Longstanding policy debates over how prostitution/sex work should be thought about and responded ... more Longstanding policy debates over how prostitution/sex work should be thought about and responded to have been upended in the USA by a growing tendency to conflate the practice with sex trafficking. US law and social policy have converged most fully on this issue in a movement to eradicate what has come to be known as the commercial sexual exploitation of children. One outcome of this movement has been an expanded focus on prosecuting and imprisoning pimps and other legal adults who support or abet juridical minors involved in the sex trade. This paper will show that the simplistic, one-size-fits-all narrative of the child victim and the adult exploiter inherent in this policy does not reflect the realities of street-based sex work in the USA. After 2 years of ethnographic and social network research in two cities, we find that sex market-involved young people participate in a great diversity of market–facilitation relationships, many of which provide the only or the most crucial foundation for their support networks. A social policy based on a one-dimensional construction of the child victim and the adult exploiter not only endangers these crucial relationships but also disappears the real needs of young people involved in the exchange of sex for money.
Despite popular views and iconic American imagery, Latina/o involvement with illegal drugs in the... more Despite popular views and iconic American imagery, Latina/o involvement with illegal drugs in the United States has historically been less than or comparable to that of other ethnic groups. Greatly contributing to the perception that Latina/os are intimately and routinely involved in the production, distribution, and use of illegal drugs in the United States has been mainstream knowledge that some illegal drugs are produced in and imported from a few Latin American countries. The perceived but misinformed connection between Latina/os and illegal drugs has generated an inordinate amount of attention to Latina/o neighborhoods from the criminal justice system and law enforcement. This focus on Latina/os as a major part of the drug problem in the United States has, in turn, had a detrimental impact on Latina/os and their communities. From no source have these negative effects emerged more steadily and forcefully than from the “War on Drugs.”
First used in Europe during the 1600s, the word pimp today signifies a uniquely U.S. invention. I... more First used in Europe during the 1600s, the word pimp today signifies a uniquely U.S. invention. Indeed, the Americanized version of the pimp as a young black male from “the ghetto” has achieved global iconic status in film, television, and music. Research on pimps focuses on constructing hierarchical typologies and tends to alternate between construing pimps as either manipulative, misogynistic, and violent sociopaths or counterhegemonic ghetto heroes. Recently, a debate has begun to emerge over the degree to which pimps are involved in a supposed increase in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Longstanding policy debates over how prostitution/sex work should be thought about and responded ... more Longstanding policy debates over how prostitution/sex work should be thought about and responded to have been upended in the USA by a growing tendency to conflate the practice with sex trafficking. US law and social policy have converged most fully on this issue in a movement to eradicate what has come to be known as the commercial sexual exploitation of children. One outcome of this movement has been an expanded focus on prosecuting and imprisoning pimps and other legal adults who support or abet juridical minors involved in the sex trade. This paper will show that the simplistic, one-size-fits-all narrative of the child victim and the adult exploiter inherent in this policy does not reflect the realities of street-based sex work in the USA. After 2 years of ethnographic and social network research in two cities, we find that sex market-involved young people participate in a great diversity of market–facilitation relationships, many of which provide the only or the most crucial foundation for their support networks. A social policy based on a one-dimensional construction of the child victim and the adult exploiter not only endangers these crucial relationships but also disappears the real needs of young people involved in the exchange of sex for money.
Despite popular views and iconic American imagery, Latina/o involvement with illegal drugs in the... more Despite popular views and iconic American imagery, Latina/o involvement with illegal drugs in the United States has historically been less than or comparable to that of other ethnic groups. Greatly contributing to the perception that Latina/os are intimately and routinely involved in the production, distribution, and use of illegal drugs in the United States has been mainstream knowledge that some illegal drugs are produced in and imported from a few Latin American countries. The perceived but misinformed connection between Latina/os and illegal drugs has generated an inordinate amount of attention to Latina/o neighborhoods from the criminal justice system and law enforcement. This focus on Latina/os as a major part of the drug problem in the United States has, in turn, had a detrimental impact on Latina/os and their communities. From no source have these negative effects emerged more steadily and forcefully than from the “War on Drugs.”
First used in Europe during the 1600s, the word pimp today signifies a uniquely U.S. invention. I... more First used in Europe during the 1600s, the word pimp today signifies a uniquely U.S. invention. Indeed, the Americanized version of the pimp as a young black male from “the ghetto” has achieved global iconic status in film, television, and music. Research on pimps focuses on constructing hierarchical typologies and tends to alternate between construing pimps as either manipulative, misogynistic, and violent sociopaths or counterhegemonic ghetto heroes. Recently, a debate has begun to emerge over the degree to which pimps are involved in a supposed increase in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
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