Revolting Prostitutes

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Revolting Prostitutes
Revolting Prostitutes.jpg
Front cover of the first edition
AuthorsJuno Mac and Molly Smith
CountryUnited Kingdom
Subject Prostitution, prostitution law, sex work, sex workers' rights
Publisher Verso Books
Publication date
November 2018
Pages288 pp. [1]
ISBN 9781786633613
Website https://www.versobooks.com/books/3039-revolting-prostitutes

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights is a 2018 book by sex workers Juno Mac and Molly Smith. They analyse the effects of varying sex work policies, arguing for full decriminalisation. The book covers topics including survival sex, migrant sex work, feminist views on sex work, and drug use among sex workers. The authors believe that common criticisms of sex work are more general issues with capitalism. The book received positive critical reception.

Contents

Background

External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "The Nordic Model makes sex workers LESS safe"
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "Deporting sex workers isn't 'rescue'"
Promotional videos by Verso, March 2020. Mac and Smith discuss ideas from Revolting Prostitutes. [2]

The authors Juno Mac and Molly Smith entered the sex work industry around 2010 at the ages of 20. [3] Mac's previous job was a year-long internship at a magazine for £30 per day, while Smith previously worked at a coffee shop. [3] Initially liberal feminists, the pair became involved in sex workers' rights activism, eventually identifying as communists. [4] They were both involved in the Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM); Smith was involved in the Edinburgh charity SCOT-PEP, which advocates for sex work decriminalisation. [3] [5] [6] They met in April 2013 at an activist event in Glasgow. [3] Smith said her activism led her to develop her views relating to other areas including migration, drug criminalisation, and capitalism. [4]

The book was published in November 2018. [7] That month, launch events in Ireland took place in Cork and Dublin. [8] A second edition was published in March 2020. [7]

Synopsis

The book discusses the effects of different sex work policies on the lives of sex workers, including analysis of: decriminalisation in countries like New Zealand; legalisation in places such as the Netherlands; the Nordic model; partial criminalisation in the UK; and full criminalisation in locales including the U.S. [8] Mac and Smith argue for full decriminalisation of all sex work, and suggest legal policies which would provide sex workers with additional labour rights. [9] [7] Using a Marxist feminist and materialist framework, [7] [1] they argue that issues with sex work are not unique to the industry, but are instead issues of labour exploitation under capitalism. [10] [11] [4] The authors hold the perspective that almost all sex work is done out of material necessity. [9] They discuss survival sex as well as groups including disabled people, undocumented migrants, or the LGBTQ community who may have no job options other than sex work. [10] [11] [1]

Mac and Smith criticise anti-prostitution feminism and carceral feminism, a movement advocating lengthier prison sentences and more stringent law enforcement to solve social issues relating to sex. [10] [1] They provide evidence that legal restrictions in some countries have not improved the lives of sex workers, and discuss statistics relating to the Nordic model, in which the purchase of sex, but not the sale of sex, is criminalised. [9] [11] The authors argue that the Nordic model causes clients of sex workers to become more volatile and unsafe, as reliable clients are more discouraged by the threat of arrest. [7] [1] In general, they believe criminalisation causes sex workers to work in more dangerous locations, to hire procurers who may put them at risk, or to be at a higher chance of being extorted by police. [10] [11] They comment that engaging in sex work, or receiving a criminal record for such work, can lead to housing instability or losing custody of one's children. [10] [11]

The book contains examples of experiences by many migrant sex workers and their interactions with law enforcement. [1] It features analysis of the U.S. war on drugs and drug use among sex workers. [1] It also describes the concept of a "deserving client", usually a disabled man who is argued to need sex workers as the only way he can experience physical intimacy. Mac and Smith write that this is an ableist idea, related to the desexualisation of disabled people. [4]

Reception

The first copies of the book had sold out by 29 December, Smith reporting that sales in the first six weeks matched Verso's expectations of sales after a year. [1] The book was nominated for the Bread and Roses Award in 2019, [12] a British award which aims to honour the best radical left-wing books of the year. [13] The Chronicle of Higher Education listed the book as one of "The Best Scholarly Books" published in the 2010s, with the reviewer Amia Srinivasan calling it a "thrilling and formidable intervention into contemporary discussions of sex work". [9] The philosopher Tom Whyman, writing in The Guardian , called it "one of the best interdisciplinary political books in recent years". [14]

