Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1982)
Portland Observer, March 25, 1982 Page 3 METROPOLITAN Police estimate 5,000 participated in last Thurs day's march and rally for Jobs and Justice, or ganized by a broad coalition of labor unions and community action groups. The demonstration was a sign of the growing unity between organ ized labor and the rest of the progressiva move ment in the face of Reagan's attacks. (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Prostitution: A part-time job Part III by H arris Levon Mcrae S im p ly because society doesn’ t condone an act, that doesn’ t make that act prostitution. It is this intan gible factor that makes it d iffic u lt to decide how you determine a woman to be a p ro s titu te . Some m arried women sell sex to men other than th e ir husbands. M any tim es hus bands not only know about it but actually encourage it. Those dollars that the w ife brings in may be the difference between paying the rent or not. Other women w ork daytime jobs and sell sex at night fo r fun and excitement. I talked to several “ p a rt-tim e ” p ro s titu te s as w ell as m any street prostitutes to get today’s story. M onday night I h it the streets to fin d out how street prostitutes felt about ‘ ‘part-tim e” prostitution. Po lice cars were sw arm ing on U n io n Avenue like bees on an intruder in a bee hive. A ll up and down the street talk about “ busts” and “ being has sled” were going on. This clearly was not a night fo r a reporter inves tig a tin g p r o s titu tio n . Tuesday I found out why. “ They (the police) busted about 20 girls yesterday fo r prostitution. I was in ja il about three hours before they let me go. Every Monday they bust girls and Tuesdays and Thurs days are vice nights. On those nights the cops act lik e tric k s (cus to m e rs ),” I was to ld by a young woman who sells sex on U nion A v enue and on Interstate. It seems that the residents o f the N o rth and N ortheast com m unities have finally stirred up the police de partm ent enough to have them a t tempt to do something about street prostitution. "W e started really getting hassled about a month ago. The word is out on prostitution. This is how I make my living and it ’ s getting to be hard to do th a t," a woman who has been a p ro stitu te fo r a little over a year told me. In this age o f Reaganomics many o f us w ill find ourselves doing things we normally wouldn’ t do to make or save a few dollars. It has to do with that urge o f all living things—survi val. M ore c ity people are tending gardens than ever before, others are buying more o f their clothing from “ th r ift” and “ second-hand” stores, and others are “ m oonlight ing” — w orking more than one jo b . For some that “ other jo b ” is the selling o f their bodies fo r sexual in tercourse. “ I ’ m out here during the days and I go to school at night. People who put down prostitution don’t realize th a t it keeps some people a liv e ,” one woman told me. “ A c tu a lly p ro s titu tio n comes in several ways. You have to be a pros titute to get and keep some o f those so-called ‘ straight’ jo b s ,” another woman added. “ I do a little stealing, I lay down fo r m oney, I do a little o f every thing. I have to do it. I don’ t like it, but you know I have to liv e ,” one woman said. As you can see there is a lo t o f am biguity about what people con sider prostitution. Some people feel that there is little difference between many wives and prostitutes except for the fact that “ prostitutes” want their m aterial reward im m ediately and “ wives” get th e ir m oney in a more long-term plan. This is a valid o p in io n . I know m ore than one w om an who has sex w ith her hus band because they “ have to— it goes along w ith the fu rniture.” Some women voice their views: “ I have thought o f cutting down the time I am out here. I would like to do some o th e r things w ith my life . I f a g irl really had her act to gether she could make some good money out here part-tim e.” “ M y kids d o n ’ t go w ith o u t. W hatever I have to do to keep my home together— i t ’ s w orth it. Some o f these guys spend hundreds o f dol lars on liquor so I might as well get the money.” “ I f men d on’ t m ind giving away m oney fo r sex, I d o n ’ t have any problem w ith taking it. This is life and you need money.” One mother o f three who has sex with anyone who has the money told me, “ L o o k , I ’ m on my own and I have to pay the rent.” There is no doubt that economic exploitatio n is an im portant factor in the oppression o f women. Since men usually seek out women fo r sex in exchange fo r money, and it is the women who agree and subm it, any view o f prostitution has to come to term s w ith the ro le and place o f women in our society. In an already a ir-tig h t jo b m arket more women w ill turn to part-time prostitution in order to earn a living. “ I t ’ s amazing the things that you think you have to do to survive. One day I started crying in the