Red Canary Song

Last updated
Red Canary Song
FoundedNovember 2018 in Flushing, Queens
FounderKate Zen, Athena G., Red S., and Julie X.
Area served
United States
Method Grassroots
Website www.redcanarysong.net

Red Canary Song is an American grassroots coalition that advocates for the rights of Asian and migrant massage parlor workers. The coalition works to provide political representation, labor rights, collective organizing for migrant massage workers, and protection from violence by police and police impersonators across the United States and within the diaspora in Toronto, Paris, and Hong Kong. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Red Canary Song was founded in November 2018 by Kate Zen, Athena G., Red S., and Julie X. following the death of 38-year-old Flushing, Queens massage worker Yang Song on November 25, 2017 when she fell four stories to her death during a police raid. [3]

As of 2021, the group is currently based in Flushing, and directed by Yin Q. [4] and Esther Kao. [5] Red Canary Song was created shortly after Song's death to support her family and fight for police accountability. [6] The coalition currently strives to address the hypersexualization and xenophobia that massage workers are likely to fall victim to, as made apparent by the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings. [7] Red Canary Song advocates that shutting down massage businesses is not the proper means of ensuring massage workers a better quality of life. Rather, the solution lies in recognizing the rights and dignity of these workers. While Red Canary Song supports all migrant massage workers, the coalition does not wish to impose the assumption nor the identity of migrant sex workers upon anyone. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Xenophobia is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression which is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-group and an out-group and it may manifest itself in suspicion of one group's activities by members of the other group, a desire to eliminate the presence of the group which is the target of suspicion, and fear of losing a national, ethnic, or racial identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massage parlor</span> Business offering the services of masseuses/masseurs

A massage parlor or massage parlour is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Thailand</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in Thailand

Prostitution in Thailand is officially illegal However, due to police corruption and an economic reliance on prostitution dating back to the Vietnam War, it remains a significant presence in the country. It results from poverty, low levels of education and a lack of employment in rural areas. Prostitutes mostly come from the northeastern Isan region of Thailand, from ethnic minorities or from neighbouring countries, especially Myanmar and Laos. UNAIDS in 2019 estimated the total population of sex workers in Thailand to be 43,000.

Racism in Russia appears mainly in the form of negative attitudes and actions by some Russians toward non-ethnic Russian citizens, immigrants or tourists. Traditionally Russian racism includes anti-Semitism and Tatarophobia, as well as hostility towards the various peoples of the Caucasus, Central Asia, East Asia and Africa.

Prostitution in South Korea is illegal, but according to The Korea Women's Development Institute, the sex trade in Korea was estimated to amount to 14 trillion South Korean won in 2007, roughly 1.6% of the nation's gross domestic product. According to a survey conducted by the Department of Urology at the Korea University College of Medicine in 2015, 23.1% of males and 2.6% of females, aged 18–69, had sexual experience with a prostitute.

Prostitution in Rhode Island was outlawed in 2009. On November 3, 2009, Republican Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill which makes the buying and selling of sexual services a crime.

Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network (BAYSWAN) is a non-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area which works to improve working conditions, increase benefits, and eliminate discrimination on behalf of individuals working within both legal and criminalized adult entertainment industries. The organization provides advice and information to social service, policy reformers, media outlets, politicians, including the San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution and Commission on the Status of Women (COSW), and law enforcement agencies dealing with sex workers.

Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal, although somewhat tolerated, with law enforcement being rare with regards to sex workers. Penalties range up to life imprisonment for those involved in trafficking, which is covered by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. Prostitution is available through bars, karaoke bars, massage parlors, brothels, street walkers, and escort services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex workers' rights</span> Human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients

Sex workers' rights encompass a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients. The goals of these movements are diverse, but generally aim to legalize or decriminalize sex work, as well as to destigmatize it, regulate it and ensure fair treatment before legal and cultural forces on a local and international level for all persons in the sex industry.

Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died in what were identified as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008, a series of attacks left 62 people dead; although 21 of those killed were South African citizens. The attacks were motivated by xenophobia. In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic attacks against immigrants in general prompted a number of foreign governments to begin repatriating their citizens. A Pew Research poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans viewed immigrants as a burden on society by taking jobs and social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for crime than other groups. Between 2010 and 2017 the immigrant community in South Africa increased from 2 million people to 4 million people. The proportion of South Africa's total population that is foreign born increased from 2.8% in 2005 to 7% in 2019, according to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, in spite of widespread xenophobia in the country. This made South Africa the largest recipient of immigrants on the African continent in 2019.

