I just read through Emi’s “Whore Revolution” zine that I bought during her visit this weekend. I remember some of us in class were confused or challenged by Emi’s fliers that read “Sluts Against Rape!” After reading the zine, which includes an email exchange with an academic feminist about the agency of prostitutes, the concept of “When prostitutes are safe, all women are safe.” became really powerful for me.
I think most feminists and feminisms think that the exclusion of working-class women, women of color, prostitutes, and third world women has been overcome with a complex academic understanding of “intersectionality,” but Emi’s stuggles with institutionalized feminism points in a different direction. That’s one thing I’ll definitely remember from her visit.