Management quality and misuse of power are topical issues today but difficult to identify. Issues of power and control are perhaps more easy to identify in small businesses, especially in industries where there is an in-balance of power between workers and bosses. The sex industry is one of those industries where small businesses abound with imbalances of power.
The Sex Industry
In the few countries, or states within countries, where sex work is legal or decriminalized, there is the potential for organizations such as the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective and government bodies to work together to help ensure the safety of sex workers (note, for example, the New Zealand Department of Labour report New Zealand Sex Industry – Health & Safety). Despite this level of cooperation violence and bullying continue unabated for many workers.
Most sex worker-led organizations can only dream of the idea that the Police are there to protect them and to actually take complaints of rape, robbery or assault seriously. The New Zealand Prostitution Reform Act 2003 gave sex workers in New Zealand rights which are not commonly found throughout the world. This Act came into being because of the personnel in the Christchurch, New Zealand’s Prostitutes Collection and government cooperation. Similar Acts are found in a few other western countries where prostitution has been legalized. It is a pity more countries have not followed suit.
“I really get annoyed when I hear people say that sex workers are all abused as young people. I enjoy sex. That is why I am in the business,” Anna Reed proclaimed. Anna is the head of the prostitutes collective in Christchurch, New Zealand.
I originally decided to interview Anna Reed because I was told by people who had heard her lectures that she was very knowledgeable about the concepts of power and control within the business world. So she proved to be. In addition to power and control issues, I wanted to find out how the Christchurch earthquakes had affected the sex industry.
Small Business Issues
The sex industry includes both small and large businesses but this article is restricted to small businesses. This means businesses that are run out of small clubs, massage parlors, hairdressing salons or on the street. Even in those countries where the sex industry is legitimate it is difficult to identify and control misuse of power. There are many studies on the sex industry and concern for safety is so important that the United Nations has put money into programs to increase the safety of workers. But even in the small businesses it is difficult to prevent. Although lines of authority are often clear, personnel may be hard to identify or workers are constricted by the need to work, so access is limited. There are even debates about what is the difference between a sex worker and a prostitute?
A Prostitute Defined by Anna
“A prostitute is a person who is doing something s/he doesn’t want to do. A sex worker is always in control of the situation or should be.” Anna was very clear about these definitions and despite popular parlance she must be right. An artist is said to ‘prostitute’ his/her art when changing his/her art style to fit profitable public opinion. The same is true for a writer so why not the sex industry?
Most dictionaries do not uphold this definition however (e.g. The Dictionary - online; The Legal Dictionary; Merriam-Webster.com; The Fictionary). It is true that the Merriam-Webster, a dictionary possibly of greater note than the other two dictionaries, has as its second definition: “To devote to corrupt or unworthy purposes.”
Power and Dominance in Business
A sex worker may be able to maintain control in the bedroom but it is not so true within the work structure. Anna noted one of the things she hated most about the business was “men who thought because they paid for it they could do anything.” In order to maintain her status as a sex worker it was important to maintain control.
So, control in the bedroom is one thing. Control on the work front as seen by the United Nations study mentioned above, is quite another matter. Like all industries, if the management is fair there are few problems but if the management is not there is a big downside, especially in this industry.
The issue is that just one person may run a sex worker and that person holds access to jobs and frequently to the money. In addition to this it is difficult to prove how many clients a sex worker has per night or per week and so government control cannot readily come into force.
The Sex Worker is Vulnerable
Lisa (pseudonym) says, “Many workers do not declare all their earnings to the tax man and that makes them vulnerable.”
The vulnerability of sex workers is legend (note articles, for example, "Violence, dignity and HIB vulnerability: street sex ork in Serbia"). So the boss has control over the workers through job allocaiton, money, and what they know about the workers, especially in the areas of illegality. This may be from taxation to all kinds of other dealings including drugs. The bosses are thus in a gret position of power.
The Prostitues Collective
The Prostitutes Collective works to teach sex workers how to keep themselves safe as much as they can but they cannot prevent bad things happening.
“In the end workers must maintain control,” says Lisa, “to keep themselves safe.”
And the Earthquakes!
