Louisianan Justice

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July 15, 2011

The end of June saw some big, wonderful news coming out of Louisiana that hasn’t yet gotten a mention here on T&S. (I blame Kutcher. It’s always his fault!)

Until two weeks ago, prostitutes arrested in Louisiana could be charged under an ancient “Solicitation of Crimes of Nature” law which would, if convicted, give them the status of felon and registered sex offender. Trans women and women of color were disproportionately targeted; other sex workers might be lucky enough to receive misdemeanor charges under the (separate) prostitution law. Superstar activist Deon Haywood was instrumental in overturning this archaic POS, and she’s guiding her group, Women With A Vision, to now pressure the state to remove 40% of New Orleans sex offenders from the registry, where they were placed after Crimes Against Nature convictions.

But not all is well in The Bayou State. Hypocrisy and, worse, police harassment of sex workers continue unabated. On the same day SCAN was overturned, police announced an (apparently new) policy of targeting clients as vigorously as they do prostitutes. Then two days after the news about the overturn of SCAN, police officers arrested one of their own in a sting operation. And any discussion of Louisiana’s sex work laws isn’t complete with a nod to current state Senator David Vitter, a confirmed, successful solicitor of prostitutes, who hasn’t faced any legal consequences for participating in the illegal industry. He remains fully, unapologetically entrenched in (conservative) politics.

Blast From the Past: The San Francisco Stripper Wars

By

Kat

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July 6, 2011

This isn’t so much a blast from the past (although, I was shocked to learn that 1997 was fourteen years ago) as it is déjà vu (no, not the place with the three ugly girls). I randomly came across an old issue of Hustler last week because I had a part in an indie movie that takes place in the nineties and it was a prop. It contains an article written during the first round of stripper employee-status and back wages lawsuits that started in San Francisco, focusing on the legendary Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theater.

It was an interesting read despite the opening sentences: “Six nude nymphs rise into the air. Writhing together, they kiss and giggle, licking one anothers’ perfect pussies, nibbling nipples, tickling and fondling pert breasts.” What else do you expect when you have to sandwich something substantial in between a photo editorial of a woman whose “favorite pastimes” are “tanning, exhibitionism, and masturbating” (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and an illustration of Abe Lincoln with a raging boner? I learned a few things, most notably that very little has changed. The independent contractor vs. employee debate is just as relevant as ever.

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Feminist Whore’s Horrifying, Must-Watch Video

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Charlotte Shane

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July 6, 2011

This is why none of the sex workers I know trust or support Salvation Army.

Feminist Whore has taken the time to go down the rabbit hole to examine some of the groups and actions supported by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s anti-trafficking efforts, and what she uncovers is stomach turning beyond belief. This video is required viewing for anyone who wants to claim any knowledge about sex trafficking and the responses it inspires. But here are some highlights:

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Exploitation

By

Tara Burns

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July 5, 2011

We close today with an affecting first-person account of underage sex work. While it should go without saying that Tits and Sass doesn’t endorse underage work, the solution is not continued criminalization and hysteria based on unsubstantiated “facts,” it’s better alternatives, a safety net, and decriminalization. Many thanks to Ecowhore for graciously allowing us to repost this November 17, 2010 entry from her blog.—ed.

Exploitation. They say half of underage girls on their own turn to sex work within 24 hours of hitting the streets. I know when I was a kid I turned to it right away every time I ran away or my dad kicked me out. Big eyes, tits hanging out, thumb out, I’d wait for any man to pick me up and give me money or a place to stay.

They say it’s a bad thing. They say there are pimps and traffickers who will lock those poor innocent children in apartments and make them fuck for up to twelve hours a day. I try to imagine this. When I was a kid no pimps ever approached me, but my step-grandmother-in-law used to warn me about them. Just handle your own business, she would say, don’t let any guy start protecting you, taking your money, next thing you know… She was 60 and fat with eighties hair and sparkly spandex clothes. She’d been a hooker during the pipeline days, when things were really rough, until she’d married my mom’s husband’s father 30 years ago.

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Kat Takes a Stroll Through @aplusk’s Twitter Feed

By

Kat

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July 5, 2011

I’ve been trying to make sense of Ashton Kutcher’s recent twitter feed. After the Village Voice article came out on Friday, he just started firing off tweets that sounded a lot like how an upset tween would respond if #killjustinbieber was trending, and not so much like the CEO of a nonprofit. I’ve been doing a lot of head shaking and sighing after reading statements like, “The cry of a company waking up to it’s [sic] failure will never be as loud as the tears shed by girls trafficked on its platform.” Where to start? Isn’t this a little bit… really gross and unnecessary? He may as well tweet about the blood of 100,000 to 300,000 hymens.

How about, “No response @villagevoice? Oh I forgot U work business hours. Maybe that’s Y you sell girls on ur platform. they tend 2work the night shift”? First of all, I think I have to give up using sic now. Next, he does realize that “sex slaves” don’t have set hours, right? I know that he’s not getting his information from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit because even they have plots involving boys, and they also never mention anything about shifts. I’m guessing that most sex slaves are more on call than anything.

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