Article Women for Sale: What Anora’s Success Tells Us
Article Women for Sale: What Anora’s Success Tells Us
Great piece by @tainabienaime of @CATWIntl about the success of the film ‘Anora.’
https://womensenews.org/2025/03/women-for-sale-what-anoras-success-tells-us/
Quote:. The film is not interested in exploring the chronic sexual harassment and degradation women in strip clubs endure, in violation of workplace protection laws, at a minimum.So interesting, in this particular type of ''job'', enduring harassment and degradation IS the job. Is there any feasible way to be a prostitute or stripper without it?
Quote:Throughout the awards-circuit campaigns, the director pointed often to Anora’s success as a sign that society is more accepting of “sex work” as he calls it. In interviews, Baker deviates from auteur to activist as he endorses the legalization of prostitution.I saw this happen in real time with an article about a former teen prostitute, the comments were a horrendous mixture of SWIW and ''she's a filthy wh*re who deserved it'', in neither case was there any real compassion for her, when the article literally described her disadvantaged background and difficult circumstances. In the case where they just blamed her, the blame was aided by the ''SWIW'' narrative, because it's all a choice, right?
Quote:“It’s important to explore what sex work is in the modern age and how it applies in a capitalist society; it’s a job, a livelihood, it’s a career and it should be respected,” Baker said at the Cannes film festival.
Quote:Perhaps unintentionally, Baker overlooks the racial segregation intrinsic to the sex trade – the Headquarters “dancers” are almost all white. Of the estimated 42 million prostituted individuals around the world, the majority are Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous women, a legacy of colonialism and structures of oppression whose effects linger today, including sex buyers’ particular racist and ethnic fetishistic predilections when picking their prey.Interesting, maybe that's even worse than the ''happy hooker''. By presenting this complete dehumanization of women as normal, expected and to be just tolerated, he's normalizing it even more. It's just what men do, it's just what happens, you're fuckmeat, it's normal.
Hollywood has a long history of perpetuating stereotypes of marginalized communities, especially women and Black people. In Anora, Baker doesn’t perpetuate the stereotype of the “happy hooker,” but he does something just as damaging. In portraying Ani’s plight as ordinary – even expected – he is pushing forth the narrative that prostitution is a viable employer for women whose life journeys gave them few choices.
Quote:Dismissing the horrors of survivors’ lived experiences explains why governments propose bills to decriminalize pimping, from South Africa to New York. It also explains why the U.S. Congress doesn’t blink when confirming a jolly band of sexual predators to the highest levels of power, despite allegations of abuse, and why escort agencies operate on overdrive at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Disgusting and horrible. I want to know who these WEF clowns are that're raping women for cash while they lecture us on how to live and what shit standard of living to accept.
Quote:. The film is not interested in exploring the chronic sexual harassment and degradation women in strip clubs endure, in violation of workplace protection laws, at a minimum.So interesting, in this particular type of ''job'', enduring harassment and degradation IS the job. Is there any feasible way to be a prostitute or stripper without it?
Quote:Throughout the awards-circuit campaigns, the director pointed often to Anora’s success as a sign that society is more accepting of “sex work” as he calls it. In interviews, Baker deviates from auteur to activist as he endorses the legalization of prostitution.I saw this happen in real time with an article about a former teen prostitute, the comments were a horrendous mixture of SWIW and ''she's a filthy wh*re who deserved it'', in neither case was there any real compassion for her, when the article literally described her disadvantaged background and difficult circumstances. In the case where they just blamed her, the blame was aided by the ''SWIW'' narrative, because it's all a choice, right?
Quote:“It’s important to explore what sex work is in the modern age and how it applies in a capitalist society; it’s a job, a livelihood, it’s a career and it should be respected,” Baker said at the Cannes film festival.
Quote:Perhaps unintentionally, Baker overlooks the racial segregation intrinsic to the sex trade – the Headquarters “dancers” are almost all white. Of the estimated 42 million prostituted individuals around the world, the majority are Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous women, a legacy of colonialism and structures of oppression whose effects linger today, including sex buyers’ particular racist and ethnic fetishistic predilections when picking their prey.Interesting, maybe that's even worse than the ''happy hooker''. By presenting this complete dehumanization of women as normal, expected and to be just tolerated, he's normalizing it even more. It's just what men do, it's just what happens, you're fuckmeat, it's normal.
Hollywood has a long history of perpetuating stereotypes of marginalized communities, especially women and Black people. In Anora, Baker doesn’t perpetuate the stereotype of the “happy hooker,” but he does something just as damaging. In portraying Ani’s plight as ordinary – even expected – he is pushing forth the narrative that prostitution is a viable employer for women whose life journeys gave them few choices.
Quote:Dismissing the horrors of survivors’ lived experiences explains why governments propose bills to decriminalize pimping, from South Africa to New York. It also explains why the U.S. Congress doesn’t blink when confirming a jolly band of sexual predators to the highest levels of power, despite allegations of abuse, and why escort agencies operate on overdrive at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Disgusting and horrible. I want to know who these WEF clowns are that're raping women for cash while they lecture us on how to live and what shit standard of living to accept.