I am incredibly grateful to The Village Voice for...

I am incredibly grateful to The Village Voice for their story, but they blew the whistle on something sex workers already knew, and it hurts that they didn’t acknowledge [what] we were saying for months; Kutcher and Moore aren’t interested in being allies, they’re interested in being heroes, and those two desires are mutually exclusive. Their crusade is a personal one driven by hubris and narcissism, disingenuous at its core.

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“If You Can’t Accept Facts, You Can’t Be An Ally,” Charlotte Shane (Tits and Sass)

This should be required reading for anyone attempting to follow the Kutcher/VillageVoice “feud”.

Another particularly powerful quote from Shane’s piece: “Some have made the similar assertion that Kutcher’s careless campaigning is a good thing because it’s “gotten people talking” about the issue, as if any incidental end justifies the means, or all discussion is automatically beneficial.” This is so important. All discussions are not equal. I’m sorry if that sounds pompous or self-righteous, but I mean it. When talking about sex work, my voice is not as important as an actual sex worker’s voice. Neither is Kutcher’s. I feel like that should be a given.

(Source: melissa)

Posted 11 months ago & Filed under ashton kutcher, demi moore, village voice, sex workers, how to be an ally 101, common sense, 35 notes