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1 Mich. J. Gender & L. 65 (1993)
Strategies of Connection: Prostitution and Feminist Politics

handle is hein.journals/mjgl1 and id is 71 raw text is: STRATEGIES OF CONNECTION: PROSTITUTION AND FEMINIST POLITICStt c.1Yvargaret A. 'Baldwin* I am daunted by the shortness of our time, and by the scope of the tasks we face. There is the task each of you has shouldered in attending this symposium: to absorb and respond to what you are hearing. Many of us, especially those of us who have never been prostituted, have likely heard much about prostitution that seems new, or much that is old but presented in a new way. However, more than novelty is at stake in this confrontation. In my experience, serious engagement with the reality of prostitution is disorienting, scary, and enraging. I know no one, including myself, for whom this has not been the case. There is also the task of developing a politics adequate to it all. For the challenges that continue to confront us in crafting feminist strategies against prostitution and for prostituted women are profound. Those challenges require putting into action the greatest and most demanding strengths of feminism: forging connections among women, confronting the political meaning of our silences, and refusing to abandon any woman by the side of the road. A feminist political approach to pros- titution must begin from these strengths and be tested against the standards set by them. I want to address how taking each of these strengths seriously can create sustained resistance against prostitution. t This paper is essentially the speech that Ms. Baldwin presented at the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law Symposium entitled Prostitution: From Academia to Activism, held on October 31, 1992, at the University of Michigan Law School. Most of its speechlike characteristics have been preserved so as to maintain its authenticity. t This talk came to life after discussion with Evelina Giobbe and Vednita Nelson. I thank them, as well as Susan Hunter and Dorchen Leidholdt, for the insight and support. * Margaret Baldwin (J.D. 1984, University of Minnesota Law School) is an Associate Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law. She has taught classes including: Women and the Law; Civil Rights; Prostitution and Pornography; and Race, Gender and the Law. She has written several law review articles related to prostitution and pornography. She has written provisions of Florida law to provide damages for women coerced into prostitution. She has testified before several commissions on prostitution issues. Professor Baldwin also has been active with the Florida Gender Bias Implementation Commission and the Tallahassee Feminist Women's Health Clinic.

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