For those of you who think sex work is "empowering" for women, take a look at this story that was broadcast tonight on CBS's 48 Hours news program.
I hate to say it, but I am of the very strong opinion that the America's struggle to understand what is erotic and what is not may have an indirect effect on this. (Think about the types and kinds of "entertainment" that we export on a daily basis.) American women can, to some degree, pass in and out of the sex industry with maybe a tad bit of damage to their reputations (like they might not want to list the strip bar they worked at on a resume, or the porn film they made) but, on the whole, we are not bought and sold the way that women from poorer parts of Europe, Mexico, and Asia are. Yet many of the women over there get a message thru american entertainment that sex work is easy, fun, and a great way of making extra money.
And what we think is, and migh experience as, fun winds up turing into an out of control horror for others from less economically fortunate countries.
It is very true that we cannot stop the sex industry. Sanitizing our media until it is completely devoid of sex is not the answer either--we have a big problem with understanding that not all sexual imagery is meant as a means to encourage young women into sexual slavery, and we have to work this issue out. Understanding what actual sex slavery is, and how our attitudes affect it, though, can do alot. We do not need to be so naieve to think that sex work is empowering for women outside of the american upper classes. That is, probably, the first and most important step.
I hate to say it, but I am of the very strong opinion that the America's struggle to understand what is erotic and what is not may have an indirect effect on this. (Think about the types and kinds of "entertainment" that we export on a daily basis.) American women can, to some degree, pass in and out of the sex industry with maybe a tad bit of damage to their reputations (like they might not want to list the strip bar they worked at on a resume, or the porn film they made) but, on the whole, we are not bought and sold the way that women from poorer parts of Europe, Mexico, and Asia are. Yet many of the women over there get a message thru american entertainment that sex work is easy, fun, and a great way of making extra money.
And what we think is, and migh experience as, fun winds up turing into an out of control horror for others from less economically fortunate countries.
It is very true that we cannot stop the sex industry. Sanitizing our media until it is completely devoid of sex is not the answer either--we have a big problem with understanding that not all sexual imagery is meant as a means to encourage young women into sexual slavery, and we have to work this issue out. Understanding what actual sex slavery is, and how our attitudes affect it, though, can do alot. We do not need to be so naieve to think that sex work is empowering for women outside of the american upper classes. That is, probably, the first and most important step.
posted by Tish Grier at 11:01 PM
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