tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post2823984695352768317..comments2019-05-15T23:59:20.159-07:00Comments on Feminist Legal Theory: Is Catherine MacKinnon "over the top" about prostitution?Lisa R. Pruitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469550950363542801noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-71197368383766412312017-10-16T17:36:40.694-07:002017-10-16T17:36:40.694-07:00Great post Aoife!
I found your insight into the c...Great post Aoife!<br /><br />I found your insight into the complexities concerning the topic of prostitution to be comprehensive and thought provoking. I was particularly moved by your reference to McKinnon, where she tackles the sticky topic of consent in prostitution; "money coerces the consent rather than guaranteeing it". This reminded me of a case, R v Linekar, from the English Court of Appeals I studied whilst examining the definition of common law rape last year. This was a case decided in 1995 and it concerned a man who approached a prostitute and agreed to pay £25 to have intercourse with her. However, he had no intention of paying said £25 and subsequently made off without paying. When the appellant prostitute claimed this constituted rape, as she wouldn't have consented had there been no consideration, the Court of Appeals held that this fraud didn't constitute rape as she had consented to sleep with his physical body and his non-payment didn't undermine the consent. <br /><br />This case really highlighted to me the blindness of the judiciary to what is often the real motivation behind consent in prostitution; money, out of necessity. And although McKinnon's summation of prostitution as 'serial rape' is a bitter concept to grapple with, it most likely is the reality if money really does coerce consent to prostitution in the vast majority of instances. Which would mean that in the case of Linekar, money coercing consent but not actually being delivered would be rape in the eyes of McKinnon, and the fact that this seminal case on the definition of consent at common law says otherwise may be cause for concern. Suzanne Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272108405684096027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-8571461751096997312017-10-10T12:53:37.669-07:002017-10-10T12:53:37.669-07:00Aoife, thank you for writing this insightful post....Aoife, thank you for writing this insightful post. Personally, I’m on the fence on whether prostitution should be legalized. On the one hand, I agree with MacKinnon that while most individuals experience economic pressure to take certain jobs, it is primarily women who feel economically pressured to enter sex work. On the other hand, I dislike laws that curtail individual agency by criminalizing what individuals chose do with their own bodies, provided they are not harming others. And I’m not sure there is a middle ground between these two opposites, at least one that MacKinnon’s theoretical framework would allow for. Still, I think we need to be pragmatic about how we grapple with sex work.<br /><br />First, we should de-stigmatize prostitution. Sex workers should not be shamed for their line of work nor be criminally sanctioned. This would help bring sex workers out of the shadows and not drive the prostitution market further underground. Further, we need to stop conflating prostitution and human trafficking, even if there is occasional overlap. I doubt, after all, that the plight of victims who are brought to this country to be sex slaves mirrors the predicaments sugar-babies face when they seek buyers online. Also, creating a climate where sex workers can come out from the shadows would allow us to gather nuanced data on the prevalence and forms of prostitution across different groups. For example, it would be beneficial to know if prostitution is more prevalent among transwomen relative to cis women. This data would allow social workers and organizations to tailor social programs to meet the needs of diverse clients who want to stop doing sex work. <br /><br />Moreover, we need to critically examine how prostitution is criminalized, and which forms of prostitution are policed more heavily. Somehow I think our generation finds it more acceptable to police and prosecute streetwalkers than sugar-babies, which probably promotes disproportionate criminalization of prostitution among poor communities, and communities of color. So while MacKinnon made prostitution a subject worthy of intellectual inquiry, it’s time to provide more nuanced analysis and gather more data.Joterias!https://www.blogger.com/profile/16966719194553283271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7302245627574027504.post-3903136202325622822017-10-03T11:53:12.414-07:002017-10-03T11:53:12.414-07:00Great post, Aoife. I think a large criticism of th...Great post, Aoife. I think a large criticism of the criminalization of prostitution is that it pushes the practice underground. Obviously, criminalizing prostitutes themselves is problematic because, as you said, many women who engage in the practice are survivors of abuse or have been pushed to their absolute economic limit. However, even criminalizing johns leads to secrecy that breeds even more danger for vulnerable women.<br /><br />I think the strongest argument for legalizing prostitution is to shine some sunlight on the industry, give it some semblance of regulation, and to protect women who are involved in the practice right now. At the same time, it could be taxed and maybe the proceeds could be directed towards programs that tackle the root problems leading women to enter the profession... or even to aid women who are looking to leave it. <br /><br />As an idealist, I wish that we lived in a society where women had the economic opportunities so that only those who truly desired to practice sex work became involved in the industry. However, the practical side of me says that prostitution has been around and will be around for a long time, and will always involve (to some extent) vulnerable and exploited populations... therefore society is better off recognizing that fact and protecting sex workers the way that workers in other industries are protected.<br /><br />That being said, I think there is some disingenuousness among many who espouse legalizing prostitution from a sex-positive or "women's empowerment" standpoint. Kendra Wilkinson had a solidly middle-class upbringing in San Diego, worked as a dental assistant and a model before living in the Playboy mansion, and is also a white woman. Her experiences with sex work are vastly different from those women who undertake the practice out of desperation or necessity, or those from different ethnic or class backgrounds. I think it's impossible to legitimately advocate for the legalization of prostitution without recognizing the wide range of experiences for sex workers and recognizing that the problems with the sex industry are real/pervasive and will not be corrected solely by market forces or garden-variety labor protections.<br /><br />Your post reminded me of some interesting resources on the issue:<br /><br />A New York Times discussion from multiple viewpoints: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/19/is-legalized-prostitution-safer<br /><br />A firsthand account from a sex worker on the podcast Death, Sex and Money: http://www.wnyc.org/story/sex-worker-next-door/<br /><br />B. Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04265546781059535134noreply@blogger.com