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