[SWAF-Potluck] I apologize...

[Andy Sorfleet]

I want to say I am sorry for responding in haste to posts from several
list subscribers (Raven, Susan, Esther) yesterday. I realize now that
I am somewhat emotional about this issue and I was obviously having
difficulty expressing myself. I should have taken more time to
consider my words.

We could argue endlessly about the merits of the conclusions drawn by
researchers. I know that I cannot make definitive statements about
data which I have not had access to. And, perhaps such a debate was
not appropriate for this forum which is about sex workers and friends
and eating!

One point I will not compromise, however, is that statements that
suggest sex workers make poor decisions regarding clients and unsafe
sex -- regardless if they are true or not -- promote a very
well-entrenched stigma. And I find myself extremely insulted when
research makes such claims.

I worked as a male prostitute for over a decade during the AIDS crisis
-- over three of those years included work on the street. HIV research
through that time consistently scapegoated male prostitutes for the
spread of AIDS into the heterosexual family. When you make claims that
sex workers fail to negotiate safe sex, you are saying that we don't
care for our clients. We don't care for ourselves, and we don't care
about our community.

I think it is important and healthy for sex workers to discuss such
issues among themselves. However, when you distribute this letter with
such a statement, you are asking powerful people to endorse that
statement and present it to the highest authority.

Powerful public statements which suggest that sex workers exercise
poor judgement, call into question sex workers judgement and ability
to negotiate. This undermines sex workers' attempts to define and
direct their own industry and working conditions. Instead, the
government will look to researchers to determine workplace
regulations.

Sex workers do not need researchers to represent their interests. And,
it is not in sex workers' best interest to allow others to represent
them. Sex workers can and will represent their interests for
themselves. This is the only way that we can fight the age-old stigmas
associated with prostitution -- including that we are vectors of
disease.


Sincerely,
Andrew