PunkRockDyke

Currently in South Korea, numerous women are suffering from sexual exploitation and violence due to a series of atrocious digital sex crimes called the “Nth Room” (N번방). The number of perpetrators has exceeded 260,000. This is what happened so far.

At first, a criminal using the nickname “박사” (Baksa; means Doctor in Korean) sent Twitter messages to the victims saying, “Your private pictures might be exposed on the internet, so please check this website to see if it is really you”. The website was actually a decoy - once the victims clicked the website, a fake Twitter popped up. Victims thinking that it was the real Twitter typed their username and password, which were immediately shared with the criminals. The shared username and password enabled the criminals to illegally gather more personal information like telephone number, home addresses, and family.

With the personal information held in the criminal’s hands, the criminals threatened the victims that unless they act as “slaves” for a week, their personal information would be exposed to the world.

Victims complied with this demand, fearing the exposure of their personal information. The criminals then ordered the victims to send nude photographs of themselves. The victims did so in hopes that this dreadful situation will stop in a week.

However, the criminals didn’t stop even after a week passed. The criminals threatened the victims even more that they will spread their nude photographs to their family and friends if they don’t perform and record the inhumanely violent activities they demand.

The activities included the following: writing “slave” with a knife on the skin, putting in a pair of scissors inside the vagina, cutting out the nipples, and even getting raped by assigned people. The footages of the victims performing such activities are shared at Telegram chatrooms, otherwise called the “Nth Room”.

When the footages were collected, “박사" (Baksa) sold the tickets that allow people to enter the Telegram chatrooms where footages of sexual exploitation and violence are shared. The rooms were named 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on, according to the price of the tickets and the content shared inside. The cost of the tickets varied, and some were as expensive as 1,500 dollars. More than eighty thousand people have joined the chatrooms. Footages of women getting sexually exploited were bought and sold like mere products in the "Nth Room".

Twitter was not the only way women become victims. Some men deliberately shared the personal information of their girlfriends to the criminals to turn them into “slaves” at the “Nth Room”. Some criminals took women’s personal information by lying that it is a mandatory process in a job interview and turned them into “slaves” as well.

The age of the victims is diverse; eleven is the youngest victim identified so far. Most of the victims are in their late teens to early twenties. According to a member in the “Nth Room” chatroom, two women become new “slaves” every day.

Would reporting to the police work? A man who went inside one of the “Nth Room” chatrooms reported this crime to the Korean police as he was astonished by the brutality. The report was first handed to the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit, but was passed to the Women and Adolescent Crime Investigation Unit, and then to the Violence Investigation Unit, then back to the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit. The investigation was never properly done. The man who originally reported the crime started to contribute to the growth of the “Nth Room” by re-selling footages as he found out that the lack of investigation created a safe environment for the criminals.

The atrocity of the criminals didn’t stop here. When a middle schooler girl found out that her younger sister who goes to elementary school was suffering from sexual exploitation at the “Nth Room”, she begged to the criminals to stop harming her sister. The criminals afterward raped the middle schooler girl inside a car and spread the rape footage.

There was also a case where the criminals threatened a girl to make her mother also become a “slave” in the “Nth Room”. Furthermore, the criminals even forced a victim to have sex with her own brother.

Recently on February 17, a Korean broadcasting company called SBS examined on the "Nth Room" and aired their findings through an investigative journalism program called “Curious Stories Y” (궁금한 이야기 Y). A criminal threatened the broadcasting company that if they don’t stop airing the program, they are going to force a woman who is a “slave” at the "Nth Room" to kill herself.

To avoid the investigation of the Korean police, the criminals are using Telegram, which has its servers located in foreign lands. Telegram is not an app made in Korea, so it is hard to be investigated by the Korean Police force alone. In addition, the punishment given to criminals who obtain child pornography is too light in South Korea; many criminals only get a short sentence of one year or get released with a suspended sentence.

There are criminals who are neither captured nor punished. Hence, as a Korean citizen, I would like to call for the FBI’s investigation of this atrocious digital crime. I would also like to ask for human rights organizations and press agencies around the world to pay attention to this serious crime that infringes human rights by raising voices and writing articles. Thank you so much for reading my letter.

Here are some links that can help you:

https://youtu.be/dI_OJITLuxU - Translations of what is going on in the “Nth Room”

http://cyber-lion.com/?fbclid=IwAR1BNOxlosolUpYi7ihi3RlBA-aV-W2NnP-Smwjenmy05fcWqtUCgYMQIcc - The website of Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center, which is an organization working for the eradication of this crime

https://www.facebook.com/kcsvrc/ The Facebook page of Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center

https://programs.sbs.co.kr/culture/cube - Homepage of “Curious Story Y”

“Like most porn performers, I perpetuated this lie. One of my favorite things to say when asked if I liked doing a particular scene was, “I only do what I like! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it!” (I would say this with a big fake smile and giggle.) What a total lie! I did what I had to do to get “work” in porn. I did what I knew would help me gain “fame” in the industry.” -Alexa

(^ Vanessa Belmond (real name) is now outspoken on the harms of the porn industry and has been featured in several news sources.)

