Slut Shaming Turned Savage
In her book Black Waters, my friend Linn Random — a noted author of mystery and suspense — wrote a haunting passage that details the final moments in the life of a young prostitute, a girl about to be murdered by a client.
As the young woman begs for a life that she knows is about to end, she thinks about the abusive childhood she suffered and that drove her onto the streets in the first place. She thinks about the dream that she had to open her own beauty salon with the little pet dog that she adores sitting in the window to greet incoming customers. A dream that she now realizes will never come true.
Then, in a matter of seconds, she is gone.
As I read Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell’s controversial column, “Rape case sends mixed messages about prostitution,” I thought about Linn’s haunting passage; her words just fueling the intense anger I felt as I read Mitchell’s musings.
In the Sept. 15 column, Mitchell asserts that a prostitute allegedly raped at gunpoint by a client she had met for sex did not suffer rape at all but rather “a theft of services.” She said that the sex worker’s claim of rape, in fact, “minimizes the act of rape” and “is an insult to real rape victims.”
It is Mitchell’s column in fact, that is an insult to all rape victims, as it does much to minimize the trauma and tragedy of sexual assault.
I wonder if Mitchell took a moment to ponder just what it would feel like to have a gun put to your head, to wonder if you’ll ever see your family again, to ponder the possibility that your life is about to end. And then to suffer the pain and trauma of rape — an act of violence and intimidation that has nothing at all to do with sex.
How on earth could Mitchell even consider classifying these heinous acts as thefts of services? She makes an alleged cold-blooded rapist sound like a kid who walked into a convenience store, ordered the preparation of a Frosty Freezee drink, and then grabbed the drink and ran without paying.
Our culture is filled with ideas and debates regarding the legalization of sex work, and truth be told I have mixed feelings about the issue. What I don’t have mixed feelings about is the fact that sex workers are human beings, and as such they maintain full control and autonomy over their own bodies at all times. They have the right to give and withdraw consent for sexual acts at all times, without fear of violence and threats to their lives.
Since Mitchell seems to enjoy shaming others, then I wonder how she’d like a good dose of it herself. So from one journalist to another Mary Mitchell, I say, “Shame on you.” From one human being to another, I say, “Shame on you.” From one woman to another I say, “Well there’s not enough shame in the world for you.”
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