The Evil Behind the Smiles

[doowopbloopy]

The Evil Behind the Smiles
By Nicholas D. Kristof

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

Western men who visit red-light districts in poor countries often find themselves surrounded by coquettish teenage girls laughingly tugging them toward the brothels. The men assume that the girls are there voluntarily, and in some cases they are right.

But anyone inclined to take

Comments

[nothingmuch]

i don't know how to feel about kristof's likening sex trafficking to slavery when legit slavery definitely still exists today.

Sex slavery seems like legit slavery to me.

[estoid]

Yeah... I agree.

[omiscully]

I agree.

[doowopbloopy]

but idk, i feel like by him calling it slavery, it's brushing aside "actual" slavery. there are definitely stupid enough people out there who believe that the sun and moon rises/sets on kristof and once they read this article, they'll believe that modern day slavery = sex trafficking and that's IT.

plus, i feel like the egregiousness of sex trafficking is downplayed when you call it slavery, if that's possible. idk, maybe it's just weird for me. i just get an iffy feeling about it.

[jaded110]

This? is fucking frightening.

*is never stepping foot into any part of Asia or South America*

[estoid]

The problem I have with this comment is that yes, it is fucking frightening, but people are abused in different ways in this part of the world. It's the same reaction people have toward people from the middle east after "terrorist" attacks. Not all of the people of a certain background support that kind of thing, but it's so often generalized.

It's about the perpetrators, not the region, although not having very good women's rights in certain places is definitely something that should change and should be taken into account as a general safety measure if visiting. The vast majority of the people in that part of the world - hell, all over the world - are good and don't want to hurt others. Yeah.

[jaded110]

That's pretty much my knee-jerk reaction whenever I hear about these things. It bugs me since I like to think I'm more open-minded, but I sound just like my grandfather. I apologise if I offended you.

[estoid]

Don't worry about it, I just figured I'd say it, because I feel like that attitude (which is normal to a point, because nobody wants to be kidnapped and forced into a coffin with ants! ugh, worst case scenario for sure!) has been taken to a whole new level recently. It's hard to separate emotion from rationality, but it's important to at least remember that they are different. It scares me that people aren't able to make that distinction, and hey, as long as you realize it, it's okay. :)

[the_glow_worm]

It has to do with the joke she made to Somaly: “At least I had plenty of men until you had to come along and rescue me!”

[the_glow_worm]

I suppose that's a way of looking at it, but it's not necessarily true. Clearly Sina is doing well on her own and is strong enough to join the fight to free other sex slaves. I think it's rather insulting to say that "all these women know is how to equate their self-worth with their relationship with men." She's become strong enough to make a self-deprecating joke about her own traumatizing past, she's fighting for abolition, she's survived torture and rape, she's helping other girls do the same. So, no, I wouldn't say that her self-worth is dependent on a man.

[fimh]

sex trafficking IS legit slavery, jeez how can someone be so blind not to see that?

[doowopbloopy]

oh man, shoot me, i have an opinion. i feel like it should be separated as a subject and not lumped together under the all-encompassing umbrella of the term, slavery. it's so much more prevalent/well known than any other types of slavery that calling it slavery just makes it - and all other forms of slavery - idk, less of what it is.

[rreminiscent]

..but it is slavery. and putting "sex trafficking" under the general umbrella of slavery doesn't make it less of what it is, or make slavery less of what it is. it just makes it a subtype of slavery. it's still separated from general "hard labor" slavery, because, yeah, they're different, and still separated from the slavery that child soldiers endure, but just because sex slavery is different from these types of slavery does not mean it shouldn't be considered slavery.

just because some people are ignorant and believe that "general" slavery was abolished when lincoln said so, doesn't mean that we should falsely change the definition of sex slavery so that they understand. it's like saying that insects should no longer be categorized under the term of "animal" because most people think of animals as dogs, cats, etc. but insects DO fit the specifications to be considered animals, no matter how we generally stereotype animals to be.

[doowopbloopy]

"just because some people are ignorant.."

but when it's most of america who would be confused? i'm sorry i don't have much faith in our/my nation's intelligence level.

yeah, it's slavery, but we should call it by its individual name to AVOID any possible confusion. you give an example of how an insect is still categorized under the term animal, but when you talk about insects, do you generally call it an animal? no. not really.

i guess i should clarify that i don't believe we should change the definition of slavery and sex trafficking and their relationship. in fact, if i led people to believe that, i'm sorry. i just think we need to be as clear as possible so as to NOT confuse the masses.

[pheara]

I just read "the road to lost innocence", it was a really good book about this.

Donating to the Somaly Mam foundation seems like a small way anyone disgusted with this can help.