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THE ROOTS OF MY REAL NAME: Sex Workers Disrespecting the Space of the Other
A play titled, MY REAL NAME, which uses the real life stories of survivors of prostitution is attacked and smeared with violence and lies by imperialist sex workers.
Reclaiming one’s real name has always been controversial and even deadly. The more oppressed one is the more they are named by outsiders, rarely given the power to name themselves. Add race, class and imperialism and names become something given to us rather than created by us. People’s names- from slaves to immigrants- have always been anglicized to fit the insular terrain of the American landscape. My own first name of “Carol” was inspired by colonialism brought to my own Middle Eastern/North African heritage. The ownership of the human body occurs on so many levels that it is no wonder we have yet to taste the sweet fruit of freedom.
The play I created, My Real Name, is an empowering play that differentiates between our branded name and our reclaimed name. The men and women who represent this in our play are survivors of prostitution and sex trafficking who ran away from the plantations of yesterday as well as the corrupt corporations of today. In many ways, My Real Name is the offspring of Alex Haley’s ROOTS. The movie still reminds me of what happens when people’s identities are suppressed. When ROOTS first came out, White America thought it was going to agitate racism. Yet, during the making of the movie the African body in America was still being raped, imprisoned, lynched and terrorized, therefore the only thing that was being agitated was the denial of racism. Many feared the power of the movie because it sought to expose that perhaps the American dream was, as Malcolm X said, an American nightmare to some. In ROOTS we saw the traumatizing results of slavery. We saw how Kunta Kente’s name was whipped out of his Black body and replaced with the Anglo name of Toby. My Real Name exposes how the only thing that has changed since ROOTS is that all colors and classes of bodies are now being placed on the auction block.
When the play was performed in Berkeley, I did not expect everyone to agree with the political or artistic integrity of the play, I did however expect respect for the stories that were coming from the colorful canvas of humanity. Instead what we faced was a display of racist and classist disregard for the production by a few sex worker advocates who were monolopolizing the little space we had where the stories of survivors were being told . These women disrupted the survivors and actors from the audience, loudly making rude comments. Their racial arrogance believed that anyone that does not think like them do not deserve to have their voice without their own being louder. These women mimed what society at large does daily to women of color and the poor. If these women were trying to learn another perspective from that night, they would have seen that the survivors all made it out. They obtained their educations, secured jobs and are living lives, where they are defined beyond their vaginas, mouths and asses.
Many of these sexual liberators who perpetuate the right to sell the body are privileged White women. I cannot name who they are because they do not even know who they are.
They recruit women of color into an organization they control. Those who refuse membership are threatened with their imperialist ideology that goes on smear campaigns against the Other. This is precisely what they told us they would be doing to My Real Name. My Real Name prides itself on being a racially and ethnically diverse production, where the minority race is White. We seek out people who are interested in deconstructing race, class and sexuality as it relates to oppression. The audacity of the sex workers disrupted the voices of the survivors by heckling them from the audience and then making a scene, thus, turning the night away from the survivors back to themselves. Women like these can only deal with diversity if diversity is under their suffocating blanket of whiteness. They have a history of misrepresenting greater people than myself and the survivors. We do not feel like we are exempt from their dishonesty, but neither do we feel like turning the other cheek.
The stories of survivors that are chosen for My Real Name are redemptive. They are like the offspring of Mary Magdalene, a woman who left the drudgery of prostitution to walk side by side with a Prophet. She was the first to see her comrade’s resurrection because she had gained sight. After years of seeing man’s ugliest cravings taken out on her, she was baptized through the anointed fires of tribulations which ushered forth the soothing water of liberation. Magdalene taught these lessons of freedom to others. The same thing the survivors are doing. Impeding survivors from doing the same is abuse to humanity. Historically, when wars of genocide have broken out, the universal critique from survivors was that they were not allowed to be heard. That night, the voices of survivors who lived through the genocide taken out on their bodies decided that this time they were going to be heard. They did not ask for imperialism to hear us. That is a slave mentality. They are part of what is called a revolution. Revolution means the turning of time. In other words, changing what we have perpetuated for centuries and creating a new paradigm where our worth is measured by walking next to you and not sleeping under you. Revolutions must change through time or they become as corrupt as the regimes they replaced.
The play has very disturbing scenes but none were as disturbing as the real lives of trafficked persons. The play is almost as traumatizing as ROOTS, but only those who have not healed their real trauma will walk away feeling hurt instead of healed. In other words, the viewer must face themselves if they are going to name themselves. It may not be the viewer’s reality, but it is someone’s reality. The flashback scenes are intended to make the audience feel what the survivors had felt so they can become more appreciate of where the survivors are now. We can’t understand the magnitude of atrocities through rose colored glasses, while expecting those suffering from it to take it with no filter. I have found that some people want a “civilized’ interpretation of oppression. Oppression is not civilized. We cannot detach from people’s pain by watching it on CNN with the censors against truth in place. We cannot cover our eyes when the bad scenes come, because that is the same as covering our eyes when crimson storms flood and drown our very own humanity. If God must see all of our digressions, then why are we supposed to be spared? Not one of us will see the infinite and breathtaking scope of freedom if we cannot even glance at the finite destructive forces of bondage.
The sex workers do not rebel against being valued for their bodies. Instead, they have fallen in love with their oppression. They suffer a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome, showing intense loyalty and protection toward a system that has abducted their worth and convinced them that commoditization of the body is the admission that is paid for freedom. This stance has devastating effects on the poor and people of color to whom they spread their message. They exploit a street prostitute’s reality by telling her it is her right to be a sexual slave. It is much harder to convince the girl on the street to be free. Harriet Tubman once said: I helped hundreds of people escape slavery. I could have helped thousands except they did not know they were slaves. Their philosophy of freedom is dangerous. They act as overseers who seductively manipulate oppression and freedom to their benefit. This hurts the women they are turning out. Opponents of the anti-sex trafficking cause defend their stance by saying that prostitution is the oldest profession in the history of humanity. Using this precedent is like saying genocide, murder, hate, war and oppression are also as old as man kind, but should we not rise up from beings trying to be human to simply being human beings?
After the sex workers attacked the stage, they attacked me. I was never raised to fear imperialists. Instead I see them as my equals. Yet, imperialists do not like when people from the 3rd world are powerful and intelligent. When the voices they suffocate rise up and string the vibrations of our tongues with the eloquent beats of our speech; when we integrate their own English language with our ancient poetic rhymes in ways that stretch language; when we create something they fear, they default into what they can always fall back upon: by treating us like the typical plantation owner’s wives that they are who scream rape and violence when the Other doesn't bend to their will. The superiority complex of the sex workers lied and said that one of the survivors, who is an African American, physically violated them. The physical violence was done in reverse, with one of the sex workers violating the physical boundaries of the survivor. They accused us of violence and hoped dominant society would also default into their lies. They went on by further terrorizing the very organization that sacrificed what little money they had to help bring our production to Berkeley, Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery (SAFEHS).
Many of these sex-workers have often claimed that they are not racist because they have had Black lovers. When the plantation owner slept with his slaves did that make him less racist? One sex worker, in her efforts to prove she was down with the cause, flashed a Che Guevara tattoo. Although her reach to touch freedom and missing it was sad, she had allowed her stubborn loyalty to exploitation to use Third world bodies and symbols in order to prove her radicalness. Tragically, these sex workers did not realize that Che never trained revolutionaries with a gun in one hand and a sign around their neck saying we offer blow jobs for $10 (or whatever the capitalist market value is for each person).
By making a scene during and after the show, they make one message clear: the voice of the “Other” does not deserve a space unless it validates the identity of dominant culture. There is no room from the Other in their world. We are just exotic things that can be used to decorate their fetishes for sale. If we speak, we are whipped through the media they dominate. We carved out our space outside the glaring judgments of whiteness and they still had the arrogance to complain why their images weren’t represented. Their images are already over-represented in the “pimp-ho” mentality of Hollywood, videos, music and websites. They certainly do not need me for their validation. Whiteness is, as James Baldwin said, a dangerous state of mind.
