October 10, 2004

• Hmmm... the lead to this was supposed to be "A new union is forming...". Somehow it got gobbled up and has vanished. Computers hate me.
• Well I got it with no trouble; and this is a very good link, coppermac. Please say 'hi' to your bee-petter for me, I have to grin every time I think of her.
• One more reason why Canada is cooler than us ...
• There too many vaginaphobes in politics right now for the US to start caring about the safety of these women. Besides the IUSW, at least four other countries have unionized sex workers: S The Red Thread in the Netherlands. S AMMAR, the Association of Woman Prostitutes of Argentina. S The Exotic Dancers Union, representing the Lusty Lady strippers in San Francisco. S Salli, the United Sex Professionals of Finland. Congratulations on your succession, San Francisco! I'm assuming this is the handiwork of Emperor Norton II.
• I think for safety, money splits, and health issues, this could be a great thing for those in the biz part-time, or those in some parts of the business - for example, escorts or MPA's working through agencies. As an indie escort, however, I don't want my personal information in an accessible database, for any number of reasons. So, while I support the idea, I would not be a member. Definitely a step in the right direction.
• The idea is clear and obviously right, coppermac, and thanks for this post. I think that if this can catch on and spread from anywhere in North America it will be Montreal, and I hope that city's citizens and government will encourage the women and men who work in the sex industry to come together and stand up for collective rights and protections. A few follow-up links: The International Union of Sex Workers and the United Sex Professionals of Finland (both mentioned in the article. Wow, the Finns are a wonderfully contrasting people: so incredibly reserved but so...not! :-) "Sex workers need labour protection" and "Sex workers demand recognition" (Asia, where a career in the sex trade usually starts early and ends life early via AIDS or frequently violence) The Lusty Lady - I read a wonderful long magazine article about the strippers' fractious struggle to unionize at the San Francisco strip club The Lusty Lady but I can't remember where I read it. This is almost a hopeless battle in America today. American middle-man media (movies, TV, advertising) makes too much money from the continued exploitation of sexual imagery to actually let people make/spend money actually fucking each other. "Dutch prostitutes could lose union" (The Red Thread does not seem to have a web presence but you can learn more about the status of Dutch sex workers here.) I live in one of the "red light" districts in my hometown (Ottawa) and I talk to the prostitutes who work the streets near my home almost every night. They are being punished from every side, and they work in almost constant fear. They love sex and love making money at it, but the law makes safe loning for money impossible. I just hope they change the name. "The Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour" will not be taken seriously, I think. "Canadian Sex Workers Union" or something like that would be better. Be direct: there is no shame and no need to pussyfoot around this issue. This post reminds me of one of the most moving posts made here at MonkeyFilter, when moneyjane told us of the incredible serial murders of prostitutes who worked in Vancouver's Lower East Side. The police have just added eight more women to the list of the missing. Here is the web page for the City of Montreal. You can write to Gérald Tremblay, the mayor of Montreal, here and tell him that you support the creation and public support of the CGEL. And for good measure I will be writing to the author of the linked Gazette article, Mike King (mking@thegazette.canwest.com), to encourage him to follow up this story. The only shameful thing about sex in much of the world is that paying for it, in a safe, healthy and fun way is illegal.
• Hoo! mention of Canada that isn't weather-connected... ...yessss, America, my precsiousss! Cold Canadian airsss will ssswoop acrosss the border to FREEZE YOU STIFF!
• For those who get the CBC, you might want to watch SEX TRAFFIC at 8 pm Pacific tonight and tomorrow night. I've read the Vanity Fair piece that inspired this project, and I think if you are at all interested in how different forms of prostitution operate, you will want to see it. I don't know what trafficked former Soviet Union women are called in the US, but here they are called "Natashas", because it's such a common name among them.
• You're right, moneyjane, some independents don't need a union (the same is true in most industries), but for those who are in need, I think this holds great promise. Protecting and advocating for people with few legal rights and low social standing just because of their jobs is welcome. Class issues like this fascinate me. beeswacky, she's asleep right now, but I'll put a cold hand on her back soon for you.
• Truly. There's a kind of class issue among prostitutes as well. High end indie escorts know how incredibly lucky they are not to be working in the inner city killing fields - yet we resent being seen as "the same" as an emaciated "crack whore" tweaking through an alley somewhere, or shooting speedballs with puddle water. Because it's luck, and then again, it isn't. I was reported missing by my mother in February 2002, which was odd, considering I'd disappeared myself eleven years earlier. Unless you realise that Willy Pickton had just been arrested. Not a peep out of her until the cops started poking around a pig farm, looking for human remains, looking for women who had hit bottom so hard that Willy was there to pick them up. I was one of the many names the VPD needed to investigate to either locate or add to the list of missing women. My own mother, collaborating bitch that she was knew I was on a collision course with scum like Willy Pickton because because that's what my family had set me up for. In her mind, despite the innumerable other ways my life may have gone, I was pig food. Obviously, I'm not. I am who I am despite my family, despite a lot of things. And I want some recognition of that fact. But I don't want it at the expense of women who died, and will continue to die. Society needs to see there is a continuum to prostitution, and concentrate on specific issues different groups have. The idea, for instance, that nobody would willingly choose prostitution needs to be exposed for the self-serving political stance it is. Most people would not choose it, but some do, and to refuse to recognise that makes all prostitutes victims of political circle-jerking as well as many, but not all of us, victims of drug addiction and violence. Not really sure where I'm going with this, but I'll figure it out eventually.
• coppermac, no! Dinna torment the poor lass on my account! I swear by the Royal Jelly, all she did was pet my back!
• We told her she was beautiful/we told her she was free/ but none of us would meet her/ in the house of mystery
• moneyjane, sorry for being analytical but I think your story explains why I found you to be quite confrontative when you first joined MoFi. But I'm still glad you are the way you are. Having you and coppermac thogether in this site makes it richer than ever. I'm still wondering how prostitution would have worked on a perfect communist society...