Group tags vacant motel in support of respect for sex workers
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SEATTLE -- A group calling itself Grrrl Army used spray paint to transform a motel into a political billboard about prostitution.
The feminist group left the painted message on the Italia-Isabella Motel, which shut down more than a year ago over problems with prostitution. The group says it wanted to make a statement about equality, but some say the result is no more than an eyesore.
"People try to put sex workers and especially prostitutes in this very separate category of 'person that's not worth respect,"' said one Grrrl Army group member who wished to remain anonymous.
The woman said the graffiti carries a message: everyone deserves dignity and respect, even women and girls who work the streets.
"They are human beings," said the woman. "We all owe it to each other to keep all of us safe."
Neighbors, however, are a little taken aback. They say the building was an eyesore in the past, but the transformation by Grrrl Army wasn't exactly what they had in mind.
"I'm like not against their message, but this is just like our house, our neighborhood. It's not like a billboard to post your opinions," said area resident Brian Smoak.
Grrrl Army did not seek the building owner's permission, and tagging private property is a crime. But the group member who spoke to KOMO News said the message is worth the risk.
"I hope that for that building in specific, sex workers feel more supported," she said, adding the message is intended for pimps and Johns as well. "I hope that they think about what their role is in all of this, and how they are affecting other people."
The feminist group left the painted message on the Italia-Isabella Motel, which shut down more than a year ago over problems with prostitution. The group says it wanted to make a statement about equality, but some say the result is no more than an eyesore.
"People try to put sex workers and especially prostitutes in this very separate category of 'person that's not worth respect,"' said one Grrrl Army group member who wished to remain anonymous.
The woman said the graffiti carries a message: everyone deserves dignity and respect, even women and girls who work the streets.
"They are human beings," said the woman. "We all owe it to each other to keep all of us safe."
Neighbors, however, are a little taken aback. They say the building was an eyesore in the past, but the transformation by Grrrl Army wasn't exactly what they had in mind.
"I'm like not against their message, but this is just like our house, our neighborhood. It's not like a billboard to post your opinions," said area resident Brian Smoak.
Grrrl Army did not seek the building owner's permission, and tagging private property is a crime. But the group member who spoke to KOMO News said the message is worth the risk.
"I hope that for that building in specific, sex workers feel more supported," she said, adding the message is intended for pimps and Johns as well. "I hope that they think about what their role is in all of this, and how they are affecting other people."
I work as a sex worker in Australia. I'm in a privillaged position - I have a BCs, and grew up in a middle-class Caucasian family. I choose to work as a sex worker. Nonetheless, I have respect for _all_ sex workers, not just those "high-class escorts" who earn the big bucks. I may not _like_ them, and I don't condone all their behaviours, but they are _human beings_. If we start treating everyone with respect - listen to their side of the story, look out for their health and wellbeing, and such things -Â it might amount to a huge movement of people caring about everyone they meet, not just those people they see as being "worthy".
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On the other hand, I don't feel that vandalising property is a valid course of action. It's illegal, and disrespectful to that community. I do know that in other states sex workers have made and paid for billboards to get this message across; if this isn't something that can be done here, I would ask people this: how would you get the word out?
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Legalisation of sex work can work - look at the progress made in New Zealand. Things are not perfect, but sex workers there are much better off than in other parts of the world.
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Where sex work must be run in a clandestine fashion, _of course_ that is dangerous. No support from police or the community, extremely limited health services, being forced to work alone where that is the only legal way of doing so - all these things increase the risk associated with sex work.
This is an exercise in futility. Of couse, they are human! But they are putting themselves in a dangerous and ugly business and there is nothing that can make it safe. The best thing they can do is get out of it.
@Willow - I apologize if this seems like a personal attack - but for you to seemingly blithely say "the best thing they can do is get out of it", as though they have never, ever thought of that before, or (even worse) as though they "could" get out of it but *ARE CHOOSING NOT TO*, strikes me as either very dismissive or very, very naive.
