Today's Specials – 1999

Menu last updated September 4, 1999

• Penny Hoar: "Yes, that's my real name!" (1952-1997).
  Penny was well known and loved in the hipster scene in Toronto. A dominatrix and comedienne, Penny ran during the 1993 federal election as a "Rogue Rhino" (Rhinoceros Party unregistered candidate) with the slogan, "Politicians screw you, Protect yourself!" (with a picture of Penny carrying a giant condom).

• 'White Slavery' & 'Moral Panics,' (Legal Analysis)
  "Plus ca change, plus c'est le même chose..." Two excellent papers that look at the myths and motives behind today's movements against "trafficking in women," in comparison to the anti-prostitution "white slavery" campaigns of the past:
  
  • Loose Women or Lost Women?: The re-emergence of the myth of 'white slavery' in contemporary discourses of 'trafficking in women'. By Jo Doezema.
    
  • 'White Slavery' As Metaphor: Anatomy of a Moral Panic. By Mary Ann Irwin. Ex Post Facto: The History Journal, 1996 - Volume V.
    

• A big welcome online to Stella! "Vivre et travailler en sécurité et avec dignité."
  Sex workers' group and resource centre in Montréal.

• Tanzabar ALERT! from Tanbazar Solidarity Action
  "From the horse's mouth." Bangladeshi prostitutes give us the inside scoop on their eviction from Bangladesh's oldest and biggest brothel (est. 1888). See news coverage.

• $100,000 Reward: Missing Downtown Eastside Women. (July 29, 1999.)
  The Ministry of Attorney General and the Vancouver Police Board have authorized a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the unlawful confinement, kidnapping or murder of any or all of 31 women listed missing from the streets of Vancouver. Available as PDF: rewardposter.pdf (prints 11" x 17").

• Regina v. Bennest Appeal Report, Ministry of Attorney General, British Columbia. (February 12, 1998.)
  The AG's office concludes that police inappropriately handled the media in relation to "child pornography" charges against former Burnaby principal William Bennest. As well, see newsclippings about the Bennest case.