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jcampbell's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Short and covers a range of issues facing sex workers. Felt at times like the author was not willing to make her own opinions known which kind of watered down some of the points being made.
delaneykleiner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
poeticsinglemama's review against another edition
She talks in circles and the text is so full of typos I'm not sure how it ever got published! When I read "men who by sex" it was the last straw and I couldn't keep reading.
horfhorfhorf's review against another edition
3.0
The book raises interesting points, but often failed to flesh them out into anything more than assertions, which should not be confused with arguments. Meh.
Something I did appreciate from the book was the closer look taken at many studies whose results are oft-quoted but seldom examined in other feminist theory/writings. For example: dismantling the "research" used to back varying claims that Craigslist was responsible for the increased sex trafficking of underage girls in some US states.
Something I did appreciate from the book was the closer look taken at many studies whose results are oft-quoted but seldom examined in other feminist theory/writings. For example: dismantling the "research" used to back varying claims that Craigslist was responsible for the increased sex trafficking of underage girls in some US states.
ainepalmtree's review against another edition
great analysis that refocuses discussions around sex work on labour policy and self-representation
katetay69's review against another edition
3.0
GREAT POINTS AND OVERVIEW BUT THE WRITING STYLE IS UGH
I don't think this is the most accessible book due to the way it is written. I love this topic but found it hard to get into. I especially liked the explanation on police stings and the info on groups that advocate for increasing sw rights. Some great takeaways.
TAKEAWAYS:
- "Why do we insist that there is public good in staging sex transactions to make arrests? Is the point to produce order, to protect, or to punish"?
- "The sting itself, aside from the unjust law it enforces, or the trial that may never result, is intended to incite fear".
- There was 48,000 reports of abuse or violence by police compared to only 4,000 reports of violence by customers, who are conventionally thought of as the biggest threat to sex workers
- The stigma and violence faced by sex workers are far greater harms than sex work itself, yet this is illegible to those who only see prostitution as a self-enforcing system of violence
- Policing sex work is where rights end and violence is justice
- Sex workers and anyone perceived to be a sex worker are believed to always be working, or in the cops view, always committing a crime. Its about profiling and policing people whose sexuality and gender are considered suspect (trans and non binary people disproportionately targeted)
- "We cant arrest our way to feminist utopia, but that hasn't stopped influential women rights groups from trying"
- "We are using the policemans eye when we cant see a sex worker as anything but his or her work, as an object of control. Its not just the carceral eye, its a sexual eye. If a sex worker is always working, always available they are essentially sexual".
- "I CHALLENGE YOU TO DISTINGUISH A NAKED PROSTITUTE FROM ANY OTHER NAKED WOMAN "- Henri Leclerc
- "Men who work in the sex trade are rarely considered members of the same occupation"
- The World health organisation recommends all countries should work towards decriminalisation of sex work and elimination of the unjust application of non criminal laws and regulations against sex workers
- The laws on how sharing information between sex workers which is essential is considered a serious criminal offense (scary!) Like in New york, the number of condoms you are carrying can be used as evidence that you are a sex worker WTF
"Sex workers are refusing condoms from outreach workers and from each other to stay safe from arrest"
- Online ads provide a steady flow for police to arrange stings and monitor their activities = more control, its also unfathomable to them that the swer could be the seller themselves so they target the publisher. Losing ad venues limits how swers can negotiate their work.
- Sad stories about sex workers are offered like sequins, displayed to be admired and then swept off the stage when the number is done".
- I Liked these questions:
- What are some of the factors that lead women to not sell sex?
- What are some of the factors that lead women to oppose prostitution?
- How can we help people better understand what selling sex is really like?
On the rescue industry:
- It derives value from the production of awareness, giving producers jobs etc.
- raising awareness serves to build value for the raisers not for those who are the subject of this awareness!!
- When sex workers complain this shouldn't be just viewed as a desire to exit the sex work, like any workplace complaints are normal. "No one ever wanted to save me from the restaurant industry" lol true
- the loss of sex workers income is their gain
- "Sex workers are tired of being invited to publicly investigate the politics of their own lives only if they're willing to serve as a prop for someone else's politics"
- Many Sw's describe that work outside of the sex industry is "Exploitative, exclusionary, and without hope for social mobility or financial stability"
- "To insist that sw's only deserves rights at work if they have fun, if they love it, if they feel empowered by it is exactly backward, its a demand that ensures they never will"
-swers are told their blameless, as the opponents don't actually value this labour, instead blame is put on customers, on men's eyes and desires.
