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COYOTE

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Coyote (disambiguation).

COYOTE is an American sex workers' rights organization. Its name is a backronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics, a reflection of the fact that sex work tends to be stigmatized primarily because of society-imposed standards of ethics. COYOTE's goals include the decriminalization (as opposed to the legalization) of prostitution, pimping and pandering, as well as the elimination of social stigma concerning sex work as an occupation. Its work is considered part of the larger sex worker movement for legal and human rights.

COYOTE provides counseling and legal referrals for sex workers, and assistance in leaving sex work for different careers.

Services edit

COYOTE provides expert advice and sensitivity training for social service and law enforcement agencies that deal with sex workers. COYOTE members have testified as expert witnesses during trials. The organization works to educate the general public about sex work, and promotes education about safe sex, AIDS and sexually transmitted disease among sex workers, their clients and the general public.

History edit

COYOTE was founded in San Francisco in 1973 by Margo St. James, a feminist and former sex worker, along with Jennifer James, a Seattle-based professor of anthropology. Margo St. James had previously been arrested and convicted of a prostitution offense at age 25, but overturned the conviction after studying law for a year at Lincoln University San Francisco.[1] She chose the name COYOTE because novelist Tom Robbins called her a "coyote trickster"[2] and came up with "Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics" to fit the chosen backronym. St. James believed that sex work should be considered labor equivalent to any other career, writing in 1977 that "to make a great distinction between being paid for an hour's sexual services, or an hour's typing, or an hour's acting on a stage is to make a distinction that is not there."[3]

Purpose edit

The group's purpose was "to provide a loose union of women—both prostitutes and feminists—to fight for legal change."[4] COYOTE provided safe spaces for sex workers to meet to talk about their experiences and find support. They had "rap sessions" which used feminist consciousness raising methods, and let the women know that they were not alone in their experiences. They gathered stories and facts about the injustices sex workers faced and launched a public education drive to highlight the racist and sexist biases of prostitution arrests. Meetings and events were advertised through underground newspapers. COYOTE organized educational programs and cultural events to raise money for other projects and held public demonstrations to protest entrapment. They also organized "whore conventions" in San Francisco (1974), Washington, DC (1976), and in Brussels and Amsterdam (1985 and 1986).[4]

Programs and services edit

COYOTE offered a variety of services to sex workers. They offered a hotline for prostitutes called SLIP (Survival Line for Independent Prostitutes), immediate legal assistance for prostitutes who had been arrested, suitable clothing for court appearances, and classes on survival skills for prostitutes in jail.[4] COYOTE won policy changes in the 1970s that gradually diminished prostitution laws. They abolished mandatory penicillin therapy and multi-day jail quarantines and pressured public defenders to provide better representation for people accused of soliciting and prostitution, misdemeanor offenses. They instigated and sponsored at least 26 lawsuits on behalf of prostitutes and lifted a mandatory three-day venereal disease quarantine imposed by the San Francisco Police Department on prostitutes. They won by claiming that the incidence of VD disease is at least as high among people 20 to 40 years old as among whores and "only women are arrested and forced to have regular checks for VD."[5] COYOTE got a judge to dismiss prostitution charges against 37 women whose male customers were not arrested and they organized protests against police harassment, which they believed was one of the most critical issues affecting prostitutes.[4]

COYOTE threw annual Hookers' Balls from 1973 to 1979 in San Francisco, which served to destigmatize sex work, celebrate sex workers, and raise funds.[6] From these events, COYOTE raised a bail fund to free women from exploitative pimps and created special welfare programs and assistance services.[4]

As public concern about the AIDS epidemic grew, sex workers were increasingly blamed for spreading the disease. COYOTE immediately sought to address this, stating that the organization was "working to prevent the scapegoating of prostitutes for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and to educate prostitutes, their clients, and the general public about prevention of these disease".[5] The organization spoke out against mandatory testing for sex workers for AIDS, deeming it a violation of civil rights.[5] Various members of COYOTE joined together in 1988 to form the California Prostitutes Education Project (CAL-PEP), aiming to provide education about sex work from sex workers themselves. CAL-PEP published Prostitutes Prevent AIDS: A Manual for Health Education in 1988 with federal and state funding.[1]

