This is the very first International Sex Workers Rights Day ever, it was just made up, and you're complaining about why every feminist on the internet isn't both aware of this newly declared event and writing up a storm defending prostitution as feminist? I think you're just looking for an excuse to criticize feminists and make yourself out to be some kind of victim of feminists.

December 17th has recently been claimed the International Day of Action to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Is there's going to be one pro-prostitution "day" for every season? The world oldest unpaid profession of mothering only gets one day.

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Why are you looking for women to support an organization that promotes an industry responsible for the rape and enslavement of women all over the world? Why is it feminist to promote the idea that a woman's body is a commodity for sale? Why is it feminist to teach this to our daughters?

I wish no one ill, but this whole "sex workers" empowering movement throws women under the bus by validating a man's right to buy sex from women. I don't think they have that right.

However, I surely support the issue of underage prostitutes being given counseling and their pimps and johns locked up for statutory rape, as Bob Herbert of the NYTIMES recently advocated.

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Yeah, I know bad joke, but don't tell me some of you weren't thinking the same question.

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Why should I spend my time supporting women or men who voluntarily support the patriarchal status quo? What ever ‘sex workers’ may claim - it is not a ‘job like any other’ fair enough do what you want to do but don’t expect me (as a father of two daughters) to give any of my energy to supporting men’s perceived right to female bodies. It’s just not going to happen.

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December 17th has recently been claimed the International Day of Action to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Is there's going to be one pro-prostitution "day" for every season? The world oldest unpaid profession of mothering only gets one day.

Good idea...men get a celebration of a seasonal Pussy on a Plate.

Wow - can't forget about the menz - you know, the oppressed and forgotten lot...

/snark

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First, the original title of the post, which you can see via the link, did not contain "where are all the feminists?" That title was changed by the person who submitted the entry. I wrote it, but I did not contribute it.

But it is a question worth asking, because you see, it's not about empowerment or us vs. them or any other sort of thing...it's about people, a marginalized group of people, those in by force and those in by choice having help, resources, legal recourse, and being seen as human beings.

When a woman can be gang raped at gun point in Philly and a judge rules that rape a theft of services because she was a prostitute, there is a problem.

When a murderer can refer to the body of a woman, a prostitute, he left in the trunk of a car as stolen property, there is a problem.

When you turn on the news and hear of an assault, rape, or murder victim and the first words out of the reporters mouth are prostitute, porn performer, stripper, rather than woman or victim, there is a problem.

When an entire sector of women, those involved in any and all aspects of sex work, for whatever reasons, fear the law, have very little legal recourse, are regularly dehumanized by the media, there is a problem.

Or at least some people think so. Don't want to help these women? Then don't. No one is forcing you.

And, just in case it needs to be said, many sex workers and prostituted women are ALSO mothers. Mother's day is a holiday, these other actions are about making them seen as human.

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Well, finally Alternet allows someone other than Robert Jensen and Gail Dines to have a say about sex work, in fact, a sex worker, even.

Naturally, the Radfem Hate Machine is out in force with their stock accusations and rhetoric. "Men's rights to women's bodies", blah, blah, blah. The reality that there are sex workers out there who have an agenda for standing up for their own rights and something other than being "saved" by "true" feminism isn't something they can deal with, I guess.

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I am shocked at the negative response Ren has received from Alternet readers. "Mothers" and "Fathers" claiming the high ground for their children. Please do not tell me that if your child chose or is forced by circumstance to work in a fringe industry that you would not still love them and want some protection for them. You claim you are for civil rights etc. yet you shut out the plight of people you see as "other" than you and your "moral" equal. What is it that you fear from women, men and transgender who work in the sex industry? You should look at your own shadow and the negative response you have had to this post. Everyone deserves a voice - do not forget this. Humanity is at steak when you shut out voices you are not comfortable listening to.

Ren I applaud you for your voice and bringing to light the rights of those who have been ignored out of ignorance and fear.

