A clash of the feminist titans…inside sex work and out.
Anti Prostitution Group Commits Violence On Sex Worker At UC
Berkeley Performance
By Maxine Doogan
11/11/07
An altercation involving Maxine Doogan of the Erotic Service
Providers Union, followed a performance sponsored by U C Berkeley
Ethic Department at UC Berkeley Worth Ryder Gallery on Nov. 9th
2007 which resulted in the U C Berkeley Police issuing a 7 day stay
away order to Ms Doogan, Lisa Roelillg one other companion.
“My Real Name” was a One New Earth Production performance by
Students and Artist Fighting to End Human Slavery. Sponsored by
the UC Berkeley Ethics Studies and promoted by the SAGE Project
violent scene after violent scene was played out against
streetbased prostitutes. This play actually turned out to be a
propaganda piece conflating incest, rape, domestic violence,
economic disparity, homelessness, drug addiction with the
occupation of prostitution by depicting graphic sexually violent
images and reenactments.
The producer had stated that this performance was meant to be
interactive and invited audience members to interact with the
people depicting the violence during the performance. It was
unclear if the people relating the violence were actors or the
actual people who had experienced the violence originally. The
producer also said a discussion about trafficking in the sex
industry would follow the performance.
Many people walked out before the end as did Doogan, who returned
at the conclusion expecting to find a discussion under way but
instead found her comrade, Lisa Roellig, a former streetbased
worker surrounded by anti prostitution activist, like researcher
Melissa Farley, who recently called for the closing of the legal
brothels in Nevada.
Roellig, an ex-streetbased worker and Doogan attempted to converse
with the producer about her relationship to the issues raised in
the performance. The producer responded by yelled and waved her
arms saying she didn’t believe in the comodification of women and
that no discussion was going to take place. However a loud
discussion ensued between all parties with the producer stating
that Doogan ‘sucked the dicks of corporate America’ and was ‘a
white and privileged’. Another anti prostitutionist, also a former
streetbased worker, stated that all prostitutes are dogs, and used
physical intimidation to push Doogan out the door while evoking the
name of blood of Jesus Christ. Doogan responded by leaving the
building and calling the anti prostitution group “poverty pimps”.
Annie Fukushima, U C Berkeley Doctorial Candidate, threatened to
call the cops and Doogan encouraged her to do so.
Doogan, Roellig and the third person made statements to the police
that Doogan had been physically assaulted. UC Berkeley Campus
Officer Sanchez only wanted to know if the women who called the
police were women of color. All three women were issued 7 day stay
away orders.
Said Roellig, “While they were privileged enough to call in the
cops because two women show up to question their view of our lives,
I was not ever privileged enough to call the cops when I was raped,
assaulted or robbed on the street because I was a criminalized
worker. These women are outspoken on their abolitionists views and
are advocates of the continuation of the States oppressive laws
that control our bodies, our economies and most important make us
easy targets for police abuse and corruption”
Please call, write or email the Berkeley Police Department and tell
them to receive the report of battery on Maxine Doogan. And the UC
Berkeley Ethnic Studies Department because it failed in its
commitment to be understanding of the deep multiple meanings of
racial diversity in the Americas in the area of prostitution when
they sponsored the performance and facilitated racial violence
against sex industry workers.