media. With the length of this project, it is also an opportunity to witness interaction and dialogue outside the framework provided by the government or within this classroom.
Wheat pasting also speaks to the fact that even if there are laws prohibiting an act, there is still someone who will do it.
Although hopefully it doesn’t always look like it’s pasted up with puke.
SLIDE 8
For my process…
SLIDE 9
I also played with the idea of the government of Canada page using stereotypical text - like EXPLOITED WOMEN and PROTECT THE CHILDREN and ADDICTION to obscure the messages from the other parties, but didn’t feel it made sense within the overall design.
SLIDE 10
Then, as I progressed in my design, I printed and taped up samples on my wall to see what was working and what wasn’t.
...
SLIDE 11
I experimented with different spacings to see what could enforce my message.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Via Emily Van der Meulen
Hi Josephine,
Looks like you are finding some great resources!
For art projects and such, you might look up Carol Leigh
(http://www.bayswan.org/leigh_
Network (http://www.bayswan.org/penet.
art-related work, announcements for sex work film festivals etc. Also
Sasha Van Bon Bon does some fantastic local sex work activist art
performances and videos, so it might be worth checking out some of her
work online.
You can also look up past films screened at the Feminist Porn Awards. And
also past sessions at the Desiree Alliance Conferences.
You might like Michelle Tea's work (see: Rent Girl, 2004), and Shannon
Bell's Whore Carnival. At this point, it might be hard to get back issues
of Spread, unfortunately.
There are literally hundreds of books on sex work, as you know. Less that
focus on art. I'm not sure if you will be able to get access to it, but
you can probably order it from their website - from the Prostitution
Information Centre in Amsterdam. They have a book titled When Art Becomes
Work.
Other docs that are good: Hookers on Davie, Hot and Bothered: Feminist
Pornography, Scarlet Road: A Sex Workers Journey, Meet the Fokkens.
Last, I would go to a bunch of different sex worker rights organizations
websites (from across Canada, USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia) and
see if they have a pages with resources. From there you will be able to
get quite a bit of good suggestions for other progressive materials.
Hope that helps!
Let me know how your project shapes up.
Looks like you are finding some great resources!
For art projects and such, you might look up Carol Leigh
(http://www.bayswan.org/leigh_
Network (http://www.bayswan.org/penet.
art-related work, announcements for sex work film festivals etc. Also
Sasha Van Bon Bon does some fantastic local sex work activist art
performances and videos, so it might be worth checking out some of her
work online.
You can also look up past films screened at the Feminist Porn Awards. And
also past sessions at the Desiree Alliance Conferences.
You might like Michelle Tea's work (see: Rent Girl, 2004), and Shannon
Bell's Whore Carnival. At this point, it might be hard to get back issues
of Spread, unfortunately.
There are literally hundreds of books on sex work, as you know. Less that
focus on art. I'm not sure if you will be able to get access to it, but
you can probably order it from their website - from the Prostitution
Information Centre in Amsterdam. They have a book titled When Art Becomes
Work.
Other docs that are good: Hookers on Davie, Hot and Bothered: Feminist
Pornography, Scarlet Road: A Sex Workers Journey, Meet the Fokkens.
Last, I would go to a bunch of different sex worker rights organizations
websites (from across Canada, USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia) and
see if they have a pages with resources. From there you will be able to
get quite a bit of good suggestions for other progressive materials.
Hope that helps!
Let me know how your project shapes up.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Memefest: Radical Intimacies: Dialogue In Our Times
What if dialogue is failing?
Try to understand deeply why and how it fails, and to rethink it. Radically.
Words and ideas that thoughtfully confront the many difficulties and failures of dialogue, while bravely exploring the boundless and hopeful potentialities that feed our societies desperate need for dialogue.
Work that responds to these provocations from the honest and uneasy depths of your gut. Respond to this position from personal observations, research, or a mixture of all three.
Try to understand deeply why and how it fails, and to rethink it. Radically.
Words and ideas that thoughtfully confront the many difficulties and failures of dialogue, while bravely exploring the boundless and hopeful potentialities that feed our societies desperate need for dialogue.
Work that responds to these provocations from the honest and uneasy depths of your gut. Respond to this position from personal observations, research, or a mixture of all three.
