Did anyone go to the Conway Hall "selling sex" debate last night?

[ArcheryAnnie]

The bullshit about it on social media today - from people who weren't there - is making me cross.

...but don't let you not being there stop you from commenting here, though!

What happened?

It was this event: conwayhall.org.uk/event/london-thinks-buying-and-selling-sex-the-big-debate/

The twitter hashtag was #buysellsex

All five speakers were current or former prostitutes/sex workers, the chair was Samira Ahmed, and while there were a few questions at the end, most of the time was given over to the five panellists.

Of the five speakers, two were anti-prostitution and three were pro-sex-work as a job like any other. (Though one of those three came across as pretty baked so perhaps not quite as persuasive as she might have been.)

Yet today I've seen all this really vicious hatred towards women who went, and the organisers (the New Statesman) for putting on the debate at all - all the usual stuff about "whorephobia" and "white feminism". But three out of the five speakers were pro-SW (and I'd bet all the panellists were paid, though I don't know this for sure), and most of the people called from the floor were pro-SW, so I don't know what the hell their problem is.

You have to remember that the basis of the debate is about male entitlement to women's bodies and that the idea that those men might not be able to do that anymore is terrifying for them, poor things. The kind of man who thinks it's just dandy to pay for consent is going to be the type that gets angry and lashes out and the kind if woman who spends their time pleasing men either because they are afraid of them or just because they do is going to take their lead from those men.

What has annoyed me has been the whining from the pro punter side that those on the pro woman side were abusive. I can honestly say that the only abuse I saw tweeted last night was from the pro punter side. Most of it was completely unsolicited and some of it was really nasty.

I can honestly say that the only abuse I saw tweeted last night was from the pro punter side.

Me too, Puffins. Some really nasty stuff, including lots directed against Samira Ahmed, who did a fantastic and very fair job as chair in difficult circumstances, but who is now being derided as a "bitch" and a "traitor".

And a lot of it being abusive towards what they call the "antis" present completely ignores that some of those "antis" - including those on the stage - were prostitutes.

And all the bollocks about the women there being abusive and "shouting down sex workers" - the main person doing the shouting down was Niki Adams, who got in Fiona Broadfoot's face all the time.

The pro-prostitution lobby don't want debate under any circumstances. They want to stop women actually thinking and talking about prostitution because when they do, they see past the empowerment bullshit they like to promulgate and the press laps up.

I was just thinking similar to flora, reading the thread.

A lot of anger probably from people who don't want women talking about this at all, whether pro or con, as it's not women's place, this is a subject for men make decisions on. IYSWIM.

There was a creepy bloke outside doing a weird sing-songy reading, difficult to make out except all the bits I caught (you sort of had to shuffle right past him as you queued) were all "HDU even talk about this subject, shut up, women". Saw an exchange on twitter earlier and it turned out he was doing a dramatic recitation of the works of Melissa Gira Grant! (For money, natch.)

I have to say, I didn't like being there, mainly because I didn't know who was going to be ok and who was going to be a pro-pimp person who would end up screaming "whorephobe!" into my face for clapping at the wrong point.

We are never allowed to talk about the men or their choices. Every conversation around this subject is constantly turned round to how much the women love doing it.

This is male violence and we're not allowed to talk about it. Ever.

The bullshit about it on social media today...

Isn't this the crux of the problem? You can change the subject from prostitution to gardening, or last night's telly, or politics and you get exactly the same issues. Social media gives a mouthpiece to everyone, including the hateful, the idiotic, the ignorant and the just plain dumb. And we all know the old saying about the empty vessel.....So what do we do about social media? Restrict it? Or take the rough with the smooth? That's a genuine question, not rhetorical.

I think the only difference that social media makes is that all this bullshit just travels faster and wider than it once did. Back in the day, the nonsense the likes of the ECP wwas peddling was in zines, flyers, newletters, etc. Still nonsense, just slower.

It's the message, not the medium that's the problem.

I really wanted to go to this but just couldn't get there due to not wanting to keep 6mo out that late if she'd even been allowed in, we're only just starting to get a regular bedtime for her.

I haven't looked at the hashtag yet, i don't dare.