According to the United States Department of State, "Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking." Thailand's relative prosperity attracts migrants from neighboring countries who flee conditions of poverty and, in the case of Burma, military repression. Significant illegal migration to Thailand presents traffickers with opportunities to coerce or defraud undocumented migrants into involuntary servitude or sexual exploitation. Police who investigated reaching high-profile authorities also received death threats in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex industry</span> Field of business

The sex industry consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related services, such as prostitution, strip clubs, host and hostess clubs and sex-related pastimes, such as pornography, sex-oriented men's magazines, sex movies, sex toys and fetish or BDSM paraphernalia. Some sex possitions used in pornography are Doggy (style), 69, missionary, cowgirl and reverse cowgirl. Sex channels for television and pre-paid sex movies for video on demand, are part of the sex industry, as are adult movie theaters, sex shops, peep shows, and strip clubs. The sex industry employs millions of people worldwide, mainly women. These range from the sex worker, also called adult service provider (ASP) or adult sex provider, who provides sexual services, to a multitude of support personnel.

<i>Happy Endings?</i> 2009 American film

Happy Endings? is a 2009 cinéma vérité documentary film directed and produced by Tara Hurley. Filmed over 27 months, it chronicles the lives of the women in massage parlors in Rhode Island during a battle in the state legislature to once again make prostitution illegal. During the period of filming, prostitution in Rhode Island was legal as long as it was conducted behind closed doors.

Donna M. Hughes is an American academic and feminist who chairs the women's studies department at the University of Rhode Island. Her research concerns prostitution and human trafficking; she was a prominent supporter of the campaign to end prostitution in Rhode Island, and has testified on these issues before several national legislative bodies. She sits on the editorial board of Sexualization, Media, and Society, a journal examining the impact of sexualized media.

Uzbeks represent a large diaspora in Russia, numbering 1.9 million. Most of the Uzbeks living in Russia are seasonal migrant workers. Most of them have come after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to racial and cultural differences, they are one of the most discriminated-against minorities in Russia, and hence rarely settle outside of the Russian capital, Moscow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in the Dominican Republic</span>

Human rights in the Dominican Republic constitute the civil and political rights and freedoms legally protected under the Constitution of the Dominican Republic and enforced by the government through common and statutory law. The majority of human rights disputes are presided over by the highest court of constitutional appeal, the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal. These rights and freedoms have developed over time in accordance with the Dominican Republic's expansion from the former Spanish colony of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo to its modern state formation. The history of human rights in the state have also been marked by the oscillation between democratic administrations, such as the current presidency of Danilo Medina, and authoritarian administrations, most significantly the dictatorial regime of Rafael Trujillo between 16 August 1930 and 16 August 1938. As a member of the Organization of American States and the United Nations, the Dominican Republic is party to myriad legal treaties and covenants which propagate the human rights standards of the international community and have integrated the majority of these human rights directives into their domestic legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carceral feminism</span> Forms of feminism that advocate for increased prison sentences

Carceral feminism is a critical term for types of feminism that advocate for enhancing and increasing prison sentences that deal with feminist and gender issues. It is the belief that harsher and longer prison sentences will help work towards solving these issues. The phrase "carceral feminism" was coined by Elizabeth Bernstein, a feminist sociologist, in her 2007 article, "The Sexual Politics of the 'New Abolitionism'". Examining the contemporary anti-trafficking movement in the United States, Bernstein introduced the term to describe a type of feminist activism which casts all forms of sexual labor as sex trafficking. She sees this as a retrograde step, suggesting it erodes the rights of women in the sex industry, and takes the focus off other important feminist issues, and expands the neoliberal agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Racial prejudice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019. The origins of the virus have subsequently led to an increase in acts and displays of Sinophobia, as well as prejudice, xenophobia, discrimination, violence, and racism against people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent and appearance around the world. With the spread of the pandemic and formation of hotspots, such as those in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, discrimination against people from these hotspots has been reported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Atlanta spa shootings</span> Shooting spree in metro Atlanta, Georgia

On March 16, 2021, a shooting spree occurred at three spas or massage parlors in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Eight people were killed and one other person was wounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Asian Hate</span> Movement against anti-Asian violence

Stop Asian Hate is a slogan and name for a series of demonstrations, protests, and rallies against violence targeting Asians, Asian Americans, and others of Asian descent. They were held across the United States in 2021 in response to racial discrimination against Asian Americans relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. Q., Yin. "Sex Worker Mutual Aid Combats Persistent Exclusion of Migrant Massage Workers". A Women's Thing. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. Rowland, Maggie (1 April 2021). "Pseudo-feminism has obscured violence against Asian-American women • The Tulane Hullabaloo". The Tulane Hullabaloo.
  3. Barry, Dan; Singer, Jeffrey. "The Case of Jane Doe Ponytail". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  4. "How activists are mobilizing on Instagram to fight anti-Asian racism after Atlanta". news.yahoo.com.
  5. Solis, Marie (23 April 2021). "Are police the biggest threat to massage parlor workers' safety?". the Guardian.
  6. Campoamor, Danielle. "Red Canary Song Has Supported Asian American Workers, Long Before Atlanta". Refinery 29.
  7. Shih, Elena. "How to Protect Massage Workers". New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  8. Ho, Rosemarie. "Migrant Massage Workers Don't Need to Be Rescued". The Nation. Retrieved 25 April 2021.