Sex Work Laws in Canada as Dialogue
Prostitution Law in Canada: Will the Charter Dialogue Continue? - See more at: http://www.lawnow.org/prostitution-law-canada-will-charter-dialogue-continue/#sthash.YqDNQDgQ.dpuf
Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) + Parliament = dialogue.
Parliament passes a law, challenged as contrary to Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). SCC delays effect of declaration to give Parliament to revise law. SCC may send Parliament back to rework law. This is dialogue theory.
Dec 2013 - Canada v. Bedford - keeping a bawdy house (section 210), living off the avails of prostitution (section 212(1)(j)), and communicating in public with respect to a proposed act of prostitution (section 213(1(c)) were unconstitutional.
Online consultation - http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/
Questions:
1. Do you think that purchasing sexual services from an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
2. Do you think that selling sexual services by an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
3. If you support allowing the sale or purchase of sexual services, what limitations should there be, if any, on where or how this can be conducted? Please explain.
4. Do you think that it should be a criminal offence for a person to benefit economically from the prostitution of an adult? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
5. Are there any other comments you wish to offer to inform the Government's response to the Bedford decision?
6. Are you writing on behalf of an organization? If so, please identify the organization and your title or role:
Bill C-36:
- create an offence that prohibits purchasing sexual services or communicating in any place for that purpose;
- create an offence that prohibits receiving a material benefit that derived from the commission of an offence referred to in paragraph (a);
- create an offence that prohibits the advertisement of sexual services offered for sale and to authorize the courts to order the seizure of materials containing such advertisements and their removal from the Internet;
modernize the offence that prohibits the procurement of persons for the purpose of prostitution;
- create an offence that prohibits communicating — for the purpose of selling sexual services — in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present;
ensure consistency between prostitution offences and the existing human trafficking offences; and
- specify that, for the purposes of certain offences, a weapon includes anything used, designed to be used or intended for use in binding or tying up a person against their will.
Concerns:
- sex workers forced to negotiate in hidden locations
- illegal to advertise sex services
- law must consider promoting dignity and equality and protecting children and communities.
Confused about changing prostitution laws in Canada? Bill C-36 primer
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/confused-about-changing-prostitution-laws-in-canada-bill-c-36-primer-1.1902440/comments-7.534468
New Zealand - legal and regulated under labour and public health laws (Decriminalization)
US - (Prohibition)
Nevada, US - regulated (Legalization)
Nordic Model - buying sex is illegal, selling is not (Abolition)
Old law - selling is legal, bawdy house, living off the avails, soliciting in public is not.
New law - selling is legal, buying is not. Illegal to communicate for the purposes of prostitution, illegal to advertise the sexual services of others.
Pros - sex workers will be allowed to rent apartments, screen clients, hire a receptionist / security guard, advertise own services
Cons - still pushes sex workers to the fringes
Quotes:
"These appeals and the cross-appeal are not about whether prostitution should be legal or not. They are about whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not." -- Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing the decision in the Bedford case.
"We believe prostitution is inherently dangerous and exploitative." -- Justice Minister Peter MacKay, testifying at a Commons committee.
"They are not harmful because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are harmful." -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking of activities in the sex trade.
Put out the red light: Are sex workers being heard in the legal dialogue over prostitution?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/put-out-the-red-light-are-sex-workers-being-heard-in-the-legal-dialogue-over-prostitution/article17502956/
Chanelle Grant - “What really protects sex workers is when sex workers get to have control over their workplace. If we want effective policy that protects the safety, dignity, and human rights of sex workers, then sex workers must be at the centre of all decision making and policies.”
- Online consultation - 500 words or less, any canadian Citizen can express feelings on SCC ruling.
- No indication of what kind of weight will be given.
- No indication that sex worker voices will be prioritized.
- “Everyone shouting and no one being heard”
- “endless conversations about how sex work makes you feel”
- “feelings are spoken as facts and etched into law”
Proposed prostitution laws aim to shut down conversation
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/proposed-prostitution-laws-aim-to-shut-down-conversation/article19059986/
- higher order = protecting women, children and communitites from being exploited and degraded
- more of a monologue than a dialogue
- new law contradicts overall concern of the safety of sex workers
- Toronto Now will not be able to post sex worker ads
- government views sex workers as victims
- ban on selling sex where people under 18 could reasonably be found pushes sex workers to fringes
-
Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) + Parliament = dialogue.
