Andrea Dworkin, Life and Death: Unapologetic Writings on the Continuing War Against Women

An open letter to the left regarding silence

hypnictwitch:

Last week, The Chinatown Action Group, which “organises to improve the lives of low-income residents of Vancouver’s Chinatown, many of whom are seniors” had their panel removed from a conference due to representative Yuly Chan’s views on gender and prostitution. Friend Cherry Smiley writes:

“I am of the political opinion that prostitution is a form of male violence that should be abolished. I am also of the political opinion that gender is a social construct and hierarchy that traps and harms women and should also be abolished. Today, these two sentences are enough to mark me as a violent, hate-filled, supremacist/fascist, and have the ability to destroy my reputation, livelihood, and potential academic or employment opportunities now and in the future. I have already been passed over for some opportunities due to my political analysis of prostitution, asked to leave conferences, told I’m not allowed to speak about prostitution when invited to speak about Indigenous research, and threatened with police involvement. I have been intimidated and harassed due only to my politics, not my behaviour. These are only some examples of some of the backlash that I, and other women, have experienced for speaking our opinions. This backlash, however, doesn’t just include no-platforming, but also threats and acts of violence. To many, this may sound unbelievable, as though I am exaggerating. I wish this were the case. I wish I were exaggerating. Unfortunately, this is the reality of activist and academic circles in Canada and elsewhere.”

At an event by Missing Justice, a group highlighting missing and murdering indigenous women “non-Indigenous organisers told me to stop speaking and attempted to literally grab a megaphone out of my hand when I was invited to make a statement at their gathering by another Indigenous speaker. My crime was a decolonising and feminist critical analysis of prostitution and speaking out against men buying sexual access to Indigenous women and girls. In other words, my crime was having a political opinion that differed from the organisers.”

Indigenous women are disproportionately hurt by trafficking and people have the nerve to shut down this woman for speaking out? Really hits home how much people care about WOC as long as they have convenient opinions. But terfs and swerfs are white feminists

oceanlesbian:

on a related note, sex work-glorifying sex pozzy libfems also love talking about how disabled men deserve access to sex, and they get mad when you raise the point that on the other hand many disabled women are forced into DOING the work and aren’t catered to as real or potential clients of such services, and disabled women on the whole are more vulnerable as targets of sexual violence – because anything that reminds them that sex-based oppression is real is politically inconvenient.

tbh even before douthat’s piece and twitter posts, men not on the “left” have noticed glaring inconsistencies in liberal feminist stances and gleefully pointed them out – while men on the “left” have so easily embraced certain tenets of liberal feminism precisely because it’s counterproductive for women. but libfems always trash the criticisms of the first group of men without checking to see if their own arguments hold up, and often uncritically support the fake male feminist allies. it’s a trainwreck.

It isn’t difficult to see the logical inconsistencies of liberal feminism

oceanlesbian:

on a related note, sex work-glorifying sex pozzy libfems also love talking about how disabled men deserve access to sex, and they get mad when you raise the point that on the other hand many disabled women are forced into DOING the work and aren’t catered to as real or potential clients of such services, and disabled women on the whole are more vulnerable as targets of sexual violence – because anything that reminds them that sex-based oppression is real is politically inconvenient.

tbh even before douthat’s piece and twitter posts, men not on the “left” have noticed glaring inconsistencies in liberal feminist stances and gleefully pointed them out – while men on the “left” have so easily embraced certain tenets of liberal feminism precisely because it’s counterproductive for women. but libfems always trash the criticisms of the first group of men without checking to see if their own arguments hold up, and often uncritically support the fake male feminist allies. it’s a trainwreck.

