Status
Available
Pages
263
Collection
Publication
Boston : Beacon Press, [2013]
Description
Documenting five decades of sex-worker activism, Sex Workers Unite is a fresh history that places prostitutes, hustlers, escorts, call girls, strippers, and porn stars in the center of America's major civil rights struggles. Although their presence has largely been ignored and obscured, in this provocative history Melinda Chateauvert recasts sex workers as savvy political organizers - not as helpless victims in need of rescue.
Media reviews
"Although Sex Workers Unite’s language is dispassionate and academic, the story that it tells can be heartbreaking."
User reviews
LibraryThing member pjasion
As soon as you mention the word – SEX - judgments, biases, predispositions, close mindedness, aversion and even total disgust still rear their ugly head. Take all of that and then write a book about SEX WORKERS and you add a whole new dimension – regardless of the fact that it is an accurate,
I learned so much in reading this book: from the antagonism from feminists (from the '60s through the '90s) against female sex workers to the complete dismissal of human and constitutional rights when dealing with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. I was actually very impressed with the progress that was made since the 1960's to the present day thanks to activist like Margo St. James, Carol Leigh and the myriad of others who created the movements that led to significant changes.
The biggest issue is still at large and quite honestly I am not sure if it will ever be resolved until we - (and I quote Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director , American Civil Liberties Union) “guarantee everyone's fundamental rights to sexual privacy and self-determination.”
If you want to understand the callousness of how sex workers have been (and still are) treated and the movements that have made the improvements to date, I encourage you to read this excellent academic treatise.
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superbly researched academic history of the treatment, challenges, discrimination and total lack of disrespect. These HUMAN BEINGS have had to deal with all of this since time immemorial and probably will continue to do so unless humans begin to totally accept the right to be individuals, have different desires and live life styles that may be by choice or just thrust upon them in order to survive.I learned so much in reading this book: from the antagonism from feminists (from the '60s through the '90s) against female sex workers to the complete dismissal of human and constitutional rights when dealing with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. I was actually very impressed with the progress that was made since the 1960's to the present day thanks to activist like Margo St. James, Carol Leigh and the myriad of others who created the movements that led to significant changes.
The biggest issue is still at large and quite honestly I am not sure if it will ever be resolved until we - (and I quote Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director , American Civil Liberties Union) “guarantee everyone's fundamental rights to sexual privacy and self-determination.”
If you want to understand the callousness of how sex workers have been (and still are) treated and the movements that have made the improvements to date, I encourage you to read this excellent academic treatise.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Angelic55blonde
I loved this book. I would recommend it to the college age all the way to the retired. It's the first history I've ever seen focusing on the sex worker activism. The author, Melinda Chateauvert, does use some provocative language but it brings her points across well and this book is an interesting
The author traces the campaigns these men and women waged from the early 1960s to present day. It's quite a long time period to cover but the author does it well. This book isn't just about telling the history of these sex workers but about challenging the reader to rethink their thoughts on prostitution, strippers, and anything that would be classified as "sex work". I know it made me rethink some of my preconceived notions.
I would definitely recommend this book to all readers out there... just keep an open mind.
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read from page 1 to the end. The author is clearly very passionate about this subject, which makes the book that much more entertaining.The author traces the campaigns these men and women waged from the early 1960s to present day. It's quite a long time period to cover but the author does it well. This book isn't just about telling the history of these sex workers but about challenging the reader to rethink their thoughts on prostitution, strippers, and anything that would be classified as "sex work". I know it made me rethink some of my preconceived notions.
I would definitely recommend this book to all readers out there... just keep an open mind.