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Virtually nobody ever puts up their hand in high school on Career Day and goes "Oooh! Oooh! I know -- I wanna be a 'ho' !!" Being a working girl - especially, a street prostitute - is seldom, if ever, an actual 'choice'. It is something that is done as a last resort by women who have few, if any, other choices in life - and tragically, all too often, it is done by women (and men, as well) who have drug addictions, a need to retreat into drugs or alcohol to numb the pain of shattered lives, a need for quick ready cash to feed their addictions, and few (if any) other, legal work skills. If they had other, legal skills they could use with which to earn a living, they probably would not be turning tricks in the first place. Yes, it is a dangerous business - almost any working girl you can name has been raped or assaulted at some point. What makes it worse is that not only do working girls have to contend with potentially violent clients, they furthermore have to endure constant non-stop harassment from police, who seem to believe that if they make life sufficiently difficult and humiliating for hookers, the working girls will "just go back to being nuclear scientists and CEOs". I have seen cops dump out the contents of a working girl's purse all over the ground, confiscate their money, follow them literally foot-by-foot down the street for blocks at a time. This is the same Seattle Police Department which, on one occasion, did not show up to do anything about a brazen, broad-daylight robbery at the International House of Pancakes on Aurora Avenue or even take a report for TWO HOURS - despite the fact that Aurora Avenue is quite possibly among the most-heavily-patrolled arterials in Seattle.
Contrary to your assertion, though, there is something that could be done to make the business safer - namely, legalize prostitution, decriminalize it or at least set up a psecific area for it to be "tolerated" and then leave the working girls alone to earn a living in peace - but it's pretty well guaranteed that it will never happen. The Police Department, like most police forces in the U.S. and the world going all the way back to the Sheriff of Nottingham, generally answers to the moneyed classes and exists to protect the interests of the business community - not assist or defend people who are already on society's fringes or who are marginalized. The Aurora Avenue Merchants Association is an influential interest-group and one which likes to "crack the whip" and demand that the Police Department rush to "protect" them from the "scary, dangerous" bedraggled-looking working girls who sometimes traverse the businesses' property lines, and they are not likely to agree to stop trying to exert undue influence. Before blithely suggesting that working girls "just get out of the business", please consider what it is like for these women - many of whom have never held down a "straight" job in their lives - to try to turn their lives around.
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Would YOU, as a prospective business owner, be ready, willing and overjoyed to hire someone who has no permanent fixed address, who has to move from crummy motel to crummy motel, who has no job history, no references, no credit history, few if any legal skills, a drug habit which they are trying to get treatment for -- and, OH YEAH, a minor but possibly lengthy criminal record with possibly a number of arrests and/or convictions for prostitution?
"We all owe it to each other to keep all of us safe."
We are 10 times as many bacteria cells as human cells, just walking aquariums, so to speak. Look up M furfur. It's a cute little bug that falls off of people and can cause dandruff. That's one bug out of 1000 possibles. Not even a full body condom is complete protection. But you go ahead and feel safe.
One more thing. Painting a building the colour that everyone associates with nausea to promote your cause. Brilliant. Making people think of indigestion is not going to make anyone change their mind.
Way past time to legalize prostitution. Its another one of those religious laws that don't belong on the books.
I went to their facebook page and made a few comments about why they didn't ask the neighborhood first and why they choose that location because what they have done is illegal. They deleted my comments and blocked me from making any more. Nice. Way to have a discussion guys.
So...commit a crime to support a crime? I'm so confused!
"Group tags vacant motel in support of respect for sex workers" Sex workers? To imply prostitution is a legal profession where taxes are collected and paid. I did not know there was such a "job." How about showing yourself a little respect and not becoming a "sex worker."Â
@Bianca - How about getting a bleeping clue on your part and recognizing that these women are doing what they have to do in order to survive?
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And yes there is such a "job", in most CIVILIZED countries on the planet - a category which does not include the United States.
Why are feminist not against prostitution or strip clubs is beyond my logic? Don't these occupations feed on misogynist? I've heard men that frequent nude clubs (visual prostitution and more) that they basically hate women and women are there for their 100% satisfaction - women are just props.Â
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I'm not being a prude I'm asking a serious question. We claim we want/need to respect women yet the feminist support what seems to be a very degrading occupation/s.
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OK - consensual I suppose is the key word. Many people do jobs they hate so they in a sense prostitute themselves for the almighty dollar to survive - they can compartmentalize mentally and emotionally what they do from who they are...as long as it's safe...? Am I understanding this industry yet?
 @Truth Percolates Some are against - there is no major consensus among all feminists. I personally do not think this kind of work is good for the people who choose to do it, but I'm not into making other people's choices for them.
 @Truth Percolates There's a huge difference between consensual and non consensual. Most women in prostitution in the united states are there because they were forced into being sex workers at young ages (think 13,14, 15) and don't get to finish high school. With no diploma they can't break away from sex work because they can't get "real" jobs. Most porn and strip club work is consensual. My own sister was a stripper and she loved it. She never got into drugs, liked dancing, liked the money. She didn't do it for a long period of time but it was totally her decision and wasn't made under duress.