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When you ask people to support "rights for sex workers", you hand them a problem. What, exactly, are sex workers rights? How can you expect support for an undefined agenda? There may be a manifesto spelling it all out somewhere, but it isn't encapsulated in an understandable phrase.

How and why do rights for sex workers differ from the usual human rights?

I actually support everyone's right not to be degraded and exploited, but I don't think that's what the author has in mind.

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I'm a queer feminist and a workers' rights organizer.

I see sex work as an unorganized industry where workers don't have a voice in their work place, working conditions aren't always safe, wages are questionable, and affordable health care might not even exist.

Is there a dialogue within feminist and labor circles to empower these workers? I'd love to be a part of that.
As 'the oldest profession in the world' it's shocking to me that there isn't more women, queers and trannies taking over the industry as the owners of companies where they can define the industry for themselves.

Bringing sex work out in the light as a feminist, anti-racist, labor issue leads to the humanization of sex workers; human rights are workers' rights.

Are there any feminist, queer, racial justice or labor organizations connecting the issues and fighting for justice around sex worker rights? I'd love to hear about it!

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Just thought some historical context was in order.
I googled prostitution and here is what I found:
Prostitution was a part of daily life in ancient Greece.[1] In the more important cities, and particularly the many ports, it employed a significant proportion of the population and represented one of the top levels of economic activity. It was far from being clandestine; cities did not condemn brothels, and they existed in plain view.
In Athens, the legendary lawmaker Solon is credited with having created state brothels with regulated prices. Prostitution involved both sexes differently; women of all ages and young men were prostitutes, for a predominantly male clientèle

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feminism is (in part) about ending violence against women, NOT ensuring that men have women's bodies at their disposal 24/7.

if a woman chooses to exploit her body for money, that is NOT a feminist act, it is a PATRIARCHAL act.

ren ev, your comment here is totally valid. i hear you. women who do the work that you do should be treated as human beings. i don't believe in using hate to "other" people like you from me, since i am anti-pornstitution, aka rad fem (for the record, i don't hate other women, i hate violent/entitled MEN). the major difference between you and i is that i push back against rapists and murderers by saying that women like yourself ("empowered" by "sex work" type) encourage men to have their cake and eat it too. it's a man's world, no matter how much money or joy you get from what you do. you are always going to be treated as less than human by men because that is how they get off, by feeling superior to you because you fulfill their every fantasy. once women are crammed into "fantasy" role, women become 2 dimensional, without beating hearts and breathing lungs. i know you've heard and read this speech a million times by now.

you mention mother's day, too..and this is how i'm feeling about this right now: other rad fems and i are going to play mother to all prostituted women and tell them everything that's hard to say, like mothers do for children that they care about but must be firm with. have you ever wondered why rad fems won't just "shut up?" did you ever stop to wonder if it might be because rad fems (& other ex-prostituted women) are going to be the only ones there for you if you choose to back out of your career? you know, like how good moms are their for their kids after their kids have done and said really horrible stuff.

ren, it's other women that are going to be there for you to support you in whatever choices you make. NOT the men who give you money to make sure you don't go off thinking that you're a human being or anything like that. on one hand, you're angry at the rapes and murders of prostituted women because those women are treated as object or service, but on the other hand, you perpetuate the idea that women are just objects & services because you make yourself available to men (& women, i know) as a service and as an object.

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Do your daughters ever wear pink? Then you are supporting the patriarchal status quo, too.

Do they watch girlie TV shows and buy girlie products? Then you are supporting the patriarchal status quo, too.

Are they in the girl scouts? The brownies? Do they attend a patriarchal school within the patriarchal system? Then you are supporting the patriarchal status quo, too.

This sort of thinking would be damn funny if it wasn't so totally illogical and irrational.

As it says in your patriarchal bible, sir, THERE IS NOT ONE RIGHTEOUS, NO NOT ONE, and this includes you and your perfect non-patriarchal daughters, who of course, NEVER wear dresses or anything feminine. I hope they don't have identifiably feminine NAMES or anything like that.

