Sex Slaves and Zombies

"They didn't see us as human beings, but just as whores, just as flesh that they could use. That's all." - Tania in Frontline's "Sex Slaves"

My plan was to go to bed early for once but some pre-bed channel flipping changed all that when PBS pulled me in with their presentation of a Frontline program entitled: Sex Slaves. With a title like that, how could I go to bed? Granted, this was a somewhat cheesy, melodramatic piece but you can't help but be riveted by these women's stories and their cold hard stares. And then, even more saddening than their forced prostitution in Turkey, their destitute lives in the Ukraine which drove them far from home and resulted in these risky, abusive situations. All of this was done with the hope of improving their own lot and the lives of those they loved.

Yes, there were some girls who might have been too naive to know what sort of jobs they were signing up for but most probably had a good idea that they were being marketed in Turkey for their flesh. However, only pure hopelessness and desperation could lead these women to take that blind leap of faith and leave their homes for an uncertain future. And to imagine that kind of cold hard desperation makes me all the more appreciative of the easy life I take so breezily for granted: the Offasty I make fun of, the Western culture I parody and the go go go go ethic which I reject. Tania simply wants to support her family, many of them disfigured by their close proximity to Chernobyl. And Tania acts out of desperation and is punished for it in the worst sorts of way.

More than anything, it amazes me that these girls are sold the moment they get off the boat. How do they become pieces of property and where are their "ownership" papers? And how is it that the person who brings them to Turkey receives $ for their sale? How is it possible to be sold repeatedly without ever making any profit off your own flesh? How does one person suddenly own you? It boggles the mind. And how many years ago were we owning and selling people in America? Not so long ago. And the worst part is that this goes on all over the world and it is generally women and children who are getting shafted, beaten, raped and violated.

These sorts of programs always leave me feeling a little dirty afterwards. I know that part of the sensationalistic entertainment value comes from the titillating tid bits the girls relinquish about the horrors they suffered. I am simultaneously nauseated and fascinated. But as others have pointed out, sex slaves are only one of the many ways humans are taken advantage of and oppressed - it just happens to be glitzier and therefore, receives more press. In the article, Oversexed, Debbie Nathan writes:

"On one side were evangelical Christians, with their typical fears of foreigners, leftists and sex--and their morbid fascination with forced prostitution, even though more people may be forced to pick broccoli than to rent out their genitals. Then there were feminists whose concern about the exploitation of women--like the evangelicals'--also fixated on commercial sex. The evangelicals and feminists seized the lobbying reins by making common cause around what both call "sex slavery."" - Debbie Nathan

And on a lighter note, the Zombies won the Eurovision Song contest! Who are the beautiful Zombies who never take their costumes off (are they costumes or are they Zombies for real?)? A fabulous Finnish band of superfreaks called Lordi and since I am officially a Space Creature (someone very important told me this today, two whole times, so it must be true!), I feel an affinity for my dear scary zombies! Only in Europe!