This song reminded me of the question, "are all trafficked women only 'victims?'" The song describes a woman who sells herself in an effort to provide for her son. The song continuously asks the question, "What would you do?" This implies that anyone would do the same thing if they were dealt the same cards in life. It shows that there are times that society fails women as opposed to her failing herself. For example, the woman in the song went through a bad childhood (being raped by her father) and faces poverty. It saddens me that some people are born into such awful situations through no fault of their own. I would love to hear more of what other people think of trafficked women being victims (or not). It would interest me to hear a story about a woman who doesn't view herself as a victim, and chooses prostitution not out of necessity.
Are all trafficked women only 'victims?'
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What makes sex trafficking so tricky I think most times is that you have a group of people who are forced in to sex work and then you have a group of people who bring themselves into sex work (meaning they were not forced to sell themselves by the means of some one else). I remember this song as I kid growing up in North Minneapolis and although I never saw any prostitutes when I was living there I remember being able to make some kind of connection to the life the woman in the video was leading and the lives that I saw around me.