“Of course I lied to my fans. I led them to believe I lived a fantasy life which was far from the truth. I fed into their fantasies. I said I wanted sex 24/7 and made it seem like I absolutely loved what I did and was living this happy life. I gave them hope and insight into their relationships by telling them what to do. I started to feel like an important nobody, they knew Elizabeth [the porn star], but they would never care to know Jan [the real me]. I had to do whatever the producer pleased and I had to accept it or else no pay. Sometimes you would get to a gig and the producer would change what the scene was supposed to be to something more intense and again if you didn’t like it, too bad, you did it or no pay.” -Jan

(^ Jan Villarubia (real name) eventually left the porn industry and worked with the Pink Cross Foundation, an organization that helped to rehabilitate former performers, and now independently works on books and documentary features to spread awareness on the harms of the porn industry and help other porn performers get out of the business.)

“It was torture for seven years. I was miserable, I was lonely, I eventually turned to drugs and alcohol and attempted suicide. I knew I wanted out, but I didn’t know how to get out.” -Jenna

(^ Brittni Ruiz (real name) did eventually get out and now uses her story to spread awareness on the harms of the porn industry.)

“And they’re (porn watchers) contributing to children being raped. I’m like—for a better reason not to click on porn, [think about] child porn. Just think, right now as I’ve been talking to you, there are little children that are being drugged and raped. How could anyone click on porn knowing that?” -Shelley Lubben, former porn-star, founder of the Pink Cross Foundation

And I do have to put myself first and distance myself from butches who encourage doing these things. Because seeing that makes that little voice go, “oh yeah, look how easy that is, you could definitely pull that off no problem.” And no.

I want to fight that unhealthy part of me. I want to accept my body as it is. Breasts and hips and all.

Enough is enough. Sometimes we have to protect ourselves and other women struggling with dysphoria by standing firm in what we believe and keeping our boundaries up.

I know there’s a lot of overlap in the butch and transmasc communities. But I have no interest in interacting with dysphoric women who promote needless hormones and surgeries or harmful practices like binding. It isn’t a reflection on those women’s worth or value- it’s a protective reaction and sometimes fierce anger that more and more women like me are transitioning.

I’m not gonna do it.

I’m going to learn how to live with myself the way I am. I’m not going to lie to myself and say that taking testosterone and getting unnecessary surgeries is okay or something to even be desired.

And I do have to put myself first and distance myself from butches who encourage doing these things. Because seeing that makes that little voice go, “oh yeah, look how easy that is, you could definitely pull that off no problem.” And no.

I want to fight that unhealthy part of me. I want to accept my body as it is. Breasts and hips and all.

Enough is enough. Sometimes we have to protect ourselves and other women struggling with dysphoria by standing firm in what we believe and keeping our boundaries up.

I know there’s a lot of overlap in the butch and transmasc communities. But I have no interest in interacting with dysphoric women who promote needless hormones and surgeries or harmful practices like binding. It isn’t a reflection on those women’s worth or value- it’s a protective reaction and sometimes fierce anger that more and more women like me are transitioning.

I’m not gonna do it.

I’m going to learn how to live with myself the way I am. I’m not going to lie to myself and say that taking testosterone and getting unnecessary surgeries is okay or something to even be desired.

Source 2: https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/happened-mark-hamills-son-got-210000237.html?__twitter_impression=true

Except the mother clearly wanted her child, and they didn’t, so the Hamills tried to bully her instead.

If this isn’t a prime example of abortion culture, I don’t know what is.

I am a radical feminist who is addicted to porn. I’m trying to curb my addiction but it is really difficult when we live in a society that sees porn as empowering and good. In my city, the only places that offer support for porn addiction are churches and any support that exists is only open to men. The only mixed-sex support group in my area was disbanded a few years ago as not enough women came. No shit. Female addicts don’t want to sit next to male addicts and share our experiences and then have those guys go home and jack off to us. 

Watching porn has made me want to be degraded, exploited and submissive during sex. Watch porn makes men want to rape, abuse and dominate women. We react to porn in opposite ways - why on earth would women want to get treatment alongside violent men? 

I was exposed to porn from a young age. My dad used to watch R18 movies etc. with my sister and me in the house that often had VERY graphic sex scenes. I started looking up these scenes for myself, eventually leading to porn. I was fascinated and intrigued.

I grew up in a conservative household, sex was never talked about. I thought porn depicted real life, that women were born to cater to the desires of men even if hurt us. All I learned about sex, I learned from porn.

I am trying to unlearn the toxic and sexist things I have learned in porn, while also trying to get support in a society that offers women no treatment options.

Some days win, and some days I fail. On the days I fail I feel such shame. 

I know maybe some of you may unfollow me for this revelation but this conversation is too important to keep to myself. I know many of you may also struggle with porn addiction. As radical feminists, we feel deep shame because we KNOW it is wrong and exploitative. We can’t hide behind the lie of empowerment, we know better, but still, we struggle.

I am here if anyone wants to talk about their porn addiction or wants an accountability partner etc. I am opening the box of secrecy and nobody will make me put the lid back on again. 