I like the message in Photo #1. I know we all come from different walks of life & instead of judging these young women which is so easy to do I'd prefer to give some compassion. I think many of them were forced into it at an early age and don't know anything else. Of course you will always have the ones that are into it because they are drug addicts etc. If we legalized prostituition do you think we'd have less crime, safer streets, less STD infections, etc - I do. Women and men selling their bodies for cash will never end. It's the oldest profession so instead of doing what we are doing (which is not working) lets clean it up and make it legal. PS - that color is god awful - reminds me of Pepto and I would not want to see that in my neighborhood.
Until being a "sex worker" is considered legal I don't think so. That is like saying respect "drug dealers" and "pimps". Bottom line their goal is the exact same which is to profit.
 @tkyed Funny how that goal is considered great in other businesses and some people are automatically granted respect and legitimacy when perhaps they shouldn't. I do not want anyone to go into the sex trade, but I must respect the fact that they are human beings.
Funny I came across this post since I just drove down that area this morning. I did indeed see an obvious hooker covered in meth scabs all over her face twitching like crazy and I'm sorry to say the last word that popped in my head was "respect". One of the taggings says "keep sex workers safe" I'm sorry but that is one fo the funniest things I have ever heard. I chose to go to college got a great job and after 9 years was laid off. Guess what I never gave up and now I have another great job and sit in a nice warm office and I would never ask for anyone to keep me safe but myself. If you decide to stand on the corner at 3am to make $ for your drug habit THAT IS YOUR CHOICE. I'm sorry but a lot of these prostitues are not all sweet and innocent. What about the guy who was killed in his car in the Krispy Kreme parking lot on Aurora by a prositute because he would not give her any $. Some I do feel truly sorry for BUT unfortunately they are outnumbered by the other ones.
@tkyed - Did it ever occur to you that going to college was not an available "choice" for working girls, most of whom are simply trying to survive and deal with the pain of pasts that often include horrific physical and sexual abuse, often at the hand sof people in their own families who were supposed to be PROTECTING and CARING for them? Or would that be too threatening to your obvious desire to feel "superior" to the working girl who was simply trying to survive? Life for a working girl is hard enough without your condescension and especially without your taunting and desperate attempts to maintain some kind of "moral superiority". news flash, you hook in your own way, you sell your skills in the workplace, too. You just have a "nicer" and more-legal set of skills to sell.
@tkyed I live near the krispy kreme, there are tons of prostitutes that dont respect me, my property or the community. They have sex in cars and throw the condom on my property. I have a neighbor that had to build a solid fence so his young children wouldn't see sex act taking place on the street behind their home. Respect is earned.
@graycat - lemme get this straight: the average kid will see something like 20,000 acts of violence by the time they turn 18, but you're terrified that they might witness somebody in the act of having sex. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense... not.
@graycat - Why don't you go up to them and pleasantly ask them if they could please put the detritis of their business in the garbage can? Or would it kill you to acknowledge them as human beings? They have sex in cars because the client doesn't want to pay for a motel room.
 @graycat  @tkyed sounds like you need to MOVE. Or call the cops more. Maybe get out there with a camera and start taping these sex acts and giving them to the police. I'm sure whatever sex act is going on will stop in a real friggin hurry if a camera is shoved in their face.
 @tkyed sounded like you had the perfect upbringing. Sadly, not everyone is as lucky as you.
@fremonster Really because my mom was a prostitute and single mom who died from a heroin overdose when I was 15!!
@tkyed - in that case, be glad and praise and thank your mom's spirit that she didn't decide to just abort you. You didn't "have to" get born.
 @tkyed  @fremonster giving the amount of judgment you so easily pass on to other people, I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking to themselves, "I Highly doubt that". But if so, I'm sorry for your loss. It's a shame the events in your life didn't give you a little more of a heart.
 @tkyed Agree with you to an extent, but remember that you and I probably had better parents and more advantages than anyone who winds up making the choice to prostitute their body. Meth sucks, no doubt about it.
 @tkyed Most women who are in sex work were forced into before they were 18,as young as 13-14. With no high school diploma, finding "real" work is extremely difficult.  Many are forced into it by their parents or after running away from abusive parents.Â
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So no, in general it really isn't a choice. Informing women of the few resources that exist is a pretty noble goal.
