Tonight at William & Mary!!!

Following historical precedent, both Samantha Berg and John Foubert have removed themselves from this evening’s panel discussion at William and Mary. I reference historical precedent because this is the most common reaction by radical feminists when asked to debate sex workers’ rights activists.

Judging from Sam’s communications with event organizer Constance Sisk and undisclosed recipients, she is claiming to be in fear of Ren, and has used this as the reason to not participate in the discussion. In solidarity, John Foubert followed Sam’s departure from the debate.

A few points here: Ren is not violent and poses no threat. She is a force to be reckoned with on the internet, but probably weighs in at a fraction of Sam’s total body weight, including implants. Ren loves a thriving debate, and that is what she signed up for, no more and no less. The fact that the event is billed as a discussion on pornography and Ren is to be the only current pornographer on the panel, and a woman at that, seems to be lost on the departed academics. Why?

Add to that the fact that all SWOP East Board Members pledged to abide by our principles of non-violence for this event. Such a promise seems ridiculous. We are a non-violence project, and an organization that acts for the benefit of those in the sex industry. We are women who have worked in the sex industry who simply want a chance to speak and present a counter-argument to those feminists who find comfort in disparaging us. The idea that we would be walking into this debate with anything more than words under our belts is insulting, and ultimately says more about Sam than it does about Ren.

Karla Mantilla has agreed to replace Sam and John on the panel, making a two-sided debate possible, even if the numbers are skewed.

So, tonight, I’ll be with my ladies at William & Mary. I’ll be off-stage, wearing a SWOP East T-shirt and a ruby Mountains of the Moon Arya skirt. Don’t hesitate to say hello. I don’t bite . . . unless you ask me to.

We also welcome all to listen to XBN tonight. Join Amanda Brooks as she hosts a discussion immediately following the debate at 7pm: www.xxbn.net