Whorephobia is part of…the assumption that some people’s lives are worth more than others. – Anne Sexton
I have zero faith in the magical protective powers of “restraining orders”, nor do I believe this thug was actually innocent of rape:
A man has been found guilty of assaulting a sex worker in Gloucester. Georgian Huzdup…kicked and punched the female victim…[who] was helped by two men who came to her aid during the attack in the early hours of 13 August last year. Huzdup…was issued with a two-year restraining order after serving five months in prison on remand…he was found guilty of assault but not guilty of a count of rape…
Remember, cops: raping whores is OK; it’s paying us fairly that isn’t:
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation started investigating…Donald Bonds…after learning…he had paid to have sex on two occasions…He was booked into jail but released on a $10,000 bond. Bonds is currently suspended without pay…
Note that for major, dangerous crimes like consensual sex, cops are suspended without pay; for minor indiscretions like aggravated rape or gunning kids down in the street, they’re suspended with pay.
Watershed
We’re seeing ever-more columns like this from women who identify as feminists:
Women who are not in the business of commodified sex are drip-fed the idea that sex workers are not “like us”. They are dismissed as “skanks” or “trash”. Often they are treated condescendingly as victims without agency…rarely are we encouraged to respect them. Sex workers are seen as the ultimate “other”. They are a blank canvas for our fantasies and our fears. Their voices are silenced and their histories erased or rewritten…
Subtle Pimping (#330)
It was inevitable that somebody would come up with an anti-whore video featuring a fake game:
Beacon of the Freed proudly launches its “Buying Sex is not a Game” campaign, intended to raise awareness among the general public and visiting tourists of the often-invisible, but devastating, consequences of sexual exploitation…This [asinine] video, filmed in the style of a popular television program…will…be circulated through Facebook, YouTube and various partners…Beacon of the Freed [pretends it] is not taking a stance in the debate on prostitution…[yet wildly exaggerates the prevalence of coercion in sex work to scare clients away, thus robbing sex workers of income]…
“Sexual exploitation” is a popular prohibitionist dysphemism for “sex work”.
Opting Out (#441)
May has been pushing internet censorship since she was home secretary:
A lot of people have trashed through the sheer incompetence and audacity of trying to “regulate” the Internet by “eliminating safe spaces”, as PM May advocates…Glyn Moody has highlighted how it will destroy the British software industry. Caleb Chen writes about a new government-controlled Internet in the UK…Cory Doctorow has completely torn apart the nonsense of “regulating the internet” over at Boing Boing; he notes that not only wouldn’t it work, but the cost of trying is prohibitive, essentially requiring sending Britain back to steam power days…Theresa May is…pushing a package that introduces censorship of pornography on the Internet, and is justifying it as absolutely necessary to fight terrorism. She is even doing this with a straight face, apparently serious…
Traffic in Nonsense (#595)
Another state requires anti-whore indoctrination for licensing: “[Kansas] unanimously approved Senate Bill 40 to…require…applicants for a commercial driver’s license to receive training in identifying and responding to potential incidents of human trafficking…”
Amateur Night
Kudos to Dan Savage for giving this advice to a heavily scarred, sexually traumatized young man:
Hire a sex worker. It’ll allow you to separate your anxieties about finding a romance and companionship from your anxieties about being sexually inexperienced. A kind, indulgent, competent sex worker can relieve you of your virginity and help restore—or instill—confidence in your dick’s ability to get and stay hard in the presence of another human being. Be totally honest…about your inexperience and your concerns. If you get the sense during negotiations—which should be brief and to-the-point—that the woman you’re talking to is impatient or uncaring, thank her for her time and start over. There are kind, caring, compassionate sex workers out there…
Utter Cluelessness
Future cultural historians will wonder why “sex trafficking” hysterics were so obsessed with pizza:
“It’s just as easy as ordering a pizza, to order a person.” These haunting words, spoken by a [pig seeking more power]…encapsulate a fragment of [the colossal dishonesty of government and gullibility of people who swallow ots propaganda]…human trafficking has become one of the fastest growing businesses of organized crime in the world…approximately 100,000 American citizens may be victims of trafficking within the United States. It’s happening in our backyard: Ohio ranks number five in the nation for the most human trafficking cases…
This imbecile literally strings together as many stupid “sex trafficking” tropes as he can in one place, then labels this regurgitated nonsense “haunting”.
The Immunity Syndrome (#666)
Partisanism is like a form of self-lobotomy, and Trump’s brand of it is like ice-pick self-lobotomy:
Donald Trump has appointed another foe of evidence-based health information to the Department of Health and Human Services. Valerie Huber, a longtime leader of abstinence-only education advocacy groups, will be the chief of staff to the assistant secretary of health…Research from Case Western Reserve University found that the programs Huber ran in [Ohio] contained “false and misleading information” about abortion, contraceptives, and sexually transmitted infections, in addition to perpetuating “destructive, inaccurate gender stereotypes” and presenting “religious convictions as scientific fact.” One curriculum said that teenagers who have sex before marriage should “be prepared to die”…
Pimps Ahoy
Small rescue industry profiteers learn the value of slave labor from their larger mentors:
[Houston “rescue” profiteer] A 2nd Cup…received [a] donation of $100,000, a financial boost that will help launch a coffee and culinary work program for human trafficking survivors…The Reliant Gives donation will go toward a new holistic program that provides important skills for survivors, from resume writing and interview techniques to customer service and financial training, as well as barista, roasting, and culinary skills to help rebuild their lives through [menial] employment…
Cooties (#721)
Despite the popularity of this fantasy with UK cops, not one has ever been found:
A campaign has been launched to highlight the growing problem of women being used as sex slaves within “pop-up brothels” around Yorkshire…these brothels can be used to house women against their will, with many suffering abuse in the most inhumane conditions…They are often privately rented flats or houses, but budget hotels or holiday properties are also sometimes used…
Though it’s hard to recognize through the layers of cop masturbatory fantasy, what they’re actually talking about is ordinary sex workers using AirBnB rentals.
Broken Record (#743)
It’s fascinating to watch the way prohibitionists contort facts so as to support their fantasies:
…Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine became the latest in a long line of public officials to declare that large public events bring…a spike in human trafficking…a claim that researchers have [repeatedly disproven]…Despite the spike in reported incidents through the hotline…there was no significant increase in human trafficking arrests in…Ohio last year…the number of [people labeled as] victims…actually dropped…But [prohibitionists claim that doesn’t mean anything because]…the vast majority of human trafficking [is magically] undetect[able]…they [fantasize about] human trafficking rings that [somehow can never be found]…
Hard Numbers (#744)
Can y’all send a delegation to talk to the ABA? Pretty please?
The Law Society of South Australia has voiced its support for a bill to decriminalise sex work in the state…Leah Marrone of the Law Society…told the select committee that compromise was not appropriate for this particular bill…“It has to be full decriminalisation to achieve the objects of what it is set out for,” Ms Marrone said…“Decriminalisation will improve the health, protection and safety of workers in this industry who deserve it, and it is the principal means by which their safety and their workplace rights can be assured,” said David Caruso, the president of the Law Society of SA…