A review of Brook Anderson’s novel, ‘Object of Desire’, which is set in 2031, four years after India fully decriminalises prostitution. Read More
Book review: ‘Object of Desire’ by Brooks Anderson
The Idea of Prostitution: Q&A with Sheila Jeffreys and Rose Hunter
Sex trade survivor, Rose Hunter, interviews Sheila Jeffreys about her trailblazing book, The Idea of Prostitution. Read More
Porn is killing sex and what to do about it
Review of Gary Wilson’s brilliant book, Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction. Read More
Women as “bags, pouches, pots or saucepans”: A review of ‘Towards the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood’
Review of ‘Towards the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood’ which provides a profound and urgent feminist critique of the modern surrogacy industry. Read More
“As long as porn exists, we don’t stand a chance of creating a fair and equal world”
Thoughts on “He Chose Porn Over Me”: Women Harmed by Men Who Use Porn, edited by Melinda Tankard Reist Read More
Last Girl First! A book review
A review of ‘Last Girl First! Prostitution at the intersection of sex, race & class-based oppressions’, which provides cast iron evidence that everywhere in the world, it is overwhelmingly the most marginalised women and girls who end up trapped in the prostitution system. Read More
BODY SHELL GIRL by Rose Hunter: A review
A review of Rose Hunter’s brilliant and moving book, ‘Body Shell Girl’, which takes us into the massage parlours, brothels and other dark places of her first two years in the sex industry. Read More
ANY GIRL by Mia Döring: ‘Getting paid to please, to endure, to put up with, not to enjoy’
Our review of ‘ANY GIRL: A memoir of sexual exploitation and recovery’ by Mia Döring. In a word, this book is a must read. Read More
The lies come easily: A review of ‘The Service’ by Frankie Miren
A critical review of ‘The Service’ by Frankie Miren, which was published by Influx Press on 8 July 2021. Read More
Josephine Butler: Pioneering feminist activist
Josephine Butler was a pioneering Victorian feminist who was famous for her activism against the sex trade and the punitive, sexist laws known as the Contagious Diseases Acts. This article provides a brief outline of her political awakening, her involvement in the campaign for women’s suffrage, education and employment, and her leadership of the ultimately successful campaign to overturn the Contagious Diseases Acts. Read More
The women behind the windows in Amsterdam’s red light district
A review of ‘Body for Rent’ by Anna Hendricks and Olivia Smit.
This is the true story of two girls being groomed, and then pimped into the windows of the famous De Wallen red light district in Amsterdam on the day they reach 18, the magical age that prostitution becomes legal in the Netherlands, and their subsequent years of struggle to get free. Underlying this story is another one: the power of the love and friendship between the two women, even under the most brutal circumstances and the best efforts of their pimp to drive a wedge between them. Read More
Rape, stigmatisation and textual victimisation
In this article, Helena Brors discusses the 2015 Swedish book, Allt som är mitt: Våldtäkt, stigmatisering och upprättelse (which translates as: Everything that’s mine: Rape, stigmatisation and amends) by two ‘sex-positive feminists,’ Alexander Chamberland and Anna Svensson, and exposes in a brilliant and illuminating way many of the logical fallacies that both ‘sex-positive’ feminists and pro-sex trade lobbyists routinely make.
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A critical review of ‘Revolting Prostitutes: The fight for sex workers’ rights’ by Juno Mac and Molly Smith
‘Revolting Prostitutes: The fight for sex workers’ rights’ is a clever attempt to sell the full decriminalisation of the sex trade as the only enlightened solution to prostitution. But the authors are not as clever as they seem to think they are. In this review, we tease out key themes in the book and show why many are at best over-simplification and at worst misrepresentation of the facts. Read More
A review of Exit! by Grizelda Grootboom
Exit! is the harrowing true story of Grizelda Grootboom’s journey into and through prostitution. Many people justify prostitution on the basis of the prostituted person’s choice. Grizelda’s story reveals the shallow irrelevance of this idea in a life blighted by childhood neglect and abandonment, rape, racism, poverty and lack of opportunity, coercion, betrayal and abduction. While Grizelda’s story is unique, there are many elements that are common to many of those who are prostituted worldwide. Read More