It isn’t difficult to see the logical inconsistencies of liberal feminism

Prostitution is not a job. The inside of a woman’s body is not a workplace | Julie Bindel

antiplondon:

One of the most persuasive myths about prostitution is that it is “the oldest profession”. Feminist abolitionists,
who wish to see an end to the sex trade, call it “the oldest
oppression” and resist the notion that prostitution is merely “a job
like any other”.Now it would appear that the New Zealand immigration service
has added “sex work” (as prostitution is increasingly described) to the
list of “employment skills” for those wishing to migrate. According to
information on Immigration NZ’s (INZ) website, prostitution appears on the “skilled employment” list, but not the “skill shortage” list. My research
on the sex trade has taken me to a number of countries around the
world, including New Zealand. Its sex trade was decriminalised in 2003,
and has since been hailed by pro-prostitution campaigners as the gold
standard model in regulating prostitution.

The promises from the government – that decriminalisation would
result in less violence, regular inspections of brothels and no increase
of the sex trade – have not materialised. The opposite has happened.
Trafficking of women into New Zealand into legal and illegal brothels is
a serious problem, and for every licensed brothel there are, on
average, four times the number that operate illegally.
Violent attacks on women in the brothels are as common as ever. “The
men feel even more entitled when the law tells them it is OK to buy us,”
says Sabrinna Valisce, who was prostituted in New Zealand brothels both before and after decriminalisation. Under legalisation, women are still murdered by pimps and punters.

When prostituted women become “employees”, and part of the “labour
market”, pimps become “managers” and “business entrepreneurs”, and the
punters are merely clients. Services helping people to exit are
irrelevant because who needs support to get out of a regular job?
Effectively, governments wash their hands of women under legalisation
because, according to the mantra, “It is better than working at
McDonald’s.” As one sex-trade survivor told me, “At least when you work
at McDonald’s you’re not the meat.”

The decision to include prostitution as an “employment skill” is a
green light for pimps to populate brothels to meet the increased male
demand for the prostitution of the most vulnerable women.

The practice of using human bodies as a marketplace has been
normalised under the neoliberal economic system. Supporting the notion
that prostitution is “labour” is not a progressive or female-friendly
point of view. I have investigated the breast milk trade in Cambodia,
where wealthy American businessmen recruit pregnant women and pay them a pittance for their milk.
I have seen desperately hungry men outside hospital blood banks in
India, offering to sell their blood in exchange for food. Girls in the
Ukraine sell “virgin” blonde hair for use as extensions in western
salons. It is increasingly common to “rent a womb” from women in the
global south to carry a baby on behalf of privileged westerners.

In the Netherlands, which legalised its sex trade in 2000, it is perfectly legal for driving instructors to offer lessons in return for sex, as long as the learner drivers are over the age of 18.

Under legalisation in Germany, one government-funded NGO, described
on its website as a “counselling centre for sex workers”, offers
training for women to become “sexual assistant surrogate partnerships”
when they decide to leave prostitution. The training focuses on how “sex
workers” can help disabled people to explore their sexuality. Providing
prostitution services, which is what it is, to men who are ill or
disabled is a bit like the “meals on wheels” service, and clearly
considered to be a public service. In other legalised regimes, such as Denmark and Australia,
prostitution is available for men on the public health system. Perhaps
an inevitable conclusion is that carers working with physically disabled
couples, where there is a medium to severe level of mobility
impairment, are asked to facilitate sex between them – for example, the
carer may be expected to insert the penis of one into an orifice of the
other.

Any government that allows the decriminalisation of pimping and
sex-buying sends a message to its citizens that women are vessels for
male sexual consumption. If prostitution is “work”, will states create
training programmes for girls to perform the “best oral sex” for sex
buyers? Instead of including prostitution as a so-called option in its
immigration policies, New Zealand should investigate the harms, including sexual violence, that women in prostitution endure.

If prostitution is “sex work”, then by its own logic, rape is merely
theft. The inside of a woman’s body should never be viewed as a
workplace.

