“I asked those people who said that it was such a good job, why don’t they go and give a guy a blow job, so they can afford to eat a sandwich afterwards ?â€
Yolande Grenson, Belgium
Brussels-based feminist and filmmaker Marie Vermeiren has made a 23’ film challenging numerous myths about the prostitution environment, making visible some of the conditions for women in prostitution, and also bringing analytical and political perspectives for forward action.
The film is based on interviews with women from different
parts of the world, and the focus of the film is to
transmit the voices and analysis of women that have
experienced prostitution. Their voices challenge the
traditionalist positions and views of the sex-industry
as something…sexy ( !), cheerful, choice driven,
and…inevitable. It exposes the exploitative and cynical
character of the business, its inherent racism (or
demand for ‘exoticism’), and the omnipresent ‘allabout-
profit’ logic.
But, the film does not only provide a reality check to the analysis put forward in the more academic or political discourses on prostitution and its industry, it also indicates that we can do something about it. One of the main messages is that one must target the demand for exploitation of women in the sex industry, i.e. the buyers of women in prostitution, and their friends - the profit driven pimps. Or as Fiona Broadfoot from the UK puts it :
“We can take as many women out of prostitution as we can, but if we don’t do anything about the demand [for women in prostitution] there will always be a million more to step into the shoes of the vulnerable”
Order a copy (English, French, German, and Spanish subtitles available) : [mailto: aroom@aroom.org>mailto: aroom@aroom.org]
View the on-line version (in English and French) :
www.womenlobby.org/site/video_en.asp
www.womenlobby.org/site/video_fr.asp
