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Youth Engaging in Prostitution: an Examination of Race, Gender, and Their Intersections

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Youth Engaging in Prostitution: an Examination of Race, Gender, and Their Intersections ABSTRACT Title of Document: YOUTH ENGAGING IN PROSTITUTION: AN EXAMINATION OF RACE, GENDER, AND THEIR INTERSECTIONS Ryan Shanahan, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed by: Dr. Bonnie Thornton Dill, Women’s Studies Between 2008 and 2012, 10 states took steps to decriminalize young people arrested for prostitution while providing them with court-mandated services to help them recover from their experiences with prostitution. In 2006, the National Institute of Justice funded a study to estimate the population of youth engaging in prostitution in the New York City area. As a part of the study, 249 young people engaging in prostitution (YEP) were interviewed about their experiences. This dissertation explores the legislation created to address YEP and the incorporation of ideas in public discourse into legislative policy, as well as how these policies reflect the experiences and needs of YEP as they articulate them. This interdisciplinary, feminist study explores how these differing constructions and the relationships between them are built within raced, gendered, and classed power relations. To answer these questions, the dissertation uses quantitative and qualitative methods and draws from theories of feminism, intersectionality, harm reduction, and strength-based social work. YOUTH ENGAGING IN PROSTITUTION: AN EXAMINATION OF RACE, GENDER, AND THEIR INTERSECTIONS By Ryan Shanahan Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor Bonnie Thornton Dill, Chair Professor Ric Curtis Associate Professor Seung Kyung Kim Professor Peter Leone Assistant Professor Joseph Richardson © Copyright by Ryan Shanahan 2013 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the all the people who could not stand next to me but who stand with me. Acknowledgments Where to begin on a journey that has been so long that it required a decade of help and support. This dissertation is a reflection of the support and generosity of many. To my advisor, Dean Thornton Dill, thank you for your support and encouragement. Thank you for your reads and re-reads and re-re-reads. I appreciated your constructive feedback and your ability to laugh with me when we were both frustrated. To my committee members, thank you for your time and your energy. Dr. Kim, thank you for your strength-based feedback throughout my tenure at Maryland. Dr. Curtis, thank you for bringing me into the fold and sharing your knowledge and expertise with me. I continue to learn from you and look forward to continuing to work with you. To the Women’s Studies Department, I am so indebted. The department entrusted me with one of very few slots in my cohort and it changed my life. My gratitude extends specifically to Cliffornia Howard. You never made me feel bad for getting things to you late and for that I am forever grateful. You also served as a constant inspiration to me and you sought your educational goals alongside of the Women’s Studies students. Elsa Barkley Brown and Katie King taught me to be strong in my work and kind in my critique. Two women’s studies students warrant being identified by name for their contribution to my scholarship. Bianca Laureano, when forces tried to test our friendship and mutual support you stayed strong and your loyalty to our friendship did not waiver. You once told me how you were proud of our friendship and it struck a chord in me. I am proud of us too. We are amazing women and I cannot wait to see the adventures still to come for us. Clare Jen taught me that my contribution to feminist theory was unique and important. To my friends and family, it was because of your encouragement and support that I was able to finish. Katherine Broadway, it was due to your cheerleading and baking that I was able to get up again and again to work on this dissertation. My writing is stronger because of your help and I am a better person because you are in my life. Katie Aldworth, you introduced me to a new way of thinking and approaching situations and it continues to guide me. I credited my admiration for you to your height for some time, but we both know it is because of your spirit, strength, and determination. Katie Kelley, my dearest closest friend, you saw me through my most formative years and continue to be my rock in the severest storms. Lily Brent, you are faithful and loyal in ways I could not imagine and that I try to model myself after. Emily Dunn, your energy heals me. You were the brightest light in a dim non-profit world. Jan Holland, you came in at the point where I couldn’t see straight anymore and made things make sense. Allon Yaroni, thank you for mentoring me and fostering clarity in my writing and analysis. Finally, three men have contributed to my success. My father, Kevin Shanahan, has taught me how to be strong and never give up. My brother, Scott Shanahan, taught me how to be resilient and how to be funny. My partner Franco has taught me patience and understanding as well as Spanish! This dissertation is humbly dedicated to all of you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Definition of Key Terms: .................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter Two: Agency within Constraints and Feminist Debates on Prostitution ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Agency within Constraints ............................................................................................................................ 12 Agency ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Representation .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Alliance across social imbalances of power ...................................................................................... 23 Current Applications of Agency within Constraints ........................................................................... 27 Critiques ................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 36 Chapter Three: Data and Methodology ......................................................................... 41 The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in New YorK City Study (2010) ............... 42 The Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 42 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 47 The New YorK Safe Harbour for Sexually Exploited Children Act (2010) ................................ 51 The Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 51 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter Four: Youth Engaging in Prostitution ............................................................ 56 Socio-Demographics ......................................................................................................................................... 57 Summary of Housing Status ..................................................................................................................... 67 Entrance into Prostitution ............................................................................................................................. 67 Summary of Youth’s Entrance into Prostitution .................................................................................. 80 Experience with Prostitution ....................................................................................................................... 81 How Youth Acquire Customers .............................................................................................................. 82 Drug Use ........................................................................................................................................................... 89 RisK Associated with Prostitution .............................................................................................................. 93 RisK of Arrest .................................................................................................................................................. 93 RisK of Assault ............................................................................................................................................... 97 RisK of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) ................................................................................... 98 YEP’s Resilience ...............................................................................................................................................
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