You can't opt-out of patriarchy, which is HOW IT GOT TO BE THE PATRIARCHY.

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i appreciate the gist of what you're saying here, but truthfully, if past experiences hold true...

No, the radical feminists, many of them in any case, are not the ones who will "be there for me", nor, would I want them too. I have my reasons for feeling this way and believing this.

And the whole scare tactic of "everyone else will desert you and We'll be the only ones there when you DO come crying to us?" I'm sorry, there is just something about that which comes off as manipulative and silmy.

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here's a list of Sex Workers Organizations that might be of use to you. Google will give you more information on most of them.

SWOP
SWOP East
SWOP Chicago
UBUNTU
Desiree Alliance
ISWFACE / Los Angeles8801 Cedros Ave. # 7 Panorama City, California, 91402Telephone-Fax: (818) 892-2029
COYOTE:COYOTE/Seattle16625 Redmond Way, Box M237 Redmond, Washington 98052Telephone-Fax: 1-425-883-2973
COYOTE/San Francisco2269 Chestnut Street #452 San Francisco, CA 94123Telephone: 1-415-435-7950
COYOTE/Los Angeles 1626 N. Wilcox Avenue #580 Hollywood, CA 90028Telephone: 1-818-892-1859
Hooking is Real Employment (HIRE)847 Monroe Drive Atlanta, GA 30308Telephone: 1-404-876-1212
BAYSWAN (Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy Network)
COP (Coalition on Prostitution)PO Box 210256 San Francisco, CA 94121 Telephone: 1-415-751-1659
Sex Workers Action Coalition (SWAC)Box 6724 Oakland, CA 94603Telephone: 1-415-435-7931
PONY (Prostitutes of New York)
CAL-PEP (California Prostitutes Education Project)PO Box 23855 Oakland, CA 94623-0055Telephone: 1-510- 874-7850 and 839-6775
North American Task Force on Prostitution (NTFP)2785 Broadway 4L New York, NY 10025-2834 USATelephone/Fax: 1-212-866-8854
JACGUAR (Johns and Call Girls United Against Repression)P.O. Box 021011 Brooklyn, NY 11202-1011
Sisters Offering SupportP.O. Box 75042 Honolulu, Hawaii 96836Telephone: (808) 942-5070 Contact(s): Kelly A. Hill
POCAAN (People of Color Against AIDS Network)1200 S. Jackson Street, Ste. 25 Seattle, WA 98144Telephone: (206) 322-7061 Fax: (206) 322-7204
The California Prostitutes' Education Project
The Threshold Project, Washington State
New York: Amethyst Women's Project, Inc.,Girls Education & Mentoring Services
Sex Workers Project-Urban Justice Center
On the Streets Mobile Unit
Washington DC: HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive)
Philly: Project SAFE

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As a feminist who believes prostitution should be decriminalized, and is friends with Margo St. James and Scarlot Harlot, I nonetheless have negative feelings towards organized "sex workers." In sex workers publications such as the one put out by PONY, I see nothing about the trafficking of women, or women in third world countries sold into prositution, or even about the wretched women on the street whom I see every day in San Francisco's Mission district, addicted to drugs and being pimped by men. I have heard organized "ex workers" deny that there ARE pimps, when I have seen them with my own eyes, abusing their women. I get the feeling that the organized "sex workers" (I hate that term!)are high priced call girls at the most, or simply strippers who make a little money on the side, but not the drug addicted, opressed and desperate women I see on the streets. "Sex workers" publication I have read glorify prostitution, as though it is a cool profession (It may be, but only for a very few). Finally, I have heard feminists like myself insulted by these organized "sex workers" and called "ugly stepsisters." So tell me why I should be sympathetic to you, Jen?