The book received positive reviews from Real Change 's Mike Wold and Wendy Lyon of Irish Legal News. [8] [15] It was also praised in the socialist magazines Monthly Review and Jacobin , by Brit Schulte and Natalie Shure, respectively. [1] [11] Schulte believed that "the necessity of reading Revolting Prostitutes in this political landscape cannot be understated". [1] The writing received positive reception, Srinivasan praising it as "a model of how to write about politics". [9] Lyon found that the "writing is impressive throughout", while Wold said that the authors put forward "a compelling case" for their recommended policy approaches. [8] [15]

The book's factual content was also met with praise. Schulte praised it as "exhaustively researched to foreground the voices and experiences of sex workers" and Lyon found that the "referencing displays a laudable commitment to evidence-based advocacy". [8] [1] Shure found that the book contained "robust economic analysis". [11] Lyon highlighted the chapter on sex trafficking and borders as "particularly impressive". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective</span>

The Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers' Collective (NZPC), formerly the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, is a New Zealand-based organisation that supports sex workers' rights and educates sex workers about minimising the risks of the job.

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

Prostitution in New Zealand, brothel-keeping, living off the proceeds of someone else's prostitution, and street solicitation are legal in New Zealand and have been since the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 came into effect. Coercion of sex workers is illegal. The 2003 decriminalisation of brothels, escort agencies and soliciting, and the substitution of a minimal regulatory model, created worldwide interest; New Zealand prostitution laws are now some of the most liberal in the world.

Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the legislative process which removes prosecutions against an action so that the action remains illegal but has no criminal penalties or at most some civil fine. This reform is sometimes applied retroactively but otherwise comes into force from either the enactment of the law or from a specified date. In some cases regulated permits or fines may still apply, and associated aspects of the original criminalized act may remain or become specifically classified as crimes. The term was coined by anthropologist Jennifer James to express sex workers' movements' "goals of removing laws used to target prostitutes", although it is now commonly applied to drug policies. The reverse process is criminalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the United Kingdom</span>

In Great Britain, the act of engaging in sex as part of an exchange of various sexual services for money is legal, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are illegal. In Northern Ireland, which previously had similar laws, paying for sex became illegal from 1 June 2015.

The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is a campaigning group which supports the decriminalisation of prostitution, sex workers' right to recognition and safety, and the provision of financial alternatives to prostitution so that no one is forced into prostitution by poverty. The group works against the social stigma that is associated with prostitution, and the poverty that is sometimes its cause. It provides information, help, and support to individual prostitute women and others who are concerned with sex workers' rights, civil, legal, and economic rights. The organisation was founded in 1975, and its first spokeswoman was Selma James.

Prostitution in Ireland is legal. However, since March 2017, it has been an offence to buy sex. Third party involvement is also illegal. Since the law that criminalises clients came into being, with the purpose of reducing the demand for prostitution, the number of prosecutions for the purchase of sex increased from 10 to 92 between 2018 and 2020. In a report from UCD's Sexual Exploitation Research Programme the development is called ”a promising start in interrupting the demand for prostitution.”

Prostitution in Finland is legal, but soliciting in a public place and organised prostitution are illegal. According to a 2010 TAMPEP study, 69% of prostitutes working in Finland are migrants. As of 2009, there was little "visible" prostitution in Finland as it was mostly limited to private residences and nightclubs in larger metropolitan areas.

Prostitution in South Africa is illegal for both buying and selling sex, as well as related activities such as brothel keeping and pimping. However, it remains widespread. Law enforcement is poor.

<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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Healy (activist)</span> New Zealand activist

Dame Catherine Alice Healy is a New Zealand sex workers' rights activist, field researcher and former prostitute working for decriminalisation of prostitution and generally for the improvement of the sex work profession. She is the national coordinator and a founding member of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bread and Roses Award</span> British radical literary award

The Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing is a British literary award presented for the best radical book published each year, with radical book defined as one that is "informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns" – in other words, ideologically left books. The award believes itself to be the UK's only left-wing only book prize. Books must be written, or largely written by authors or editors normally living in the UK, or international books available for purchase in the UK. Winning authors receive £1,000. The Bread and Roses Award is sponsored by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and has no corporate sponsorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decriminalization of sex work</span> Removal of criminal penalties for sex work

The decriminalization of sex work is the removal of criminal penalties for sex work. Sex work, the consensual provision of sexual services for money or goods, is criminalized in most countries. Decriminalization is distinct from legalization.

