Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights by Molly Smith, Juno Mac

8 reviews

kirstenf's review

informative medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content, Transphobia, Murder, Police brutality, Classism, Racism, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Addiction, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

sedgewren's review

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

A clear and sharp analysis of the failings of the regulations around the world that exacerbate the difficulties and dangers of sex workers' daily lives. Sex work is work, and most sex workers do sex work for the same reasons most people work: for an income to survive.

This book clarified my views and helped me think through my intersectional feminist politics and applying it to the controversial topic of sex work — the combination of thorough research and compelling anecdotes provided a compelling argument for decriminalisation of sex work (this leading to sex work being regulated just like the rest of the labour market). We should be centering the experiences of sex workers when talking about regulating sex work, and criminalisation does not lead to abolition.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to any feminists who are unsure what to think about prostitution, and also to any policymakers who want to help alleviate the suffering and difficulties of the most marginalised in our society.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Death, Drug abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, and Racism

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

It’s really really informative. I would almost say it’s too much information for such a small book. You have to pay attention at all times. There’s so much to know and it’s an excellent book. I love that it is a book about sex work written by sex workers. I learned so much. I definitely would recommend to anyone curious about worldwide sex work. I really appreciated the different government perspectives as well as their perspectives and what they think is going right and what they’re getting wrong.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Violence, Addiction, Transphobia, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Racism

tuesday_evening's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Deportation

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Gaslighting

catherinedsharp's review

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Did I like this book? Yes and no. Let’s start with the negative.

The writing style was quite dense and academic so although this is to be expected for a piece of non - fiction, it was quite inaccessible in my opinion. Additionally there was a lot on what is happening that does not help sex workers and very little in comparison on what would help.

Despite this I found it a very interesting read! Despite the slow pace, I was always reading more and enjoyed learning about an area that I don’t know much about. There was lots of data and references to further information.

Overall I enjoyed this text although I found it difficult to read at times which has brought the rating down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

georgiam06's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Ableism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

pathfinder's review against another edition

5.0

So digestible. Honestly everyone should read this book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Transphobia, and Racism

susannaobrien's review

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

An incredibly important read for anyone who claims to be a feminist or supporter of worker & human rights. Molly Smith and Juno Mac present a clear, compelling and thoroughly researched case for decriminalisation of sex work and surrounding policy reform. Their argument is based on the material experiences of actual, current sex workers (as opposed to misguided, paternalisti instincts of anti-prostitution feminists) and is underpinned by principles of harm reduction methods, that give sex workers more, not less, power as workers. They don't shy away from complexity in their arguments or solutions: they present the relative strengths and failings of various models; explain how sex worker's issues are inseparable from issues of poverty, migration controls, policing, racism, transphobia and more; and debunk myths that are pervasive in the "saviouristic" rhetoric around sex work. This is a brilliant introduction to the sex worker's rights movement and I want to recommend it to everyone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Transphobia, Trafficking, Racism, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion