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Where sex trafficking meets masturbation jokes
March 24, 2006
San Franciscans are gearing up for this weekend's Girl
Fest -- an event with spoken-word poetry, off-color comedy
(there are high promises of jokes about genitalia and
masturbation) and politically minded bands. But while at first
glance the festival, which is not to be confused with Ladyfest,
might seem a little light and fluffy, its aim of preventing
violence against women through the arts is not.
Most impressive is that its discussion of preventing abuse
and violence reaches beyond the expected territory of the
domestic sphere to the world of sex work. This isn't another
brave go-round in the contentious porn wars, which have
consistently divided feminists, but an attack on women's being
bought and sold against their will.
An article
in today's San Francisco Chronicle deems the event "a
powerful gathering for women" and throws out some
confounding facts: "Federal authorities estimate that as
many as 17,500 people are smuggled into the country each year to
work in brothels or sweatshops. The FBI estimates that the
average age of an American prostitute is 12. And the $12 billion
online porn industry is so pervasive that 4 percent of all
online traffic involves adult sites, according to comScore Media
Metrix, a company that tracks online surfing." This proves
that it doesn't matter how many hours a week you spend scouring
news about women's issues -- no level of cynicism can protect
you from being completely blindsided by some unpleasant cold,
hard facts. (I have to say, however, that the last statistic
isn't all that surprising and seems inappropriately grouped with
the former figures. Stats on how many porn performers are
coerced into performing would be another matter.)
The Chronicle piece also shares the jaw-dropping story of
Chong Kim, a GirlFest speaker who suffered repeated abuse before
being ensnared in the illegal sex industry as an escort and
prostitute. She says that she was blindfolded and confined in a
Las Vegas warehouse, sold to men "at events resembling a
livestock sale," and used to pull other women into the
business.
So in one all-inclusive event you can get everything from
masturbation jokes to speeches about violence and rape
prevention. Who says feminists don't have a sense of humor?
-- Tracy Clark-Flory
Original link: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2006/03/24/girlfest/index.html
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