Parliament passes a law, challenged as contrary to Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). SCC delays effect of declaration to give Parliament to revise law. SCC may send Parliament back to rework law. This is dialogue theory.
Dec 2013 - Canada v. Bedford - keeping a bawdy house (section 210), living off the avails of prostitution (section 212(1)(j)), and communicating in public with respect to a proposed act of prostitution (section 213(1(c)) were unconstitutional.
Online consultation - http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/
Questions:
1. Do you think that purchasing sexual services from an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
2. Do you think that selling sexual services by an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
3. If you support allowing the sale or purchase of sexual services, what limitations should there be, if any, on where or how this can be conducted? Please explain.
4. Do you think that it should be a criminal offence for a person to benefit economically from the prostitution of an adult? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.
5. Are there any other comments you wish to offer to inform the Government's response to the Bedford decision?
6. Are you writing on behalf of an organization? If so, please identify the organization and your title or role:
Bill C-36:
- create an offence that prohibits purchasing sexual services or communicating in any place for that purpose;
- create an offence that prohibits receiving a material benefit that derived from the commission of an offence referred to in paragraph (a);
- create an offence that prohibits the advertisement of sexual services offered for sale and to authorize the courts to order the seizure of materials containing such advertisements and their removal from the Internet;
modernize the offence that prohibits the procurement of persons for the purpose of prostitution;
- create an offence that prohibits communicating — for the purpose of selling sexual services — in a public place, or in any place open to public view, that is or is next to a place where persons under the age of 18 can reasonably be expected to be present;
ensure consistency between prostitution offences and the existing human trafficking offences; and
- specify that, for the purposes of certain offences, a weapon includes anything used, designed to be used or intended for use in binding or tying up a person against their will.
Concerns:
- sex workers forced to negotiate in hidden locations
- illegal to advertise sex services
- law must consider promoting dignity and equality and protecting children and communities.
Confused about changing prostitution laws in Canada? Bill C-36 primer
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/confused-about-changing-prostitution-laws-in-canada-bill-c-36-primer-1.1902440/comments-7.534468
New Zealand - legal and regulated under labour and public health laws (Decriminalization)
US - (Prohibition)
Nevada, US - regulated (Legalization)
Nordic Model - buying sex is illegal, selling is not (Abolition)
Old law - selling is legal, bawdy house, living off the avails, soliciting in public is not.
New law - selling is legal, buying is not. Illegal to communicate for the purposes of prostitution, illegal to advertise the sexual services of others.
Pros - sex workers will be allowed to rent apartments, screen clients, hire a receptionist / security guard, advertise own services
Cons - still pushes sex workers to the fringes
Quotes:
"These appeals and the cross-appeal are not about whether prostitution should be legal or not. They are about whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not." -- Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing the decision in the Bedford case.
"We believe prostitution is inherently dangerous and exploitative." -- Justice Minister Peter MacKay, testifying at a Commons committee.
"They are not harmful because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are harmful." -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking of activities in the sex trade.
Put out the red light: Are sex workers being heard in the legal dialogue over prostitution?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/put-out-the-red-light-are-sex-workers-being-heard-in-the-legal-dialogue-over-prostitution/article17502956/
Chanelle Grant - “What really protects sex workers is when sex workers get to have control over their workplace. If we want effective policy that protects the safety, dignity, and human rights of sex workers, then sex workers must be at the centre of all decision making and policies.”
- Online consultation - 500 words or less, any canadian Citizen can express feelings on SCC ruling.
- No indication of what kind of weight will be given.
- No indication that sex worker voices will be prioritized.
- “Everyone shouting and no one being heard”
- “endless conversations about how sex work makes you feel”
- “feelings are spoken as facts and etched into law”
Proposed prostitution laws aim to shut down conversation
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/proposed-prostitution-laws-aim-to-shut-down-conversation/article19059986/
- higher order = protecting women, children and communitites from being exploited and degraded
- more of a monologue than a dialogue
- new law contradicts overall concern of the safety of sex workers
- Toronto Now will not be able to post sex worker ads
- government views sex workers as victims
- ban on selling sex where people under 18 could reasonably be found pushes sex workers to fringes
-
Paying For It
- not wanting to pay a prostitute for concern about getting in trouble witha future girlfriend
- look like a loser
- how would you define exploitation
- whats unfair about paying for sex?