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It's called Sex-positive feminism. Women have the right to express their sexuality with other consenting adults without the patriarchy stigmatizing and banning it. Not all women who are prostitutes are heroin addicts being pimped out by some guy wearing platform shoes. And for those who are (as well as those who quite happily chose prostitution and porn), access to the same standards of safe working conditions that the rest of us have is in all of our best interests.

The level of ignorance and narrow-mindedness demonstrated in this thread is staggering -- and very very sad.

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Where the hell did that title come from anyway?

I've never hired a "sex worker" and doubt I ever will. It used to be because I had an aversion to paying someone to do something I could do myself. (I've always been that way about yard work as well.) Now, in my advanced years, there just isn't much work to do.

But there's more to it, I would hope. I would hope that whomever hires a "sex worker", is also experiencing a little human warmth and companionship, and acceptance for whomever or whatever you are, without judgement or shame. I guess if I wasn't getting that anywhere else, I'd maybe be willing to pay for it. The sad part is, these "sex workers" are often emplyed by some of the most reprehensible and sick motherfuckers on the planet, and often suffering severe consequences as a result. I suppose that would piss me off too.

Hell, I'm glad I read this article, and I'm glad the sex workers are willing to stand up and ask for a little respect. We all deserve that much, don't we? Even if we make our living suckin' dick. Well, unless you're a total moron who thinks he's president of the United States and has caused nothing but death destruction and disaster around the planet. Fuckin' jerk. I have way more respect for hookers.

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An excerpt from a chat with a friend of mine, a women’s studies major who is not a sex worker…

Friend: takes money to make money to fund the revolution

me: exactly
the "revolution"
slow
slow
slow
revolution

Friend: stirring the pot is important
helps bring it to a boil at the right time by heating it throughout
so what are you reading?

me: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/reproductivejustice/78575/
there's a lot in there
the post is less relevant than the comments
but it's just so stupid to waste time arguing with women who are so obviously in their late teens and reading Andrea Dworkin for the first time...
But I feel like I need to defend Ren on Alternet

Friend: Did I ever tell you I hung out with Dworkin a few times?

me: So I've finally read through all the comments...
really?
how was that?

Friend: kinda fun, actually
she was much mellower in person than you would guess, reading her books
and she could be very sweet

me: I would imagine
that's what sucks about all of this

Friend: I think she just fell into that trap as an author where you write normal things and no one pays attention

me: we all really have the same goals
it's so strange

Friend: so you start writing more extreme things and people perk up

me: right
it's stupid

Friend: but they take it to a place you never meant it to go

me: I understand
that's why I think we need to find a new way to have these discussions because screaming at each other has never been successful
ever

Friend: yeah
I find it interesting that people seem to associate sex workers with the money behind the sex industry
as if you are all in cahoots

me: right, it's nuts

Friend: (not that you aren't your own bosses sometimes)

me: yeah the men force us to give them our money THEN they pay us with that money to work against the feminists

Friend: in almost every other labor struggle, people don't mistake workers for owners

me: craziness

Friend: have you ever studied change adoption theory?

me: no

Friend: It goes to this kind of conflict
basically, it's a scientific study of social change movements
and it talks a lot about how fighting against people who are unlikely to change has been proven to be unproductive
so while it can feel engaging in the moment to do so, it's ultimately distracting and drains from real progress in the movement
we often feel like we need to say something to them but in terms of actually moving the ball, our energies are better directed elsewhere.
That doesn't mean we should be silent, of course.
It just means that a single, focused response is all that usually makes an impact.
And followups are often uneventful and do not change any minds.

me: That seems intuitive
That's why I think feminism is a critical place for sw activism actually
despite the very loud but less in numbers radical anti-sex people
most feminists actually do agree with us but their voices are muted as well
These people do not represent feminism as a whole

Friend: exactly

me: none of us do- that was supposed to be the point
many diverse people with the same commitment to treating people decently
and to being critical of the systems that are treating people indecently
and to challenge them
Maybe I should just paste this chat into the comments at the blog...

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