The sex workers succeeded in doing two things. One, they momentarily distracted me from my path so that, once again, attention stays on them instead of the people who are being exploited. Their movement is based on attacking people who are trying to heal humanity and I should not have allowed myself into their hell. The slickest trick of the devil is to divert our energies from the real path. Two, these sex workers honored their matrix by going to the media and spreading stereotypes of the Other. I am in the process of trying to evolve by cultivating love for all of humanity. Love doesn’t only lie down, it also rises up. I have different philosophies from my sex worker sisters, but each philosophy should be tested for its validity. If my philosophy hits a brick wall, wisdom would demand that I change. I had a great mentor who advised me that when someone is riding our backs, the natural posture we fall into is one with where our backs are bent and hunched over. The best way to get that monkey off of our backs is to simply stand up. When we stand up, that oppressive weight simply slides off. We will never know our real names if our backs are bent over with our eyes cast down searching for scraps the master threw on the floor. This mentality has caused division and war. It is time in our evolution as a human race to become spirit instead of body centered.
Article by Carol Chehade who is the creator of My Real Name. She can be reached through http://www.onenewearth.com
The play I created, My Real Name, is an empowering play that differentiates between our branded name and our reclaimed name. The men and women who represent this in our play are survivors of prostitution and sex trafficking who ran away from the plantations of yesterday as well as the corrupt corporations of today. In many ways, My Real Name is the offspring of Alex Haley’s ROOTS. The movie still reminds me of what happens when people’s identities are suppressed. When ROOTS first came out, White America thought it was going to agitate racism. Yet, during the making of the movie the African body in America was still being raped, imprisoned, lynched and terrorized, therefore the only thing that was being agitated was the denial of racism. Many feared the power of the movie because it sought to expose that perhaps the American dream was, as Malcolm X said, an American nightmare to some. In ROOTS we saw the traumatizing results of slavery. We saw how Kunta Kente’s name was whipped out of his Black body and replaced with the Anglo name of Toby. My Real Name exposes how the only thing that has changed since ROOTS is that all colors and classes of bodies are now being placed on the auction block.
When the play was performed in Berkeley, I did not expect everyone to agree with the political or artistic integrity of the play, I did however expect respect for the stories that were coming from the colorful canvas of humanity. Instead what we faced was a display of racist and classist disregard for the production by a few sex worker advocates who were monolopolizing the little space we had where the stories of survivors were being told . These women disrupted the survivors and actors from the audience, loudly making rude comments. Their racial arrogance believed that anyone that does not think like them do not deserve to have their voice without their own being louder. These women mimed what society at large does daily to women of color and the poor. If these women were trying to learn another perspective from that night, they would have seen that the survivors all made it out. They obtained their educations, secured jobs and are living lives, where they are defined beyond their vaginas, mouths and asses.
Many of these sexual liberators who perpetuate the right to sell the body are privileged White women. I cannot name who they are because they do not even know who they are.
They recruit women of color into an organization they control. Those who refuse membership are threatened with their imperialist ideology that goes on smear campaigns against the Other. This is precisely what they told us they would be doing to My Real Name. My Real Name prides itself on being a racially and ethnically diverse production, where the minority race is White. We seek out people who are interested in deconstructing race, class and sexuality as it relates to oppression. The audacity of the sex workers disrupted the voices of the survivors by heckling them from the audience and then making a scene, thus, turning the night away from the survivors back to themselves. Women like these can only deal with diversity if diversity is under their suffocating blanket of whiteness. They have a history of misrepresenting greater people than myself and the survivors. We do not feel like we are exempt from their dishonesty, but neither do we feel like turning the other cheek.
The stories of survivors that are chosen for My Real Name are redemptive. They are like the offspring of Mary Magdalene, a woman who left the drudgery of prostitution to walk side by side with a Prophet. She was the first to see her comrade’s resurrection because she had gained sight. After years of seeing man’s ugliest cravings taken out on her, she was baptized through the anointed fires of tribulations which ushered forth the soothing water of liberation. Magdalene taught these lessons of freedom to others. The same thing the survivors are doing. Impeding survivors from doing the same is abuse to humanity. Historically, when wars of genocide have broken out, the universal critique from survivors was that they were not allowed to be heard. That night, the voices of survivors who lived through the genocide taken out on their bodies decided that this time they were going to be heard. They did not ask for imperialism to hear us. That is a slave mentality. They are part of what is called a revolution. Revolution means the turning of time. In other words, changing what we have perpetuated for centuries and creating a new paradigm where our worth is measured by walking next to you and not sleeping under you. Revolutions must change through time or they become as corrupt as the regimes they replaced.
The play has very disturbing scenes but none were as disturbing as the real lives of trafficked persons. The play is almost as traumatizing as ROOTS, but only those who have not healed their real trauma will walk away feeling hurt instead of healed. In other words, the viewer must face themselves if they are going to name themselves. It may not be the viewer’s reality, but it is someone’s reality. The flashback scenes are intended to make the audience feel what the survivors had felt so they can become more appreciate of where the survivors are now. We can’t understand the magnitude of atrocities through rose colored glasses, while expecting those suffering from it to take it with no filter. I have found that some people want a “civilized’ interpretation of oppression. Oppression is not civilized. We cannot detach from people’s pain by watching it on CNN with the censors against truth in place. We cannot cover our eyes when the bad scenes come, because that is the same as covering our eyes when crimson storms flood and drown our very own humanity. If God must see all of our digressions, then why are we supposed to be spared? Not one of us will see the infinite and breathtaking scope of freedom if we cannot even glance at the finite destructive forces of bondage.
The sex workers do not rebel against being valued for their bodies. Instead, they have fallen in love with their oppression. They suffer a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome, showing intense loyalty and protection toward a system that has abducted their worth and convinced them that commoditization of the body is the admission that is paid for freedom. This stance has devastating effects on the poor and people of color to whom they spread their message. They exploit a street prostitute’s reality by telling her it is her right to be a sexual slave. It is much harder to convince the girl on the street to be free. Harriet Tubman once said: I helped hundreds of people escape slavery. I could have helped thousands except they did not know they were slaves. Their philosophy of freedom is dangerous. They act as overseers who seductively manipulate oppression and freedom to their benefit. This hurts the women they are turning out. Opponents of the anti-sex trafficking cause defend their stance by saying that prostitution is the oldest profession in the history of humanity. Using this precedent is like saying genocide, murder, hate, war and oppression are also as old as man kind, but should we not rise up from beings trying to be human to simply being human beings?
After the sex workers attacked the stage, they attacked me. I was never raised to fear imperialists. Instead I see them as my equals. Yet, imperialists do not like when people from the 3rd world are powerful and intelligent. When the voices they suffocate rise up and string the vibrations of our tongues with the eloquent beats of our speech; when we integrate their own English language with our ancient poetic rhymes in ways that stretch language; when we create something they fear, they default into what they can always fall back upon: by treating us like the typical plantation owner’s wives that they are who scream rape and violence when the Other doesn't bend to their will. The superiority complex of the sex workers lied and said that one of the survivors, who is an African American, physically violated them. The physical violence was done in reverse, with one of the sex workers violating the physical boundaries of the survivor. They accused us of violence and hoped dominant society would also default into their lies. They went on by further terrorizing the very organization that sacrificed what little money they had to help bring our production to Berkeley, Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery (SAFEHS).
Many of these sex-workers have often claimed that they are not racist because they have had Black lovers. When the plantation owner slept with his slaves did that make him less racist? One sex worker, in her efforts to prove she was down with the cause, flashed a Che Guevara tattoo. Although her reach to touch freedom and missing it was sad, she had allowed her stubborn loyalty to exploitation to use Third world bodies and symbols in order to prove her radicalness. Tragically, these sex workers did not realize that Che never trained revolutionaries with a gun in one hand and a sign around their neck saying we offer blow jobs for $10 (or whatever the capitalist market value is for each person).
By making a scene during and after the show, they make one message clear: the voice of the “Other” does not deserve a space unless it validates the identity of dominant culture. There is no room from the Other in their world. We are just exotic things that can be used to decorate their fetishes for sale. If we speak, we are whipped through the media they dominate. We carved out our space outside the glaring judgments of whiteness and they still had the arrogance to complain why their images weren’t represented. Their images are already over-represented in the “pimp-ho” mentality of Hollywood, videos, music and websites. They certainly do not need me for their validation. Whiteness is, as James Baldwin said, a dangerous state of mind.
