According to Ferguson, the relationship between property, capital and prostitution stems from racialization and heteropatriarchy. Using Marxist concepts in his discussion, Ferguson criticizes capitalism for normalizing heterosexuality and whiteness in society, which exploits those outside the norm as property. The hierarchy of property ownership is compared to a tribe, with the owner being the “chief” of the tribe and the extension of the tribe ending with the slaves being the lowest. The division of labor in this hierarchy is influenced by the heterosexual and patriarchal family structure. Ferguson brings up the concept of property ownership not only referring to people owning people as slaves, but also using it as an analogy of the capital state “owning” the people working in this system. The “slaves” of the capital tribe are the unskilled workers, which essentially are the immigrants. The state exploits these groups of people as cheap labor that benefits the capital, with the surplus immigrant populations providing more than enough labor for the state. Prostitution is related to property and capital as it is the intersection between these two factors. This occupation dehumanizes a person, forcing the person to sell their body to survive, essentially turning that individual into a piece of property working for the capital. As for prostitution and capital, the connection between the two is that prostitution allows the capital to step out of heteronormative ideology, disrupting the heteropatriarchy and exploiting the man’s lust for profits.
When taking into account of the “queer of color” analysis, it breaks the silence of the racialization and heteropatriarchy that stems in society. Using Ferguson’s example of the black drag queen prostitute, this individual breaks all the stereotypes associated with society’s standards, going against the natural roles that have been instilled into the citizens of the state. The “queer of color” perspective promotes an ideology that goes outside of the “box” of capital, showing the contrasting side of race, gender, and class.
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