- is it worn’g for someone whose
- review boards: prostitutes expect a level of privacy and discretion from johns
- thinking the typical john is a guy who beats and murder a prostitute is like thinking a the guy who beats and murders his wife is a typical husband
- not all ways of making money are regulated. we make money as cartoonists, but cartooning isn’t regulated
- johns don’t buy women - when you buy something you take it home and own it. when you pay for sex, you part ways.
- power - sex workers dictate what they do and do not want to do.
- money influence - sex because of money is no different than sex because of love.
- self respect - stigma of being homosexual made homosexuals feel shame, depression, guilt etc before the sexual revolution. many sex workers find sex work empowering.
- choice - telling adults who had bad childhood they are not able to make responsible choices is not a good path. many women working in the sex industry feel less exploited than they would in other lines of work.
- violence - typically paid sex is pretty much the same as unpaid sex. higher rates of violence are a result of sex workers being afraid to go to the police because of the legalities of their work situation (despite selling sex being legal)
- sexual objectification - emotional indifference. what proof is there that being a john increases emotional indifference to women?
- human traffiking and sex slaves - what is human trafficking? who is demanding trafficked women?
- pimping - pimps lure women in by romancing them. how many sex workers have pimps?
- exploitation - exploitation is when people are not fairly compensated for their work.
- “paying for it” - many think there’s an emotional cost in being a john - sad and lonely. health cost of sti risk. legal cost of arrest. social cost of exposure, loss of job.
- book - leaving mother lake
- look like a loser
- how would you define exploitation
- whats unfair about paying for sex?
- is it worn’g for someone whose
- review boards: prostitutes expect a level of privacy and discretion from johns
- thinking the typical john is a guy who beats and murder a prostitute is like thinking a the guy who beats and murders his wife is a typical husband
- not all ways of making money are regulated. we make money as cartoonists, but cartooning isn’t regulated
- johns don’t buy women - when you buy something you take it home and own it. when you pay for sex, you part ways.
- power - sex workers dictate what they do and do not want to do.
- money influence - sex because of money is no different than sex because of love.
- self respect - stigma of being homosexual made homosexuals feel shame, depression, guilt etc before the sexual revolution. many sex workers find sex work empowering.
- choice - telling adults who had bad childhood they are not able to make responsible choices is not a good path. many women working in the sex industry feel less exploited than they would in other lines of work.
- violence - typically paid sex is pretty much the same as unpaid sex. higher rates of violence are a result of sex workers being afraid to go to the police because of the legalities of their work situation (despite selling sex being legal)
- sexual objectification - emotional indifference. what proof is there that being a john increases emotional indifference to women?
- human traffiking and sex slaves - what is human trafficking? who is demanding trafficked women?
- pimping - pimps lure women in by romancing them. how many sex workers have pimps?
- exploitation - exploitation is when people are not fairly compensated for their work.
- “paying for it” - many think there’s an emotional cost in being a john - sad and lonely. health cost of sti risk. legal cost of arrest. social cost of exposure, loss of job.
- book - leaving mother lake
Art Projects
brbxoxo
Brbxoxo is a website created by Addie Wagenknecht and Pablo Garcia that searches for online sex cams and only shows feeds of empty rooms when the performers are absent.
Camgirl Project
CamGirls is a project that investigates the female image within the online world and how it exists in the screen space.
Large Labia Project
This blog is all about large labia, and mostly to do with large labia minora. This is a body-positive blog that aims to show that large labia are normal and beautiful. It provides support for those who feel insecure, self-conscious, victimised or vilified about their large labia.
Invisible Men
The invisible men project shows you words used by men to review their experiences with women in prostitution. Without seeking to prove, disprove or debate choice on the part of the women described, you are invited to consider: what do you think of HIS choice?
The Hoerengracht (Ed and Nancy Kienholz)
‘The Hoerengracht’ (1983–8), by American artists Ed and Nancy Kienholz, will transform the Sunley Room into a walk-through evocation of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.