The sex workers succeeded in doing two things. One, they momentarily distracted me from my path so that, once again, attention stays on them instead of the people who are being exploited. Their movement is based on attacking people who are trying to heal humanity and I should not have allowed myself into their hell. The slickest trick of the devil is to divert our energies from the real path. Two, these sex workers honored their matrix by going to the media and spreading stereotypes of the Other. I am in the process of trying to evolve by cultivating love for all of humanity. Love doesn’t only lie down, it also rises up. I have different philosophies from my sex worker sisters, but each philosophy should be tested for its validity. If my philosophy hits a brick wall, wisdom would demand that I change. I had a great mentor who advised me that when someone is riding our backs, the natural posture we fall into is one with where our backs are bent and hunched over. The best way to get that monkey off of our backs is to simply stand up. When we stand up, that oppressive weight simply slides off. We will never know our real names if our backs are bent over with our eyes cast down searching for scraps the master threw on the floor. This mentality has caused division and war. It is time in our evolution as a human race to become spirit instead of body centered.
Article by Carol Chehade who is the creator of My Real Name. She can be reached through http://www.onenewearth.com
For more information:
http://www.onenewearth.com
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i see that your article has now been posted several different times. if it is relevant to more than one topic or regional category on this site, all you have to do is, once it's published, email the editors the url of the story and what page(s) you think it is appropriate for. Again, please stop spamming. We only keep up one copy of each post, so most of them will be hidden.
Canada has a different system than the U.S. Marijuana is only minimally illegal, and likewise, prostitution is essentially legal in certain zones of cities. Part of the legalization argument for prostitution is that it would be easier for people to report abuse rather than becoming victims of violent johns.
The example of Vancouver is cautionary, and shows that there has to be active advocacy for this policing, or otherwise abusers can run rampant. It does not show that there are no arguments for decriminalization.
The trial of Willy or Willie Pickton in Vancouver should reach the jury this week. It has been ongoing for quite a few months, except Canada's media hasn't behaved like the U.S. during the Scott Peterson or OJ trials.
Willy Pickton picked up and killed about 50 women in Vancouver's Downtown eastside neighborhood where there are probably thousands of destitute drug users. A pretty high fraction of the victims were first nations. Pickton lived and worked at a pig farm, and the bodies went into pig feed and also were ground into sausages with the pig meat. It is also considered likely that some of the other people around the farm had to have been aware or have also participated. Pickton was considered socially weird, and everyone wonders how he was able to be so successful. Although only one woman who broke away when he was tying her up during a pretend S&M scene has been found, it was actually known on the street that Pickton was a 'bad date'. Just like with Gary Ridgway, the green river killer, people had suspected and caught on to him years before, but the police didn't have conclusive evidence or interest in pursuing it. His brother had a sort of nightclub building nearby where a lot of people in the biker scene hung out, and so some people think there could be a connection here. This farm was really disorganized and muddy looking, but just down the road are very suburban housing developments.
http://www.geocities.com/quietlyinsane5/robertpi.html
http://urbanvancouver.com/news/topics/pickton-trial
The example of Vancouver is cautionary, and shows that there has to be active advocacy for this policing, or otherwise abusers can run rampant. It does not show that there are no arguments for decriminalization.
The trial of Willy or Willie Pickton in Vancouver should reach the jury this week. It has been ongoing for quite a few months, except Canada's media hasn't behaved like the U.S. during the Scott Peterson or OJ trials.
Willy Pickton picked up and killed about 50 women in Vancouver's Downtown eastside neighborhood where there are probably thousands of destitute drug users. A pretty high fraction of the victims were first nations. Pickton lived and worked at a pig farm, and the bodies went into pig feed and also were ground into sausages with the pig meat. It is also considered likely that some of the other people around the farm had to have been aware or have also participated. Pickton was considered socially weird, and everyone wonders how he was able to be so successful. Although only one woman who broke away when he was tying her up during a pretend S&M scene has been found, it was actually known on the street that Pickton was a 'bad date'. Just like with Gary Ridgway, the green river killer, people had suspected and caught on to him years before, but the police didn't have conclusive evidence or interest in pursuing it. His brother had a sort of nightclub building nearby where a lot of people in the biker scene hung out, and so some people think there could be a connection here. This farm was really disorganized and muddy looking, but just down the road are very suburban housing developments.
http://www.geocities.com/quietlyinsane5/robertpi.html
http://urbanvancouver.com/news/topics/pickton-trial
I for one am not, however, persuaded from the evidence-- i.e., just because you say that's what it's about?-- that either the issue or the incident(s) in question sprang directly from racism.
Is there not prostitution in (almost) all human societies? i.e., societies not primarily identified by a political or ideological bond that would preclude the industry-- and sometimes even then, such as in anti-racist, very socialist Cuba, where an older hustling industry, both straight and gay, most definitely continues?
Is there not prostitution in (almost) all human societies? i.e., societies not primarily identified by a political or ideological bond that would preclude the industry-- and sometimes even then, such as in anti-racist, very socialist Cuba, where an older hustling industry, both straight and gay, most definitely continues?
As far as you justification of using our lower nature to ok prostitution, the author answered it really well:
"Opponents of the anti-sex trafficking cause defend their stance by saying that prostitution is the oldest profession in the history of humanity. Using this precedent is like saying genocide, murder, hate, war and oppression are also as old as man kind, but should we not rise up from beings trying to be human to simply being human beings?"
When socialist countries get an embargo, it makes the local population make money on the D.L. People from the sex workers society dig for any logic to excuse exploitation. In the state of this world you will not have to dig far.
I have seen this play, and while it was disturbing to witness, like Carol pointed out, we can not cover our eyes, why should we be censored if the world is full of such atrocities ? If we cover our eyes we ignore the truth that remains, and without the truth we can not change what needs to change. In this case the exploitation of women that continues. I think this is an important play for all to see. I think that those sex workers who see this as insulting play are only because they are attempting to justify their l own life.
These sex workers messed up the life of my baby girl. Filling her head that it's her right to be a "ho." They ain't nothing but slaves who do the work for the pimps. They ain't nothing but turned out pimps themselves, brining everyone else into their misery. My baby is sick cause of women like them who go to the hood and tell our people it's ok to be slaves, especially if being a slave lines their pockets. Their lies are killing people. Let them put their daughters out on the corner- LEAVE OURS ALONE!!
There are a handful of sex workers and pimps who seem determined that their voice is the only one that will be heard on the topic of prostitution. These sex workers have lived so long under the thumb of the pimp and the hostile johns that they think this is how you win an argument, with yelling and threats. A couple of them now have restraining orders against them because they seem to be quite dangerous and unhinged. Acting like a fascist is not the best way to make your case. Attacking other women just because they are expressing their own reality and you don't like it is not going to convince anyone that you are that you are anything other than a bully. Dial down the violence and talk to people respectfully, it is not that hard.
I sat through the entire play because we were told there would be a discussion following the performance. Although we were also told by the plays producer that the play was meant to be an interaction, we at no time interacted or reacted during the performance.
Following the play, I approached the producer of the play because I wanted to know if there was going to be a discussion. She told me that there was not going to be a discussion that evening but that there would be a discussion following the other performances. I told her that I would not be at any other performances, that I was there tonight along with another actual sex worker and I wanted to discuss the content of the play. I told her that I was angry that the play portrayed all women as victims and all men as predators and rapists. I wanted her to know that what I saw that night was a shallow and stereotypical dipiction of our lives. She let me know that she used the stories of real "survivors." she is also informed me that one of the cast was an actual "former prostituted woman."
My comment to her was that this kind of stereotypical portrayal of prostitution reinforces the abolishionists position of criminalization, which in turn makes us more stigmitized and victimized.
It was during this conversation that Maxine Doogan joined the arguement. I want to again remind you that the show was over when this arguement took place. In fact the audience that was left were either leaving or had already left due to the graffic violenct scenes and images, The women left in the room were the promotors, producers and sponsors of the event.
