SWP on 'Raunch Culture' offensive

[Luther Blissett]

True dat.

Ayn Rand's driving greed springs to mind

 

[JoePolitix]

Ayn Rand's driving greed springs to mind

The day I understand one of your posts mate...

 

[lights.out.london]

Sex sells. I think the SWP is beyond help, though.

Same old, same old. Tired and knackered. Reminds me of my student days in the late 1980s.

It's good to know somethings never change.

 

[fanciful]

"The "sex workers", a term which obscures as much as it reveals, who are in the worst situations are essentially unorganisable. Drug addicted, pimped or trafficked, prostitutes (ie the vast majority of prostitutes) "

Based on what evidence?

 

[Red Leicester]

Drug addicted, pimped or trafficked, prostitutes (ie the vast majority of prostitutes) are not going to become organised labour in any situation outside of the fantasies of various leftist sects.

Do you think that is true of male for male prostitutes?

I'm not sure it is.

Neither am I sure that the issues about oppression and exploitation of sex workers are best dealt with by what are basically moralistic condemnations of prostitution.

 

[cockneyrebel]

I don't get your point here Nigel. I never said that having decriminalisation and trade unions would mean everything would be alright, but what other practical solutions do you have other than these?

I agree that it would be extremely difficult to organise certain sections of sex workers but decriminalisation would certainly help in this. Also you can't just lump everyone in the sex industry into one homogenous group. Clearly not all prostitutes are drug addicts and trafficked (and by the way there is a clear difference between "sex slaves" i.e. trafficked women, and women who work as sex workers as a job).

Also with decriminalisation comes organised brothels where trade unionism would be far more effective.

So are you actually saying that prostitution should remain illegal? Is that the line of the SP?

Prostitution may be no less rare in Amsterdam, I don't know. Have you got the figures? But clearly sex workers there have far more rights than in the UK. This isn't about saying it's ok to objectify women. But what happens if it remains illegal? Sex workers are then clearly more like to be at the mercy of pimps, corrupt police officers and drug dealers. Indeed the woman who wrote the article I gave a link to has done substantial interviews with many sex workers and repeatedly the biggest fear they have in terms of violence is the state. Police officers forcing them to do stuff, having their kids taken away, deportations etc

Also Nigel can you try and leave out the pointless digs such as "This has nothing to do with any fantasies you might have about running away to join the Chippendales." It's all a bit pathetic and I don't really need some posho lecturing me when I probably know more about the problems in the sex industry than you do. My point was that many men would see being a chippendale or gigalo as a good job, showing that it's not sex work in and of itself that is the problem but the sexism and mysoginy in society. Which is clearly a massive problem with sex workers. It's nothing to do with ignoring this problem, but looking at the best way forward.

PS As an aside Lenin had a go at a communist activist in Germany who had organised prostitutes including a communist publication. Basically he said aren't there better things you could be doing!

 

[Luther Blissett]

Doesn't SEX between equals transcend MATERIALISM?

 

[BarryB]

There's probably difference in strength of numbers, and perhaps general public distrust of the establishments.

There's no point campaigning on an issue unless you think that you can involve ordinary people in it too...

This is a way of saying that in Tower Hamlets Respect has to pander to the Muslim vote whilst if they tried to do this in Hackney they would be laughed out of the borough.

BarryB