Sex In The Public Square - policy - Comments

Laura Agustin, thank you for dropping by!

Elizabeth — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:02:22 -0700

These issues are such important ones, and ones that are so often oversimplified or distorted, as you point out, by policy makers as well as by the press and by the rescue industry. It is so important that people keep writing and speaking about the real complexity of migration and labor. Your book, Sex at the Margins, is a thoughtful and careful exploration of these issues and I'm so glad to know now about your web site. Thank you for dropping by!

Border Thinking on migration, culture, economy and sex

Laura Agustin — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:18:51 -0700

Those interested in these issues might like to visit my website devoted to going into them in detail and trying to dispel notions propagated by the media and the Rescue Industry.

Laura Agustin's Border Thinking at

http://www.nodo50.org/Laura_Agustin

Thank you Kerwink these are important points to note...

Stacey Swimme — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:44:52 -0800

I'm curious about similar statistics related to sex work and migration such as how many people who migrate to do sex work were already doing sex work in whatever country they're from? Did sex work in that country give them access to the services that make migration possible? Did sex work provide them with a network that they were able to tap into for safety and resources once they arrived at their destination? Are these motivating factors in the global 'rescue' industry? Controlling people's movement in order to control markets? Among other motivating factors...

And if the people who travel to do sex work are not primarily the poorest of a nation, would that suggest that the poorest would be subject to black-market labor within that country?

I'm wondering about these things in relation to popular feminist arguments about trafficking and child sexual slavery in particular related to 'sex tours' and cheap airfare making easier access for westerners to countries such as Thailand or Cambodia where under-aged and enslaved prostitutes are available at a fraction of the cost of those in western countries.

Observing the systems of poverty and oppression within the US makes me think that poverty is a serious topic of concern in terms of sex worker health and well-being in general. But especially conditions for the workers and whether they're paid surviving wages- in any country. I think an informal survey of exotic dancers working in legal clubs throughout the US would reflect these issues ie: varied experience of stage fees, dressing room conditions, hygeine and safety resources available on-site, and more.

I think these patterns of class oppression are visible in other industries as well. The more I think about these issues the more I see how intricately woven together it all is. It's really pretty overwhelming and terribly unfortunate.

race/ethnicity in trafficking

Amanda Brooks — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:09:30 -0800

"she was describing an anecdote that made her realize that the best group to help identify trafficked women were immigrant men, but that immigrant men in the US, because large numbers are here without documentation, are not likely to be willing to go to authorities to report women they've encountered who they suspect are being held or made to work against their will"

This rubs up against something I've noticed in my news reading over the last few months. Sexual trafficking is generally within the same ethnic group. When we're talking about importing humans into another country for commerical sex, the traffickers and victims are almost always the same race/ethincity or from the same country. Even with domsetic child sexual trafficking, the traffickers and victims are very often the same ethnic background.

The hysteria around trafficking (as far as I can tell) often tries to make it into a "white slavery" issue when it really isn't.

The customers of sexual traffickers, if we're talking about importing other humans into another country for commerical sex, are also often the same race/ethnicity of the victim and trafficker. I've read stories of Mexican and Latin American girls being trafficked. Most of their customers were also Mexicans/Latin Americans. By the same token, domestic child trafficking of white American children usually have white American customers as well.

I don't know where I'm going with this, it's just something interesting to me that does not seem to be part of the debate of those concerned with trafficking. In this context, Debbie's comment makes more sense than most people might realize.

migration for sex work

kerwynk — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:08:07 -0800

Just to add another thought:

Most of the people who migrate are not the poorest people in the so-called third world. People who are absolutely destitute are generally unable to afford the costs associated with migration to the West (and, for whatever reason, the stories I have heard about organized crime groups paying for people's way have not mitigated this factor - most of the stories involve people who are already somewhat better off). In the case of nannies and domestic workers, for example, many people with lower-end "middle class" jobs such as teachers come to the US to do child-care/domestic work (often hiring someone worse off to take care of kids and home and thus forming a chain of domestic/child-care workers). Rhacel Parrenas talks about this phenomenon in Servants of Globalization.

Without being able to offer any exact statistics, it seems that the situation is the same for sex workers - it is usually sex workers who are at least somewhat better off who migrate to the US. While we should always remain aware that some people will be more vulnerable than others (for a variety of reasons), this fact perhaps gives us a slightly different perspective on why people are migrating and what their needs and vulnerabilities are.

Not sure what concrete difference this might make, but just thought I'd put it out there...