Monster

There is a new video out by Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross. It’s called Monster.

This video was brought to my attention while looking through the change.org website. There is a petition started by a few women trying to get the video banned.

The issue is the glorification of sexual violence against women. So of course I had to see for myself what the fuss was all about. I found it on youtube, and I will say it’s pretty graphic, so I don’t recommend the faint of heart or anyone younger than the age of 13. The theme seems to be women are zombies/monsters and the artists in the video are protecting themselves, but honestly… it gets lost, and the artists in my opinion are portrayed as hunters and serial killers rather than the hunted.

It ends up pushing the envelope but not in a “performance art” sort of way, but more in a “yeah, that’s gross and scary right?” sort of way. I kept thinking “Lady Gaga would have done such a better job with this.” As much as Lady Gaga shocks, she has a very clear message and it’s done in a way that isn’t necessarily gross, but makes you think. This video however, just get’s gross and loses what could have been a great concept.

I am all for freedom of speech, I don’t think anyone’s voice should be taken away, no matter how much one person disagrees with the other. However, when I think of my nieces and nephews watching it, I cringe. So what is the answer?

Let’s discuss!

If you choose to watch it, what do you think of the video in general?

Do you think the video should be banned?

Do you think if the roles were reversed and the “zombies” were men, and the majority of artists were women people would have as big of a problem with it?

 

 

Where is your daughter?

Prostitution.

An issue that many of us quickly write off as a non-issue. If you live in Denver, you may see a few girls working the streets on East Colfax, and think “Why would she do that to herself? How degrading.”

But do you know her back story? The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14.(courtesy of Dept of Justice, Child exploitation and obscenity section’s website) To me that would mean that a majority of the “working girls” you see maybe didn’t make the choice to sell their bodies for sex on their own. Maybe they were forced into this shame-inducing line of work.

Many girls are either runaways, or throw aways that have been either forced or pressured into sex work and if this is happening at the age of 12, then their education level stops at grade 6. Imagine when this girl is now 18-20 and possibly wants to get out, she has a 6th grade education, how prepared do you think she feels to enter any other line of work? Her level of self-worth has to be minimal, and then the idea of leaving the only thing she knows, plus the possible use of drugs, seems impossible. To her, the only choice is to continue this lifestyle.

We have to begin to see that many of these women were scared little girls that had nobody to speak up for them when they were preyed upon.

There is also a new film that focus’ on the issue of child exploitation in the US, and how our law enforcement is dealing with it.Check the link out here.

Many times if these young girls are receiving cash for sex and they are caught, they are arrested, even if they are 14. (when really they are usually giving that cash to their pimp) However, if a girl of the same age is rescued from a brothel situation, they are considered the victim and taken care of. What’s wrong with this picture?

We need to be aware of our surroundings, keep our eyes open to what is going on in our own communities. If you think you have seen something suspicious call this number 1-888-373-7888 to report it.

Some resources in Denver you can connect with or help financially that are working locally

Street’s Hope

Street’s Hope works with women who want to leave the sex trade industry. It offers them a safe place to live in a healthy environment where they receive support and counseling and have opportunities to pursue training and education – to choose a different way of life and become a thriving member of their community.

Urban Peak

Helps homeless youth and youth at risk of becoming homeless  overcome real life challenges by providing essential services and a supportive community, empowering them to become self-sufficient adults.

 

 

Art and Slavery

There are more and more organizations popping up to help fight the war against trafficking. Each day I peruse this blog, it is a great tool to learn more on what is happening all over the world concerning slavery and other social injustices.

Last week I came across this article talking about MTV Exit. MTV Exit is a campaign to help raise awareness on human trafficking by producing music videos that tell a specific story which correlates to the issue. So far Radiohead, The Killers and now Muse have made videos for MTV Exit.

I had seen the Radiohead video for All I Need online when In Rainbows came out, but had not heard anything about MTV Exit. Maybe that’s because they don’t air the videos on US stations? (Oh America, and your “ignorance is bliss” attitude…sheesh!) I thought Radiohead had put out the video on their own. Their video specifically targets child labor. It mirrors a “day in the life” of two children approximately the same age, leading very different days. I’ll let you watch the video here.

The Killers video has a sort of Memento feel to it, it starts at the end and cleverly moves backwards. Your assumption of the woman in the video greatly changes as you continue watching.  “Some things cost more than you realize” (a tag line used in all the videos) is extra poignant in this particular video.

Lastly the Muse video, which just premiered, follows three items all for sale. A pair of jeans, a young girl in the sex trade, and a young woman in forced labor. They do a great job of connecting each victim and perpetrator in the video.

So, good on ya MTV and USAID for putting these videos out! Now just start showing them over here! Lord knows we as consumers need to be educated on what our purchasing choices are doing to those unheard voices around the world.

By the way, something you can do right now to help fight trafficking: call your Senator RIGHT NOW and ask them to vote for the Child Protection Compact Act (S. 3184 CPCA) that is going to the Senate floor this week.

I’ll keep you updated on it’s progress.

Trafficking 101

I am an abolitionist.

I feel weird saying that, but it is true. I am doing what I can to fight modern day slavery.

This issue of slavery in our world was first brought to my attention when I watched a movie called Trade. (It stars Kevin Kline, and it is about the issue of sex trafficking in the US.) I was browsing through my blockbuster queue, looking for interesting movies to add to the list. I love Kevin Kline, so I decided to see what movies he had done recently that I had not seen yet.  Trade came up, and since I am usually in the market for a good drama, I added it, and when it arrived, I popped it in immediately, what followed was a harrowing 90 minutes. This movie shook me to the core. I think I cried for at least 45 minutes after watching it.

Immediately following the movie I googled “human trafficking” and started doing the research. This was about three years ago. Ever since, I have slowly but surely been gathering more and more information over the years, with grandiose plans on how to stop this from happening.

It has only been in the last year or so that I have really invested myself in fighting human trafficking, specifically child sex trafficking. I recently joined the LOVE146 Denver task force.

In following posts I will be talking about organizations that work to fight this multi-million dollar business, rescued victims, legislation that will help the cause, and what you can do to help fight modern-day slavery.

Here are a few quick facts, just to bring you up to speed.

• There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today. (That number completely shadows the number of slaves during the slave trade in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.)
• It is estimated that trafficking generates about $32BILLION dollars annually. (The 2^nd most lucrative crime in the world)
• Two children are sold every minute
• Over 100,000 US children are forcefully engaged in prostitution or pornography in the United States every year.
• The average age of entry into prostitution in the US is 13.

For more information go here LOVE146