Street based , people of color and transgender workers of our industry suffer the most under criminalization. The use of art that promotes a stereotype and stigma that in turn gives anti-prostitution forces the fodder to keep us all criminalized and thus continue in the cycle of violence and police abuse and corruption is a very, very bad idea.
http://espu-ca.org/wp/
Following the play, I approached the producer of the play because I wanted to know if there was going to be a discussion. She told me that there was not going to be a discussion that evening but that there would be a discussion following the other performances. I told her that I would not be at any other performances, that I was there tonight along with another actual sex worker and I wanted to discuss the content of the play. I told her that I was angry that the play portrayed all women as victims and all men as predators and rapists. I wanted her to know that what I saw that night was a shallow and stereotypical dipiction of our lives. She let me know that she used the stories of real "survivors." she is also informed me that one of the cast was an actual "former prostituted woman."
My comment to her was that this kind of stereotypical portrayal of prostitution reinforces the abolishionists position of criminalization, which in turn makes us more stigmitized and victimized.
It was during this conversation that Maxine Doogan joined the arguement. I want to again remind you that the show was over when this arguement took place. In fact the audience that was left were either leaving or had already left due to the graffic violenct scenes and images, The women left in the room were the promotors, producers and sponsors of the event.
Street based , people of color and transgender workers of our industry suffer the most under criminalization. The use of art that promotes a stereotype and stigma that in turn gives anti-prostitution forces the fodder to keep us all criminalized and thus continue in the cycle of violence and police abuse and corruption is a very, very bad idea.
http://espu-ca.org/wp/
For more information:
http://espu-ca.org/wp/
The producer and writer of "My Real Name" should know that the monies collected before the performance of "My Real Name" went to the SAGE Project Inc. SAGE Project Inc. gets funding through it's collaboration with the San Francisco District Attorneys' Office, the San Francisco Police Department, Homeland Security and it's enforcer ICE. The SAGE Project Inc. also recieved 1,300,000 dollars from Senator Diane Feinstein. Maybe the producer of "My Real Name" should look up Senator Diane Feinstein and the definition of imperialism. I would also recommend you read "State and Revolution" so that when you threaten me with calling the authorities, you will have clearer idea of who you represent.
I was in the audience and had to leave early because these sex workers were jeering the stage, which scared me. The show was disturbing because it shows the truth these sex workers are trying to intimadate out of existence. Yes it was scary but because of the histile energy of the sex workers. All they do is intimadate people and accuse them of lies. The producer never said anything about an after show discussion. I live in the Bay area and I am sick of these sex workers overrunning us with their lies and intimidation. They are nothing but thugs. Don't they have anything better to do than attack other women telling their story?
One of the trainings I received from my association with organized labor was leadership specifically for GBTL folks.
We started off with standing in a line side by side in Macarthur Park in Los Angeles.
We were told to take a step forward if our skin was white, take a step backwards if you skin is not white, take a step forward if you have a union job, take a step forward if you have healthcare benefits, take a step forward if your healthcare benefits cover you lover or domestic partner. Take a step forward if you own your own home, take a step backwards if English isn’t your first language, take a step backwards if you are a single parent, take a step backwards if you’ve ever lost income based on your appearance, take a step backwards if you didn’t finish high school….
At the end of this exercise we were asked to look around and notice our location to each other. I was at the back of the line with only one other person behind me and she was a transgender, Latin woman from Guatemala. This exercise illustrates the actual class status or class location of sex industry workers. Our lower class status has very little to do with our skin color, our country of origin, or our incomes.
Our low class status has every thing to do with the negative stigma given to us by the “Others”. In this case it was the UC Berkeley Ethics department, the SAGE Project Inc., Students and Artist Fighting to End Human Slavery and One New Earth Productions. They seem to be committed to maintaining our lower class status by depicting workers horror stories. Giving visibility to the horror of those who belong to a class of oppressed workers who also do not the rights to equal protection under the law, doesn’t free us but only perpetuates the negative stigma we already exist in and to what end.
The question is who benefits by these negative stereotypes being brought forward? Who got paid tell these horror stories?
We came to the play hoping to identify common ground; that violence against all workers no matter what our occupation, our country of origin, our legal work status or lack of thereof, is unacceptable and instead we were met with a group of people who didn’t stand by their word. They didn’t want to have a discussion with us.
To lie to me is to disrespect me.
We started off with standing in a line side by side in Macarthur Park in Los Angeles.
We were told to take a step forward if our skin was white, take a step backwards if you skin is not white, take a step forward if you have a union job, take a step forward if you have healthcare benefits, take a step forward if your healthcare benefits cover you lover or domestic partner. Take a step forward if you own your own home, take a step backwards if English isn’t your first language, take a step backwards if you are a single parent, take a step backwards if you’ve ever lost income based on your appearance, take a step backwards if you didn’t finish high school….
At the end of this exercise we were asked to look around and notice our location to each other. I was at the back of the line with only one other person behind me and she was a transgender, Latin woman from Guatemala. This exercise illustrates the actual class status or class location of sex industry workers. Our lower class status has very little to do with our skin color, our country of origin, or our incomes.
Our low class status has every thing to do with the negative stigma given to us by the “Others”. In this case it was the UC Berkeley Ethics department, the SAGE Project Inc., Students and Artist Fighting to End Human Slavery and One New Earth Productions. They seem to be committed to maintaining our lower class status by depicting workers horror stories. Giving visibility to the horror of those who belong to a class of oppressed workers who also do not the rights to equal protection under the law, doesn’t free us but only perpetuates the negative stigma we already exist in and to what end.
The question is who benefits by these negative stereotypes being brought forward? Who got paid tell these horror stories?
We came to the play hoping to identify common ground; that violence against all workers no matter what our occupation, our country of origin, our legal work status or lack of thereof, is unacceptable and instead we were met with a group of people who didn’t stand by their word. They didn’t want to have a discussion with us.
To lie to me is to disrespect me.
I am sorry but totally understand the neccessity to resort to untruths. We did not or will not be receiving any money from this play. It came to our attention through an e-mail and was passed on as a possible interest to others, without any recommendation. "Promoted by SAGE," is a strong and very misleading statement. Again, I understand the reasoning to link and mislead. The announcement was distributed by many world renowned list-serves. We were completely removed from this, basically because of our focus being on the clients. It is the holidays and many people and their families are alone, without support, food, toys and gifts.
Again, untrue: We do not receive any money from ICE. The collaboration mentioned is a restorative justice program which funnels money for the counseling of women and girls, some as young as nine years old. Again, I understand the need to resort to untruths but feel sad for the motivation to do so.
I have learned over the years how much the community loves "Bitch Fights," as well as how damaging they are, and who really profits. Whoever decided to try to start the fight with us and pull others into using an event we were completely unconnected with is desperate. Again, it is sad and frightening at the same time. We won't be joining this fight. I thought the corrections needed to be made. NH
Again, untrue: We do not receive any money from ICE. The collaboration mentioned is a restorative justice program which funnels money for the counseling of women and girls, some as young as nine years old. Again, I understand the need to resort to untruths but feel sad for the motivation to do so.
I have learned over the years how much the community loves "Bitch Fights," as well as how damaging they are, and who really profits. Whoever decided to try to start the fight with us and pull others into using an event we were completely unconnected with is desperate. Again, it is sad and frightening at the same time. We won't be joining this fight. I thought the corrections needed to be made. NH
From: SAGE Project, Inc. - CSE eBulletin [KristieM [at] sagesf.org]
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 5:28 PM
To: KristieM [at] sagesf.org
Subject: 'My Real Name" November 9th in Berkeley, CA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Real Name
Friday, November 9th, 2007
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST
One New Earth performance (a non-profit organization that combines activism and the arts) of "My Real Name."
Sponsored by Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery, "My Real Name" is a monologue play about the life of prostituted individuals, including the harsh realities of life on the street, how their lives were formed by the names others gave them, and their attempts to reclaim their own identity.
One New Earth Symposium:
Human trafficking: Creative Expression as a Tool for Resistance.
