This is the third part to a 3 part interview series between Stephanie Krehbiel and Yvonne Zimmerman on the narrative of sex-trafficking. Zimmerman is a veteran of the sex trafficking debates. Her book, Other Dreams of Freedom: Religion, Sex, and Human Trafficking, examines the influence of conservative Protestant theology on U.S. anti-trafficking policy. Today’s piece discusses the sexualized violence of anti-LGBTQ theology, how it helps put queer youth at particular risk for sex trafficking, and finally, why queer youth cannot be “kittens that we rescue.” Particularly, it focuses on Mennonite Church USA’s lack of conversation on sexual ethics, which contributes to abuse within the church. If you haven’t seen the other two parts yet, we recommend catching up. In part one Zimmerman explained the differences between sex trafficking and labor trafficking, the theological reasons why Americans only seem to care about forced labor when it involves sex, and what social conditions create vulnerability to trafficking. Part two contained a more in-depth discussion of the question of choice in sex work, and why it’s important to fight the assumption that all prostitution is sex trafficking. Our Stories Untold believes this is an important, yet challenging topic that deserves our attention, thought, and consideration. We welcome […]
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