Show Less
LibraryThing member IsolaBlue
SEX WORKERS UNITE seems to be a rather strange title for a work that might be more aptly called" THE LAST CIVIL RIGHTS BATTLE: Freedom for Sex Workers in Puritanical America." Professor Melinda Chateauvert presents a very important, well-researched book on the history of the fight for legitimacy
Chateauvert covers every important group and movement within the fight for sex workers' rights over nearly half a century. The main concentration is on prostitutes, but exotic dancers, porn film actresses and actors, as well as many other sex-industry jobs are mentioned. The average reader may be suprised at how many different occupations can be found within the sex trade, and those who know will be suitably pleased to see the various jobs viewed under one major umbrella: the last frontier in the fight for civil rights.
In the 1970s, tremendous progress was made with prostitutes' rights. Margo St. James and the organization she founded, COYOTE, get a fair share of attention in Chateauvert's work. "COYOTE asserted that women who worked as prostitutes should have the same citizenship rights as 'straight citizens.'" St. James felt that "hookers' lib" was really a privacy issue, one of a woman's control over her own body. St. James and her organization were also concerned about the racial profiling and assumptions of and about women of color.
Although there was a tremendous split in the the women's/feminist movement in the 70s regarding the sex industry (one side felt that prostitution, pornography, and exotic dancing was degrading to women and made them subjects of sexual slavery and a kind of institutional rape), there were great strides made with the other half, the women who actually worked in the industry, and felt differently. It was unfortunate that the split between feminists was so vast. Although St. James and other activists of the times attended many national and international conferences, they were never treated legitimately. This period of time was a rather angry time in sisterhood.
Just when the movement started to gain momentum, the early 80s brought AIDS. In the beginning, prostitutes were blamed for spreading it until research discovered the true roots of transmission. Prostitutes - male and female - were among the first to adapt to safe-sex routines. Prostitutes already had a higher usage of condoms than the general population, and savvy workers quickly adapted to other ways in which to practice safe sex with clients.
Still, it was a battle and a time when rights for sex workers went on the back burner. Again, a connection between the LGBT world and the sex industry served for the two communities to come together and educate others, promote safe sex, and participate in positive activism.
Still, the movement was set back decades. "In thirty-four states, prostitution is a felony if the sex worker is HIV positive, without regard to the type of service performed or whether transmission to the client occurred. No HIV-positive client, it appears, has ever been prosecuted." As recently as 2009, the mere possesson of more than three condoms convicted nearly forty people on prostitution charges in Brooklyn, NY. In Louisiana, those convicted under a questionable and basically unconstitutional sodomy law are forced to register as sex offenders. In many cases, sex workers just talked about the act but didn't perform it. Now they have SEX OFFENDER printed on their driver's license, a rather scary and Hitler-like tactic. A prostitute is a sex offender for talking about an act that hasn't been committed and probably isn't illegal anyway? Don't most Americans think of sex offenders as child molesters and rapists? Apparently that is not the definition in Louisiana.
The women's liberation movement has been going on for a long time, and although the battle is still going in many areas, life has improved greatly for women in general. Unfortunately, for sex workers, the battle is just beginning . . . .again. As long as we have men who make jokes: "If you have sex with a prostitute and don't pay her, is it rape or shoplifting?" and think it's funny, then the fight for civil rights for sex workers will continue. But the battle isn't just male vs female (after all, who generally patronizes prostitutes?), but also a struggle within the women's movement and the division of feminism.
Chateauvert makes no mention whatsoever of Camille Paglia who, in the 1990s, helped to bring attention to prostitutes through books such as her "Sexual Personae" where prostitutes were, essentially, put on a pedestal and worshipped. Of course, Paglia was writing philosophy and Chateauvert is writing history. Still, it seems that Paglia deserved a mention. She may not have been a part of direct activism, but she did get attention for the cause even though it was done in a more indirect way.