Sex worker abuse by police officers can occur in one or more ways. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of excessive force by a police officer, be it physical, verbal, or psychological. Police corruption is a form of police misconduct where an officer obtains financial benefits and/or career advancements in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest. Police misconduct refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Sex workers, particularly poor sex workers and those who had been manipulated, coerced, or forced into sex work, are at risk of being obliged or otherwise forced to provide free sexual services to police officers out of fear of being harmed or arrested. Some sex workers have reported that they have encountered police officers who have physically assaulted them without evidence of a crime and without making an arrest.

Nigel John Richardson is a British human rights lawyer who serves as a deputy district judge. He was appointed to that office in May 2009. As a lawyer, Richardson is known for representing victims of human rights abuses in high-profile criminal cases with international element.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupation of Saint-Nizier church by Lyon prostitutes</span> 1975 protest in Lyon, France

The occupation of Saint-Nizier Church by Lyon prostitutes refers to the ten-day occupation of Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon by more than a hundred prostitutes on 2 June 1975 to draw attention to their "inhumane" working conditions. The occupation lasted eight days until the women were removed by the police on 10 June. Sympathetic occupations of churches by prostitutes followed in Paris, Marseille, Grenoble, Saint-Étienne and Montpellier.

Sharmus Outlaw was an American advocate for transgender rights, sex workers' rights, and HIV patient rights. Until her death, she was a policy advocate at the Best Practices Policy Project, where her primary work focused on the rights of transgender communities and their health care access. She was also the U.S. representative for the Programme Advisory Committee of the Red Umbrella Fund. She was the founder of Different Avenues, a grassroots organization working with people in the streets and other informational economies in the District of Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work</span> Trade union in South Africa

The Asijiki Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Sex Work is a South Africa-based civil society coalition that advocates for the full decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa. The coalition was formed in August 2015 and consists of a membership of over 70 organisations including individual activists, human rights defenders, lawyers, sex workers, and academics.

SistaazHood is a South African activist and advocacy support group embedded at the organisation Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT). The Sistaaz Hood supports the rights and health of transgender women and sex workers. The group was founded in 2010 and is based in Cape Town. The group is also known for their various photographic collaborations with artists, amongst them the fashion project, Sistaaz of the Castle in collaboration with photographer, Jan Hoek and fashion designer, Duran Lantink, also InterseXion with artist Robert Hamblin. InterseXion was exhibited at Iziko South African National Art Gallery.

<i>Playing the Whore</i> 2014 non-fiction book

Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work is a 2014 book by Melissa Gira Grant about the politics of sex work. The author—a journalist and former sex worker—views sex work as labor and analyzes public narratives about what a prostitute is. Grant identifies systemic economic issues relating to sex work while dissenting with anti–sex-work feminists and organizations which aim to "rescue" sex workers. She argues against efforts to criminalize sex work and describes how traditional methods of sex-work solicitation such as red-light districts have changed as such districts become gentrified and much sex work moves online. The book was published by Verso Books in collaboration with Jacobin and received positive critical reception.

The Sex/Work Strike began in 2018 as part of the International Women's Strike on International Women's Day with the aims of decriminalisation of sex work. Participants included the writer Molly Smith, author of Revolting Prostitutes. In 2019 it was supported by many groups including the English Collective of Prostitutes, x:talk, United Voices of the World (USW), East London Strippers Collective, Sisters Uncut Edinburgh, London, Class War and Young Greens.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Schulte, Brit (1 April 2019). "Read Revolting Prostitutes". Monthly Review . Vol. 70.
  2. ↑ "Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights". Verso Books. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chakelian, Anoosh (16 April 2020). ""Sex has nothing to do with it": What's it like for sex workers to fight for their rights?". New Statesman . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Whyman, Tom (20 November 2018). "Your Job Has More in Common with Sex Work Than You Think". Vice . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Juno Mac". Verso Books . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Molly Smith". Verso Books . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Valens, Ana (24 March 2020). "Have questions about decriminalizing sex work? Start with 'Revolting Prostitutes'". The Daily Dot . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Srinivasan, Amia (14 April 2020). "The Best Scholarly Books of the Decade". The Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Mac, Juno; Smith, Molly (30 October 2018). "Sex Is Not the Problem with Sex Work". Boston Review . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shure, Natalie (1 May 2019). "Sex Workers' Rights Are Workers' Rights". Jacobin . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2019 Shortlist". Alliance of Radical Booksellers. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  12. ↑ Flood, Alison (6 March 2012). "New prize for radical writing announces shortlist". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  13. ↑ Whyman, Tom (2019-03-04). "The world is in a bad way. Students need the skills to fix it". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  14. 1 2 Wold, Mike (16 October 2019). "Book Review: 'Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights'". Real Change . Retrieved 7 July 2020.

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