My Body, My Choice, and the Choice is Whether or Not I Eat Tonight
How Prostitution can be someone’s last resort
“Talamai knows what work he is talking about. She has done it quite a few times by the Koyla Road, where many Santhal women and girls steal coal from trucks.” -The Adivasi will Not Dance
I went to my local pharmacy store the other night with a friend and while putting our bags in the trunk of my car, we noticed something odd. I could not help but stare at these two women, one black and one white, wearing fishnets, a tube top, some high stilettos, and heavy make-up. They looked angry, were talking to the men they were with that the cashiers could give them change, and they seemed to all be heading somewhere. It was obvious what these girls were doing, and that was sex work.
My friend and I were shocked and, I will admit, we chuckled a bit because we never thought we would see “hookers” out in public, especially at a pharmacy store. I kept wondering why they stuck out to me and I figured at first it was because how they were dressed. I did not think that the typical, generic look of a hooker was something that realistically was used, and I thought that I was just surprised by actually seeing one in public. But as the night went on, and I thought about the women more and more, I realized what it was that stuck out to me. It wasn’t the shimmery, dark eye make-up, or the fishnet stockings, or even the big, gleaming hoop earrings. No, it was their expression and attitude. You see, these women did not only look angry, but they looked emotionless. They had the vibe that we get from someone we are doing business with. There were no emotions between them and the men, just work. And that made me wonder why they were doing that kind of work since they both pretty, young women. Then, it struck me. We live in Riverside.
Riverside used to be a great city. We have remnants of that, like the Mission Inn, or our Orange Groves. But as the years have gone by, it seems that the Inland Empire has become the dumping ground of Orange County and Los Angeles County. We receive the homeless, the criminals, the rejects of the higher class. Across the United States, Riverside is considered safer than a mere 10% of the United States. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem very safe to me. As a resident, I can tell you that most of the time, it is a bit hard to feel safe. It seems that we are constantly getting school emails about sexual assault, people getting mugged, cars being stolen, and all that sort. It becomes normal. That’s what it was for these women. It was normal.
It seems that sex work becomes popular in places of poverty. How can it not? When all you have is yourself, sometimes we have to use that in order to attain food and money. I know I referred to the book “Animal’s People” by Indra Sinha in my last publication, but how can I not? It portrays a lot of issues that happen behind what we are really see. One part that really stood out to me was Animal’s childhood friend Anjali. Anjali was taken away by “a woman and two men” while working in the fields. As Animal put it, “Her story’s the same as so many you hear.” As she tells Animal her story and how she got into sex work, she says it so nonchalantly as if she has accepted her new life. As she says, “‘Madam paid money for me. Think she’ll let me go just like that? A girl tried to run away, the pimps caught her, they beat her, then they threw acid in her face.’” When Animal tries to tell her to leave, her excuse is “I have no money.” This is the reality of the situation in India, and the situation in Riverside. Sometimes, people have no money, and they take what they can get.
Sex work, or at least trading sex in order to get ahead in life, happens a lot, and although many women would love to avoid it, many women cannot. One example is the MeToo movement. Since 2017, the MeToo movement has blown up. It started with many young actresses coming forward to accuse film producer, Harvey Weinstein, of sexually assaulting women and having them do sexual favors for him in order to advance their careers, or at the very least, not defile them. Many people, according to ThinkProgress, knew about Harvey’s “open secret”, as they put it, but no one did anything about it. It became normal. When Weinstein was finally confronted, he did not argue about it. He simply accepted it, paid eight of his victims off, and went on with his merry way. Because of these hidden sexual assaults, women were pushed confront their victims with the hashtag “#MeToo”. It became a moment where women could come out from the shadows and talk about all the inequalities that occurred. Although it is such a good movement, it still leaves us with one problem. What about the women who cannot speak about it? Sure, when you have a wide fan base or family to support you, it is definitely easier to speak out against your abuser. But what if you don’t have a support system? What if you don’t have the money to leave, like Anjali? That’s the reality of the issue. Everyone says that our it’s our choice to do what we want with our bodies, but what choice do we really have if it is between life and death?
