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Governing Female Sexuality: Prostitution, Problematic Associations and the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws

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Governing Female Sexuality: Prostitution, Problematic Associations and the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2006 Governing female sexuality: Prostitution, problematic associations and the subcommittee on solicitation laws. Olga Marques University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Marques, Olga, "Governing female sexuality: Prostitution, problematic associations and the subcommittee on solicitation laws." (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2242. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/2242 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. GOVERNING FEMALE SEXUALITY: PROSTITUTION, PROBLEMATIC ASSOCATIONS AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOLICITATION LAWS by Olga Marques A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research through the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2006 © 2006 Olga Marques Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-17069-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-17069-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Fuelled by the murder and disappearance of sex workers in British Columbia, the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws (SSLR) was enacted to review current solicitation laws and recommend changes to ensure the safety of sex workers and the communities in which they work. Discourses of prostitution used by the SSLR were analyzed using governmentality literature (Rose, 1999) and Fairclough’s (1992) social theory of discourse, to determine their continuity and variability from existing prostitution discourses, as well as their embodiment within the problematic of female sexuality. Although prostitution is not illegal in Canada, associations with crime, violence and public nuisance, serve to problematize prostitution and render it governable. It was found that discourses of prostitution used by the SSLR were similar to those of the previous Canadian governmental committees. This analysis also documents the shift from the problematization of prostitution (protectionist rationalities) to the problematization of the governance of prostitution (neo-liberal rationalities). i i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWELDGEMENTS The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning... for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth. - Peter Abelard (philosopher) or instilling in me the need to constantly question what I hear, and to not be afraid of Fraising my own voice, I express the greatest of gratitude to my thesis advisor, Jacqueline Lewis. I am indebted to her for her unwavering faith in me, particularly at my moments of frustration. Although a demanding teacher and (very) thorough editor, I have benefited greatly from her brilliant scholarship. Words cannot convey my respect for her as an academic, teacher and friend, and my appreciation of her continuous support, both professionally and personally. I would also like to thank, for their insights and ongoing support of my work, my two committee members Daniel O’Connor and Susan Bryant. Your advice and expertise was essential to the completion of this thesis. To Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, your input was greatly appreciated. An enormous thank you also goes out to the many others that have supported me over the past few years. To my mother and father, you have been my most important source of support and encouragement. Sonya, thank you for always reminding me, although sometimes not pleasantly, that this is what I was meant to do. To my friends, especially those that have endured my frantic phone calls, my endless conversations about sex work and my constant obsession with perfection, thank you for providing a needed distraction. Lastly, Myrna Dawson who provided much guidance during my final undergraduate year at the University of Guelph, as well as the commencement of my graduate studies. I promised you a dedication, and although this is not a book, it is close enough! iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1 Statement of Research Problem.................................................................................... 2 Problematic of Unregulated Female Sexuality............................................................4 Organization of Study.................................................................................................... 6 Terminology Used..........................................................................................................8 II. ANALYTIC FRAMEWORK....................................................................................... 9 Discourse Analysis......................................................................................................... 9 Fairclough’s Social Theory of Discourse...................................................................12 Analytic Method............................................................................................... 13 Collection of Texts............................................................................................ 14 Data Analysis.....................................................................................................15 III. PROBLEMATIZING PROSTITUTION...................................................................19 Discourse Analysis to Study Parliamentary Committees......................................... 19 Canadian Prostitution Committees.............................................................................22 Committee on Sexual Offences Against Children and Youth......................22 Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution....................................23 Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Prostitution....................24 Prostitution Discourses................................................................................................26 Prostitution as a Magnet for Crime and a Public Nuisance..........................27 Prostitution and Association with Violence................................................... 29 Prostitution as Violence Towards the Community..................................29 Prostitution and its Inherent Violence.......................................................30
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