This highly polemical tableau explores a theme that has been investigated by artists over many centuries and echoes visual traditions well established within European art.
Recalling in particular the Dutch masters of the 17th century, which are strongly represented in the National Gallery, ‘The Hoerengracht’ recreates the brick walls, glowing windows and mysterious doorways of Amsterdam’s claustrophobic streets. At the same time, the half-dressed, garishly lit mannequins of ‘The Hoerengracht’ reveal a theatre of grim sociology, filled with the most vulgar, ugly and ramshackle aspects of society.
Shirin Fakhim's sculpture series Tehran Prostitutes
Shirin Fakhim’s Tehran Prostitutes uses absurd and sympathetic humour to address issues surrounding the Persian working-girl circuit. In 2002 it was estimated that there were 100,000 prostitutes working in Tehran, despite Iran’s international reputation as a moralistic country with especially high standards placed on women. Many of these women are driven to prostitution because of abusive domestic situations and the poverty incurred from the massive loss of men during the war; in response to Iran’s strict religious laws, some even consider the profession as an act of civil protest.
[…]
Approaching sculpture as an intrinsically tactile activity, Fakhim chooses her materials with a playful sensitivity. Crafted from the female stuff of fabric, clothing, and kitchen apparatus, her sculptures temper benign domesticity with a bawdy coarseness, creating a vaudevillian humour from over-stretched stockings, sickly green terrine masks, and exaggeratedly padded brassieres. Hardy practical tools such as stoves and pots create a physical contrast to the fussy adornments of lace and garters, creating an image of sexual prowess that’s conspicuously ill-fitting, painful, and tragic.
Marina Abramovic's performance Role Exchange[6]
Jane Hilton's photography series Precious[7]
I hadn't even thought about prostitution until I walked into a brothel. I was probably very naive, which actually in retrospect did me a favour. I am by nature very non-judgemental, and feel it very important to have experience of a subject matter before making any points of view about it. For the last fifteen years I have spent a lot of time getting to know the working girls from the legal houses in Nevada, producing ten documentary films and an exhibition. I know there are some incredible women hidden in these brothels and I wanted to show this. So I decided to go back again to make a series of intimate portraits in eleven different brothels across Nevada.
Mishka Henner's series No Man's Land
Sex Worker Art Show
The Sex Workers' Art Show was a cabaret-style show featuring visual and performance art created by people who worked in the sex industry. It was created by Annie Oakley in Olympia, Washington, first as a one-off annual event and then growing into a nationally touring show. The SWAS did 6 national tours from 2002-2008, and a mini-tour in 2009. Each tour included 10 performers from all over the world.
The Sex Workers' Art Show brought audiences a blend of spoken word, music, drag, burlesque, and multimedia performance art. The performances offered a wide range of perspectives on sex work, from celebration of prostitutes' rights and sex-positivity to views from the darker sides of the industry. The show included people from all areas of the sex industry: strippers, prostitutes, dommes, film stars, phone sex operators, internet models, etc. It moved sex work dialogue beyond "positive" and "negative" into a fuller articulation of the complicated ways sex workers experience their jobs and their lives. From Annie Oakley’s debate with Laura Ingraham on The O’Reilly Factor, to being a plaintiff in 2 free speech lawsuits against state governments, the SWAS was an active part of a national dialogue on sex worker issues You can read more and see the lineup for the last tour on the website: www.sexworkersartshow.com
Brbxoxo is a website created by Addie Wagenknecht and Pablo Garcia that searches for online sex cams and only shows feeds of empty rooms when the performers are absent.
Camgirl Project
CamGirls is a project that investigates the female image within the online world and how it exists in the screen space.
Large Labia Project
This blog is all about large labia, and mostly to do with large labia minora. This is a body-positive blog that aims to show that large labia are normal and beautiful. It provides support for those who feel insecure, self-conscious, victimised or vilified about their large labia.
Invisible Men
The invisible men project shows you words used by men to review their experiences with women in prostitution. Without seeking to prove, disprove or debate choice on the part of the women described, you are invited to consider: what do you think of HIS choice?
The Hoerengracht (Ed and Nancy Kienholz)
This highly polemical tableau explores a theme that has been investigated by artists over many centuries and echoes visual traditions well established within European art.
