Tag: prostitution

The beloved john

If you’ve ever been engaged by those who promote “sex work” as a neutral form of labour (also see: “it’s just a job like any other,” “women’s bodies exist as resources”), harmless…

Dead Rentboys tell no tales

Phillip Michael Peck was a gay boy and my best friend in high school. We met over Whoopie Goldberg in the back of the science room. We hadn’t ever spoken before and…

The wall of silence on sexual exploitation

Controversy swirls around Amnesty International’s celebration of their new policy on prostitution, which calls for the decriminalization of pimps and johns. Pimps, johns, and sexists around the world are celebrating, which is…

How to manufacture consent in the sex trade debate

So Amnesty International voted in favour of adopting a policy that calls for the full decriminalization of the sex trade. Hurray? Once the celebration or despair subsides we are left we a…

After Amnesty, what’s next? A call to global action

I was in Europe doing research for Female Sexual Slavery in 1977 when I met with the Executive Director of Amnesty International in London. I had thought, naively, that in following their…

Amnesty cracks champagne in celebration of johns’ rights

Amnesty International has voted in favour of adopting a policy that supports the “full decriminalization of all aspects of consensual sex work.” That is to say, they will be developing a policy…

It’s time to talk about the johns

The lengths to which sex industry apologists will go to in order to push the idea that buying sex is synonymous with sexual liberation and empowerment never ceases to amaze me. While…