Jack is a feminist issue!

[KatBradshaw]

I think that commenting that they are prostitutes is for a singular reason. That prostitutes are known to be at risk, by virtue of it being illegal, their transactions are risky, and they are required to go off in the dark with men who are perfect strangers. So by saying they are prostitutes, it has an effect of calming the general population, i.e, I don't have to be worried about being snatched while going to the market or on my way back from work..he's targeting a specific category, not all random women are in jeopardy. There was a case a while back where blondes were being targeted in abduction rapes and they made mention of that category too, so I don't necessarily think it's meant as a slight to prostitutes but as a warning ..here's what he's targeting, go dye your hair brown, kind of thing.

Oh I agree with you Ally but it just makes me sad that this is what people focus on!!

[belinda]

Thanks so much for your replies! I will check out those articles.
My focus was going to split in a few ways. One on the idea of the blamless murderer. It has always interested me that there is often a lesser sense of outrage when prostitiutes are killed. Even if you watch the current news story or the ones about that Ipswich Strangler they always refer to the women as prostitutes, a fact that is important yes but in my opinion doesn't need to be constantly commented on!

That's a point that really makes me angry.They don't differentiate between the women as women and prostitution as a job. They also rarely mention the fact that prostititution was one of many ways the women made money such as Annie Chapmans crochet work.

[needler]

name calling.........

Belinda,

Making you angry or not, the designation of prostitute goes a long way towards explaining to the "general public" (whatever THAT is) the most likely reason a woman might be targeted.....NOT because she is a "working girl" but because the practice of her profession puts her in hidden, private places with someone who means her harm. Crappy reason, I know, but true all the same. By virtue of walking the streets, the girls are placing themselves in harm's way........this DOES lead to one of my favorite arguments: that being we should legalize prostitution for BOTH safety and health reasons. This board is NOT the place for that, so will NO ONE PLEASE jump down my throat over it. Just consider the source and get on with the eye rolling.

Arguing the "morality" of prostitution isn't appropriate here, either, but what Ally said is EXACTLY RIGHT. And you are right, too, Belinda. The name calling stinks, but it really does explain why so many women end up as easy targets.

There's a really good book by Roberts called WHORES IN HISTORY which could answer loads of your questions, and (here's a REALLY tacky pitch) I just happen to have a copy for sale.....APOLOGIES, APOLOGIES, APOLOGIES!


Anyway, good luck with your paper but I really wouldn't go down the feminist road with Jack; I have a VERY strong feeling that feminism has no bearing on these particular murders.


Cheers and "hello" to everyone.

Judy

[m_w_r]

Even if you watch the current news story or the ones about that Ipswich Strangler they always refer to the women as prostitutes ...

Hi Kate,

Actually, the news reports I have seen have often referred to the women as women. Here are a couple of examples:

www.guardian.co.uk, Adam Gabbatt and agencies, "Man arrested over Bradford prostitute murders", 26 May 2010: This article uses the word "prostitute" in its headline, but in the text, "prostitute" is used once, but "women" is used three times. The article makes an implied distinction between between these women's work and their identity, saying that they "had been working as prostitutes".

www.thesun.co.uk, Staff reporter, "Cops quiz suspected Yorkshire serial killer", 26 May 2010: This article uses "prostitute" three times, and "women" three times. The article makes much less of a distinction between work and identity, but says that one of the women "worked as a prostitute". It also uses the term "sex worker" twice, which seems to me to be what tabloid newspapers say to show that they're not entirely prurient.

www.express.co.uk, no attribution, "Man quizzed over prostitute murders", 26 May 2010: This article uses "prostitute" in its headline, and once in the text, "sex worker" twice, and "women" twice.

Obviously, this is a very small sample, and clearly newspapers start from different points in their coverage of these sorts of stories, but it would seem to me that the women in question are not "always" being referred to as prostitutes in the media. The opposite question could also be asked: what if the media never referred to them as prostitutes? Would that be accurate reporting? And would it be in the interest of other women working as prostitutes in Bradford?

Regards,

Mark

[Ally]

What I don't understand is why it is considered insulting to point out that they were prostitutes or why people think the media treats them any differently than any other "category". They were in fact prostitutes. And picking up on the one thing they were that they have in common is what the police and the media will always do, but for some reason, it's viewed as insulting if they do it with women who were prostitutes. Take this recent case:

Police Reportedly Close to Arrest in Auburn Student's Death; UNC ...

Suspect Held in Auburn Coed Murder Case - ABC News

Twin Coed Murders Likely Coincidental - ABC News


and others where the victims were students from different cases:

Man convicted in rape, murder of Reno coed - News - ReviewJournal.com

Unsolved Sonoma Coed Murders

etro: Kimmer: THE MICHIGAN COED MURDERS


Every time a student is killed, it's the student strangler or the co-ed killer but no one gets up in arms about them being identified as students or co-eds, which is what they are, but it's considered very outrageous to identify a woman as a prostitute.

If you see a distinction between calling someone a co-ed and a prostitute and believe the women are being insulted if they are identified as the latter, then that really has more to do with your own perceptions of the women being prostitutes than it does with the media portraying them differently than other murder sprees with a common victim pool.

[Nemo]

It may be beneficial to investigate Anna Kingsford, Frances Power Cobbe, Lawson Tait, the Contagious Diseases Act, and Ant-Vivisection contemporary with JtR

Regards

Nemo

[KatBradshaw]

Thanks Nemo,
I have done some work on the Contagious Diseases Act but thanks for pointing me inthe direction of the others!

Ally,
Thanks for pointing out the Co-ed murders. It may be that I am being over sensative here! I have always found the double standard over prostitutes/prositiute users annoying.

[Little Nell]

A point about women murder victims - they are usually labelled in some way, either "prostitutes" or "mothers" just as male victims might be described by their occupation or the fact they are fathers. It's a way of giving a bit more information when often there's not much to go on and the police are sometimes reluctant to give out further information.

Prostitutes have been seen as a problem and the Contagious Diseases Act - drawn up by an all-male Parliament, saw them as the reason for spread of disease, regardless of any spreading that might be done by their male clients. This is partly the old double-standard at work but also because its probably easier to round up prostitutes who are on the street than their male clients.

I remember reading somewhere about the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. Police were logging cars to see if the same number plate cropped up a lot - which it did, but they abandoned this as it was too costly and without computers they couldn't easily cross-check - and the force was gobsmacked by the number of men kerb-crawling.

Rather than focus on women on the streets being potential victims, maybe we should change our mindset and regard men on the street as potential attackers - though of course to an extent YOUNG men already are.

[Edward]

Prostitute is an Unfair Label

Hello All

I feel that for the most part, calling these victims prostitutes is very unfair. Was their profession prostitution, or were they poor women who would, on occasion, prostitute themselves out of necessity? The former is a way of life (whatever the reason), and the latter is a desperate measure in an effort to survive.

Best Regards,
Edward

[Edward]

... the feminist issue ...

Sorry for the disjointed responses,

I believe that the Ripper's desire to desecrate and dehumanize women makes this a feminist issue. These were crimes against women. If they were prostituting themselves at the time, it just made the victims a more available target. A target that would willingly accompany Jack to a dark , secluded location. I don't feel that it's probable that the Match girls' labor strikes created Jack's hatred of women. I feel that it's possible, however, that Jack's actions were catalyzed by the "uppity" women going on strike (and prevailing).

Thoughts?
Edward