Human Trafficking sells bits and pieces of our humanity on the whole auction block of the world. As a result, the holistic aspect of one’s humanity is lost in this dangerous trade. How do we combat the 3rd largest criminal activity in the world? United of course. Human liberation can only be reached through the unifying force of diverse people. Since we are made from the rib of creativity, we must also express our struggle through the tool of creativity. Creative mediums must be analyzed as assets that can inform and change society. It must be inclusive and include the survivors, activists, academia and artists, especially since each one depends on the other. In order for the message to be truly powerful, it must be spread by those who have been anointed enough to survive it and those who have the gift to interpret it: artists and survivors. For every survivor is also an artist as every artists is also a survivor. From this philosophy, the message about Human Trafficking, particularly sex trafficking and prostitution, will be more effective when told in its full perspective representation of artists and survivors.
For tickets and info, please call (623)205-0351.
Click on the link below for additional info.
My Real Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through SAGE
You can help victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking by clicking on the "Give through SAGE" link below. Through SAGE, you can help create opportunities for victims to receive the life-saving care and support they need.
You can make a financial contribution in memory of a loved one or as a very special, meaningful gift. Simply click on the "Give through SAGE" link below to make a secure, online contribution.
If you prefer, you may also mail a check to SAGE at 1385 Mission Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Contributions are channeled into direct services (i.e. healing through mental health, addiction and trauma recovery treatment) and advocacy for the victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. It is only with your help that we can provide children, youth, women, and men with the support and care needed to survive and escape sexual exploitation.
Through the unity and power of all our collective resources, we can continue to change lives and work towards a world free from trafficking, violence and sexual abuse of women and children.
Please click on the "Give through SAGE" link below to make your secure, online contribution.
Give through SAGE
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 5:28 PM
To: KristieM [at] sagesf.org
Subject: 'My Real Name" November 9th in Berkeley, CA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Real Name
Friday, November 9th, 2007
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST
One New Earth performance (a non-profit organization that combines activism and the arts) of "My Real Name."
Sponsored by Students & Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery, "My Real Name" is a monologue play about the life of prostituted individuals, including the harsh realities of life on the street, how their lives were formed by the names others gave them, and their attempts to reclaim their own identity.
One New Earth Symposium:
Human trafficking: Creative Expression as a Tool for Resistance.
Human Trafficking sells bits and pieces of our humanity on the whole auction block of the world. As a result, the holistic aspect of one’s humanity is lost in this dangerous trade. How do we combat the 3rd largest criminal activity in the world? United of course. Human liberation can only be reached through the unifying force of diverse people. Since we are made from the rib of creativity, we must also express our struggle through the tool of creativity. Creative mediums must be analyzed as assets that can inform and change society. It must be inclusive and include the survivors, activists, academia and artists, especially since each one depends on the other. In order for the message to be truly powerful, it must be spread by those who have been anointed enough to survive it and those who have the gift to interpret it: artists and survivors. For every survivor is also an artist as every artists is also a survivor. From this philosophy, the message about Human Trafficking, particularly sex trafficking and prostitution, will be more effective when told in its full perspective representation of artists and survivors.
For tickets and info, please call (623)205-0351.
Click on the link below for additional info.
My Real Name
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through SAGE
You can help victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking by clicking on the "Give through SAGE" link below. Through SAGE, you can help create opportunities for victims to receive the life-saving care and support they need.
You can make a financial contribution in memory of a loved one or as a very special, meaningful gift. Simply click on the "Give through SAGE" link below to make a secure, online contribution.
If you prefer, you may also mail a check to SAGE at 1385 Mission Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Contributions are channeled into direct services (i.e. healing through mental health, addiction and trauma recovery treatment) and advocacy for the victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. It is only with your help that we can provide children, youth, women, and men with the support and care needed to survive and escape sexual exploitation.
Through the unity and power of all our collective resources, we can continue to change lives and work towards a world free from trafficking, violence and sexual abuse of women and children.
Please click on the "Give through SAGE" link below to make your secure, online contribution.
Give through SAGE
http://www.fedspending.org/faads/faads.php?reptype=r&detail=-1&datype=T&sortby=t&recip_cat_type=o&database=faads&recip_id=758324&fiscal_year=2005&record_num=f500
Above is the link that documents the funding SAGE Project Inc received from Homeland Security.
Above is the link that documents the funding SAGE Project Inc received from Homeland Security.
You go girl! These people who want to legalize sex work are legalizing slavery. They are a bunch of stalkers who try to destroy people instead of heal. As the author from the play say, it's easy to validate someone's hell, while it's much harder to change it by destroying the hell altogther. These ignorant women seem crazy and dangerous. I am an activist from the hood these women say they understand. If they were real, they'd get our people off their backs, not ask us how the view u=is from down here. I would not doubt if they used underhanded tactics to hurt the real fighters for justice. They are sick stalkers who hunt young girls down for soemthing they lost-innocence.
I don’t believe in the criminalization of prostitution. I don’t believe that criminalizing sex work benefits anyone except those who wish to harm sex workers. I consider myself a feminist. I believe that choice is always better then none. I believe that our bodies are our own and that no one should be able to tell us what we can do with them. Although I am willing to agree that some sex workers are in the wrong profession for all the wrong reasons. I also agree that no matter how awful the situation may be for any one particular sex worker criminalizing the act will only further harm them and all other sex workers.
That said...I was at the exhibit the night of the incident. I attended the event because I was under the impression that it was an exhibit about human trafficking. I became aware of the performance that night at the exhibit. I thought that the piece was intended to tie together human trafficking and prostitution. I wanted to see what arguments would be used to do this because I haven’t heard any that show the criminalization of prostitution as preventing human trafficking.
The performance was not about trafficking. It made no attempt, other then the producers introduction, to tie human trafficking with the street based prostitutes the performance portrayed. It wasn’t that I disagreed with the argument. The problem was that it didn’t make an argument at all. The performance was very graphic both with its monologues and visual images. It also had more to do with incest, childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and drug addiction then it did prostitution. Even more so, the monologues used stereotyping of men, women, and sex workers to make blanket statements about them. Not all sex workers were raped as children. Not all men will fuck a dog. Not all pimps are violent. I understand that these were the thoughts, feelings, and memories of specific street based prostitutes and pimps. I am not attempting to deny their stories or the suffering they lived. What I am saying is that criminalizing prostitution only makes them (and other sex workers) more susceptible to the abuses they endured. Is that really what they want for other women? Do they want other sex workers to be raped, beaten, and robbed without any recourse from the police? Or worse yet, from the police? If we take away the criminalization of the sex work we can then begin to address these women’s real problems such as drug addiction, sexual abuse, and poverty and not just simply incarcerate them and continue the cycle of abuse.
I also witnessed the incident that followed the performance. The producer did tell the audience that the performance was supposed to be interactive, it wasn’t. She also said that there would be discussion following the performance, there wasn’t. I was standing on the opposite side of the room when Lisa Roelling approached the producer. There were also several other women standing around the producer making a semi circle around Lisa. Once the producer began yelling at Lisa, Maxine Doogan crossed the room to stand next to Lisa and support her. The producer began yelling that she doesn’t believe in the “comodification” of our bodies. The producer also mentioned being in a refugee camp (I have no idea what this had to do with anything). Maxine responded by saying “Oh, then this is really about you, not us.” At which point the producer began screaming “you are fucking right this is about me” over and over while throwing her arms in the air. At that point another woman entered the room through another door. She began yelling at Lisa and Maxine that all prostitutes are “dogs”. Lisa attempted to explain that she herself was “on the street”. At that point, the producer called Lisa, Maxine, and I “white privileged” whores who “suck the dick of corporate America”. I still have no idea why any of this was even directed at me as I never said anything to anyone throughout the entire altercation. Lisa then showed the producer her tattoo of Che Guevara to again show them that they had mis-named her. The producer responded by telling Lisa that Che Guevara wouldn’t allow her (Lisa) to suck his (Che Guevara’s) dick...even if he paid her.” At this point Maxine, Lisa and I begin trying to walk out the door. Maxine called the group of women near “Poverty Pimps”. Which resulted in the woman who had emerged from the other door (the one who said all prostitutes are dogs) following Maxine and berating her with religious epithets. She got so close to Maxine’s face that I could see her spit hit Maxine’s cheek. At one of the doorways the women began pulling on Maxine and preventing her from walking through the door. Lisa had to get the woman off of Maxine.
