ANTICAPITALIST DICTIONARY sex industry
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- term pornography used to refer to anything designed to encourage sexual arousal without emotional attachment = obscene
- erotica - direct, perverted, physical, psychical and sublimated forms of love
- capitalism is responsible for emphasizing genital sexuality + gratification because process of production needs bodies that are desensitized of erotic energy
- repression of libidinal freedom, natural human desire, form of alienation, imperative aspect of how / why sex industry prospers
- sex industry exploits people work for it and those who use it, dehumanizing effect of capitalism
- sexual service providers = presented as objects for sexual gratification
- message reinforced by fashion + film industries, advertising and media
- modes of exploitation and oppression by male sex = patriarchy, typically involve acts of abuse, degradation, violence
- exploitation of women as prostitutes = vulnerable, left home, child abuse, addicted to drugs, subject to violent control of a pimp
- consequence of human trafficking: criminal gangs offer women help w/ immigration, withhold passports + travel documents when unable to pay debts, no access to law protection as illegal immigrants
- sexual slavery in military conflict (japan, south korea)
- in south asia, children abducted by criminal gangs + sold for prostitution, sex tourism-
- sex tourists take advantage of conditions of poverty, drawn by ethnicity + subservience
- Bayswan, International Prostitutes Collective, International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education, the Sexual Freedom Coalition and the Sex Work Cyber Resources Centre advocate for decriminalization
Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence
Claire M. Renzetti & Jeffrey L. Edleson
Abolitionist Approach to Prostitution
Decrimilization of sex work
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Abolitionist Approach to Prostitution
- prostitution is exploitation
- women involved are “prostituted women”, abused under a patriarchal society of male domination + sexual exploitation
- several US studies support view that prostitution is associated with drug abuse, hiv/aids, violence, poor physical emotional and mental health
- connection between drug abuse + street prostitution, to cope with shame, violence, trauma, finance drug habit
- upward of 70% of women experience frequent + varied attacks of violence
- studies of psychosocial well-being and prostitution find prostituted women typically have low self esteem + high depression + ptsd
- polices - support decriminalization for victims, stiff penalties / interventions for pimps or traffickers + customers. social service programs to help women address their needs w/ substance abuse treatment, shelter, transitional housing, case management, trauma treatment, group work, interpersonal counselling, education, job training programs
- efforts focused on moving women from victim to survivor
- long term goals of primary prevention + early intervention
- reduction of violence against women, view that prostitution is violence against women. not a choice, chosen for women because of impoverished circumstances, abuses in past, blocked opportunities at conventional economic success
Decrimilization of sex work
- selling sex for money is not inherently harmful to women
- consensual sexual activity among adults is an occupational choice
- no difference between a woman who sells her vagina for intercourse + one who sells her hands for dishwashing, body for modeling, or brain for calculating
- to view that all women in prostitution as exploited is to reject a fundamental feminist principle of valuing + accepting existence of multiple realities in women’s lives
- view that to dismiss sex worker’s claims that they are not exploited is to deny their reality, is maternalistic and services to silence their voice
- prostitution as a crime oppresses sex workers and prevents their right to self-determination + denied basic human right to control their own body
- feminists agree that women should control decision to have an abortion, because each woman’s body is her own, but will not assign the same right to selling for sex
- why is sex work among consenting adults demonized by society? women and male ownership of a woman’s sexuality through marriage or commitment. sex work challenges the system built to maintain status quo
- prostitution is one of the few experiences where women dominate field, challenge beliefs about gender + sexuality = stigmatized + unaccepted, pushes sex work underground where it becomes dangerous psychologically + physically
- legalization not popular as it means state control of women’s activities, may involve taxes, restrictions, regulations on when, where how to work, mandated licenses + registration, other costs designed to be financially coercive
- sex work may be temporary but require health care, prevention, awareness, interventions to keep them safe, healthy and prosperous.
- support harm reduction programs to prevent/reduce violence, hiv, poor health outcomes, promote health safety, overall wellbeing
- advocates conduct outreach, clinics, social services
- local, national and international advocacy to facilitate discussion, promote sex worker decriminalization, push for more sex worker friendly agendas in their own communities
- attempting to rescue women who are not victims is viewed as demeaning and disrespectful
- acknowledge that street prostitution is fraught with violence, hiv, poor mental health and drug addiction
- street prostitution occupies 30% of prostitution, most research focused on street prostutition and generalizes experiences to all forms of sex work. unfair and biased reporting
- violence against sex workers would be reduced if such work were viewed as a legitimate profession
- decriminalization is the best way to respond to this violence, removes fear that women have of reporting violence to authorities
Pornography
- mass industry in the late 1950’s
- porn - all sexually explicit books, magazines, movies, internet sites
- softcore: nudity with limited sexual activity, not including penetration
- hard-core graphic images of actual, not simulated, sexual activity including penetration
- erotica - material that depicts sexual behavior with mutuality and respect
- pornography depicting sex with domination or degradation
- Laboratory studies of pornography effects studies three categories: overtly violent; nonviolent, but degrading; and sexually explicit, but neither violent nor degrading.
- features - traditional three act script w/ plot + characters
- wall to wall / gonzo, no pretense of plot of dialogue performers acknowledge camera + speak to audience
- hard-core include oral, vaginal, anal sex, ending with ejaculation on woman. double penetration, aggressive oral penetration, hair pulling, slapping, rough treatment common.
- Does pornography, particularly material that explicitly eroticizes violence and/or domination, result in sexual violence against women, children, and other vulnerable people?
- No one argues that pornography is the sole causal factor in rape; the question is whether the use of pornography can be considered a sufficient condition for triggering a sexual assault.
- experimental research on such topics using minors is ethically problematic, little data about pornography’s effect on children and adolescents
- pornography can (a) be an important factor in shaping a male-dominant view of sexuality, (b) contribute to a user's difficulty in separating sexual fantasy and reality, (c) be used to initiate victims and break down resistance to sexual activity, and (d) provide a training manual for abuse.
