Childhood, Consent, and Commercial Sex

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Society of the Scandal: Randall L. Tobias and Hand Jobs EXPOSED

Written for The Skeleton News in June 2007 and reprinted in Power of the Impotent. Feel free to extrapolate my thoughts on the Weiner photo. 

Randall L. Tobias, deputy secretary of state and AIDS czar, resigned in late April following the exposure of his habit of hiring women from an upscale DC escort service to come over to his condo and provide massages (that is, hand jobs). Tobias, a former pharmaceutical mogul, was hired by President Bush in 2003 to oversee all U.S. foreign funding. His main duties were to distribute fifteen billion dollars allocated to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and act as a mouthpiece for the program and its abstinence-based approach to prevention. Ironically, PEPFAR requires that NGOs sign an anti-prostitution pledge to receive funding for HIV/AIDS prevention. Groups run by sex workers, or that work directly with sex workers to gain healthier, safer working conditions have been denied U.S. funding under the plan. The "ABC" approach to prevention – Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condoms, in order of "effectiveness" – has been enforced internationally by Tobias as the only appropriate form of sex education, despite the lack of data supporting the effectiveness of abstinence-based programs. PEPFAR has taken us a decade backwards in AIDS prevention and prostitutes' rights throughout the world, and lo, its spokesman, a married sixty-five year old, is hiring hookers.

       Sure, it's hard to respond to this news without a smug eye-roll at the hypocrisy of politicians, but in doing so we fall into the shallow pit of scandal. The event of an exposure, as microcosmic and temporal as the opening of a camera shutter. We are not concerned with the fact that Tobias was hiring prostitutes; we expect as much from a man in his position. Scandal is the revelation of what we already know, an indiscretion revealed, and it feeds our collective forgetfulness by valuing exposure over comprehension. We can laugh, and cringe, when Tobias is caught with his pants down disregarding his own international policies, but doing so leaves us hanging on the act of getting caught. Don't get caught.

      There are sustainable truths in Tobias' predicament. Prostitution happens and a demand for it exists, even though we tell men they're very bad if they pay for sex. Despite the lofty ideals of abstinence education, most people, young or old, married or not, have a funny inclination toward having sex with one another. And as Tobias himself demonstrated, hand jobs are a terrific form of safer sex.

      But none of these truths is newsworthy. Journalism rides bareback on the well-formed muscles of scandal because we enjoy the titillation an exposé provides. We might do ourselves a favor by asking better questions, ignoring the scandals, and seeking higher forms of titillation: say, inviting someone over for a massage. 

Curdled Milk

Curdled Milk (2011) is available at Quimby's Bookstore and at www.quimbys.com. It will be on view in Underground at Woman Made Gallery, 685 N. Milwaukee, July 8 through August 18. 

Drawings from Mirror Tricks and Leftovers Again?!

                                                                             
                                                                                           Untitled, 2006

                                                                               Civilized Man, 2009

                                                                                          Feral Man, 2008

                                                                               Pissing in the Cave, 2007

                                               Touching Pair, 2006

Prostitution-Free Zones in Chicago?

28th Ward Alderman-elect Jason Ervin is proposing legislation that would create "Prostitution-Free Zones" in Chicago, making it a criminal offense for convicted prostitutes to occupy public sidewalks and parks. Ervin's website says that "the proposal aims to tackle the safety concerns for children and residents and the unsightly attraction caused by prostitution and prostitution-related loitering in areas around the city." This is an absurd and discriminatory proposal, modeled on such gems as the city's gang-loitering ordinance (which effectively makes it illegal for young men of color to occupy public places) and sex-offender free zones (that result in encampments of homeless former sex-offenders under bridges when there's nowhere left to live). If you are a Chicago resident, please take a minute to write to your alderman using the letter below or one of your own. 

Use this letter if you are a resident of another ward :

(find your alderman at http://www.chicityclerk.com/citycouncil/alderman/find.html)

April 15th, 2011

Re: Prostitution-Free Zones

Dear Alderman FILL IN THE BLANK,

      As a resident of your ward, I am deeply disappointed with the city council proposal to ban convicted prostitutes from public areas of our city. Creating "prostitution-free zones" is a violation of the human rights of targeted individuals, and a wrong-headed approach to the problems associated with prostitution.

      Laws that calls for selective enforcement, like Chicago's gang-loitering ordinance, are often discriminatory in their enforcement. Young people of color are unjustly targeted. African-American women are already disproportionately prosecuted for prostitution in our city, and women perceivedto be prostitutes would be subject to increased police harassment under this legislation. The streets and parks of Chicago belong to all its citizens, and become safer when we work together for community improvement.

      The ability to obtain other forms of work and the chance to receive student loans are limited for convicted prostitutes. An alderman concerned about the prevalence of prostitution in his ward should work to create job and educational opportunities for former prostitutes, not limit their presence in public space. Prostitutes are members of our community, and you should address their safety and opportunities for growth, not their "unsightliness."

      It is easier to target convicted prostitutes than it is to address the problem of violence and the shortage of viable employment in our city. It is my hope that you will not use prostitutes as scapegoats in "tough on crime" measures as alderman. Thank you for reconsidering your approach to this issue.

                             YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION  HERE

Use this letter if you are a resident of the 28th ward:

April 15th, 2011

Re: Prostitution-Free Zones

Dear Alderman-Elect Jason Ervin,

      As a resident of your ward, I am deeply disappointed with your proposal to ban convicted prostitutes from public areas of our city. Creating "prostitution-free zones" is a violation of the human rights of targeted individuals, and a wrong-headed approach to the problems associated with prostitution.

      Laws that calls for selective enforcement, like Chicago's gang-loitering ordinance, are often discriminatory in their enforcement. Young people of color are unjustly targeted. African-American women are already disproportionately prosecuted for prostitution in our city, and women perceivedto be prostitutes would be subject to increased police harassment under this legislation. The streets and parks of Chicago belong to all its citizens, and become safer when we work together for community improvement.

      The ability to obtain other forms of work and the chance to receive student loans are limited for convicted prostitutes. An alderman concerned about the prevalence of prostitution in his ward should work to create job and educational opportunities for former prostitutes, not limit their presence in public space. Prostitutes are members of our community, and you should address their safety and opportunities for growth, not their "unsightliness."

      It is easier to target convicted prostitutes than it is to address the problem of violence and the lack of viable employment in our ward. It is my hope that you will discontinue your use of prostitutes as scapegoats in future "tough on crime" measures as alderman. Thank you for reconsidering your approach to this issue.

                                 YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION HERE