@quidproquo So what happens when you are 18? It is never too late to go back to school. It is never too late to change your life around. I know for a fact that when a prostitue gets arrested they get offered help to get out of that lifestyle and majority turn it down. If you are still in it as an adult then YES it is a choice. Yes they are human beings and I do feel horrible for the underage ones but when I see a prostitue in her 40's covered in meth scabs and I know that they have been offered the help but they chose not to accept it the NO I have no sympathy.Â
 @tkyed You need money and a place to live to go back to school. You need support. Speaking as someone who did college and most of high school with 0 parental support - it is awful.  I worked crazy hours, never had enough money for food, and came out with crazy loans.  You can't get food stamps if you are in school. You can't get welfare. There aren't alot of programs out there to support people going back to school for their GED.  Plus those people need to know that those programs exist at all - which GRRRLS is helping with.
Are there no editors at all at Komo? This headline reads like it was written by a moron.
The oldest profession in the world
Next there will be prostitution lobbying groups for laws benefitting the sex workers. Instead of financial contributions for the lawmakers, they will probably offer....well you get the idea.
I guess some women enjoy the inner Ho in them..... barf.  :(
This is plain stupid. I'm all for legalizing it, like Nevada, make sure the women are clean and then go for it. But this is a poor way to get the message out and I have little respect for prostitutes. Escorts (professionals), yes....but your street corner, STD laden whore who is looking to spread her disease to others while making money off it? Yeah, no respect there.
@dg54321 - the street-corner girl is trying to survive and doesn't own a computer or have computer skills. Or a car. if she had those things, she'd be advertising on Backpage.com and doing hotel calls instead of working on the street. I have little respect for YOU.
First thought was 'how do the neighbors feel about this' and sure enough, they don't like it. Â I wouldn't either. Â My neighbor is a jerk but at least he doesn't have a pepto house with HO on it. Â Buy a billboard and get your message out legally if you feel that passionate about it.
@Doxie - Too bleeping bad. Get over it. The place is going to be torn down eventually anyway.
 @Doxie yea...we're not diggin it. It's god awful and everything we are trying to get away from in this community. It would be nice if these groups would respect our neighborhoods and ask the locals how they feel, rather than forcing us to live with it. We don't even have hookers in that part of fremont anymore. They have all moved up the hill because the motels are closed. So, completely rude, illegal, disrespectful, and pointless graffiti. They want people to respect prostitutes, they should respect other peoples property and neighborhoods.
@fremonster - It ain't "your" property anyway in the first place, so quit whining. The place is in foreclosure, the lender doesn't give a bleep about it. Go get some paint and paint over it yourself if you don't like it. At least they are putting out a sex-positive message of respect for women who risk their lives to do a difficult and dangerous job.
 @fremonster Wish I could like your comment a thousand times. Â
Legalize it already! Drive the Puritans crazy! Regulate it. Tax it. Any business between two 'consenting' adults is their business. Only the 'morality' police will have issue. Oh... and these two of Lynnwood's finest. Remember this? (couldn't find a local link) Nice work officers! I know you're wives are proud. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/vice-cops-caught-red-handy-handied
GO GRRRL ARMY! Hell yes, yes, yes to guerilla messaging!
 @gappy98 yea, illegally defacing a building with pepto pink paint and painting in giant letters "HO" on the wall. Really awesome. You know what would have been more awesome? If they had asked the people who lived in that neighborhood (like me, and like the elementary school that is directly behind it) if we were ok with it. If we were ok that they are making it seem like this area of fremont is still a "red light district" like it says on their tumblr page. When in fact, NO. It is not. I have no seen ONE prostitute in my neighborhood in over 2 years. You know why? Because they closed the crap motels they were shooting up in and working out of several years ago. But yea, who cares, right? It's not their neighborhood. Nice to know we did all that work cleaning up our community for these guys to come in, paint all over it, and advertise their cause. Never mind that they don't even really seem to do anything but run out in the middle of the night and graffiti all over other peoples property. Hey guys..get a better hobby. Or better yet, why not actually DO something instead of defacing private property?
@fremonster - News flash, it ain't "your" property and nobody "needs" to ask your "permission".Â
Thats just crazy talk, SPD spends to many hard hours working on prostitution in titty bars and parlors of questionable services for any of this to be legal and have rights, crazy talk....
Seriously, we are supposed to support our local hookers? I thought it was illegal, I'm sure there are some very nice drug dealers, muggers home invaders etc... just trying to get by and make a living also. I can see helping them get real employment and getting them a safer life but not supporting illegal activity. No way.
@steve - What are they supposed to live on while they are trying to turn their lives around and get 'real" employment? What do you expect them to do - "just stop eating for a few months"? News flash, people do not live on hopes and dreams, people live on something called Money.
 @steve Most women who are in sex work were forced into before they were 18. With no high school diploma, finding "real" work is extremely difficult.
LOL!!!