Affiliations edit

Shortly after the founding of COYOTE, Association of Seattle Prostitutes (ASP) and Prostitutes of New York (PONY) were founded. There were roughly 20 other "sister organizations" founded by 1979.[1] As COYOTE gained credibility as a national movement, it gained affiliations with more liberal and mainstream feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women (NOW), Wages for Housework, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the American Bar Association.[7] These affiliations were possible in part due to COYOTE's wide support base, which at one point consisted of 270,000 members.[8]

COYOTE v. Roberts edit

In 1976, COYOTE, led by St. James, filed a lawsuit against Rhode Island. In the case, COYOTE v. Roberts, the argument was based on how much power the state should have to control the sexual activity of its citizens. The lawsuit also alleged discrimination on how the law was being applied. Data was submitted that demonstrated selective prosecution: the Providence police were arresting female sex workers far more often than the male customers. St. James testified in the case. Although the case eventually was dismissed when Rhode Island General Assembly changed the prostitution statute in 1980, COYOTE and St. James are given credit as one of the reasons prostitution in Rhode Island was decriminalized,[9] although prostitution was outlawed again in 2009. "Samantha" and Gloria Lockett were co-directors of COYOTE in the early 1990s. They had been critical of the group for focusing on "higher class" prostitutes (such as call girls and escorts) and white sex workers, while ignoring the concerns of streetwalkers and ethnic minorities.[3]

In 2009, Bella Robinson founded the Rhode Island chapter of the organization (COYOTE RI) and currently serves as the executive director.[10]

As of 2012, Norma Jean Almodovar serves as the executive director of the Los Angeles branch of COYOTE.[11]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c . Harvard University Library. Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. May 1996. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
  2. ^ "Margo St. James – St. James Infirmary". Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  3. ^ a b Chapkis, Wendy. Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor (1997, Routledge, New York). ISBN 0-415-91288-1.
  4. ^ a b c d e Chateauvert, Melinda (2013). Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-6139-8.
  5. ^ a b c Jenness, Valerie (August 1990). "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem". Social Problems. 37 (3): 403–420. doi:10.2307/800751. JSTOR 800751.
  6. ^ Majic, Samantha (2014). Sex Work Politics: From Protest to Service Provision. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8122-4563-9.
  7. ^ Jenness, Valerie (1990). "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem" (PDF). Social Problems. 37 (3): 411. doi:10.1525/sp.1990.37.3.03a00090.
  8. ^ Weitzer, Ronald (1991). "Prostitutes' Rights in the United States: The Failure of a Movement". Wiley Midwest Sociological Society. 32 (1): 23–41. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00343.x. JSTOR 4121439.
  9. ^ Arditi, Lynn (2009-05-31). . The Providence Journal. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  10. ^ "Bella's Bio". Coyote RI. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Norma Jean Almodovar Interview". Danndulin.com. Retrieved 2012-08-03.

Further reading edit

  • Jenness, Valerie (August 1990). "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social problem". Social Problems. 37 (3): 403–420. doi:10.2307/800751. JSTOR 800751.
  • Jenness, Valerie. Making it Work: The Prostitutes' Rights Movement in Perspective (1993, Walter de Gruyter, Inc., New York)
  • Pheterson, Gail. A Vindication of the Rights of Whores (1989, Seal Press, Washington.) ISBN 0-931188-73-3.
  • Chateauvert, Melinda (2013). Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-6139-8.
  • Gilmore, S. (2010). Strange Bedfellows: Building Feminist Coalitions Around Sex Work in the 1970s. No Permanent Waves, 342–94. ISBN 9780813547251
  • Weitzer, Ronald (1991). "Prostitutes' Rights in the United States: The Failure of a Movement". The Sociological Quarterly. 32 (1): 23–41. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1991.tb00343.x. JSTOR 4121439.
  • Freeman, Jody (1996). "The Feminist Debate over Prostitution Reform: Prostitutes' Rights Groups, Radical Feminists, and the (Im)possibility of Consent". In Weisberg, D. (ed.). Applications Of Feminist Legal Theory. Temple University Press. pp. 237–249. ISBN 9781566394239. JSTOR j.ctt14bs8md.21.

