THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Volume: 62 Issue: 8
OCTOBER 24, 2018
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J.P. MESSINA ON THE RIGHT
TO OBSCENE WORK
BY HOPE BRUSSTAR Editor-in-chief
For 20 years — from 1897 to 1917 — there was a special district in New Orleans where prostitution was legal. In January of this year, local and state policemen raided eight strip clubs and found proof of prostitution in seven of them. Soon after, crowds of sex workers gathered on Bourbon Street to protest. According to doctor of philosophy James P. Messina, not only should prostitution be legal, but prostitutes and the like have a moral right to obscene work. “When you have a moral right to engage in some behavior, what that means is that people have to let you do it,” he said. On Oct. 9, Messina visited the UNO’s Honors Program to discuss his views and research on people’s freedoms when it comes to vulgar behavior. He used consensual adult pornography as an example, arguing that it may count as a form of free speech. However, not even all forms of speech are legal — for example, shouting “Fire!” In a crowded theater. “One of the things the courts try to determine is whether the speech has any value to the public,” said Messina. In regards to the social value of pornography, he stated that people usually think about how pornography degrades women, but fail to consider the female sex workers who are trying to make money. Messina’s primary argument hinges around the idea that in a free society, if a person’s choice of occupation does not violate the rights and liberties of others, then he has the freedom to pursue that occupation. Messina states that obscene work does not violate others’ rights, and concludes that “a free society respects a person’s freedom to choose obscene work.” One counter-argument to Messina’s view references an objection for the sake of social propriety. Some believe that the stipulation of not violating other’s rights is not enough, and that it ignores the social importance of decency. “[There’s an] idea that one of the functions of law is to uphold the people’s virtues,” Messina told the
Photo courtesy of UC San Diego. A postdoctoral research fellow at Wellesley College visited UNO to discuss why he thought making money for sex work could be permissible. audience of 21 students and faculty. “[Moral acceptance of obscene work] could make us all a bunch of sinners,” he said. Messina then gave this counter: “This overstates the value of decency in a society of strangers. ...there is an unfortunate dependence on rapidly changing standards. Basic displays of affection between homosexual couples were once obscene.” Messina also stated that he didn’t think obscene work would threaten to tear what he called “the social fabric,” and argued that it would justify intervening any time a person is offended, be it about sex work or something unrelated. This, in turn, could only breed dysfunction, according to Messina. The Wellesley College research fellow acknowledged another objection to his stance: that sex work is not freely and autonomously
chosen, and those who choose it are effectively forced into it through desperation. Therefore, no such occupation would be consensual. “Most persons’ choice of occupation is not made autonomously, but rather under conditions [of] economic pressure, choosing one occupation among several unattractive alternatives,” Messina stated in reply. For example, a student may not love accountancy but may feel that it is the most lucrative option in her grasp, and that it is a better choice than working at McDonald’s. “To protect people from exploitation doesn’t require A third objection based on a feminist perspective argues that “Obscene work does violate others’ rights and basic liberties, in particular by assigning to women a subordinate role,” in Messi-
na’s words. This argument is that because pornography reduces or eradicates the woman’s dignity, it is unacceptable. Messina quotes philosopher Gerald Gaus in saying “If correct, then a truly open society is only possible if we restrict the range of acceptable ideas, giving a less than equal freedom to undesirables — those who demean their fellow citizens.” In other words, Messina argues that if pornography should be illegal because it demeans people, then a lot of other things should be illegal for the same reason. Messina calls this “a long list” of things, including racists, many fundamentalist Christians, animal rights activists, anti-abortionists, and “the unemployed who blame their problems on ‘unwashed immigrants who work for nothing.’” He then identified this reply as
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”strawmanning,” which is “responding to and defeating an argument that your opponent does not actually believe in,” said Messina. The name comes from the idea of creating an effigy of your opponent using straw and then burning that effigy instead of the opponent in an attempt to achieve victory over the opponent. Messina continued, “Not only does pornography demean women, but we see the effects of demeaning attitudes... .” He then gave some examples, such as the recent controversy over Dr. Blasey-Ford’s testimony against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh fueled in party by disbelief in Blasey-Ford’s statements. “Why didn’t [she] come forward for 35 years?” asked Messina. “Why indeed? She thought her life was in danger,” he stated. He pointed out that there is “a general lack of credibility when claiming rights violations” and a “persistent misinterpretation of women’s speech.” “When they say no to sexual advance, they’re not being taken seriously,” said Messina. Finally, Messina discussed an issue about people arguing against things like prostitution but lacking data to prove their points. “People who make complains about obscene work don’t provide that much evidence,” he said. He recognized that workers in the sex industry are subject to violence, noting that sex work is more dangerous even than working in the logging industry. “Recognizing a legal right to obscene work would protect practitioners from serious harm,” he said. Presumably, when prostitution is legal, it is regulated, and that should make it safer for those who are involved. “One of the reasons that prostitution is deadly ... is that it’s forced underground,” he stated. This philosophy lecture was one of several public lectures in a series, “The Virtues of a Free Society,” hosted by the Honors Program over the course of the semester. The next lecture will be held on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m., when Micah Crump of Medgar Evers College will visit for his talk “Black Entrepreneurship in the U.S.: Challenges and Opportunities.”