Prostitution is not a job. The inside of a woman’s body is not a workplace | Julie Bindel

antiplondon:

One of the most persuasive myths about prostitution is that it is “the oldest profession”. Feminist abolitionists,
who wish to see an end to the sex trade, call it “the oldest
oppression” and resist the notion that prostitution is merely “a job
like any other”.Now it would appear that the New Zealand immigration service
has added “sex work” (as prostitution is increasingly described) to the
list of “employment skills” for those wishing to migrate. According to
information on Immigration NZ’s (INZ) website, prostitution appears on the “skilled employment” list, but not the “skill shortage” list. My research
on the sex trade has taken me to a number of countries around the
world, including New Zealand. Its sex trade was decriminalised in 2003,
and has since been hailed by pro-prostitution campaigners as the gold
standard model in regulating prostitution.

The promises from the government – that decriminalisation would
result in less violence, regular inspections of brothels and no increase
of the sex trade – have not materialised. The opposite has happened.
Trafficking of women into New Zealand into legal and illegal brothels is
a serious problem, and for every licensed brothel there are, on
average, four times the number that operate illegally.
Violent attacks on women in the brothels are as common as ever. “The
men feel even more entitled when the law tells them it is OK to buy us,”
says Sabrinna Valisce, who was prostituted in New Zealand brothels both before and after decriminalisation. Under legalisation, women are still murdered by pimps and punters.

When prostituted women become “employees”, and part of the “labour
market”, pimps become “managers” and “business entrepreneurs”, and the
punters are merely clients. Services helping people to exit are
irrelevant because who needs support to get out of a regular job?
Effectively, governments wash their hands of women under legalisation
because, according to the mantra, “It is better than working at
McDonald’s.” As one sex-trade survivor told me, “At least when you work
at McDonald’s you’re not the meat.”

The decision to include prostitution as an “employment skill” is a
green light for pimps to populate brothels to meet the increased male
demand for the prostitution of the most vulnerable women.

The practice of using human bodies as a marketplace has been
normalised under the neoliberal economic system. Supporting the notion
that prostitution is “labour” is not a progressive or female-friendly
point of view. I have investigated the breast milk trade in Cambodia,
where wealthy American businessmen recruit pregnant women and pay them a pittance for their milk.
I have seen desperately hungry men outside hospital blood banks in
India, offering to sell their blood in exchange for food. Girls in the
Ukraine sell “virgin” blonde hair for use as extensions in western
salons. It is increasingly common to “rent a womb” from women in the
global south to carry a baby on behalf of privileged westerners.

In the Netherlands, which legalised its sex trade in 2000, it is perfectly legal for driving instructors to offer lessons in return for sex, as long as the learner drivers are over the age of 18.

Under legalisation in Germany, one government-funded NGO, described
on its website as a “counselling centre for sex workers”, offers
training for women to become “sexual assistant surrogate partnerships”
when they decide to leave prostitution. The training focuses on how “sex
workers” can help disabled people to explore their sexuality. Providing
prostitution services, which is what it is, to men who are ill or
disabled is a bit like the “meals on wheels” service, and clearly
considered to be a public service. In other legalised regimes, such as Denmark and Australia,
prostitution is available for men on the public health system. Perhaps
an inevitable conclusion is that carers working with physically disabled
couples, where there is a medium to severe level of mobility
impairment, are asked to facilitate sex between them – for example, the
carer may be expected to insert the penis of one into an orifice of the
other.

Any government that allows the decriminalisation of pimping and
sex-buying sends a message to its citizens that women are vessels for
male sexual consumption. If prostitution is “work”, will states create
training programmes for girls to perform the “best oral sex” for sex
buyers? Instead of including prostitution as a so-called option in its
immigration policies, New Zealand should investigate the harms, including sexual violence, that women in prostitution endure.

If prostitution is “sex work”, then by its own logic, rape is merely
theft. The inside of a woman’s body should never be viewed as a
workplace.

Prostitution is not a job. The inside of a woman’s body is not a workplace | Julie Bindel