Has Chateauvert written an important book? Yes. Will it be widely read? Probably not. This is concerning as it needs to be. The book is very good history of the movement, but it is a bit dry and makes for slow reading. Since America has seen the racial civil rights movement and is currently moving through the gay civil rights movement, it seems logical that sex workers' civil rights movement should be next. But how does one reach Middle America? Certainly not through a book as academic as this one. Although excellent at capturing all that went on between Stonewall and SlutWalk, Chateauvert is, at heart, an academic writer. It would be interesting to see if she could come up with a work that could speak to the average person, a book with cameos of real individuals, a little humor (not of the sick kind quoted above), and something that would bring people to the cause. Because, after all, those who have been thinking know that sex workers' civil rights are right on the horizon. No, not because it has been there before and faded away time and time again, but because now is the time to make it happen.
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and fairness in the sex industry beginning with Stonewall in 1969 (which many may regard as the dawn of social activism in LGBT rights, but which Chateauvert correctly sees as intertwined with sex worker activism as the two many times overlap) to Slut Walk in Toronto, Canada in 2011.Chateauvert covers every important group and movement within the fight for sex workers' rights over nearly half a century. The main concentration is on prostitutes, but exotic dancers, porn film actresses and actors, as well as many other sex-industry jobs are mentioned. The average reader may be suprised at how many different occupations can be found within the sex trade, and those who know will be suitably pleased to see the various jobs viewed under one major umbrella: the last frontier in the fight for civil rights.
In the 1970s, tremendous progress was made with prostitutes' rights. Margo St. James and the organization she founded, COYOTE, get a fair share of attention in Chateauvert's work. "COYOTE asserted that women who worked as prostitutes should have the same citizenship rights as 'straight citizens.'" St. James felt that "hookers' lib" was really a privacy issue, one of a woman's control over her own body. St. James and her organization were also concerned about the racial profiling and assumptions of and about women of color.
Although there was a tremendous split in the the women's/feminist movement in the 70s regarding the sex industry (one side felt that prostitution, pornography, and exotic dancing was degrading to women and made them subjects of sexual slavery and a kind of institutional rape), there were great strides made with the other half, the women who actually worked in the industry, and felt differently. It was unfortunate that the split between feminists was so vast. Although St. James and other activists of the times attended many national and international conferences, they were never treated legitimately. This period of time was a rather angry time in sisterhood.
Just when the movement started to gain momentum, the early 80s brought AIDS. In the beginning, prostitutes were blamed for spreading it until research discovered the true roots of transmission. Prostitutes - male and female - were among the first to adapt to safe-sex routines. Prostitutes already had a higher usage of condoms than the general population, and savvy workers quickly adapted to other ways in which to practice safe sex with clients.
Still, it was a battle and a time when rights for sex workers went on the back burner. Again, a connection between the LGBT world and the sex industry served for the two communities to come together and educate others, promote safe sex, and participate in positive activism.
Still, the movement was set back decades. "In thirty-four states, prostitution is a felony if the sex worker is HIV positive, without regard to the type of service performed or whether transmission to the client occurred. No HIV-positive client, it appears, has ever been prosecuted." As recently as 2009, the mere possesson of more than three condoms convicted nearly forty people on prostitution charges in Brooklyn, NY. In Louisiana, those convicted under a questionable and basically unconstitutional sodomy law are forced to register as sex offenders. In many cases, sex workers just talked about the act but didn't perform it. Now they have SEX OFFENDER printed on their driver's license, a rather scary and Hitler-like tactic. A prostitute is a sex offender for talking about an act that hasn't been committed and probably isn't illegal anyway? Don't most Americans think of sex offenders as child molesters and rapists? Apparently that is not the definition in Louisiana.
The women's liberation movement has been going on for a long time, and although the battle is still going in many areas, life has improved greatly for women in general. Unfortunately, for sex workers, the battle is just beginning . . . .again. As long as we have men who make jokes: "If you have sex with a prostitute and don't pay her, is it rape or shoplifting?" and think it's funny, then the fight for civil rights for sex workers will continue. But the battle isn't just male vs female (after all, who generally patronizes prostitutes?), but also a struggle within the women's movement and the division of feminism.