-Presence of money does not remove consent
- We judge swers authenticity by much higher standards than we might with a bartender, a hairdresser etc.
"We need to value and belive the experiences of people who sell sex, it is not the sex work that degrades us bu those who use our experiences to justify degradation"
Overall I learnt a lot so it is well worth reading.
I don't think this is the most accessible book due to the way it is written. I love this topic but found it hard to get into. I especially liked the explanation on police stings and the info on groups that advocate for increasing sw rights. Some great takeaways.
TAKEAWAYS:
- "Why do we insist that there is public good in staging sex transactions to make arrests? Is the point to produce order, to protect, or to punish"?
- "The sting itself, aside from the unjust law it enforces, or the trial that may never result, is intended to incite fear".
- There was 48,000 reports of abuse or violence by police compared to only 4,000 reports of violence by customers, who are conventionally thought of as the biggest threat to sex workers
- The stigma and violence faced by sex workers are far greater harms than sex work itself, yet this is illegible to those who only see prostitution as a self-enforcing system of violence
- Policing sex work is where rights end and violence is justice
- Sex workers and anyone perceived to be a sex worker are believed to always be working, or in the cops view, always committing a crime. Its about profiling and policing people whose sexuality and gender are considered suspect (trans and non binary people disproportionately targeted)
- "We cant arrest our way to feminist utopia, but that hasn't stopped influential women rights groups from trying"
- "We are using the policemans eye when we cant see a sex worker as anything but his or her work, as an object of control. Its not just the carceral eye, its a sexual eye. If a sex worker is always working, always available they are essentially sexual".
- "I CHALLENGE YOU TO DISTINGUISH A NAKED PROSTITUTE FROM ANY OTHER NAKED WOMAN "- Henri Leclerc
- "Men who work in the sex trade are rarely considered members of the same occupation"
- The World health organisation recommends all countries should work towards decriminalisation of sex work and elimination of the unjust application of non criminal laws and regulations against sex workers
- The laws on how sharing information between sex workers which is essential is considered a serious criminal offense (scary!) Like in New york, the number of condoms you are carrying can be used as evidence that you are a sex worker WTF
"Sex workers are refusing condoms from outreach workers and from each other to stay safe from arrest"
- Online ads provide a steady flow for police to arrange stings and monitor their activities = more control, its also unfathomable to them that the swer could be the seller themselves so they target the publisher. Losing ad venues limits how swers can negotiate their work.
- Sad stories about sex workers are offered like sequins, displayed to be admired and then swept off the stage when the number is done".
- I Liked these questions:
- What are some of the factors that lead women to not sell sex?
- What are some of the factors that lead women to oppose prostitution?
- How can we help people better understand what selling sex is really like?
On the rescue industry:
- It derives value from the production of awareness, giving producers jobs etc.
- raising awareness serves to build value for the raisers not for those who are the subject of this awareness!!
- When sex workers complain this shouldn't be just viewed as a desire to exit the sex work, like any workplace complaints are normal. "No one ever wanted to save me from the restaurant industry" lol true
- the loss of sex workers income is their gain
- "Sex workers are tired of being invited to publicly investigate the politics of their own lives only if they're willing to serve as a prop for someone else's politics"
- Many Sw's describe that work outside of the sex industry is "Exploitative, exclusionary, and without hope for social mobility or financial stability"
- "To insist that sw's only deserves rights at work if they have fun, if they love it, if they feel empowered by it is exactly backward, its a demand that ensures they never will"
-swers are told their blameless, as the opponents don't actually value this labour, instead blame is put on customers, on men's eyes and desires.
-Presence of money does not remove consent
- We judge swers authenticity by much higher standards than we might with a bartender, a hairdresser etc.
"We need to value and belive the experiences of people who sell sex, it is not the sex work that degrades us bu those who use our experiences to justify degradation"
Overall I learnt a lot so it is well worth reading.