- A hot topic on the Eastside of Lansing these days is prostitution, one spoke on the historical wheel of the sex trade.
Back in October, the Lansing State Journal published an article headlining the arrest of 11 women in sting operations on the Eastside. The sting targets were women who sell sex (though of course there are men who sell sex too).
These women have been called by a range of names depending on the point in time and politics behind the mind. Here are just a few: - * prostitute
* sex worker
* courtesan - Synonyms: harlot, whore.
Related Words: coquette, flirt, libertine, siren, tempter, temptress, wench. - Disclaimer: I'm inviting responses on what you think as long as you indicate why you think it. Posting factoids from this or that article without your thoughtful reply will be deleted (hint - Gary!).
- LSJ e-forum discussion renewed about the sting operation. My thoughts about violence against women are posted there.
- Grand Rapids Magazine feature article about the Prostitution Round Table, a community collaboration that works with women selling sex.
- City Pulse article coming out today about a recent discussion at the Allen Neighborhood Center about women who sell sex.
More word associations are found in The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:
WHY THINK AS YOU DO?
What are your thoughts and why?
Here are some spokes to get the wheel rolling:
4 comments:
Here's my take...
1.) Criminalizing sex work does not stop or deter sex work. The recent sting in the Eastside that "rounded" up 10-12 sex workers is only a stop gap measure - they will be back. Why? Because the demand in the neighborhood still remains, which means that the johns will be coming to the Eastside looking to purchase sex and sex workers will migrate back to the Eastside to meet that demand.
2.) If you want to deter prostitution in your neighborhood, community, or city, several things must happen:
* Organizations citywide must work together to provide services for prostituted women.
* The johns need to become the targets. Several areas in the country have john schools which work to rehabilitate their addictive behavior.
* The victim blaming culture must change - many of these women use prostitution as a means of survival. Over 90% of them have been sexually abused or assaulted and over 90% have a problem with substance abuse. They need OUR HELP - not to be put behind bars.
I don't agree with targeting johns. Blaming men for prostitution doesn't make any more sense than blaming women. The state has no business criminalizing sex between (or among) consenting adults. I think prostitution is gross but that's not a valid reason to criminalize it.
If prostitution were legal, then prostitutes who were victimized either by johns or by pimps would be more likely to press charges and that would be a good thing. Criminalizing prostitution has the same effect as criminalizing drugs: it makes it a more dangerous business, and that's not good for anyone.
Hey, googled some stuff regarding the Eastside streetwalker article and your blog came up! I'm impressed with what you're doing for this community.
I am glad you asked this question...if men want to pay, make it legal and the violence perpetuated addressable. And yeah, I agree Johns are the target. Its not about paying for sex, its the violence that comes with it: Debra Cooke is a prime example. Its about my own safety to as I was solicited this morning to "go for a ride" with what I suspect was a kurb crawler. I believe these are the problems, not the sex trade.
As for the language...I'm queer and choose this word, I would suggest allowing those labeled to identify the correct words to use. Until then, I will fumble through the words I use, trying to be aware of their power.
~gg
eastsider
I'm not quizzing every member of a subgroup to see what they want to be called. The word "hooker" denotes what I intend it to so that's what I'm gonna use. Similarly you are free to call me a Mexican even though I'm neither a citizen of Mexico nor was I born there. I'm of Mexican descent so the point is made, even though I might hope to be called something else.
I won't use the terms whore, fag, or spic as these are clearly disparaging (unless they are used as a self reference among members of those groups in which case I'm not going there).
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