middle o f la yin g w ith this dude— I knew I co u ld n ’ t live my life like that any more,” I was told by a woman who now babysits and cleans houses to pay her bills. It is quite evident that society tol erates part-tim e prostitution just as it does street prostitution. Our soci ety must face the issue o f alterna tive em ploym ent fo r wom en w ho are forced to turn to prostitution to support themselves. Making the rich richer (Continued from page 1 col. 6) a gim m ick that does not a lte r the c o n tro l o f the com panies. It strengthens the relationship between im perialism and the T h ird W o rld nations that is the cause o f poverty and underdevelopment. Industrial redeployment The C aribbean is a source o f cheap labor th a t is geographically very close to the U.S. This makes it convenient to develop a process called redeploym ent— the transfer to underdeveloped nations o f cer tain industries which are no longer p ro fita b le or desirable in the U.S. because o f excess capital resulting fro m the U .S . econom ic c ris is , a fa llin g p ro fit rate because o f high wage costs, or damage to the envir onment. This industrial redeployment, al ready seen in the C aribbean and Central America, involves setting up subsidiaries o f U .S . parent com panies. These com panies are not based on the needs o f the countries where they are based b u t on the strategy and needs o f the parent company. The result is an industry whose existence is fo r the quest o f profits via the exploitation o f under paid workers. Reagan’ s dream seems to be a Caribbean dotted w ith export bases fo r U.S. transnationals exporting to the U.S. merchandise produced by exploited Third W orld people. Tax incentives There are also tax incentives to encourage investment o f U.S. p r i vate c a p ita l. U .S . d ire c t in ve st ments in 1980 were estimated to be $11,946 m illio n , not counting huge investments in financial centers such as the Bahamas. For example: Tate and Lyle owns the m a jo rity o f the sugar p la n ta tions in T rinidad and Tobago, and its subsidiary, C aroni L td ., owns most o f the sugar cane land in Ja maica and Belize. Elders and United F ru it (now U nited Brands) control banana p roduction and exports in Jamaica. Geest Industries own most o f the plantations in Barbados, Do minica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. U.S. investment has not brought riches to the area. For every dollar invested in 1979-1980, U .S. com panies removed $2.24 in profits. In 1980 they received a 23 per cent re turn on their investments. Even so, Reagan placed restrictions on receiving private investment. He asked fo r absolute guarantees: p ro m p t, adequate and e ffe c tiv e compensation in case o f nationaliza tion; unrestrained opportunity to re move profits and other assets. Financial aid Reagan made it clear that "m uch o f the aid w ill be concentrated in the private sector.” He said he w ill ask Congress fo r $350 m illion fo r fiscal 1982. The Econom ic C om m ission fo r L a tin A m e rica o f the U n ite d N a tions has estimated that just to meet the economic needs o f Central A m erica would cost $20 billion. Reagan has offered $350 m illion for Central A m e rica and the C aribbean . The national debt o f the nations includ ed in Reagan’ s proposal was $15 b il lio n in 1981. The interest owed to U.S. and European banks in 1979 was $867 m illion. What Reagan has offered is less than h a lf the interest charge fo r one year. A nd this $350 w ill go mainly to an Economic Sup port and that w ill be used to finance imports from the private sector. Not less than $100 m illio n w ill go to El Salvador to help prop up a fa llin g government. What Reagan is recommending is spending a small sum to finance im ports fro m the p riva te sector and o b ta in in g a fa v o ra b le sh o rt-te rm balance o f paym ents, rather than providing long-term concessionary credits under favorable conditions to be used by countries on develop ment programs. In o th e r w o rd s, her C aribbean economic strategy is designed to fu r ther U.S. interests, not the underde veloped nations o f the C aribbean and Central America. Imports At Wholesale Prices A fascinating new and easy way to purchase unusual hand-carved furniture, and over 2,000 other variety items, has been made available by a local small firm, which feels there is a need, in these hard times, for people to be able to buy at affordable prices. This company is located at 1930 N.E. Columbia Blvd., Portland, and is in the process of converting an old farmhouse into a place convenient to buyers at prices the public loves: wholesale! Solar Co./Import Division is anxious to have you stop be and get acquainted. There are full color catalogs available, and many samples on display in the show room. Prompt and courteous treatment is the motto of Solar Co. Their phone number is 283- 4003. An additional cash discount is yours when you mention you read this article in the Portland Observer. I