External links edit

  • Official COYOTE LA website
  • Coyote (Organization). Records, 1962-1989: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

January 01, 1970
coyote, other, uses, coyote, disambiguation, american, workers, rights, organization, name, backronym, call, your, tired, ethics, reflection, fact, that, work, tends, stigmatized, primarily, because, society, imposed, standards, ethics, goals, include, decrimi. For other uses see Coyote disambiguation COYOTE is an American sex workers rights organization Its name is a backronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics a reflection of the fact that sex work tends to be stigmatized primarily because of society imposed standards of ethics COYOTE s goals include the decriminalization as opposed to the legalization of prostitution pimping and pandering as well as the elimination of social stigma concerning sex work as an occupation Its work is considered part of the larger sex worker movement for legal and human rights COYOTE provides counseling and legal referrals for sex workers and assistance in leaving sex work for different careers Contents 1 Services 2 History 2 1 Purpose 2 2 Programs and services 2 3 Affiliations 2 4 COYOTE v Roberts 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksServices editCOYOTE provides expert advice and sensitivity training for social service and law enforcement agencies that deal with sex workers COYOTE members have testified as expert witnesses during trials The organization works to educate the general public about sex work and promotes education about safe sex AIDS and sexually transmitted disease among sex workers their clients and the general public History editCOYOTE was founded in San Francisco in 1973 by Margo St James a feminist and former sex worker along with Jennifer James a Seattle based professor of anthropology Margo St James had previously been arrested and convicted of a prostitution offense at age 25 but overturned the conviction after studying law for a year at Lincoln University San Francisco 1 She chose the name COYOTE because novelist Tom Robbins called her a coyote trickster 2 and came up with Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics to fit the chosen backronym St James believed that sex work should be considered labor equivalent to any other career writing in 1977 that to make a great distinction between being paid for an hour s sexual services or an hour s typing or an hour s acting on a stage is to make a distinction that is not there 3 Purpose edit The group s purpose was to provide a loose union of women both prostitutes and feminists to fight for legal change 4 COYOTE provided safe spaces for sex workers to meet to talk about their experiences and find support They had rap sessions which used feminist consciousness raising methods and let the women know that they were not alone in their experiences They gathered stories and facts about the injustices sex workers faced and launched a public education drive to highlight the racist and sexist biases of prostitution arrests Meetings and events were advertised through underground newspapers COYOTE organized educational programs and cultural events to raise money for other projects and held public demonstrations to protest entrapment They also organized whore conventions in San Francisco 1974 Washington DC 1976 and in Brussels and Amsterdam 1985 and 1986 4 Programs and services edit COYOTE offered a variety of services to sex workers They offered a hotline for prostitutes called SLIP Survival Line for Independent Prostitutes immediate legal assistance for prostitutes who had been arrested suitable clothing for court appearances and classes on survival skills for prostitutes in jail 4 COYOTE won policy changes in the 1970s that gradually diminished prostitution laws They abolished mandatory penicillin therapy and multi day jail quarantines and pressured public defenders to provide better representation for people accused of soliciting and prostitution misdemeanor offenses They instigated and sponsored at least 26 lawsuits on behalf of prostitutes and lifted a mandatory three day venereal disease quarantine imposed by the San Francisco Police Department on prostitutes They won by claiming that the incidence of VD disease is at least as high among people 20 to 40 years old as among whores and only women are arrested and forced to have regular checks for VD 5 COYOTE got a judge to dismiss prostitution charges against 37 women whose male customers were not arrested and they organized protests against police harassment which they believed was one of the most critical issues affecting prostitutes 4 COYOTE threw annual Hookers Balls from 1973 to 1979 in San Francisco which served to destigmatize sex work celebrate sex workers and raise funds 6 From these events COYOTE raised a bail fund to free women from exploitative pimps and created special welfare programs and assistance services 4 As public concern about the AIDS epidemic grew sex workers were increasingly blamed for spreading the disease COYOTE immediately sought to address this stating that the organization was working to prevent the scapegoating of prostitutes for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and to educate prostitutes their clients and the general public about prevention of these disease 5 The organization spoke out against mandatory testing for sex workers for