The Polaris Project has kindly given us permission to reprint this April 3 article from their blog, The North Star. The Polaris Project combats slavery and human trafficking. Author Katherine Chon is the president of Polaris Project. The Washington Post: A Paper Pimp? (Part One) by Katherine Chon Last year, I spoke with Nomi Levenkron, […]
Media Ethics
Case Study: How Michelangelo Signorile Put a Dent in Hollywood’s Homophobia
Michelangelo Signorile (Wikipedia, website) is the author of Queer in America: Sex, the Media, and the Closets of Power. In this passage, he describes how activists cut through the fog of irrelevant First Amendment arguments to get Hollywood moguls to take responsibility for their messages: We were under siege at the time, and I was […]
Online Media Daily: “Craigslist Claims Fewer ‘Erotic Services’ Ads Due To New Listing Requirements, Defends Against Sheriff’s Lawsuit”
Online Media Daily reported on March 11: Company CEO Jim Buckmaster said this week in a blog post that the site has seen a 90-95% decline in “erotic services” ads in five large cities since it began demanding more information from advertisers last year… Last week, the Cook County sheriff sued Craigslist for creating a […]
Wall Street Journal: “Craigslist Gets Tougher On ‘Erotic Services’ Ads”
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports on new actions to reduce prostitution ads in Craigslist: Craigslist Inc. agreed to crack down on ads posted by prostitutes, responding to government complaints that the classified-ad Web site has become a free clearinghouse for illegal sexual services. In an agreement with attorneys general from 40 states, the San Francisco-based […]
The New Yorker: “The Countertraffickers”
The May 5 New Yorker has an excellent article on global sex trafficking. One of the most striking aspects is the effort by sex traffickers to get victims to put a happy face on the trade. We are reminded of one of the biggest ongoing lies of porn–that women and children enjoy abuse. Here are […]
Cincinnati: Coalition asks CityBeat to stop allowing promotion of prostitution through advertising
We don’t agree with Citizens for Community Values on some issues, but we certainly agree that responsible media should not run ads that promote prostitution. CCV recently issued this Press Advisory: For Immediate Release: Monday, June 9, 2008 Contact: Phil Burress, 513-733-5775, Steve Wagner 202-441-5744, Charlie Winburn, 513-884-7832 Coalition asks CityBeat to stop allowing promotion […]
Gail Dines: “Penn, Porn and Me”
Anti-porn activist Gail Dines kindly agreed to let us reprint the following article, which originally appeared in CounterPunch on June 23. How Some Men React When They Think You Want to Take Away Their Porn Penn, Porn and MeBy GAIL DINES Everyone who has ever worked as an activist in progressive organizations fighting gender, racial […]
News Roundup: Age of Entry into Prostitution Declining
Ads from the June 12 Valley Advocate: “Consenting Adults” proclaims one of the ads above. An odd phrase to apply to a legitimate massage service, but perfectly understandable for a commercial sex business. Smokescreen phrases like these are often employed by defenders of prostitution in attempts to stifle debate. They are not convincing. Studies that […]
New Low-Cost Option for Institute on Media Madness, July 9-11, Boston
We are pleased to publicize this new low-cost educational opportunity from Wheelock College and Stop Porn Culture: We’ve had overwhelming interest in scholarships to the summer institute on Media Madness. In order to accommodate as many people as possible, we are offering a two and a half day training as an alternative to the full […]
Valley Advocate Website Announces 2008’s “Best” Adult Entertainment Club; Holsopple’s Inside Report on Stripping (explicit language)
If you visit the Valley Advocate website today and click through to their “Best of 2008” page, you’ll see it leads off with “Adult entertainment club”, partly because this category starts with “A” and partly because the Advocate considers this to be just another leisure option, on par with “Art gallery” or “Charity event”… Within […]