“We grieve with the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims and offer our heartfelt condolences to them. If allegations prove to be true that the shooter chose his targets because of their connections to illicit massage businesses, then the tragedy of this hateful act is even deeper than it appeared at its horrific face value. Violent crime is far more likely when commercial sex is involved—including brothels fronted as spas and massage businesses—and women of color are disproportionately the targets and victims of that violence. We as a society must address the demand—the male entitlement—to purchase another human for commercial sexual exploitation if we are serious about reducing and eradicating men’s violence against women in all its forms.” |
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| A lot of work went into making the 2021 Grammy Awards happen, but unfortunately the effort was marred by CBS’ decision to green-light sexually regressive and exploitative material in the broadcast.
Beyond the implications for families who were watching (a significant audience for the Grammys), the onstage presentation of Cardi B—in conjunction with Megan Thee Stallion—and Dua Lipa highlighted long-standing issues of systemic racial and sexual injustice that still pervade in our society and which are grossly profited on by corporations such as CBS (and others).
It is important to understand the oppressive systemic realities behind the imagery CBS presented onscreen during the 2021 Grammys. These systems of exploitation have long marginalized women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals in order to provide “supply” for the sexual demands of the rich, powerful, and privileged. Far from empowering, the narrative that it is sexually “liberating” to provide supply for the sexual demand—a narrative perpetuated and normalized in many ways including via popular culture and entertainment—is actually an insidiously subtle affirmation and normalization of long-standing systems of sexual abuse, exploitation, and oppression. |
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