Monday, September 10, 2012

sex work, gender, and feminism ? blackglassmoon

Categorization becomes problematic when we filter our perspectives through a binary lens. Gender is cross-culturally polarized, a category that feminism seeks to disassemble through difference. This social movement deconstructs dualisms as it encounters structures that limit visibility and voice. We cannot ignore the commonality of our diversity. Our narratives are able to articulate poems of our choice; lives of our choice. These are complex cultural and commoditized notions we place in the power of things. Sometimes these things are ink and pen, sometimes these things are dreams. Sometimes these things are our bodies. What part of ourselves represents who we are? Is it our identity, our employment, our memories, our relationships, or is it something else? A patriarchal culture of European colonization of the New World has infused its Western logic into the majority of the world. The cultural logic promotes salient qualities of masculinity that promote aggression towards women. In order to change this logic we must create space that allows a non-colonial acceptance; a place to share our stories.

If we unfold one argument, sex work is a byproduct of a patriarchal colonial and capitalist world. Many people view sex work as an environment that encourages violence towards women. This perspective reinforces the logic of colonial violence. The structure in the colonial exchange of service is such that it is organized in a hierarchal relationship. Here dominant subterfuge opposes a subservient marginalized one. In the monetary sense of sex work maybe, but what about the voice of these women? The societal construct embodies a polarized exclusionary view. What of male sex work and same-sex sex work? Furthermore why do we fear these alternative views of logic? How is sex work different from sitting in front of the computer at the office? How do fear and bodies utilize the sex industry and what does this say about colonialism and violence? Intimacy and sexuality in identity interplay the webbed structure and social nuance of power dynamics. Our inability to transcend society?s racial and gendered logic contributes to the victimization of its participants. If we are able to alter the logic that focuses on these issues we are able to liberate and empower a non-colonial love. This affects intimacy and our world culture on a larger social platform in an increasingly technologically connected world.

I am a survivor of domestic violence. In my work I share and seek language that makes visible alternative modes of logic in a way that valuably seeks to dissipate gender based violence. We live in a fluctuating lexicon of power ideologies of gender, economy, and cultural variables. ?An emotional intelligence within this framework is presented in a feminist discourse. The masculine perspective of the mind comingles with the feminine. The equations balance inequality and equality, contrast tradition and devastation, and support a frame work that seeks to support and disassemble structure at the same time. One of the ways in which we are able to change logic is by sharing our humanity in creative ways that nurture the similarities in our difference.

Patriarchal structures in language and culture are represented by the mind. Inequality is placed on the feminine body and the masculine is given dominance. I would like to examine how different structures of logic affect this rooted system and how we are able to change this logic through language. The architecture of the argument affects how I perceive gender, patriarchy, capitalism, and culture. As ?other? we reach a full spectrum of voice. Feminism requires flexibility. It is important to look at abusive and empowering patterns in sex work and how it confronts gender stereotypes, offsets categories of sexuality, and changes perspectives in empowerment, self, and body. This is in contrast to a disposable hierarchical relationship. Without the voice of ?other,? feminism fails. I explore these issues through the groundwork of a community immersed in such dialogues. These models embrace difference and accept contradiction.

The language of academia surrounding these topics is in need of unsettling, uncomfortable cracks. We create new divisions, valuable critique, and language that promote innovative points of view. Exchange in communication and perspective is necessary in art and human experience. Language is in itself its own body in every culture. It sets the paradigms for social constructs, cultural tradition, and technological novelty. In our contradictions we find the schisms necessary for conversations that dissolve dualisms. Poetry is a way to investigate the tensions I have outlined. When we are placed outside of our comfort zone, we learn the most about ourselves because we in hand become ?other?. When we accept ourselves as ?other? we empower the world community as a whole.

Source: http://blackglassmoon.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/sex-work-gender-and-feminism/

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