Blame the Whore

I was alerted to this CNN article in the commentary on the Feministe interview I recommended in my last post. As it's apparently an accepted fact that the modern American parent is a total moron, CNN provides a helpful article on how to discuss the Spitzer scandal and, more specifically, prostitution with your children.

"Parents should be ready if children ask what a prostitute is, said Judy Kuriansky, a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College.

"If they ask," she said, "You say, 'Sadly there are some women who feel that when they have an intimate experience with someone they need to get paid for it. This is something that is not healthy and I don't accept it or condone it."'"

That's what we should teach our children - that prostitution was created by greedy, immoral women preying on men who otherwise would never offer money for sex. This brings slut-bashing to a whole new low.

Sex Work and Feminism

There's been lots of discussion of prostitution lately given the Spitzer scandal in New York. I highly recommend reading Feministe's interview with the Sex Workers Project. It highlights the philosophical struggle in feminism regarding sex work. Leaving human trafficking and forced prostitution out of the issue, it may be true that women would not choose to be sex workers if they had access to better education and job opportunities. Then again, if there are fewer sex workers wouldn't the law of supply and demand state that johns would pay more to obtain sex thus making sex work more attractive? Men have been paying for sex for thousands of years. Are we kidding ourselves to think eliminating the supply will eliminate the demand? Is all sex work dehumanizing? If the worker sets the price, establishes the boundaries, and controls the situation, is having sex for money still somehow inherently different from other kinds of labor? If you are unable to obtain sex through more "traditional" methods is it so wrong that there is someone out there willing to fulfill your need for a price? Many feminists deny that prostitution is ever a victim-less crime and deny that any woman would freely choose to be a prostitute. The Sex Workers Project at least listens to actual sex workers to get their input.