Pimp Culture

I have had the start of this post in my drafts for a long time and have never wanted to finish it.  I would start and then my anger would rise up and I would have to take a break.  But after seeing this picture on someones facebook page yesterday with the title

"We were Pimpin when Snoop dogg was just a Puppy."  

 

I feel compelled to finish it.

 

Everyone is familiar with the muppets.  They're cute and they're funny.  But there is nothing cute or funny about this picture.  God has grabbed my heart and opened my eyes to the issue of human trafficking and there is no humor in tossing around the name pimp. 

 

Here are two very recent examples of "pimp" being tossed around in the media like it's a cool thing:

• Hot Topic is currently using "Pimp Your Pack" in their advertising.  If you find this offensive you can sign the petition asking them to stop using the word pimp to market items to our children.  Hot Topic Petition

 

• DreamWorks Animation initially used "Pimp My Shell" in the their advertising for the animated film Turbo.  After receiving criticism for it, they made the right decision and removed the language from marketing material and the Turbo Racing Game.  To read the letter sent to DreamWorks and their response go Here
  
   

Frequently asked question:  What is the difference between a pimp and a trafficker?

Answer:  Nothing.  Pimp is just another name for trafficker. 

 

Change the name in the title of the Muppet picture above to trafficker and it takes on a new meaning. 

We were Trafficking (young girls) when Snoop dog was just a Puppy 

And Snoop Dog who is now going by Snoop Lion (who does that anyway?) was featured in Rolling Stone magazine a few months ago bragging about his "pimpin' days" providing women for professional athletes. Shame on Rolling Stone for publishing an article laced with vulgar profanity that glorifies the degrading of women.  Rolling Stone Article.  Many are outraged that Overstock.com has signed a contract to use Snoop as their spokesperson.  Facebook is a buzz with asking people to boycott the website and flood their page with protests.

Sadly, we live in a society where the name or title of pimp has been elevated to it's own celebrity status.  Pimps are celebrated in all forms of popular culture, from books to Hollywood movies to music and videos. The media glamorizes it by showing pimps with an excess of money, fancy cars, luxurious homes and of course, lots of women.

What the media doesn't show is that how the pimp achieves all those things is by exploiting women and young girls. Pimps are master manipulators who prey on vulnerable young girls for the sole purpose of exploiting them.  These women and girls are often drugged, abused and beaten in order to get them to comply.   The trafficking of young women and girls is the fastest growing criminal industry world wide.  In the United States an estimated 100,000 children have been forced into the commercial sex trade.  In the US, sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 states.

So when I see a picture of muppet characters dressed up as pimps I don't see the humor.  I don't see the humor because I know that "pimping" IS sex trafficking.  I know that the average age of a girl to be trafficked and sold for prostitution is 12.  I know that every 2 minutes a child is exploited in the sex industry.  I know that lives are ruined all in name of power and greed.

When I learn that there is an annual Players Ball which is an award night for pimps I feel angry.  When I learn that on this night, the pimp who has made the biggest pile of money and the biggest name for himself is awarded the International Pimp of the Year award I feel sick to my stomach.  

When I hear a song like Jay Z's Big Pimpin' I find it hard to believe what I am hearing.  I find it hard to believe that he continues to perform a song with lyrics so degrading to women that Jay Z himself said this:

"Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not 'Big Pimpin.' That's the exception.  It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh."

Unfortunately, Jay Z is not the only one to make music and perform songs that send the message that women are no more than sexual objects. .

When I read that there are actually "how to" books for wanna be pimps I am disgusted.  I am disgusted that publishers of titles like "Pimpology" or "The Pimp's Bible: The Sweet Science of Sin" would actually put them in print.

When I see the killing of prostitutes turned into a game I am overwhelmed at the evil in this world.  In the game Grand Theft Auto IV you can pick up a prostitute, take her to an alley to have sex, then kill her and get your money back. 

It's time to stop America.  It's time to stop supporting the "artists" and companies that promote the objectification and violence of women.  It's time to stop conditioning our young men to think that women are theirs for the taking.  It's time to stop teaching our young girls to get a mans attention by the way she dresses. It's time to stop glamorizing pain.  Stop glamorizing abuse.  Stop glamorizing the slavery of women. Because each and everyone of these women and children have a name and a face. They are someone's daughter.