Jan: I remember that man. He was an older white man, and when he started with his statement, I knew what was coming, because yes, I do find strong reactions to “Shooter” on a regular basis. It’s an odd situation to be in, in that I have written an intense poem that calls for women to say no to abuse—and now I am mediating my response in a way that hopefully, can be heard. I don’t think that my work creates an antagonist, but rather, it identifies some of them.

When Red Sugar first came out, I received a phone call from a director of a national press (not the University of Pittsburgh Press). This man, who I know, told me that he was disturbed by my book, that he thought it was man-hating—until he got to the last section of the book, which he said, “…had some very touching family poems.” I was incensed by his remarks, and told him that my poems were not man-hating, but that they were reporting on the lives of women. He didn’t specifically name “Shooter,” but I know that it was part of his response. It’s as if he was pissed off, then he was okay when he saw some poems that “fell into line” according to his limited vision of what women should be saying.

This happens again and again, in various ways, around the country. It sometimes happens with other women writers. While teaching in an MFA program, I did a reading of Red Sugar which included “Shooter.” The next day, some male students approached me and asked: “We want to know, are you shooting ALL the men in the world in ‘Shooter,’ or only the ones who have done something?” I was appalled at this simplistic response to the poem, especially from a graduate student. I said, first of all, this is a graduate program, and this is a poem. I am not the speaker of the poem, and I’m not shooting anyone. It’s a metaphor. The graduate student went on to tell me that at the party the night before, a woman faculty member (a writer) was telling everyone that my poem was “hate speech” and that it was dangerous. This was shocking to me, and I confronted the woman later, asking her if she said that, and she confirmed it. I was very disturbed that a woman writer would fuel this controversy. I was so angry that I told her that what she was saying was so ridiculous that I couldn’t fathom it—that it’s not hate speech, and that she needs to stop starting fires about it. She and I had previously had some disagreements, but I was stunned that she would mess with another woman’s writing, that she would not come directly to me.

Mary Kate: Is “Shooter” making a statement that one must address violence with violence or is it the way to provoke a conversation?

Jan: “Shooter” is not saying that one must address violence with violence. It IS saying that women experience these abuses on a daily, widespread basis, and that it’s unacceptable. My goal was to write the best poem I could write, not to provoke conversation. I am aware that there are not enough poems out there with women raging about truth. But, I think that it’s the work of poetry to disturb, inflict discomfort, record the truth, among many other things. If that provokes a conversation, great. I’m interested in moving people, in reaching them emotionally, changing their minds about something.

Mary Kate: Criticism for men and violence in writing is a shrug of the shoulder. Is it perceived differently for women, even if the voice is ironic or vigilante?

EVIL MF!!!!!!!

“Part of what defines Cox’s experience of gender is, as she says, that black women and trans women are not seen as beautiful. They can be, and often are, hyper-sexualized — and in seeing Cox as overly sexual, and only sexual, Murphy participates in that stereotype. But while they can be sexual things, trans women and black women are not allowed to be glamorous or lovable.”

How the Playmate bunnies are treated in the Playboy Mansion is awful. The racism that Gloria Steinem witnessed when she went undercover as a Playboy bunny is evidence of that (Black playmate bunnies were called, “Negro Girls” and “Chocolate Bunnies”. Racial fetishization isn’t feminist).

Here’s some more anti-feminism by Playboy:

Pro-rape images from Playboy magazine (TRIGGER WARNING):

Playboy is as anti-feminist as it fucking gets! Hugh Hefner is blatantly anti-feminist, in his own words in 1984.

Playboy is also pro-woman beating:

“In 1999, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that a Romanian edition of Playboy magazine published an article “How to Beat your Wife without Leaving Prints.” In the article were descriptions of the kind of tools to use (e.g., sticks and washing machine drive belts) and how best to hold the woman down to make the beating easier. “The author, who remained unidentified, advised that any screams of pain would be bogus and that the wife would want to be beaten again. The article closed by wishing the reader a harmonious marriage.” (Loue, 2001, p. 26). While women’s groups in Romania objected, their complaints were dismissed. Proponents argued that the article was a joke, and the women were taking the issue too seriously.” —  Parrot, Andrea & Cummings, Nina. Forsaken Females: The Global Brutalization of Women. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2006, (p. 27)

The fact that liberal “feminists” and queer and trans activists are falling for this anti-feminist dump in the guise of giving a damn about women and transwomen goes to show how in deep they are with misogynists.

Also, there are many different factions and branches of feminism. Transfeminism can accommodate transwomen. They don’t need to try to insist on having a space in Radical Feminism (which specifically advocates as a movement by and for female-bodied people since RadFems define “women” as a sex class/ biologically sex-based definition).

I mean, for crying out loud, Playboy has published CHILD PORNOGRAPHY!

“In 1975 Playboy Press published nude photographs of 10-year-old Brooke Shields. The photographer, who took them with parental consent, described his subject as ‘the first prepubescent sex symbol in the world’ and prints of his portraits soon became highly sought after and very expensive.“  — Ian O’Donnell & Claire Milner Child Pornography: Crime, Computers & Society

To quote the woman being smeared by this trash publication: