5 Comments

1. 

   […] Homeabout « Rio Bravo: Masculinism and […]

   Reply

2. 

   If you’re giving thought to a ‘long form,’ non twitter, writing regarding what appears to be the current push to make global prostitution a legal VOCATION – despite the fact that 99.99999999999999999 percent of ‘prostitutes’ don’t make anything close to a livable wage, and generally end up being physically battered to a pulp (or death) and/or end up with deadly venereal diseases (new strains of gonorrhea have been reported to be near incurable) – you might consider reading up on the US Military in, Subic Bay, the Philippines, and Japan.

   I vividly recollect talking with a young Navy Medic, in the early 90’s, regarding the stunning amounts of Subic Bay gonorrhea of the throat he treated (99.999999 percent surely to have come from the US initially, as those young, underage, poverty ridden philippina virgins, at Subic Bay, mostly lost their ‘virginity’ to someone in the US NAVY). The US War – Rust Belt, et al – WAR Fodder (and certainly those LIFER GENERALS) were treated. No one wants to know what those young women (un”registered” and “registered “ [“registered” via the US Navy’s orders and back door funding, to the tune of? …..] went through, and how very young they were when so many died, …what became of their babies? ….. .

   A few links (delete the spaces in between the provided source ‘url’ addresses):

   02/25/13 – Americans Targeted for Allegedly Running Underage Prostitution in Philippines
   [ url = http : // abcnews . go.com / International/ americans-targeted-allegedly-running-underage-prostitution-philippines / story?id=18582802 [Targeted? … you can bet horrid Higher Up with money to invest ex MIC USAians are doing exactly that]]

   The bars in this area are often packed with older foreign men ogling the young Filipina women available for the night for a “bar fine” of around 1,500 Filipino pesos, or just over $35. Many of the bars are owned and operated by Americans, often former military servicemen who either served on the base or whose ships docked here until the base was shuttered under political pressure in 1992.

   Most of the prostitutes working in the bars are indeed 18 or older. But in the Philippines, just a small scratch to the surface can reveal a layer of young, underage girls who have mostly come from impoverished rural provinces to sell their bodies to help support their families.

   …

   01/22/09 – Katharine Moon: Military Prostitution and the U.S. Military in Asia
   [ url = http : // www . dmzhawaii . org / p=1187 ]

   Where there are soldiers, there are women who exist for them. This is practically a cliché. History is filled with examples of women as war booty and “camp followers,” their bodies being used for service labor of various kinds, including sex. Contrary to common assumptions in the West, prostitution is not “part of Asian culture.” Just about every culture under the sun has some version of it during times of war and times of peace.

   In some ways, military prostitution (prostitution catering to, and sometimes organized by, the military) has been so commonplace that people rarely stop to think about how and why it is created, sustained, and incorporated into military life and warfare. Academic interest and analysis of this issue gained momentum only in the last twenty years and still remains scant and sporadic. Even as interest in women and gender as categories of analysis has increased in many academic disciplines, there is still a question of intellectual “legitimacy,” that is, whether prostitutes, prostitution, and sex work warrant “serious” scholarly attention and resources, especially for students of international politics. After all, it is a highly “personal” and therefore “subjective” matter and prone toward the proverbial “he said/she said” contestation. To boot, many have turned the feminist emphasis on women and agency on its head by glibly claiming that most military prostitutes sought out the work and life of their own free will and therefore are exercising their agency. In this view, it is primarily about women’s personal decisions and responsibility to face the consequences; governments and other institutions of society need not be held accountable.

   oh my, …who else knew ??? ..Gonorrhea is a hideously painful, deadly, sterilizing horror; particularly for young underage teen, children females. This, from the US National Institute of Health (and don’t ya just love that totally obscuring pluralizing acronym, FSWs™):

   10/??/96 – Impact of a gonorrhea control program, including selective mass treatment, in female sex workers.
   [ url = http : // www . ncbi . nlm .nih . gov / pubmed / 8843253 ]

   A gonorrhea control program initiated in 1967 in registered female sex workers (FSWs) in the Philippines involved weekly endocervical cultures …

   …

   05/27/90 – Prostitution: Legacy Of U.s. Troops In Philippines
   [ url = http : // articles . dailypress . com / 1990-05-27 / news / 9005318999_1_naval-base-base-at-subic-bay-sailor ]

   The situation is a veritable hothouse for the spread of venereal disease and for risky back-room abortions.

   “The girls are required to have a check-up every two weeks at the Social Hygiene Center, which is funded by the U.S. Navy,” said Lugibihl, who added, “The men don’t have to carry such cards.”

   Reply

   1. 

      thanks Diane. i will definitely look into all of this — i am in search of some of my old literature on US construction of brothels and the methods they used to enslave women in girls throughout various occupations in South America and South and Southeast Asia. nearly no westerner has heard about this, and the information is blacked out online as far as i can tell.

      Reply

3. 

   your so very welcome, honey.

   Reply

4. 

   as if it even matters (actually I feel, I actually pray to the animal benevolence , which more than occasionally shows itself, that it still does matter), but I’m a hopeless stickler for a somewhat survivable ending, and clarity, I had intended:

   You are (you’re) so very welcome, honey

   not “your”, as in the brutally cold and possessive techno default.

   sigh …..

   Reply