Dalana Robinson

English 5
Anya Connelly
25/7/16
Pro-choice or No choice, Prostitution Isn't the Only Choice.
As a college student I identify with the female African-American discourse community.
As defined by Schmidt and Vande Kopple a discourse community is a group of people who share
ways to claim, organize, communicate and evaluate meanings(1). According to Swales discourse
communities have six characteristics: Set of common public goals, information exchange,
Forum, Genre development, Terminology, and Expertise.(1) In terms of my own discourse
community (African American female student) our common goal is to be educated. Being a part
of two groups throughout history that were poorly educated makes it important to take as many
academic opportunities as one can to progress. As for the exchange of information in my
discourse community it comes through discussion or social media. This often causes information
to be a bit misconstrued so as a community we have to be aware of our sources checking their
credibility. As a part of the African American student discourse community I haven't come across
many forums outside of the classroom. Often times classroom discussions are a platform for
students to share ideas. As for genre development there are many genres that compose
information for my discourse community. For example, Black literature provides a phenomenal
perspective that provides context about the oppression African Americans faced in the past.
Terminology in my discourse community ranges from person to person although it's all similar
as a whole. People from different places tend to describe or label things in relation to their
background, this is where slang is derived from. In my discourse community our expertise is
rooted in being a black student. As a black student one is aware of the different circumstances of
discrimination both individually and structurally. These circumstances can result in poor
education thus ignorance. It also can cause one to feel oppressed by their situation causing them

to need a form of cultural expression. Growing up I would hear music by Too Short where he
would slander women , objectify them, or even promote pimping and pandering. The ideas in his
songs began to become a reality for me as I was becoming a teenager. Slandering and
objectifying women of course at first really bothered me but I try for the most part not to let
words get me upset. Prostitution on the other hand is deeper than just words its detrimental to my
identity, causes teenagers to be at a greater risk for kidnapping and causes mental and physical
health issues to the women.
Sex trafficking is defined as a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform
commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. (NHTRC) Sex trafficking has been
around since the early days of exploration. Conquerors would often capture and sell Native
women as sex symbols to other explorers. This came from descriptions from Christopher
Columbus describing the Arawak people as promiscuous and wanton. In todays society sex
trafficking largely affects the teenage colored population. Being a part of this population I often
find myself wishing I wasnt a black girl walking the streets of Sacramento.
Sex trafficking has set societal precedents that puts girls like myself in a position to be
faced with awkward moments. Moments where a man pulls up on you and asks you Are you
selling? and by selling he means selling your body. Being a black girl walking the streets of
Sacramento I often have these moments. They've made me wish I didn't stand out so much, I
wish I could just walk in peace. I often times wish I wasn't a black girl when I walk down the
street and hope I can get somewhere without anyone saying anything to me. Sex Trafficking has
made it socially normal for men to approach women any age. Often men honk and catcall
women making them uncomfortable. Sex trafficking has really been detrimental to my identity as

a black student, it causes for me to have to be a victim of verbal objectification constantly on a

daily basis.
For the last five years Sacramento has been notorious for prostitution. According Jan Danske
the Sacramento Deanery President Sacramento was once the number two city in the US for
prostitution. Being the number two city means that there is always a demand for girls. This turns
Sacramento to a hunting ground because the way they try to fulfill this demand is kidnapping
young women and forcing them into prostitution. My older cousin was an example of this, she
was kidnapped by her bestfriend's uncle and coerced into prostitution at 13 years old. She was
taken from Sacramento to the Bay area where he would make her walk the streets for money.
This was a tactic he used to gain control over her. He would take her somewhere unfamiliar to
her, so she would have to go through him to make it around. This caused my cousin to be a
victim of Stockholm syndrome because until this day she is still with the man. Although it's sick,
it's socially accepted and that's where the problem is.
Sex Trafficking sometimes leaves women with Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections.
This is due to lack of health education among those who are part of the industry. Since a large
population of those who are part of sex trafficking have the same race and age as me I find
myself sympathizing for them. The issue is that women need better education so that they don't
fall victim to prostitution. Those who are more educated tend to stay away from prostitution as
for they already know the consequences.
The issue with sex trafficking and my discourse community is it cause us to be victims of
abuse and discrimination. Men have no reluctance on what they say they verbally abuse and
sometimes get aggressive with young black women for just walking down the street. Since
prostitution is around the men justify the attacks because they think they are just simply looking

to get their needs met. Being completely oblivious to the fact that not everyone black girl is a
prostitute.

Works Cited
1.

"Sex Trafficking." National Human Trafficking Resource Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.

2.

Dalske, Jan. "Human Trafficking- a Form of Modern-Day Slavery." (n.d.): n. pag. The Library

Book. Web. 3 Aug. 2016.

3.

Swales, John. "Discourse Communities." 1988. Discourse Communities, Genres and

English as an International Language. N.p.: World Englishes, 21 July 2016.211-20. Print.

4.

Vande Kopple, William J., and Gary D. Schmidt. "Discourse Communities." Communities of

Discourse: The Rhetoric of Disciplines. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1993. N. pag. Print.