When we finally got outside the UC Berkeley guards detained us. When we attempted to tell them what had happened they refused to take any formal statements. They asked each of us for ID. I asked if they would be obtaining the ID of everyone still inside the exhibit. I was told that they would. They lied to me and instead issued Maxine, Lisa and I a citation to stay off the campus for seven days. The only reason provided by the guards for the citation was that we had “crashed” the event. This isn’t any more logical now then it was then. We paid admittance for a public show. And, one of the shows sponsors, Annie Fukishima, asked us specifically to attend the performance. The producer verbally assaulted me when I didn’t say a word to anyone throughout the entire incident. The officers refused to do anything about it and they also refused to do anything about the battery that was done to Maxine.
The show was titled “My Real Name”. To quote One New Earth, “People of all walks of life often feel they are labeled/named by others. Rarely are we allowed to label/name who we are.” If the point of the show was to allow sex workers the freedom to name themselves then why didn’t the producer allow Lisa and Maxine to name themselves? Why did she create all sorts of names for them? Why did she attempt to name me even though I wasn’t engaging with her at all? If the supporters of anti prostitution want to share real stories of sex workers then why don’t they want to hear what Maxine and Lisa have to say? I think the point of the show is great, let people name themselves. Unfortunately the producer and other show supporters don’t seem to believe or live by their own message.
I want to make a few things clear. I don’t believe in violence. I didn’t say or do anything to anyone the night of the performance. Yet, the producers and show supporters told the police that I did, and the police believed them. This is called “collective punishment” and it was used in Nazi Germany. This is an oppressive act. For those who claim that they are attempting to end violence they are using the tools of other oppressors to do so. It leads one to ask, can you end violence with violence? The other issue I would like to make very clear to anyone who is reading this blog is that I was told when I paid to enter the performance that the money would be directed to SAGE. I noticed that Norma Hotaling, the Founder and Director of SAGE has said on this blog that she doesn’t support this show and never received funds from it. Either I was lied to at the door when I paid or Norma is lying now. Norma also denies receiving money from ICE. What she doesn’t deny is receiving money from the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office of San Francisco. Although I agree that women who wish to transition out of prostitution should absolutely receive support in doing so, I don’t think that anyone should be mandated to attend SAGE because they have been arrested. It creates a parasitic relationship between the service providers and the criminalization of the prostitute. In essence, Norma needs prostitution to be a crime in order to traffic women into her program and bill the City & County of SF for each so called service the women receive. She is making money off prostitution…it begs the question, who is the real pimp here?
That said...I was at the exhibit the night of the incident. I attended the event because I was under the impression that it was an exhibit about human trafficking. I became aware of the performance that night at the exhibit. I thought that the piece was intended to tie together human trafficking and prostitution. I wanted to see what arguments would be used to do this because I haven’t heard any that show the criminalization of prostitution as preventing human trafficking.
The performance was not about trafficking. It made no attempt, other then the producers introduction, to tie human trafficking with the street based prostitutes the performance portrayed. It wasn’t that I disagreed with the argument. The problem was that it didn’t make an argument at all. The performance was very graphic both with its monologues and visual images. It also had more to do with incest, childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and drug addiction then it did prostitution. Even more so, the monologues used stereotyping of men, women, and sex workers to make blanket statements about them. Not all sex workers were raped as children. Not all men will fuck a dog. Not all pimps are violent. I understand that these were the thoughts, feelings, and memories of specific street based prostitutes and pimps. I am not attempting to deny their stories or the suffering they lived. What I am saying is that criminalizing prostitution only makes them (and other sex workers) more susceptible to the abuses they endured. Is that really what they want for other women? Do they want other sex workers to be raped, beaten, and robbed without any recourse from the police? Or worse yet, from the police? If we take away the criminalization of the sex work we can then begin to address these women’s real problems such as drug addiction, sexual abuse, and poverty and not just simply incarcerate them and continue the cycle of abuse.
I also witnessed the incident that followed the performance. The producer did tell the audience that the performance was supposed to be interactive, it wasn’t. She also said that there would be discussion following the performance, there wasn’t. I was standing on the opposite side of the room when Lisa Roelling approached the producer. There were also several other women standing around the producer making a semi circle around Lisa. Once the producer began yelling at Lisa, Maxine Doogan crossed the room to stand next to Lisa and support her. The producer began yelling that she doesn’t believe in the “comodification” of our bodies. The producer also mentioned being in a refugee camp (I have no idea what this had to do with anything). Maxine responded by saying “Oh, then this is really about you, not us.” At which point the producer began screaming “you are fucking right this is about me” over and over while throwing her arms in the air. At that point another woman entered the room through another door. She began yelling at Lisa and Maxine that all prostitutes are “dogs”. Lisa attempted to explain that she herself was “on the street”. At that point, the producer called Lisa, Maxine, and I “white privileged” whores who “suck the dick of corporate America”. I still have no idea why any of this was even directed at me as I never said anything to anyone throughout the entire altercation. Lisa then showed the producer her tattoo of Che Guevara to again show them that they had mis-named her. The producer responded by telling Lisa that Che Guevara wouldn’t allow her (Lisa) to suck his (Che Guevara’s) dick...even if he paid her.” At this point Maxine, Lisa and I begin trying to walk out the door. Maxine called the group of women near “Poverty Pimps”. Which resulted in the woman who had emerged from the other door (the one who said all prostitutes are dogs) following Maxine and berating her with religious epithets. She got so close to Maxine’s face that I could see her spit hit Maxine’s cheek. At one of the doorways the women began pulling on Maxine and preventing her from walking through the door. Lisa had to get the woman off of Maxine.
When we finally got outside the UC Berkeley guards detained us. When we attempted to tell them what had happened they refused to take any formal statements. They asked each of us for ID. I asked if they would be obtaining the ID of everyone still inside the exhibit. I was told that they would. They lied to me and instead issued Maxine, Lisa and I a citation to stay off the campus for seven days. The only reason provided by the guards for the citation was that we had “crashed” the event. This isn’t any more logical now then it was then. We paid admittance for a public show. And, one of the shows sponsors, Annie Fukishima, asked us specifically to attend the performance. The producer verbally assaulted me when I didn’t say a word to anyone throughout the entire incident. The officers refused to do anything about it and they also refused to do anything about the battery that was done to Maxine.
The show was titled “My Real Name”. To quote One New Earth, “People of all walks of life often feel they are labeled/named by others. Rarely are we allowed to label/name who we are.” If the point of the show was to allow sex workers the freedom to name themselves then why didn’t the producer allow Lisa and Maxine to name themselves? Why did she create all sorts of names for them? Why did she attempt to name me even though I wasn’t engaging with her at all? If the supporters of anti prostitution want to share real stories of sex workers then why don’t they want to hear what Maxine and Lisa have to say? I think the point of the show is great, let people name themselves. Unfortunately the producer and other show supporters don’t seem to believe or live by their own message.
I want to make a few things clear. I don’t believe in violence. I didn’t say or do anything to anyone the night of the performance. Yet, the producers and show supporters told the police that I did, and the police believed them. This is called “collective punishment” and it was used in Nazi Germany. This is an oppressive act. For those who claim that they are attempting to end violence they are using the tools of other oppressors to do so. It leads one to ask, can you end violence with violence? The other issue I would like to make very clear to anyone who is reading this blog is that I was told when I paid to enter the performance that the money would be directed to SAGE. I noticed that Norma Hotaling, the Founder and Director of SAGE has said on this blog that she doesn’t support this show and never received funds from it. Either I was lied to at the door when I paid or Norma is lying now. Norma also denies receiving money from ICE. What she doesn’t deny is receiving money from the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s office of San Francisco. Although I agree that women who wish to transition out of prostitution should absolutely receive support in doing so, I don’t think that anyone should be mandated to attend SAGE because they have been arrested. It creates a parasitic relationship between the service providers and the criminalization of the prostitute. In essence, Norma needs prostitution to be a crime in order to traffic women into her program and bill the City & County of SF for each so called service the women receive. She is making money off prostitution…it begs the question, who is the real pimp here?
