feminist blogs

Aileen Wuornos, prostituted lesbian and child sexual abuse survivor, would have turned 52 today, had she not been executed for the murder of convicted sex offender Richard Mallory. (Few people can count February 29th as their birthday, so, inevitably, whenever that day rolls around, I think of her.)

Inaccurately* branded as a “The first female serial killer,” Wuornos ushered a total of seven (variously abusive) tricks into the next life. Meanwhile, the sexist and heterosexist press got tons of mileage out of comparisons between her and the actual serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer.

Because of course, a prostituted lesbian, who acknowledges having killed in self-defense (a claim from which she never wavered; whether or not you believe all seven of her killings were in self-defense, as I do), is obviously interchangeable with a cannibalistic killer who preyed on gay men and boys merely for the apparent “pleasure” of doing so. (And, seriously, fuck anybody with the nerve to characterize Dahmer as “gay.” That makes approximately as much sense as classifying an individual who eats hamburgers as a member of the bovine species.)

In the end, everybody got their own “pieces” of Aileen. Her lover (whom I’d prefer were classified as a pimp), Tyra Moore, sold her out to the cops, who in turn sold her out to Hollywood. There were at least three movies: Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story, starring Jean Smart (following which I took to calling the actress Jean Stupid), Nick Broomfield’s Aileen: The Selling of a Serial Killer, and the Oscar-award winning Monster (which, among other distortions, characterized Tyra Moore as a victim).

Ironically enough, a piece by Phyllis Chesler (mentioned here recently), Sexual Violence Against Women and a Woman’s Right to Self-Defense: The Case of Aileen Carol Wuornos is among the more profound and truthful examinations of the Wuornos case. (Which makes my heartbreak over Chesler’s apparent transformation, lately, from “kick-ass feminist” to “neo-conservative” all the more excruciating.)

Rest in peace, Aileen.

Burn in hell, Richard Mallory, et. al.

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* The designation is inaccurate whether or not one views Wuornos as a true serial killer (which I don’t), as there actually have been quite a few true female serial killers, both before Wuornos’ time and since.

Because I take my cues from Twisty Faster (don’t we all?), I’m stopping in here just long enough to say I’m, eh, too busy reading and writing my ass off to have anything substantive to post at this moment. Suffice it to say the 4th Annual Conference on Prostitution, Sex Work and the Commercial Sex Industry gave me lots of material to work with.  (Seriously, I’ve been in a mad writing/reading frenzy. Much will come of the trip, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to have gone, but I just can’t stop to articulate it all right now.)

But, hey, I can at least offer a photographic morsel or two. (I’d post the pic of me with Jill Brenneman as well, but my shot came out terrible, with glare off my glasses - will hit up Jill later for the one from her camera, which I think came out better.)

Here’s Claudine O’Leary (of Rethink Resources) womaning her table.

Claudine talking with Rebecca Whisnant. (Who, incidentally, was nice enough to sign my copy of Not For Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography, which she co-edited; highly recommended - can be ordered here or here or here.)

After last week’s posts on certain contentious sex trade issues, I got a rather large spike in blog traffic from folks on all sides (sex workers’ rights, abolitionist, harm reduction, etc.) of the “prostitution politics divide.” Excellent!

And now - nothing personal - but I’d really like to send you away for a bit (you can still come back, of course), because, if you care about youth impacted by the sex trade and street economies, the site you really should be reading (no matter what your philosophy on the sex trade per se) is Claudine O’Leary’s Rethink Resources. From her About page:

Rethink Resources offers a deeper understanding of the issues facing youth in the sex trade through workshops, speaking engagements and consulting services. We make it possible for communities to really support youth who’ve been involved in trading sex for money or survival needs with practical, experience-based options for anyone who wants to make a difference.

People, she’s not kidding when she says “experience-based.” She was a founder (and, for seven years, Executive Director) of Chicago’s Young Women’s Empowerment Project, a peer-led* social justice and harm reduction organization providing safe, respectful, free of judgment spaces for girls and women with life experience in the sex trade and street economies.

Since Claudine’s move to Milwaukee and founding Rethink Resources, she has facilitated several valuable workshops and trainings, such as “Developing the Leadership Skills of Experiential Youth” (Third Annual Conference on Prostitution, Sex Work and the Commercial Sex Industry), “Making a Difference in the Lives of Youth Who Trade Sex for Money or Other Needs” (Pathways to Adulthood National Independent Living/Transitional Living Conference), and “Reproductive Health and the Sex Trade” (Midwest Regional Conference for Medical Students for Choice).

Upcoming workshops she is scheduled to conduct include “Doing the Right Thing: Ethics and Boundaries,” and “Why youth don’t stay in your program and how to change that” (September 28th at the Fourth Annual Conference on Prostitution, Sex Work, and the Commercial Sex Industry in Toledo, Ohio) and “Making a Difference in the Lives of Youth Trading Sex for Money” (October 1st at the “It’s My Life” Conference in Atlanta, Georgia).

You can also count on Rethink Resources for the most up-to-date, critical news items relevant to youth in the sex trade (archived news items are here) and for important, thoughtful commentaries, such as these:

• Youth work and hip hop (on identity formation around music, and on how adults, in expressing shock over content, may send the message that they’re simply unaware of what happens in youths’ lives everyday)
• Tagging kids like bears (material for your “worst practices” files… and on the detriments of “prostitution-free” zones for persons impacted by the sex trade)
  
• Sex trade or just a lot of sex (on the ambiguity of concepts like “age of entry” regarding youth in the sex trade, making a critical point: “outreach or practical assistance is different if you’re trying to reach youth who don’t name or identify what they are doing as the same thing that you call it”)

Speaking of language, the glossary page is a must-read. While terminology like “sex work,” “commercial sexual exploitation,” and “prostitution” may be ingrained in the parlances of many of us who do activism, research, and/or writing with regard to the sex trade, that language can quickly alienate youth who don’t find it to be representative of their experiences.

You may want to read more about Claudine’s workshops and trainings tailored to adult and youth audiences, or learn more about her consulting services. (Example of current work: consulting on research design and analysis for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.) Also highly recommended: her list of current resources (reports and links to other organizations).

Of course, I’m hardly alone in singing Claudine’s praises; you can read her testimonials from colleagues and clients who have had the pleasure of working with her.

Still with me? Well, what are you waiting for? Get over to Rethink Resources right now for some of the best ideas around for working with youth in the sex trade!

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* YWEP is run by girls and women with life experience in the sex trade and street economies. (Read more at their about page.) Also, some folks might be interested to know: YWEP was founded by a radical feminist and harm reduction based collective. See, we can work together!