Chateauvert makes no mention whatsoever of Camille Paglia who, in the 1990s, helped to bring attention to prostitutes through books such as her "Sexual Personae" where prostitutes were, essentially, put on a pedestal and worshipped. Of course, Paglia was writing philosophy and Chateauvert is writing history. Still, it seems that Paglia deserved a mention. She may not have been a part of direct activism, but she did get attention for the cause even though it was done in a more indirect way.
Has Chateauvert written an important book? Yes. Will it be widely read? Probably not. This is concerning as it needs to be. The book is very good history of the movement, but it is a bit dry and makes for slow reading. Since America has seen the racial civil rights movement and is currently moving through the gay civil rights movement, it seems logical that sex workers' civil rights movement should be next. But how does one reach Middle America? Certainly not through a book as academic as this one. Although excellent at capturing all that went on between Stonewall and SlutWalk, Chateauvert is, at heart, an academic writer. It would be interesting to see if she could come up with a work that could speak to the average person, a book with cameos of real individuals, a little humor (not of the sick kind quoted above), and something that would bring people to the cause. Because, after all, those who have been thinking know that sex workers' civil rights are right on the horizon. No, not because it has been there before and faded away time and time again, but because now is the time to make it happen.
Show Less
LibraryThing member boodgieman
Sex Workers Unite is a well-researched history of sex worker activism from the mid-1960s through 2011; it documents sex workers' attempts at improving their working conditions and their image with the public and their successes and failures at both. Some readers may be surprised at the extent of
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activity that falls under the term "sex workers": not just prostitutes but also "escorts, brothel workers, professional dominants, telephone sex operators, strippers, exotic dancers, sensual massage workers, webcam entertainers, porn models, adult film performers, and specialists of all types, genders, colors, shapes, sexualities, and fetishes." If prostitutes get the bulk of Chateauvert's focus, it's because they have been organized and vocal the longest. Chapters deal with the founding of COYOTE (Call Off Your Tired Old Ethics), the prostitutes' rights organization; the rise of AIDS and its impact on sex workers; attempts to unionize sex workers; and changing relations between law enforcement and sex workers. Chateauvert does not minimize fissures within the feminist movement between "straight" feminists (her quotation marks), who tend to be anti-pornography and standoffish in their attitudes toward sex workers, and a newer generation of sex- and porn-positive feminists. Recommended for general readers interested in the topic and for library collections in history, sociology, and women's and gender studies. Show Less
LibraryThing member dkcampbell
This book provides an insightful view of the impact of the most recent efforts done by many organizations across North America to promote better civil and social care of workers and (sometimes wrongfully) associated groups. Chock-full of sources, this book would be wonderful for anyone studying
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that wants an overview of what has been done in the past few decades. At first, I found it was a little hard to digest some of the terms, however, that was quickly remedied after the first chapter. The introduction read like a paper submitted for school, but the rest of the book was easy to follow, chronologically going through different events. I believe this book made for a valuable introduction into the subject and I would recommend it for anyone interested. Show Less
LibraryThing member EmScape
A very well-researched and detailed history of the campaign many have engaged in over the years to decriminalize, destigmatize and legitimize the sex industry. Great strides have been made, but the battle has been uphill all the way and is not over yet. Most poignant were stories about how those
Several facets of the movement are explored, from the protests of the 70's to confrontations with law enforcement, to AIDS research and response, to today's efforts to bring escorting and adult films into the mainstream. Each is treated with a full complement of research with quotes from various sources as well as first-person research.
The book does an excellent job of codifying and chronologizing this important social cause.
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who should be allies, such as feminists, engaged in denigration and shaming towards their sisters. Several facets of the movement are explored, from the protests of the 70's to confrontations with law enforcement, to AIDS research and response, to today's efforts to bring escorting and adult films into the mainstream. Each is treated with a full complement of research with quotes from various sources as well as first-person research.
The book does an excellent job of codifying and chronologizing this important social cause.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Physical description
263 p.; 24 cm
ISBN
9780807061398