“The value we're all raised with, that women don't have the capacity to make moral decisions for themselves, particularly around their sexuality. That if they make the wrong decisions they are ruined for life. That someone more powerful, a man or even a more powerful woman, should be responsible for them. That's the value animating all of this. It's incredibly racialized as well.” MenValuesDecisionPowerfulMoralResponsibleSexualityBeing ResponsiblePowerful WomenWrong Decision Author:Melissa Gira Grant
“I think sex work gets over-mystified and overcomplicated because it's about sexuality, and women's sexuality in general. What strikes me when I look at sex worker organizations and sex worker movements, in the US especially, is that they're so in alignment with other longstanding progressive causes. If anything, sex workers have been at the forefront of some of these causes. There have always been sex workers at the forefront of social movements.” ThinkingSexualityProgressiveAlignment Author:Melissa Gira Grant
“Our feelings alone don't change what happens with the police, what happens in jail, what happens when someone tries to go to the welfare office, the unemployment office, or any kind of state agency where a criminal record comes up for prostitution. How we feel about the commodification of sexuality and violence doesn't actually translate to those people's lives. A lot of the debate is really academic and a waste of time.” TryingKindFeelingsViolenceOfficePoliceSexualityDebateWelfareWasting TimeAcademicTranslateFeeling Alone Author:Melissa Gira Grant
“Everyone's politics are born of self-interest, particularly around sexuality. We just have to own up to that.” Sexuality Author:Melissa Gira Grant
“Kristin Gwynne has been writing some great stuff about the sexually violent element of "stop-and-frisk." This isn't just "turn out your pockets." This is young people being groped. That form of power - using sexuality for power and control - seems pretty straightforward to me. When are we going to just say that the cops are the enemy here?” PeopleWritingEnemySexualityViolentCopStraightforwardSexually Author:Melissa Gira Grant