Sex Workers For Choice

Re-framing "demand" (part 1)

Sex Workers For Choice — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:52:51 GMT

Part one of this very complex and diverse topic

"End Demand" has been a continuous topic among those involved in ending human trafficking. The basic premise is: if you implement strategies to reduce the demand for sexual labor, you will end the need for the supply. Most of these efforts focus on increasing attention on the consumers (the "demand"), and the idea that if they can get more men to stop purchasing sexual labor, of ANY kind (even legal forms like porn and going to strip clubs), that the incentive for the supply side will shrink, ergo making it no longer profitable for a trafficker to put effort in to exploiting laborers, and also reducing the number of persons engaging in selling of sex as a whole.

This theory probably sounds really good on paper to those that have never worked in the sex trades, but it shows their naiveté (at best), and lack of true understanding about the real reasons people buy and sell sex, not to mention the flexibility and endurance of the sex trades as a whole. There is more then one reason it is the world's oldest profession, and part of that is because no other industry is able to morph and shift to accommodate the demand...a demand that will be ever-present, regardless of attempts by moralists to force humans into a subscribed way of thinking or living. Since our sex drive is one of the basic instincts of humans (to varying degrees, for sure, but a part of each and every one of us), thinking you can eliminate the desire to satiate that need is like saying we can eliminate other instincts, such as eating. Considering that human relationships (whether intimate, sexual or otherwise) often involve a lot of complexity, including negotiation and societal pressures, it seems logical (at least to me) as to why outlets for immediate, no-strings attached, professional outlets will always be needed to some degree in society. Even in a perfect world of everyone being able to find a suitable partner (free from social phobias, disabilities, and other hindrances), being able to openly communicate their needs and desires with willing and accepting partners, we STILL have amazing and creative brains that CRAVE stimulation, get bored easily, and strive to tinker with almost any thought and invention that comes down the pike. This is part of what makes our species so amazing! This is how and why we have come so far in technology, medicine and philosophy...how we came from inventing fire to sending men and women up into space! There is always something more to learn, and new land to explore, and new way of thinking, and this is of course applied towards our instincts and thinking with sex. Reducing the "demand" for sex to simplified arguments of exploitation ignores all of this, and in the process of trying to push that myopic viewpoint, runs the risk of creating issues elsewhere, and on far greater numbers as a whole.

And I'm not trying to disregard the element of misogyny and oppression that plays a part in there... Certainly not all reasons for seeking out commercialized sex are about nurturing, exploration and consensual fantasy roles. So the question then becomes: how to we address the things that oppress and exploit without taking away the things that are needed and helpful to others?

Prayer alone is not enough

Sex Workers For Choice — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:30:30 GMT

Last week, Eve's Angels, a Grand Rapids based organization that does outreach to strip clubs and dancers to offer Christian-based spiritual guidance and support, organized a prayer vigil for the missing and murdered women of Detroit. While I'm not a big fan of organized religion in general (to me, spirituality is personal and unique even if we all have a shared connection), I attended as I wanted to show my support to the families and community about what is going on up there. I also expected that this would be a springboard for a plan for community action on how to keep the pressure on finding who is perpetrating these crimes (a possible serial killer), bring home the missing, and find justice for all the victims. I showed up because I want to *do* something, and get involved.

While I can appreciate how prayer, and the church, can be a great tool in bringing the community together in situations like this, what was disappointing is that they had nothing to offer BUT prayer. At the end, no discussions were had about ways to take our shared interest, and any inspirations, and turn them in to action. We were told to just go home and continue to pray...and I'm sorry, but prayer is NOT enough. Prayer must be turned in to action! People showed up there, regardless of their spiritual beliefs or affiliations looking for leadership, be it from God, or from someone to lead the community to rise up and demand that justice be served. An opportunity was missed to take the energy of that shared moment and turn it in to something bigger.

I'm hoping that if there are any future prayer vigils, a greater effort is made to create a plan of actual action at the end. Kalisha and Cherise (still missing), along with the families of Demesha, Renisha, Vernitha and Natasha all need our prayers, but they also need our action.

-Megan Morgenson

Detroit area murders not because of Backpage

Sex Workers For Choice — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:54:49 GMT

Over the past month, 4 women have been murdered in Detroit, MI and another two have gone missing.

Kalisha Madden went missing Nov. 28 after her shift ended at 3a at the Vegas Strip Club on Michigan Ave. She was seen leaving with 3 males in a black car or truck.

Cherice Gordon, who knew Kalisha and had even danced with her at clubs and private parties, went missing Nov. 30. Her mother said she got a phone call and left, and she has not been heard from since.

On Dec. 17, cousins Demesha Hunt and Renisha Landers went to a party at the Blackberry on Grand River. They were reported missing when they did not return home by the next day. Their bodies were found on Dec. 19 in the trunk of an abandoned car.

At 1a Christmas Day, Vernithea McCrary and another unidentified woman were found in the trunk of a burning car in another east Detroit neighborhood.

It is unknown at this time if the cases of the missing women are related to the recent murders, but the possibility certainly seems too unlikely of a coincidence.

Police say that 3 out of the 4 murder victims had profiles on Backpage. Backpage has responded by reaching out to authorities to aid in the investigation, including helping to identify a number of other websites that the women might have had profiles on.

There is a sense of déjà vu in the rush from the media and other online sources to vilify Backpage as some sort of co-conspirator in the deaths of these women. The "Craigslist Killer" was the tipping point in helping shut down Craigslist erotic services section, and this recent string of events in Detroit will not doubt fuel the already strong campaign that is being waged to shut down the similar adult services section of Backpage. What these critics ignore is that the true co-conspirator is not these advertising venues, but rather our society as a whole due to how devalued sex workers are, in part due to the laws that isolate us from the protections most others take for granted.

What makes escorts, prostitutes and other sex workers a target for violence is not how or where we advertise, but the fact that violent predators know that those crimes against sex workers are often under reported, and if they are, they are not investigated or prosecuted as diligently. Those that work in the sex trade are often viewed as criminals that some how signed on for such violence to be perpetrated against us. Until we have equal rights and equal protection, the predators will continue to seek us out in any and every advertising venue available. Backpage is not to blame, nor are any of the dozens of other advertising venues that the victims are said to possibly have had escort profiles on. It is the violent predators that are to blame, and the focus needs to stay on the mark there, including why sex workers are often the target of their crimes.