The police not taking reports about violence against actual sex workers is nothing new.
I interviewed Maggie Derives whose sister Sarah went missing in 1998 working as a street-based prostitute for International Women’s Day March 2006. Sarah’s DNA was found on a pig farm in Vancouver B.C. and is now one of 29 counts of murder against Robert Pickton. Its first interview on this show.
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=12981
Women who work as prostitutes suffer the violence of being arrested for working to support our children, then trafficked into the SAGE program by the court system, while holding the custody of our children hostage, these are acts of coercion. Additionally, when our clients are targets in sting operations and mandated to pay up to $1000 to the SFPD, SFDA and SAGE project, instead of us, its no wonder that charity is now required.
This play will never be creditable because it don’t tell the truth about the fact that law enforcement is primary perpetrators of violence by enforcemecing the anti prostitution laws on prostitutes which force us out of work and on our customers.
Yeah its is the holidays and many people and their families no longer have the means to support themselves because they’ve been put out work and forced to spend unpaid time at the SAGE project, but the founder and the director is getting paid. The police are getting paid, the District Attorney is getting paid.
As a cast member of "MY NAME IS" I find it interesting, that it is in Berkley that we have come under attack. In this bastion of free thought. Obviously the views of the playwright and cast, differ from those of the sex workers who appeared the evening of the production. This play attempts to give voice to a segment of society that is marginalized and oppressed. The production consists of the real stories of survivors of prostitution. The horror of their journeys, along with the beauty and redemption of their overcoming, healing and surviving.
The production does not pass judgment on who's right it is to sale their body. (Men are prostitutes as well.) It does not present itself as representing all prostitutes. Nor does it speak to the opposing opinion of the aforementioned sex workers. It chronicles the stories of those survivors who wanted their stories told, and these men and women are against sex trafficking.
I was not present during the beginning of the altercation and only became aware of it when voices were raised and emotions had escalated. But I was struck by one of the sex workers comments to the effect that these stories didn't represent her reality and therefore were not valid. She further stated, that we were profiting off the stories of prostitutes and that we where "poverty pimps."
I was, and still am confused by their presence if they were looking for validation. This is a anti-prostitution play, so how could it speak to them or their cause. I would not go to a pro-prostitution production expecting it to speak to my prostitution. Nor would I then arrogantly claim the invalidity of production because it did not. I don't know what their motive for attending was, but they did cause disruption and gained attention for their position by going to the media.
These women did teach us a valuable lesson and further validated why productions such as "MY NAME IS," and others like it, must continue forward. The production is about truth. Not everyone's truth, but the truth of those survivor's who honor us with the courage and dignity of their stories. After all, their stories are our stories.
Grant Walker
As a cast member of "MY NAME IS" I find it interesting, that it is in Berkley that we have come under attack. In this bastion of free thought. Obviously the views of the playwright and cast, differ from those of the sex workers who appeared the evening of the production. This play attempts to give voice to a segment of society that is marginalized and oppressed. The production consists of the real stories of survivors of prostitution. The horror of their journeys, along with the beauty and redemption of their overcoming, healing and surviving.
The production does not pass judgment on who's right it is to sale their body. (Men are prostitutes as well.) It does not present itself as representing all prostitutes. Nor does it speak to the opposing opinion of the aforementioned sex workers. It chronicles the stories of those survivors who wanted their stories told, and these men and women are against sex trafficking.
I was not present during the beginning of the altercation and only became aware of it when voices were raised and emotions had escalated. But I was struck by one of the sex workers comments to the effect that these stories didn't represent her reality and therefore were not valid. She further stated, that we were profiting off the stories of prostitutes and that we where "poverty pimps."
I was, and still am confused by their presence if they were looking for validation. This is a anti-prostitution play, so how could it speak to them or their cause. I would not go to a pro-prostitution production expecting it to speak to my prostitution. Nor would I then arrogantly claim the invalidity of production because it did not. I don't know what their motive for attending was, but they did cause disruption and gained attention for their position by going to the media.
These women did teach us a valuable lesson and further validated why productions such as "MY NAME IS," and others like it, must continue forward. The production is about truth. Not everyone's truth, but the truth of those survivor's who honor us with the courage and dignity of their stories. After all, their stories are our stories.
Grant Walker
There is something you mentioned that I agree with...this particular play was about specific stories, it is not representative all of prostitute's stories. I think the reason for the interaction between the producer and the actual sex workers was based on some very generalized and blanket statements made about sex work in general during the performance. If this play is not about all sex workers then why use those blanket statements as if they are true for everyone in that industry?
You also mention that the production company "…does not pass judgment on who's right it is to sale their body.". BUT, the producer did make a judgment. She specifically stated that she doesn't believe in the "comodification" of bodies. She also said some very racial and violent things - I just can't see how what she said can be justified in any way. Some things were even directed at me personally even though I said nothing to her and I was standing on the other side of the room. Can anyone please explain why she acted that way towards me? She mentions that she was in a refugee camp, then I'm sure she is aware of "Collective Punishment" and the oppression that it serves. Why then would she use it against me? She owes me a personal apology.
You also mention that the production company "…does not pass judgment on who's right it is to sale their body.". BUT, the producer did make a judgment. She specifically stated that she doesn't believe in the "comodification" of bodies. She also said some very racial and violent things - I just can't see how what she said can be justified in any way. Some things were even directed at me personally even though I said nothing to her and I was standing on the other side of the room. Can anyone please explain why she acted that way towards me? She mentions that she was in a refugee camp, then I'm sure she is aware of "Collective Punishment" and the oppression that it serves. Why then would she use it against me? She owes me a personal apology.
This article is one of the best articles written on survivors and the real deal of prostitution. Selling body is slavery. Like the author said, some people develop Stockholm Syndrom and start liking their oppression. So F----- true!! I for one cannot believe what these idiots on the other side have to say. I don't get it. If someone doesn't have the same beliefs that I do, I don't waste my energy talking about it or going to shows about it. The prostitutes who want the game in our town to be legalized are selfish sado-masochists. With all their hater comments, what the hell good are they doing for women????
This article is one of the best articles written on survivors and the real deal of prostitution. My cousin is lost in that life and she does not have Richard Gere on a white horse anywhere in sight. Selling body is slavery. Like the author said, some people develop Stockholm Syndrom and start liking their oppression. So F----- true!! I for one cannot believe what these idiots on the other side have to say. I don't get it. If someone doesn't have the same beliefs that I do, I don't waste my energy talking about it or going to shows about it. The prostitutes who want the game in our town to be legalized are selfish sado-masochists. With all their hater comments, what the hell good are they doing for women????
"The opression of women working as prostitutes is intimately linked to class opression, sexuality oppression and race opression....Good women (wives and other women assumed to be possessed by individual men) are legitimized by the patriarchal system: their function is to model subservience. Bad women (whores and other women assumed to be "loose" or for hire) are stigmatized; their function is to serve as an example of the ostracism awaiting any woman who strays."
