One of my favorite sites on the internet in the realm of fighting ignorance to human trafficking is found over at change.org. It’s a great site that focuses on several issues, but I always find my way to their website with the latest coverage of what’s going on when it comes to actually fighting human trafficking. You can check it out here.
I think one of the greatest obstacles to overcome in bringing down the giant of human trafficking is to tear down the walls of ignorance. There are one million too many people on the planet that don’t know a single thing about human trafficking. Yes, the might have heard of it, but they sure has heck don’t know anything about it. One of my heart’s desires is to see people brought into the reality of what this issue actually involves.
I read this article recently on the website and I wanted to share most of it with you. I’ll link back to it at the end of my post so that change.org can get some traffic and benefit from it more than I. Just don’t visit the dudes actual blog unless you’re going to share the gospel with him. Anyway, I think it’s really important to get into the mind of the “johns”, the men that purchase prostitutes, solicit them, and use and abuse them. Read this, but know that it’s rated PG-13… and you might cry. So if you’re sitting at your desk at work ladies, I’m warning you that your mascara might run.
:: Why I Slept with 1300 Women ::
British, self-proclaimed “prostitute connoisseur” Sebastian Horsley begins his commercial sex manifesto “Why I Slept with 1300 Women” with an unforgettable statement,I remember the first time I had sex-I still have the receipt. The girl was alive, as far as I could tell, she was warm and she was better than nothing. She cost me £20.
His bald description of the girl as less-than-enthusiastic (and possibly less-than-willing) is chilling. Since that first, dubious encounter, Horsley claims to have spent more than $180,000 on sex with over 1300 women. Horsley himself may be an anomaly among men, but his attitudes towards prostitution, women, and sexuality are emblematic of the the reasons human trafficking and exploitation are so prevalent in the commercial sex industry.
Horsely describes himself by claiming,
I am a connoisseur of prostitution: I can take its bouquet, taste it, roll it around my mouth, give you the vintage. I have used brothels, saunas, private homes from the Internet and ordered girls to my flat prompt as pizza.
In his bio, he directly compares women in prostitution to pizzas — both objects of his pleasure to be brought to him when he demands it. This is not an empowered view of women controlling their bodies and sexuality, but an objectifying view of women as the tools of male pleasure. Women in prostitution can refuse sex no more than a pizza can refuse to be eaten. He then rambles on for awhile about his detest for monogamy and emotional relationships, and goes on to discuss why he respects prostitutes,
A prostitute exists outside the establishment. She is either rejected by it or in opposition to it, or both. It takes courage to cross this line.
This shows a common misconception among men who use women in prostitution — that all women in prostitution enter it freely and willingly because they see it as empowerment, a way to rebel, or simply their occupation of choice.
