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Quinn Calkins
Dr. Annie Knepler
Work of Art
27 July 2016
Human Trafficking: Close to Home
The sex industry exists worldwidean overarching taboo that, ironically, practically
everyone participates in to varying degrees but few are willing to admit to it. The side of the sex
industry that most people are aware of and participate in is questionable at best. Specifically, the
porn industry reflects practically every problem that exists, from cultural appropriation to
ableism. It is well known and accepted that there are designated categories for every race other
than white in porn as well as other subgenres such as teen, interracial, and bisexual. In
fact, anything that deviates from the norm of our societythat is, cisgender, straight, white,
and able-bodiedare explicitly labeled and marketed in a way that fetishizes their differences.
These labels are all commonly seen and used without a second thought on tube sites such as
Pornhuban extremely well-known website whose content is largely stolen from independent
performers and companies. The fact that such labels even exist in the first place speaks to many
serious social and sexual issues.
When people think of the sex industry they likely think of porn, the objectification and
mistreatment of women, human sex trafficking, prostitution, et cetera. A comprehensive
discussion about human trafficking cannot take place without the acknowledgement of its
relation to the sex industry and vice versa. It is important to distinguish that the sex industry is
not comprised entirely of victims, and that sex work and human sex trafficking are two different,
however often overlapping, things. Sex work is defined by Moshoula Capous-Desyllas, an

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academic writer with a doctorate of philosophy in social work and social research, as a wide
range of activities where sex or sexual services are exchanged for money or other material
benefits (3). While the definition of sex work may at first seem like it encompasses human sex
trafficking, there is a clear and vital difference between the two. Sex work is seen as a
legitimate employment option that can also represent sexual freedom and diversity (CapousDesyllas, 29). Human traffickingor human sex traffickingrefers specifically to the
recruitment, harboring, transporting, obtaining, or maintaining of a person by means of force,
fraud or coercion, for purposes of involuntary servitude, debt bondage, slavery, or participation
in the sex trade (Carey and Teplitsky, 2). Despite what my research will be focusing on, I do not
in any way believe or mean to suggest that sex work is bad, immoral, or dirty; nor do I condone
its criminalization. What I absolutely am condemning about the sex industry is its role in human
trafficking and the abduction, fetishization, and sexual exploitation of girls, women, and other
minorities.
Portland, also nicknamed Pornland, has a greater concentration of strip clubs per capita
than Las Vegas, and more than 50 all-nude strip clubs within city limits (The Washington Times).
96.4% of Portlands victims of human trafficking are female, and about 2.8% are male (Carey
and Teplitsky, 3). The remaining 0.8% for this data belongs to a demographic that is simply
labeled transgender, which does not actually give any information about the individuals other
than that they were not cisgender. The majority (40.5%) of those trafficked in Portland are white;
however, Portland is also a largely white city.
The International Labour Organization estimates that there are 20.9 million victims of
human trafficking globally, about 55% of them being women or girls. About 77% of all human
trafficking victims in the U.S. are people of color (Huffington Post). It is paramount that the

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connections between race, gender, class, and trafficking are explicitly recognized. The idea that
anyone can be a victim of human trafficking is true. However, the fact that it disproportionately
targets people of color should not be undermined or understated.

Stop 1: Stars Cabaret

In August of 2014 there was an incident of an underage girl forced into stripping at a
Portland club called Stars Cabaret (Huffington Post). This skeevy business has horrifying
reviews on Google. One individual writes if you think child molestation is bad, don't go here
[...] the manager pimped a 13 year old girl in the back room and [only] got 15 years (Google
Reviews). Another reviewer from four months ago simply states that the Cabaret is selling
children for sex. The manager, Steven Toth, testified that he split the profits from the girls
abuse with her pimp, Victor Moreno-Hernadez. Both men went to prison, but, as you can see, the
Stars Cabaret is still open.

Stop 2: Sunset Strip Gentlemen's Club

An article from The Daily Beast includes an interview with a veteran stripper who goes
by the name of Sharky. You go into one club and youre used to selling no-contact dances, she
explains, recounting her experiences working in multiple establishments, and then you go and
work at another club and people are giving hand jobs in the back. And they dont explain that,
you just kind of find out.
The lobbyists were shocked when Sharky told them that only half of the clubs shed
worked at actually bothered to ask for her ID. Most of Portlands well-known strip clubs, she
said, are good about carding girls and even having new hires fill out contracts and other

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paperwork. But from club to club, there was no consistency. One club I worked at, Sunset Strip,
they caught a 15-year-old girl trying to audition, Sharky recalled. She had a fake ID and they
ran it and found out. But shed already been dancing at clubs all over town and there were even
missing persons posters in the dressing rooms.