Ladydrawers: The Somaly Problem

Part of the Series

Ladydrawers

The Ladydrawers’ yearlong investigation into gender, labor and cultural production – “Our Fashion Year” – has unraveled the threads that bind the international garment trade to international anti-sex trafficking NGOs. Mainstream media recently witnessed the unraveling for itself with something we call the Somaly Problem – when a world-leading activist on sex trafficking gets caught in a series of lies. This strip, called “The Somaly Problem,” shows that the problem does not really lie in one woman’s trustworthiness. However, it exists in a vast network of media makers, celebrities and professional do-gooders with surprisingly imperialist agendas. This strip is by Leela Corman and Anne Elizabeth Moore.

It’s only the latest in our yearlong series, which you can read in its entirety here, including “Fast Fashion,” “Let’s Go Shopping” and “The Business of Thrift” (with Julia Gfrörer); and “Zoned,” “Red Tape” and “Outta Sight (Out of Mind)” (with Melissa Mendes), and Ellen Lindner’s “It’s the Money, Honey” and “Out of the Factories Part 1” and “Out of the Factories Part 2” (also with Melissa Gira Grant). Leela Corman’s first strip with us was “The Grey Area.” Next month, we’ll look at why corporate funding of human trafficking is so popular, and with whom – with a return by Melissa Mendes! Then we’ll wrap up the series in September with Corman’s final contribution (and start working on the book).

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