Suzzan Blac Art: Resilience and Truth

I love your comments and I follow all the links I get. We might argue, but most often we share anger, indignation, ideas and solidarity (yes, I’m lucky that you take the time to leave a word of appreciation!)

This time, I -was lucky enough that Suzzan Blac read my text, commented, and left me an open door to her work.

I followed the link and it was mind-blowing. Her story is sadly way too common. Her resilience is not.

“Suzzan Blac’s early years were the stuff of the darkest nightmares: abject poverty and spirit-crushing abuse. Adolescence brought a harrowing coercion into the horrific world of the sex trade where she was held prisoner. She escaped, but spiraled into depression. Eventual marriage to a loving man and two beautiful children gave her a sense of normalcy for the first time in her life. But the long buried memories kept her an emotional hostage. To free herself and heal, she started painting. Out came 42 pieces, so raw they shocked even the artist. She hid them for a decade. When finally she revealed them, fame followed. Her work is exhibited around the world.”

Her art breaches intellectual defenses and hypocrisy. Her art overwhelms the heart. You can’t search “logical” counter arguments while looking at it. This is visceral, you absorb her message, and suddenly the story of her life is yours too. The trigger warning comes here, as many will recognize themselves in the things she paints, those things people don’t like to talk about. It’s distressing.

Feminism is NOT a private issue: a powerful lesson by Ellen Ekman

Stockholm comics scene is incredible. One of my favorite comic artist is Ellen Ekman. In 4 squares, she adresses an issue much better than I and my arm-long articles. (And think that she publishes one piece a day in the metro!!) I wish to translate for the English public this piece from the 12th June 2014.

This one addresses a very important women’s and public health issues, and why tagging something “my choice” will never be as powerful as treating it as making it “our problem“. So let’s treat all, and I mean all – health, prostitution, schools, public space and our safety- as collective matters.

 

“Lines 3, 15, 63 and 19 are delayed due to the presence of a bag of crisps on the rail lines …If no one denounces oneself, we are not going further … ok?”

Lilla Berlin repointe le bout du nichon!

Yay! Le Lilla Berlin nouveau est arrivé!

Après un interminable mois de vacances, Ellen Ekman est de retour avec Lilla Berlin. Qui en quatre cases, fait mieux qu’un long discours!

– Excusez moi, mais il est interdit de bronzer seins nus sur cette plage. Je vous signale qu’il y’a des enfants ici!

– Ah ouais, ça serait particulièrement horrible qu’ils puissent voir cette partie du corps que 50% d’entre eux auront en grandissant…

Amnesty International and Mens rights: buy and sell sex

German version available on: http://www.abolition2014.blogspot.de/

Warm thanks to @IngeReed -German version- and @PhoenixUtters for fixing, reading, translating, and editing! !

 

According to an internal leaked document from Amnesty International, the organization fights hard to defend people involved in prostitution. Namely, clients and pimps.

This document is not an harmless draft escaped from an intern’s drawer. This is an internal policy document to define the global strategy of the organization on the prostitution issue. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter wrote an open letter to Amnesty, because such a policy in destroying YEARS of progress in the fight against sexual exploitation. Amnesty Sweden and Amnesty Australia have publicly dissociated themselves from their headquarters.

This document states that criminalizing a prostitute’s client is an attack against both privacy and individuals free choice. This document also states that the access to  prostituted women is a fundamental human right.

NO LESS.

Amnesty is a prestigious organization known for its fight for the rights of political prisoners, against forced marriages, against summary executions, etc. And it is now campaigning for men’s rights to access the bodies of those more vulnerable than themselves. This is both shocking and hard to understand. In a time where the debate around prostitution is raging, it is of extreme importance to analyze Amnesty’s text, and understand the significance of this stance- especially when it is defended by an organization which inspires people.

So how, when and why did Amnesty turned it’s back on the victims and began to fight for the pimps?

In 12 points, we will see that:

1. Amnesty deliberately mixes up the conflicting interests of prostituted women and buyers;

2.  Amnesty minimizes the extent of human trafficking for sexual exploitation;

3. Amnesty the emotional and physical costs of prostitution and present it as an autonomous life choice;

4. Amnesty defends full decriminalization, while legalizing countries have turned to disasters;

5. Amnesty defines prostitution as female empowerment for those living with less than 2,50$ a day;

6 and 7: Amnesty definition of sex work. When food and shelter become remuneration;

8. Amnesty defends porn, in the name of ART and freedom of expression;

9. Amnesty defends pimping as support function;

10. Amnesty considers access to prostitutes as a New Mens’ Right;

11. Amnesty quotes International Treaties but lie about their content;

12. Amnesty defends clients, because # notallmen are violent!

And (conclusion), you may want to know why Amnesty is taking this stance? A sickening yet foreseeable reply.

Bonne nouvelle! Le féminisme EST à vendre.

Bon alors suite aux réclamations et aux mouvement de foules de deux personnes, voici la traduction en français (original ici) de l’article sur Le féminisme à vendre!

 

Edit: Merci @annaploime pour ta relecture, il y’avait du boulot!

En colère #commeunefille

L’un des aspects de mon travail est de rédiger des rapports analytiques sur les grandes tendances dans la criminalité transnationale. En plus sexy, je fais de l’analyse criminelle. Dès que l’on m’en donne la possibilité, j’essaie d’inclure une réflexion sur le genre ou d’adopter un point de vue “non-traditionnel”. Le dernier article que j’ai co-écrit devait discuter de l’abondance nouvelle de la méthamphétamine en Afrique de l’Ouest, ainsi que du rôle prépondérant des femmes dans la réponse sociale.

Entre ma première version et la version finale conjointe, l’article a été modifié et ré-édité, à tel point que ma préoccupation initiale (qui était, pour rappel, l’importance des groupes de femmes dans les sociétés traditionnelles et leur rôle indispensable dans la lutte anti-drogue) était quasiment absente.

A la fin, les femmes sont présentées comme une structure sociale parmi d’autres, loin derrière les médias ou des groupes religieux. Et pour aggraver les choses, la publication a été retardée de plusieurs semaines, pour faire place à une autre analyse. La visite du président du Kazakhstan en Chine. Qui était donc plus importante que les actions de millions de femmes africaines.

Encore une fois, un sujet concernant des millions de femmes ne faisait pas le poids face à un sujet sur un seul homme, fut il président.

Mais tout ceci est sur le point de changer.

Good news: Feminism IS for sale!

A French version of the same text (more or less) has been made available by your favorite boxer here.

Angry. #likeagirl

One of the components of my job is to write criminal analysis papers. I try to reflect on gender perspectives when I’m given the possibility. The last paper I co-authored was supposed to discuss women’s role in fighting the new methamphetamine threat in West Africa.

Before publication, it has been edited to the point where this primary concern was almost absent. Women groups in traditional societies were the crux of my reflexion. Several edits later, women groups have been reduced to a social structure amongst others, way behind media or religious groups.

And to make things worse, the paper has been delayed several weeks, to make room for another analysis about the visit of a Central Asia country president to China. This was considered of greater importance than the actions of millions of West African women actions.

Like a story on millions of women was no match compared to a story on a single man, let him be president.

But this is about to change.

 

A lot is happening right now in the world. Numerous feminist movies, documentaries, articles, demonstrations, commercials, blogs, campaigns, artistic projects, just name it.

At the same time, members of our community are increasingly afraid of the recuperation of our movement for equal rights. Many think that the recuperation by the movie, advertisement and other commercial industries will just destroy us, and transform the 4th wave of feminism into pink marketing.