Group ‘only protecting women it finds morally acceptable’
ASTRIPPER has called the chair of the Bristol Women’s Commission a “misogynist”, accusing the group of only protecting women it deems morally acceptable.
It is the latest twist in an increasingly heated row about a bid to close down two strip clubs in the city.
The Bristol Women’s Commission (BWC) has said to claim it is misogynist contradicts everything it stands for.
Margot, from the Bristol Sex Workers Collective, had been working at Urban Tiger for about a year before the pandemic started.
The club is one of two sexual entertainment venues (SEVs) that would face closure if Bristol City Council’s licensing committee goes ahead with a proposal to withdraw licences for the city centre SEVs.
So far, no decision has been made on the new draft policy on SEV’s, which is due to go to public consultation this summer.
Margot, from the Bristol Sex Worker’s Collective, wrote on Twitter: “No, Penny, my main concern isn’t losing money.
“My main concern is potentially getting assaulted at the private parties I will have to work at because you contributed to shut down the regulated SEV I used to work at.
“How dare you and the Bristol Women’s Commission call yourselves feminists? Closing down safe workplaces for women is an act of violence in itself.
“You only want to protect and defend the women you deem morally acceptable.
“Blaming sex workers for men’s violence is the one of the most patriarchal ideas you could promote. You are not a radical neither a progressive. You are a misogynist.”
The sex worker’s comments come after the chair of the Bristol Women’s Commission (BWC) submitted a statement to full council last week.
Chair Penny Gane urged councillors to support the ban and said SEVs profit from and contribute to gender inequality.
Speaking to the Post, Margot said she called the commission misogynist because she thinks it refuses to hold men accountable for their actions and behaviour and, instead, blames sex workers for men’s behaviour and violence.
The stripper said sex workers’ main concern is that, if the closure goes ahead, the industry will be forced underground and women could be pushed towards more dangerous forms of sex work.
With clubs having been closed for more than a year, that has already been happening, Margot said, and she has been asked to go private parties while some of her friends are turning to other forms of sex work which are more dangerous. Margot said sex workers want the right to be a safe at work, adding closing SEVs does not reduce levels of crime or violence against women.
“They claim to be a feminist organisation and speak for all the women, but they do not speak for us at all,” she continued. “There is a lot of women they don’t speak for.
“How can someone still pretend they’re speaking on behalf of all women and at the same time, urge councillors to ignore the voices of women that have always been ignored?”
Fellow stripper Chloe added: “Using a workforce made up of predominantly working-class women as collateral for your own moral crusade will never be akin to equality. Naked women making you uncomfortable isn’t a reason to make them unemployed.”
In a statement, the Bristol Women’s Commission said: “To claim that Bristol Women’s Commission, which exists to achieve gender equality, is misogynist contradicts all that we stand for.
“BWC is made up of representatives from key agencies with the aim of identifying and addressing gender inequality and the forces that fuel it including misogyny.
“We do not believe that sex workers are responsible for male violence. We do believe that in licensing SEVs Bristol City Council is contributing to the normalisation of sexual objectification of women, which does lead to male violence.
“We are not anti sex worker, we are anti sex industry - a system founded on the idea of women as commodities.
“It is not a moral argument, our position is grounded in evidence, in the interests of women and girls who do not choose to be objectified for money – including survivors of trafficking – and our mission to deliver the aims of the Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life.
“SEVs profit from and promote gender inequality and Bristol City Council should not be sanctioning this.”