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Sure blogging about sex slave hype is fun, but wouldn't the issue really be better addressed by academics?

If you answered yes (or, more likely, "in the affirmative"), you will so want to check out SEX SLAVES IN THE MEDIA: Problematizing Media Representations of Trafficking, a panel discussion to be held this Thursday, April 15, at Columbia University.

I wish I could make some joke about how "problematizing" sounds dirty, but it just doesn't.

Here's the press release.

'SEX SLAVES IN THE MEDIA: Problematizing Media Representations of Trafficking' Panel Discussion with

Gretchen Soderlund, Ph.D.
Mellon Fellow in Communication & Society
University of Chicago

Anthony DeStefano,
Journalist, Newsday

Carole Vance, Ph.D.
Director, Program for the Study of Sexuality, Gender, Health, and
Human Rights
Columbia University

Sex trafficking in the US gripped the nation's attention following the publication of the Jan 25 New York Times Magazine report 'The Girls Next Door.' While horrific tales of the trade and sexual exploitation in young girls overseas are commonplace and almost expected, the report startled readers by suggesting that such horrors are equally widespread at home.

To what extent should these stories become the basis of policy?

How can we be more intelligent consumers of the news media?

What are the issues globally?

This panel critically assesses media representations of trafficking. Speakers from both academic and journalistic perspectives will discuss the common themes and tropes in the portrayal of 'trafficking,' consider the historical precedents of the current stream of trafficking reports, and examine the politics of these representations with the larger political arena. The discursive perils in these representations, their impact on individual, community and governmental responses will also be considered.

APRIL 15, 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm
Rm 102, Jerome Greene Hall
Columbia University

Hee hee. They said "discursive perils."

Posted by Daniel Radosh

3:47 PM