-Gail Pheterson from 'A Vindication of The Rights of Whores"
-Gail Pheterson from 'A Vindication of The Rights of Whores"
Sister Chehade. We received this article from a comrade, sister Hadia, who said one of our own was being attacked by the devils. We are the brother and sister of our Brother Mahmoud - who you sent some books to after you did some speaking in the prison industrial complex that killed him. Magnificant article sister. They said you had the spirit of Malcolm X and I see you, indeed, do. X was attacked for trying to bring light to people's lost hearts. If you mention Allah, they run behind their words. When you stand up for your rights like a lion ( as I heard you do), then they accuse you of violence. X never used violence, yet they feared his power of truth, which were violent against their lies. We live in the hood and we are tired of that same white superioity complex ( not a racial white skin thing for those uninformed) making it seem like selling our women's bodys is cool. They turn out their own white women both rich and poor and feel like they need to bring the crabs in the bucket mentality to us. Get the hell on out of here with that. We are tired of caging up the black man and woman because they fear our so-called violence. We are tired of devils making excuses on how he is helping us through selling us. Stay on the path sister and don't let them stand in the way of your beauty and power. Keep walking like X and don't look their petty way. Keep your eyes straight ahead. Same goes with the sister who is the survivor that was attacked and lied to. Al-salam alakum Queen
Right on sister. Excellent article. Says what I have been thinking. It touches not only the harsh parts of prostituting, but the harsh parts of all kinds of oppression connected to this issue. Prostitution in this country has a definite capitalist twist. People who want to legalize it just want to be accepted as part of the system. Instead of breaking free from the tyranny of capitalism, they are angry because they're not part of it. They just mad because they level of prostituting is not as legit as being hooked up with an old business man. It's good to know people out there fighting against what is deemed acceptable by this twisted system. I am right behind you in the struggle.
wow- you broke it down. I saw your show in another city and it was inspiring. made me want to step up my life. i can't imagine someone not feeling the love behind the play. sometimes love is just too powerful for peopple who hate so much. what kind of evil people would even do that kind of crap? that's some psychotic BS to even go see a play that you know you are going to attack because your viewpoint isn't represented. everybody has a viewpoint. did they want you not to do your own? i am tired of people attacking others who are on the path of justice. just because their stories weren't represented? so what!! don't they have anything more productive to do than attack people in the struggle. too bad they missed some of the beautiful journies that took these men and women away from the life and into living a life that doesn't revolve around sexing people for money. what kind of world do we live in that justifies some it's coool to have our sisters out there. you are a gift and i appreciate how you have concentrated on we all know deserve better. you are a queen who doesn't bother wasting her energy on these confused sex workers when you can be using it for something constructive.
I don't understand how anyone can say that prostitution is like slavery. When you make inflammatory statements like that, it makes you sound hysterical. I am not saying that some people have not been in slavery like conditions while working as a prostitute, but the same can be said of any job. Lots of people have been traficked or have worked in slave like conditions as a housekeeper or in some factory somewhere.
If a person has chosen to work as a prostitute, they are looking at the various options they have and deciding that prostition is their best option at that time. In fact, I think it would be a much more enjoyable and rewarding job than a lot of other jobs that are mindless, boring or exhausting. If some prostitutes are working in slave-like conditions, then that is every reason for them to form unions to improve their working conditions. The sex workers that I have met are incredibly more well adjusted, interesting and honorable people than your average joe.
And by the way, i do not believe that all sex workers have been molested or sexually abused as kids. They said the same thing about gay men, that we had domineering mothers or we were molested as kids. The gay rights movement was able to debunk that myth. We need a sex workers' rights movement that can equally show people as full multi-faceted human beings that cannot just be boxed into a little category the moment they say they are a sex worker.
As far as people claiming that Maxine and Lisa overreacted, I can tell you that if I saw graphic violent incestuous images of gay men on stage and had people trying to represent the experience of gay men that way and then telling me some sort of bullshit about Jesus, I guarantee I would probably be reacting the same way.
If a person has chosen to work as a prostitute, they are looking at the various options they have and deciding that prostition is their best option at that time. In fact, I think it would be a much more enjoyable and rewarding job than a lot of other jobs that are mindless, boring or exhausting. If some prostitutes are working in slave-like conditions, then that is every reason for them to form unions to improve their working conditions. The sex workers that I have met are incredibly more well adjusted, interesting and honorable people than your average joe.
And by the way, i do not believe that all sex workers have been molested or sexually abused as kids. They said the same thing about gay men, that we had domineering mothers or we were molested as kids. The gay rights movement was able to debunk that myth. We need a sex workers' rights movement that can equally show people as full multi-faceted human beings that cannot just be boxed into a little category the moment they say they are a sex worker.
As far as people claiming that Maxine and Lisa overreacted, I can tell you that if I saw graphic violent incestuous images of gay men on stage and had people trying to represent the experience of gay men that way and then telling me some sort of bullshit about Jesus, I guarantee I would probably be reacting the same way.
SAGE Project, Inc. recieves over $400,000 from their collaboration with the Department Of Justice under the guise of rescuing "women and girls." SAGE Project Inc. and the Department Of Justices' brand of "rescue" is incarceration and deportation.
http://www.fedspending.org/faads/faads.php?reptype=r&database=faads&record-id=7977358&detail=3&datype=T&sortby=i
http://www.fedspending.org/faads/faads.php?reptype=r&database=faads&record-id=7977358&detail=3&datype=T&sortby=i
I apoligize for mistyping the link. It is important so I will give it another try.
http://www.fedspending.org/faads/faads.php?retype=r&database=faads&record_id=7977358&detail=3&datype=T&sortby=i
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This article is SO freaking deep. It speaks on so many levels. Man, you are a hot to death writer. I cannot wait till the play hits my hometown...And by the way, as our brother Talib Kweli spits- The revolution will not be televised!!
“President Bush has been the crucial factor. He has created a political climate in which all of us, from local activists to high-ranking political appointees, could do this work. Mainstream feminists like to say he’s anti-woman, but by supporting the abolitionist work against the global sex trade, he has done more for women and girls than any one other president I can think of. And he seems to have done it because it’s the right thing to do, not because of pressure or favoritism. The new law and policy will literally initiate change for millions of women and girls around the world. Years from now, when the anti-Bush hysteria has died away, I believe he will be recognized as a true advocate for women’s freedom and human rights.”
This statement is from Donna Hughes in an interview she gave for National Review Online. The same Ms. Hughes who leads the attack on Maxine Doogan as well as other sex industry workers and our supporters. The same Ms. Hughes that Carol, the producer of "My Real Name" and Annie from the ethics department at UC Berkeley use to defend their political and ethical position.
Lisa Roellig
Erotic Service Providers Union
http://www.espu-ca.org
This statement is from Donna Hughes in an interview she gave for National Review Online. The same Ms. Hughes who leads the attack on Maxine Doogan as well as other sex industry workers and our supporters. The same Ms. Hughes that Carol, the producer of "My Real Name" and Annie from the ethics department at UC Berkeley use to defend their political and ethical position.
Lisa Roellig
Erotic Service Providers Union
http://www.espu-ca.org
So you claim to be working against the prison industrial complex and yet continue to support the State's criminalization and incarceration of sex industry workers. Some of the posts support the "anti-trafficking" laws that criminalize not only the occupation of the sex industry worker but also criminalize their immigration status. And thus protect the exploiter and the real trafficker because a sex industry worker who has criminalized status due to their occupation and their immigration status will not risk detention and deportation to report abuse, viloence and/or exploitation. Most workers will not report unsafe working conditions and unpaid labor due to their immigration status and every worker should have the right to report regardless of their occupation or country of origin.
I started out working the streets of New York as a teenager. I know how the racist State enforces the laws and who is more likely to go to jail and have their children taken away. You all need to be clear on who the enemy is here. It is not sex workers, retired sex workers or sex worker rights organizers.
Lisa Roellig
http://www.espu-ca.org
I started out working the streets of New York as a teenager. I know how the racist State enforces the laws and who is more likely to go to jail and have their children taken away. You all need to be clear on who the enemy is here. It is not sex workers, retired sex workers or sex worker rights organizers.
Lisa Roellig
http://www.espu-ca.org
Strangely, comments that point out opinions contrary to Maxine Doogan's are disappearing from the Indybay site.
Also, a comment disappeared that pointed out Maxine Doogan's arrest, conviction, and jail time for pimping in Seattle. Also disappeared is Lisa Roellig's comment that female pimps are better than male pimps.
Where did these comments go?
Who is censoring Indybay?
Also, a comment disappeared that pointed out Maxine Doogan's arrest, conviction, and jail time for pimping in Seattle. Also disappeared is Lisa Roellig's comment that female pimps are better than male pimps.
Where did these comments go?
Who is censoring Indybay?
I think you are probably thinking of comments on another thread. There are a few threads about this with comments on them...
I have read both sides of the issue. I didn't know where I stood before, but mow I do. These women from the sex workers side seem envious and obsessed with the person who wrote an article about them. With all the human rights violation and people dying in the world, they must have a lot of time on their hands and backs that they obsess about people doing positive work. Kudos to those who do not feed these voided women who are all about negativivty and hate. I apppreciate any soldier that doesn't take their crap...
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