Feminists Today: "How Dare You Call Prostitutes 'PROSTITUTES?'"

Meredith Jessup | August 27, 2009 5:09 PM

As Jillian mentioned, Katie Roiphe's essay on the joys of motherhood has unleashed some shock & awe today within the online "feminist" community. I came across Roiphe's essay being dissected on

Jezebel--a liberal feminist blog dedicated to "celebrity, sex [and] fashion for women." Coincidentally, Jezebel was also featuring a story highlighting a feature by The Sexist--a blog from DC's City Paper similarly dedicated to "sex and gender in DC." The Sexist's feature was an expos? on a local Washington, DC news station's report on the city's rampant prostitution problem. But instead of commenting how unfortunate it is that our nation's capital is infested with perverts and hookers, The Sexist went after Fox 5 for "demeaning" street workers.

The Fox 5 feature was trying to shed light on a new, disturbing trend in DC: prostitutes starting to "work" in broad daylight hours. Using some hidden-camera footage, the news program showed blurred images of scantily-dressed women teetering on sky-high heels on the prowl at 6am. "But while reporter Tisha Thompson's work included the requisite indignant neighbors, official police commentary and the money shots (sex workers adjusting their underwear)," The Sexist complains, "Fox 5 couldn't get a comment from one single sex worker. How demeaning is this segment?"

Aside from the fact that Fox 5 probably would be hard-pressed to find a prostitute willing to discuss her profession on camera, how exactly is it "demeaning" to report on the illicit and illegal activities of these women taking place in business and residential communities? Fortunately, The Sexist explains it for us:

1. The anchor describes the footage of the sex workers as “unsavory” and “unnerving.”
2. That footage of sex workers? FOX 5 sets it to a sexy hip-hop beat.
3. Oh, and the most “unnerving” thing about it? These sex workers have the audacity to work during the day. Those whores belong under the cover of darkness!
3. (<--?) When Thompson delivers the line, “It’s six o’clock in the morning and sharing the sidewalks with joggers, tourists and commuter buses: prostitutes,” she actually says the last part like this: “PROSTITUTES.”
4. The sex workers in the footage are almost completely blurred out—not just their faces, but in some cases, their entire bodies.
5. “Neighbors” aren’t just upset about the illegal activity—they’re also just totally grossed out by the sex workers.

I consider myself an actual feminist--one who believes in that a woman's strength and integrity define her, not social deviancy and promiscuity. Somehow I doubt that whining like this--about how "demeaning" it is to call prostitutes "prostitutes"--is what women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Abigail Adams imagined for the legacy of feminism in America.