The Traffic in Women

The Traffic in Women is an essay written by anarchist writer Emma Goldman in 1910. It has been published in various ways, including within Emma Goldman’s Anarchism and Other Essays (1911), published by Mother Earth. and within a collection of Emma Goldman essays: The Traffic in Women, and Other Essays on Feminism (1970, Times Change Press, 1971 paperback). Mother Earth was a monthly anarchist magazine founded by Goldman, Max Baginski, and others in 1906. The essay is one of more than 20 "articles" that Goldman wrote during 1906 to 1940, and like most or all of her works is in the public domain and is available online.

The article or essay emphasizes how women were forced into slave traffic and prostitution not only physically but also mentally by society. Goldman writes this piece in almost disbelief of how reformers were just realizing the existence of white slave traffic, although it was blatantly visible within society. It was easily demonstrated through the unfair work conditions and privileges. Along with the fact that this practice has been existent for several years and it is almost baffling and unfathomable that it is just being viewed as a wrong doing. It was declared that all man should have equal privileges speaking on the topic of race, but somehow society forgot to include women into this perception as they were receiving significantly fewer privileges than men. Considering prostitution as the leeway and first choice of line of work for woken is inhumane and inconsiderate. Goldman uses this piece to be the voice of the women who are often lead into prostitution or autonomously entered into sex work since society does not seem to see the urgency in hearing them plead and speak about neither their position nor accommodations to make a living. Goldman’s statement is that women are ultimately the victims in the practice of prostitution along with all the difficult conditions they had to suffer through, which can be summed up into trafficking in women.

Prostitution is an act in society is frowned upon and shunned against women. Prostitution is “a widespread evil, yet mankind goes on its business, perfectly indifferent to the sufferings and distress of the victims of prostitution. As indifferent, indeed, as mankind has remained to our industrial system, or to economic prostitution”, Goldman offers a different and unpopular perception of this topic compared to other anarchist of her time. Although society views prostitutes as women who have no respect for their bodies and lack of motivation to find real work, Goldman views prostitution from a different perspective, compared to those at her time. Goldman explains the unfair argument of making assumptions as a significantly better route for the conditions some women are put in. Nonetheless, society and the general public still have the audacity to shame this line of work. Goldman suggests that the mere existence of women trafficking is not a corruption and exploitation of women, but rather their unpaid labor. Goldman writes:

Exploitation, of course; the merciless Moloch of capitalism that fattens on underpaid labor, thus driving thousands of women and girls into prostitution...it is altogether the fault of society, the fault of our lack of understanding, of our lack of appreciation of life in the making; especially is it the criminal fault of our moralists, who condemn a girl for all eternity, because she has gone from the "path of virtue"; that is, because her first sex experience has taken place without the sanction of the Church

Goldman suggests the existences of prostitution overall has women from a younger age not understanding the significance and importance with having sex and the emotional attributes that follow. Young women use prostitution as a way to make money for a living rather than taking on cliché female positions. As it is much easier and pays better than a yearly wage of $280 compared to the tedious, violent, hazardous factory work. Had society provided better alternatives for women to make an affordable living, they would have turned to other positions of work than selling their bodies for a living. Child labor has opened a path into prostitution since young girls were not having a solid foundation at home, which leads girls to the path of prostitution to rebel against parents as well as gain control of themselves. Men and the pleasure of having a mistress keep the prostitution business alive. Goldman’s perspective of prostitution is more blaming institutions and sees women as the victim behind the concept of sex workers.

By taking the risky path and portraying the concept of prostitution from the feminist point of view and showing how women are the victims Emma Goldman successfully was able to demonstrate her frustration upon the entire concept. As she had reason to because women were constantly being blamed for something they were simply born and raised into, and had no choice in choosing to live the life they did. On top of this, no one would take the time to listen to them and began making illogical assumptions. During Goldman’s day and age the inequality of job privileges made sex work the best line of work and also in several cases as she mentions in her piece, the only line. Some girls from a very young age and the entirety of their childhood view this line of work and know no different way to make a sufficient living as it is the only thing they know, and society has the audacity to judge them in doing so.

Commentary and Criticism

Donna Farmer comments that Goldman "felt that almost every man she had ever known had tried to inhibit her activities as unsuitable to her sex and treated her as a ‘mere female'" and, about "The Traffic of Women" writes: "Although Goldman was no more in favour of prostitution than marriage, she identified with prostitutes because of their class, and because they defied the sexual hypocrisy of puritanism as she did. She did not blame them, but understood their plight. That she could not easily identify with middle-class wives was less of a failure of her feminism, or even a function of anarchism, than a failure of imagination."

External links

• "The Traffic in Women", full test of essay, at [The Emma Goldman Reference Archive
• "The Traffic in Women", at The Project Gutenberg, within Anarchism and Other Essays