Recalling in particular the Dutch masters of the 17th century, which are strongly represented in the National Gallery, ‘The Hoerengracht’ recreates the brick walls, glowing windows and mysterious doorways of Amsterdam’s claustrophobic streets. At the same time, the half-dressed, garishly lit mannequins of ‘The Hoerengracht’ reveal a theatre of grim sociology, filled with the most vulgar, ugly and ramshackle aspects of society.
Shirin Fakhim's sculpture series Tehran Prostitutes
Shirin Fakhim’s Tehran Prostitutes uses absurd and sympathetic humour to address issues surrounding the Persian working-girl circuit. In 2002 it was estimated that there were 100,000 prostitutes working in Tehran, despite Iran’s international reputation as a moralistic country with especially high standards placed on women. Many of these women are driven to prostitution because of abusive domestic situations and the poverty incurred from the massive loss of men during the war; in response to Iran’s strict religious laws, some even consider the profession as an act of civil protest.
[…]
Approaching sculpture as an intrinsically tactile activity, Fakhim chooses her materials with a playful sensitivity. Crafted from the female stuff of fabric, clothing, and kitchen apparatus, her sculptures temper benign domesticity with a bawdy coarseness, creating a vaudevillian humour from over-stretched stockings, sickly green terrine masks, and exaggeratedly padded brassieres. Hardy practical tools such as stoves and pots create a physical contrast to the fussy adornments of lace and garters, creating an image of sexual prowess that’s conspicuously ill-fitting, painful, and tragic.
Marina Abramovic's performance Role Exchange[6]
Jane Hilton's photography series Precious[7]
I hadn't even thought about prostitution until I walked into a brothel. I was probably very naive, which actually in retrospect did me a favour. I am by nature very non-judgemental, and feel it very important to have experience of a subject matter before making any points of view about it. For the last fifteen years I have spent a lot of time getting to know the working girls from the legal houses in Nevada, producing ten documentary films and an exhibition. I know there are some incredible women hidden in these brothels and I wanted to show this. So I decided to go back again to make a series of intimate portraits in eleven different brothels across Nevada.
Mishka Henner's series No Man's Land
Sex Worker Art Show
The Sex Workers' Art Show was a cabaret-style show featuring visual and performance art created by people who worked in the sex industry. It was created by Annie Oakley in Olympia, Washington, first as a one-off annual event and then growing into a nationally touring show. The SWAS did 6 national tours from 2002-2008, and a mini-tour in 2009. Each tour included 10 performers from all over the world.
The Sex Workers' Art Show brought audiences a blend of spoken word, music, drag, burlesque, and multimedia performance art. The performances offered a wide range of perspectives on sex work, from celebration of prostitutes' rights and sex-positivity to views from the darker sides of the industry. The show included people from all areas of the sex industry: strippers, prostitutes, dommes, film stars, phone sex operators, internet models, etc. It moved sex work dialogue beyond "positive" and "negative" into a fuller articulation of the complicated ways sex workers experience their jobs and their lives. From Annie Oakley’s debate with Laura Ingraham on The O’Reilly Factor, to being a plaintiff in 2 free speech lawsuits against state governments, the SWAS was an active part of a national dialogue on sex worker issues You can read more and see the lineup for the last tour on the website: www.sexworkersartshow.com
Paying For It by Chester Brown
Paying for It, "a comic strip memoir about being a john", is a 2011 graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown. A combination of memoir and polemic, the book explores Brown's decision to give up on romantic love and to take up the life of a "john" by frequenting prostitutes. The book, published by Drawn and Quarterly, was controversial, and a bestseller.
The book is concerned with Brown's conflicting desire to have sex, but not wanting to have another girlfriend after his partner Sook-Yin Lee breaks up with him. His solution is to forgo traditional boyfriend/girlfriend relationships and marriage. He takes up frequenting prostitutes, and comes to advocate prostitution as superior to the "possessive monogamy" of traditional male–female relations, which he debates with his friends throughout the book.
Brown presents his views in detail in the closing 50-page text section, which includes a 23-part appendix, end notes, and a note from friend and fellow cartoonist Seth. Despite being about the separation of sex from romantic love, Brown calls the book "a type of love story".[1]
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