Well, Norma Jean sent me 25 pages of material from a sex worker discussion group. I’m obviously not going to post it all here, but I’ll share some pertinent quotes. (All of this is in response to Jodi’s objections that I only offer Norma Jean as any kind of proof that perhaps not all prostitutes hate what they do, etc. etc.)
All the following quotes are from sex workers, primarily prostitutes.
This is from a sex worker who was writing to protest an article about Melissa Farley’s study (The one you quote, jodi. They were up in arms about it.)
Partial quotes:
“Spinthecat” wrote:
- "Now, to show you the level of Farley’s incompetence as a researcher, I will describe the study she conducted in 1995. At the beginning of the study she stated that she conducted a survey with 130 prostitutes she contacted on the streets of San Francisco. She explained that the areas from which she drew what is called, to use the terminology of researchers, her “sample,” were all areas in which the prostitutes were known to be primarily homeless, drug- addicted, and trafficked. She then took a survey of these people and, surprise, the statistics showed that they were primarily homeless, drug- addicted, and trafficked. This is not credible research. It should not be published as such.
She suggested that this state of affairs, which is in fact quite horrible to contemplate and ought to rouse many to activism on behalf of these people, showed that prostitution ought to continue to be illegal-and I suggest that the arrests and subsequent records of these people do nothing to contribute to their ability to move out of prostitution and into the legal job market they may wish to enter.
She then described the effects of the Stockholm Syndrome, a condition in which hostages come to identify with their captors, as well as the symptoms of post- traumatic stress disorder, and then compared them to the findings in her “study.” By this she intended to prove that these prostitutes are captives in some kind of war. In fact, they are; an economic war. The conditions endemic to the Stockholm Syndrome are remarkably similar to the conditions of urban poverty. And the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are remarkably similar to the effects of living in constant fear of arrest.
Her research methods are shoddy, although they obviously involve a lot of field work. Her reporting is unethical (biased), and her conclusions are illogical. I suggest that the ethics of journalism (I am a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and know what those ethics are) be applied to journalism about sex workers. Very few newspaper articles bother to report more than one side when it comes to sex work (which is not to say that there are only two sides). Most articles smirk and sneer at sex workers (the best we can expect most of the time is a bit of “Aren’t they cute when they try to talk”), or righteously support those whose biased comments indicate an interest in the status quo. " *
Kate writes:
- “I agree and I think its also a funding issue. There is so little funding out there anyway, especially for individuals who want to do a very nuanced study of a behavior. The media prefers soundbites and information that doesn’t challenge ways of thinking, and studies that are likely to make ‘news’ are more likely to be funded. I know that when I was working in sociology, I was frequently encouraged to write about dancing as ‘deviant behavior’ and even offered funding for this. I turned it down and switched disciplines!
People who really want to critique the legal system or the medical system or the huge problems of poverty have difficulty getting funded. And AIDS is another example–there is lots of money to ‘study AIDS’ but it rarely goes to the people who offer the most sophisticated analyses” *
(Apparantly this sex worker worked as a sociologist and freely chose sex work instead! Imagine that! Not as unusual as you might imagine.)
From an associated Press article being quoted in the email exchange:
"Veronica Monet, a 38-year-old prostitute who works out of a downtown San Francisco apartment building, took issue with the findings.
My job is stressful and my job has bad days, but it's way better than anybody else's I know,'' she said. The most stressful thing about my job is that it’s illegal.’’
Ms. Monet, a college graduate with a degree in psychology, said that when prostitutes who work the streets are the ones surveyed, ``what you get are people who are addicted to drugs, getting beaten by their pimps or boyfriends.’’
Bottom line is that everyone is free, certainly, to hold whatever opinions they like about prostitution and other sex work. But the Straight Dope is, we are often reminded, about fighting ignorance. And while it is not ignorant to have an opinion about sex work, it does not follow that you understand who sex workers are, that you have perfect clarity about the relationships between sex workers and clients, or that you know how they feel. Especially when the “you” in question has virtually zero knowledge of sex workers or prosititutes.
As for Norma Jean’s bias, which is acknowledged by NJ herself (although she does not even try to deny that there is an ugly side to sex work and that it is dreadful for some women. Neither have I.), that bias exists because of the truth of what I’m saying: Norma Jean is but one of many women who are perfectly happy with their choice. They have made it freely. It is not a miserable, debasing experience for them. They don’t view it the way you do. It IS a positive experience for them…all NJ and others are trying to do is get that message out there.
Stoid
) are not convinced by your brilliant arguments and persuasive evidence. But it must be all their fault - their prejudices that are preventing them from “seeing the light”. Yeah. That must be it.