Book SummaryRevolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights, by Molly Smith and Juno Mac

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights

The changing views on sex work and those involved in it.

This part explores how deeply ingrained perceptions of sex, gender, and morality amplify the stigma and endow prostitution with significant emblematic significance. Smith and Mac argue that concerns about the sex industry, rather than any inherent harm in the practice of selling sex, are driving the movement to criminalize it.

The profession of sex work, along with its practitioners, often faces scorn and is burdened with profound implications.

Smith and Mac emphasize a recurring theme that associates those engaged in this line of work with both bodily and ethical contamination. Individuals engaged in the sex trade are often portrayed as vectors of societal decay, responsible for spreading both illness and ethical deterioration, thereby tainting the unsuspecting virtuous members of the community. The authors note that this perception is rooted in age-old anxieties about female sexuality and its perceived threat to patriarchal social order.

Sex work is often perceived as a form of societal defiance, with participants frequently regarded as epitomizing notions of sickness, impurity, and moral decline.

The authors observe that sex workers are often portrayed as carriers of illness, likening their physical beings to channels of deterioration, similar to sewers and drains. The writers delve into the etymology of the term, illustrating that the Spanish word "puta," which denotes an individual offering sexual services, has ties to the Latin "putida," connoting a condition of rot or unpleasantness. The authors critically examine Cesare Lombroso's 19th-century research, which focused on the physical characteristics of impoverished women, particularly noting that he attributed their 'unnatural' sexual activities to adverse effects on their reproductive health. Molly Smith and Juno Mac emphasize the historical depiction of sex workers as threats to societal health, illustrated by American World War II propaganda that depicted them as covert enemies spreading disease to undermine the forces of the Allies. Smith and Mac note that contemporary activists against sex work persist in spreading the belief that the body of a sex worker is a receptacle for sexual debasement, using ideas of sickness and bodily contamination to provoke public concern and backing for stringent control policies.

Concerns regarding the physical well-being of sex workers and the potential for both moral degradation and illness have likewise been reflected subtly, with some proponents of women's rights harboring negative opinions towards individuals engaged in sex work. The authors acknowledge a common perspective among critics who contend that this type of work inherently diminishes and damages women, turning them into simple objects for trade and diminishing their individuality. Individuals engaged in sex work are frequently portrayed as having their lives irreparably damaged due to their participation in the sex trade. Molly Smith and Juno Mac scrutinize how feminist theorists, including Dorchen Leidholdt and Andrea Dworkin, have compared sex workers to entities subhuman and used pejorative language, thereby perpetuating a story that dehumanizes sex workers and justifies their exclusion from feminist groups. Smith and Mac contend that discussions using explicit and...

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights Summary Initiatives to combat human trafficking within the realm of sex work are intricately connected with the strategies pertaining to immigration and the procedures followed by the police.

This part of the book emphasizes how criminal laws, the movement of sex workers across borders, and initiatives aimed at combating human trafficking are all interrelated with respect to sex work. Smith and Mac contend that the heightened risks faced by individuals in the sex trade stem more from immigration policies than from the inherent dangers of the profession, and they assert that efforts to fight trafficking often sustain the same wrongs they claim to oppose, failing to tackle the root problems.

The strict policies designed to regulate immigration and fight trafficking intensify the precariousness of individuals working in the sex industry.

Smith and Mac argue that stringent immigration regulations intensify difficulties such as economic distress and the danger of entering unsupervised work settings where individuals in those countries are often subjected to abuse and unfair treatment. The authors argue that the idea of traffickers kidnapping individuals and forcing them into sex work defies logic, particularly in light of the fact that individuals are willing to pay significant amounts for the secretive crossing of borders. They emphasize the significant financial...

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights Summary The outcomes stemming from different approaches to establishing laws and regulations related to sex work.

The book scrutinizes the trio of principal legal frameworks governing sex work: total prohibition, the partial criminalization approach referred to as the Nordic model, and a regulatory scheme where sex work is lawful and subject to official oversight. Smith and Mac argue that by emphasizing regulation and stability, all three legal models compromise the safety and well-being of sex workers rather than protecting them.

The harmful consequences of a legal system that penalizes not only the sex worker but also the client and their associates.

Smith and Mac argue that the policy of full criminalization, which prohibits all aspects of sex work, adversely affects and has a detrimental effect on the most marginalized and economically disadvantaged women. They challenge the prevalent notion that harsh measures are necessary to combat trafficking and exploitation, arguing that punishing those who sell or buy sexual services fails to address the root causes of these issues, like economic hardship and limited options for legal migration, and might even exacerbate the circumstances.

The vulnerability and lack of stability experienced by sex workers are intensified when their...