The Christchurch earthquakes had a great impact on the sex industry. All clubs were closed except for three. Some workers went back on the streets because they had to maintain their incomes. The streets are more unsafe then clubs. They had to move their locations into the suburbs and the local citizens did not meet this change with a great deal of delight.
3News.co, the online site for a television news program, discussed the issue and how the residents felt about suddenly having streetwalkers in their districts. This 3News report was just one of a number of reports on this subject. So Christchurch citizens felt more vulnerable. It is too the citizens’ credit that they did not expect the police to stop the sex workers, just to move them away from their homes.
The earthquakes had an affect on power and control but it seems that the issues arose out of the need for new locations rather than bosses. What is sure, however, is that the move into the streets increased the vulnerability of the sex workers.
Power and Control
This article began by discussing and issue of power and control, strong over weak, one individual bullying another, through manipulation, and even violence. It seems the sex worker is more at risk from those s/he works for or with than from clients. This is no different from other organization no matter what the product or who the client.
This type of power and control reflects a societal issue found in many work places. The issues are similar to those discussed in “The Centerless Corporation”, “Sexual Slavery or Corporate Ambition,” “Sport and the War on Criminal Violence,” and “The Tiger Woods Syndrome.” Power and control are symptoms of poor management, feelings of inferiority, raging testosterone, and inadequacies. There is no need to repeat the evidence here. It is recorded in the above works and in many other people’s work over many years.
So why does this bullying, this unnecessary stress, this misuse of power, continue.
The Problems of Power are Known and Yet They Continue
One interesting aside made by Lisa was that some powerful men in industry appear to prefer dominatrix to sex workers, then less powerful men. She said, “Some men do realize they are behaving badly and so visit dominatrix. Perhaps it is a time to be belittled and to be submissive?” Anna maintained this was simply a function of money. A dominatrix is more expensive then sex even though there is usually no sex involved. Lisa thought not. She felt it was because the men needed a place to come where they could give up their control so they could enjoy – if that is the word – a feeling of powerlessness.
I wonder if the above issues, the misuse of power, the use of dominatrix, the bullying, the harassment and the outright violence is related to the issues discussed in “Workplace Bullying and the Cultural Psyche”? Maybe the men who visit dominatrix are more representative of management with poor skills. However, if they do recognize they have a problem then it is a start to a solution.
No matter what it appears some men wield power for no other reason than to appear powerful. If this is so, power does not operate in a vacuum. So, who is reaffirming their power?
Sources
Interview with Anna Reed and her assistant, Lisa (pseudonym), July 28, 2011.
- Berwick, Patricia. 2011. Sexual Slavery or Corporate Ambition. Suite101.com.
- Berwick, Patricia. 2011. Sport and the War on Criminal Violence. Suite101.com.
- Berwick, Patricia. 2011. The Centerless Corporation. Suite101.com.
- Berwick, Patricia. 2011. The Tigehttp://patricia-berwick.suite101.com/the-tiger-woods-syndrome--testosterone-a373514 r Woods Syndrome. Suite101.com.
- Berwick, Patricia. 2011. Workplace Bullying and the Cultural Psyche. Suite101.com.
- Female sex worker HIV prevention projects: Lessons learnt from Papua New Guinea, India and Bangladesh. Nov 2000. UNAIDS Case Study.
- Fictionary.com.
- Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed Sept. 6. 2011.
- New Zealand Prostitutes Collective.
- New Zealand Prostitution Reform Act 2003.
- New Zealand Sex Industry – Health & Safety – Department of Labour.
- Rowe, Jessica. 2011. Christchurch prostitutes forced to locate. 3.news.com. 12 Mar. 6:31pm.
- Simic, M., & T.Rhodes. 2008. Violence, dignity and HIV vulnerability: street sex work in Serbia. In Social Health Illn. Jan, 31, Vol 1. 1-16.
- The Dictionary on-line. Accessed Sept. 6. 2011.
- The Legal Dictionary, the Fictionary. Accessed Sept. 6. 2011.
Patricia Berwick - Dr Patricia Berwick is an Educationalist/Anthropologist with over 20 years international experience in management, research, teaching and ...
Join the Conversation