AIDS deeming it a violation of civil rights 5 Various members of COYOTE joined together in 1988 to form the California Prostitutes Education Project CAL PEP aiming to provide education about sex work from sex workers themselves CAL PEP published Prostitutes Prevent AIDS A Manual for Health Education in 1988 with federal and state funding 1 Affiliations edit Shortly after the founding of COYOTE Association of Seattle Prostitutes ASP and Prostitutes of New York PONY were founded There were roughly 20 other sister organizations founded by 1979 1 As COYOTE gained credibility as a national movement it gained affiliations with more liberal and mainstream feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women NOW Wages for Housework the American Civil Liberties Union ACLU and the American Bar Association 7 These affiliations were possible in part due to COYOTE s wide support base which at one point consisted of 270 000 members 8 COYOTE v Roberts edit In 1976 COYOTE led by St James filed a lawsuit against Rhode Island In the case COYOTE v Roberts the argument was based on how much power the state should have to control the sexual activity of its citizens The lawsuit also alleged discrimination on how the law was being applied Data was submitted that demonstrated selective prosecution the Providence police were arresting female sex workers far more often than the male customers St James testified in the case Although the case eventually was dismissed when Rhode Island General Assembly changed the prostitution statute in 1980 COYOTE and St James are given credit as one of the reasons prostitution in Rhode Island was decriminalized 9 although prostitution was outlawed again in 2009 Samantha and Gloria Lockett were co directors of COYOTE in the early 1990s They had been critical of the group for focusing on higher class prostitutes such as call girls and escorts and white sex workers while ignoring the concerns of streetwalkers and ethnic minorities 3 In 2009 Bella Robinson founded the Rhode Island chapter of the organization COYOTE RI and currently serves as the executive director 10 As of 2012 update Norma Jean Almodovar serves as the executive director of the Los Angeles branch of COYOTE 11 See also editA Vindication of the Rights of Whores International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers International Sex Worker Foundation for Art Culture and Education Prostitution in Rhode Island Prostitution in the United States Sex positive feminism Sex worker Sex worker rights World Charter for Prostitutes RightsReferences edit a b c Records of COYOTE 1962 1989 A Finding Aid Harvard University Library Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Harvard University May 1996 Archived from the original on 2016 12 20 Margo St James St James Infirmary Retrieved 2022 11 12 a b Chapkis Wendy Live Sex Acts Women Performing Erotic Labor 1997 Routledge New York ISBN 0 415 91288 1 a b c d e Chateauvert Melinda 2013 Sex Workers Unite A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk Beacon Press ISBN 978 0 8070 6139 8 a b c Jenness Valerie August 1990 From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem Social Problems 37 3 403 420 doi 10 2307 800751 JSTOR 800751 Majic Samantha 2014 Sex Work Politics From Protest to Service Provision University of Pennsylvania Press p 1 ISBN 978 0 8122 4563 9 Jenness Valerie 1990 From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem PDF Social Problems 37 3 411 doi 10 1525 sp 1990 37 3 03a00090 Weitzer Ronald 1991 Prostitutes Rights in the United States The Failure of a Movement Wiley Midwest Sociological Society 32 1 23 41 doi 10 1111 j 1533 8525 1991 tb00343 x JSTOR 4121439 Arditi Lynn 2009 05 31 Behind Closed Doors How RI Decriminalized Prostitution The Providence Journal Archived from the original on 2009 06 01 Retrieved 2009 07 03 Bella s Bio Coyote RI Retrieved 31 May 2022 Norma Jean Almodovar Interview Danndulin com Retrieved 2012 08 03 Further reading editJenness Valerie August 1990 From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social problem Social Problems 37 3 403 420 doi 10 2307 800751 JSTOR 800751 Jenness Valerie Making it Work The Prostitutes Rights Movement in Perspective 1993 Walter de Gruyter Inc New York Pheterson Gail A Vindication of the Rights of Whores 1989 Seal Press Washington ISBN 0 931188 73 3 Chateauvert Melinda 2013 Sex Workers Unite A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk Beacon Press ISBN 978 0 8070 6139 8 Gilmore S 2010 Strange Bedfellows Building Feminist Coalitions Around Sex Work in the 1970s No Permanent Waves 342 94 ISBN 9780813547251 Weitzer Ronald 1991 Prostitutes Rights in the United States The Failure of a Movement The Sociological Quarterly 32 1 23 41 doi 10 1111 j 1533 8525 1991 tb00343 x JSTOR 4121439 Freeman Jody 1996 The Feminist Debate over Prostitution Reform Prostitutes Rights Groups Radical Feminists and the Im possibility of Consent In Weisberg D ed Applications Of Feminist Legal Theory Temple University Press pp 237 249 ISBN 9781566394239 JSTOR j ctt14bs8md 21 External links editOfficial COYOTE LA website Coyote Organization Records 1962 1989 A Finding Aid Schlesinger Library Radcliffe Institute Harvard University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title COYOTE amp oldid 1157301764, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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