Discrimination

People say that sex work is the oldest profession in the world, but few know it is also one of the most dangerous. Sex work, also known as prostitution, is the provision of sexual services in exchange for money, drugs, or other favors. Other forms of sex work, such as survival sex, exchange sex to pay rent or to buy food or other living supplies.

Sex workers face many dangers on the job, including exposure to disease, violence, discrimination, stigma, and exploitation. Harm reduction principles can help safe-guard sex workers lives, teach empowerment and survival skills, and prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, acquired through unprotected sex and unsterilized drug equipment, which is often present in sex work.

Updated: A friend of mine called the station and spoke with someone in their sales. (Executive but the name escapes me for the moment) The person she spoke with said it was a local affiliate that simply sold air time, and that the LGBT community is welcome to purchase air time if they would like to present a counter point.

My problem with that is this. Would they have sold the time slot to a racist group that wanted to air a program about the dangers of people of color? I've emailed them asking about that and am currently waiting a response.

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Well, in case you missed it, there was a wonderful...>cough< program on TV last night. WJZY (CW 46 in Charlotte) aired a program on "Silencing Christians"
The full video is actually available online at http://www.silencingchristians.com/

The WSJ's law blog has an update on the discrimination suit in which a 54-year-old Wal-Mart employee from California named Betty Dukes alleged in a discrimination claim that she was denied the training needed to obtain a higher-paying job because of her sex.

The bad news, from where we sit: Neither side emerged as the clear winner during Tuesday’s oral arguments out in San Francisco over class-certification in the proposed Wal-Mart sex-discrimination class-action. (We like finality.) The silver lining: the suspense in the case will continue to build (We like suspense.)

Cross-posted on Pam's House Blend.

We still have quite a way to go on the LGBT rights front here in NC, which is not exactly a hotbed of homophobia; in many ways the heart of the state has a live and let live attitude on social issues. That doesn't mean however, that our state government is where it needs to be in terms of respecting its tax-paying LGBT citizens.

I'm not just talking about life and death issues, such as violence against people because of sexual orientation or gender identity or being fired from your job. This post is about institutionalized, legal discrimination that is often overlooked, because it isn't a fire raging or putting one's life in jeopardy -- but what lies behind it are the same root causes.

This week I was faced with an amazing professional opportunity related to the sphere of my day job (I'm in academic publishing) that I could not consider for two reasons - both painful, with one completely out of my control.

I watched the promotional video from last year, and I saw six Black people among 1,500 participants.

Cross posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog, MyDD, and Culture Kitchen.

Today, I came across a link to a publicity video for YearlyKos, an annual confernece of Democratic Party leftist anti-war bloggers, and I watched the entire video to confirm a suspicion:  That YearlyKos is an overwhelmingly white gathering - disproportionately white considering the number of Blacks in the Democratic Party.  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=

-1234580617661540850&q=Mark+Bowllan  Watch the film for yourselves and tell me if my perceptions are in error.

A bill filed in the State House threatens to criminalize the normal and legal activities of hundreds of small business owners. House Bill 308 “State Contracts/ Illegal Immigrants” filed by Rep. George Cleveland would mandate participation in a voluntary federal program by everyone who enters into a contract with the State of North Carolina for “construction or repair work or for the purchase of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment”.

The Bill would increase the cost of running State Government by burdening businesses entering into State contracts with more red tape and legal liability. It would lead to employment discrimination against legal aliens and promote outsourcing to foreign companies not subject to United States immigration laws. Many small businesses will either shun State Contracts or increase bids to cover costs.

The Asheville Citizen-Times ran this piece about a couple that had their contract with a ski resort cancelled because they got married in Mass. From the article:

Scherer says the ski area owners told her and Balfour that their sexual orientation and marriage was part of the reason their agreement was terminated. Scherer said the Wolf Laurel work, which she had done the past two seasons, accounted for about $20,000 in income for her company, nearly half of her annual gross.

Wolf Laurel Ski Area owner Orville English declined to comment on the allegations Tuesday, while co-owner Rick Bussey said, “It’s not wise for us to get in a verbal battle.” He described Wolf Laurel as a family-oriented resort.