Janet Aalfs is a former Poet Laureate of Northampton and the director of Valley Women’s Martial Arts. Her poetry collection Reach was published by Perugia Press in 1999. The poem below is reprinted with permission from her chapbook Full Open (Orogeny Press, 1996). Facing the Wall 1. Someone found a heart on market street not […]
Prostitution
How to Deter Johns from Buying Sex
Far from the common belief that ‘prostitution will always be with us’, it’s not that hard to deter johns from buying sex. These two articles present the results of a survey of 110 Scottish men between the ages of 18 and 77 who had paid for sex: Sex industry in Scotland: Name and shame the […]
Grand Theft Auto IV: Women Screwed, Run Over, Shot and Burned
The video game Grand Theft Auto IV presents the “Ladies of Liberty City”. A trailer shows prostituted women being run over and shot after having sex with a john. These disturbing videos express the disposability of these women in our culture: Long version: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/209411.html Short version: http://boinkology.com/2008/04/29/the-ladies-of-liberty-city/ Apparently the game publisher, Take-Two Interactive, has become […]
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 […]
Bloomberg Columnist Likes Sweden’s Approach to Prostitution
Ann Woolner applauds Sweden’s approach to prostitution on Bloomberg.com today: Legalize Selling Your Body, Criminalize Buying It: Ann Woolner …de-criminalizing the flesh business encourages human trafficking and boosts the presence of organized crime, according to studies. There is no drop in brutality, either, and some indication it increases. “Anyone contemplating such a move has to […]
The Truth About Lap Dancing: A Performer Speaks Out
Object is a UK group that challenges ‘Sex Object Culture’. They have kindly authorized us to reprint their interview with a former lap/pole dancer. The Truth About Lap Dancing A Performer Speaks OutObject 2007 Comments on this Report This testimonial is prepared from an interview with Lucy Brown, a former lap/pole dancer who approached Object […]
Profitable Exploits: Lap Dancing in the UK
Julie Bindel of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, prepared this report on strip clubs in 2004 for the Glasgow City Council. Beyond the impact on the direct participants, the passages below suggest that strip clubs have “secondary effects” on their surroundings (e.g. blight, harassment). Club management typically maintains that their […]
Fourth Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution (explicit language)
The Burning Times has kindly given us permission to reprint the Fourth Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution. See the first three carnivals here. Fourth Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution April 26, 2008 by Debs Hi again everyone, and welcome to the fourth edition of the Carnival Against Pornography and Prostitution! Once again, thank you so […]
Prostitution: “It is high time to expose and challenge the liberal consensus”
Roger Matthews, professor of criminology at London’s South Bank University, has studied street prostitution since 1985. Julie Bindel talks to him about his new book, Prostitution, Politics and Policy, for The Guardian: ‘It’s abuse and a life of hell’ (2/29/08) …Matthews completely disagrees with the notion of legalisation. Instead, he says, the punters should be […]
Dorchen Leidholdt, “Demand and the Debate”
Dorchen A. Leidholdt is the Co-Executive Director of The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. Here are excerpts from her speech, “Demand and the Debate”. She provides an excellent history and analysis of the “sex-positive” spin on prostitution. “Prostitution is a job like any other job,” [Wages for Housework activists] insisted. “Some women prostitute their fingers […]