This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/04/jack-the-ripper-industry-distort-london-east-end-prostitution-cable-street-museum

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
How the Jack the Ripper industry distorts London's East End How the Jack the Ripper industry distorts London's East End
(2 months later)
In 1888, five women working as prostitutes were murdered in London’s East End. The violence of their deaths has been turned into a tourist attraction, with daily street walks in east London. One tour advises, of the area’s most sought-after neighbourhoods: “Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows… for you are about to enter the abyss.” Now even a museum on Cable Street that was supposed to have showcased women’s history has morphed into yet another black-and-red Jack the Ripper spectacle. In 1888, five women working as prostitutes were murdered in London’s East End. The violence of their deaths has been turned into a tourist attraction, with daily street walks in east London. One tour advises, of the area’s most sought-after neighbourhoods: “Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows… for you are about to enter the abyss.” Now a museum on Cable Street, on that was supposed to have showcased women’s history, has morphed into yet another black-and-red Jack the Ripper spectacle.
The “Ripper industry” is built upon crude portrayals of the East End, and of degrading and victim-blaming depictions of sex workers. Does this relentless emphasis on murder obscure the East End’s broad and often radical history? And what is it like for sex workers in the East End to face an industry built around fascination with the horrific murder and mutilation of sex workers?The “Ripper industry” is built upon crude portrayals of the East End, and of degrading and victim-blaming depictions of sex workers. Does this relentless emphasis on murder obscure the East End’s broad and often radical history? And what is it like for sex workers in the East End to face an industry built around fascination with the horrific murder and mutilation of sex workers?
“We object to the Jack the Ripper tours because they present the gruesome murder of five women as an exciting, tantalising event, glorifying the man whilst invisibilising the women,” explains Laura Watson, spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP). “What a distortion and abuse of our humanity that five women who were tortured to death are of less interest than the monster who killed them.”“We object to the Jack the Ripper tours because they present the gruesome murder of five women as an exciting, tantalising event, glorifying the man whilst invisibilising the women,” explains Laura Watson, spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP). “What a distortion and abuse of our humanity that five women who were tortured to death are of less interest than the monster who killed them.”
'Who was Jack the Ripper – who cares? It’s the victims who died that should be remembered''Who was Jack the Ripper – who cares? It’s the victims who died that should be remembered'
Alia is a sex worker working in Mile End, east London. “Rape and torture, let alone the murder of women, shouldn’t be fetishised into an intriguing murder mystery,” she says. Violence faced by sex workers in the 1880s, after all, is not ancient history: “I know about violence. I’ve been raped and robbed – and when I reported it the police did nothing, and then threatened me with prosecution for prostitution.”Alia is a sex worker working in Mile End, east London. “Rape and torture, let alone the murder of women, shouldn’t be fetishised into an intriguing murder mystery,” she says. Violence faced by sex workers in the 1880s, after all, is not ancient history: “I know about violence. I’ve been raped and robbed – and when I reported it the police did nothing, and then threatened me with prosecution for prostitution.”
With murder and violence still an issue for sex workers in the UK, the ECP argues that little has changed. As they work towards the decriminalisation of sex work to improve safety, they want the lesson of the Whitechapel murders to be, as Watson puts it: “the courage of the victims, who like hundreds of thousands of women worldwide, before and since, have decided to step outside of the law to ensure the survival of their loved ones, and who paid with their lives.”With murder and violence still an issue for sex workers in the UK, the ECP argues that little has changed. As they work towards the decriminalisation of sex work to improve safety, they want the lesson of the Whitechapel murders to be, as Watson puts it: “the courage of the victims, who like hundreds of thousands of women worldwide, before and since, have decided to step outside of the law to ensure the survival of their loved ones, and who paid with their lives.”
Spitalfields, in the East End, forms the hub of many of the tours. It has long been a place shaped by successive waves of immigration, from silk-weaving French Protestant Huguenot refugees in the late 1600s, to Russian Jews in the 1880s, and most recently Bengalis from Sylhet in Bangladesh. It is a vibrant place, a hotspot for curry houses, music, art and vintage fashion shops. Many of the cobblestone streets remain preserved much as they were in 1880, though houses once over-crowded with some of the poorest people in London are now exorbitantly expensive and form the edge of Liverpool Street’s financial district.Spitalfields, in the East End, forms the hub of many of the tours. It has long been a place shaped by successive waves of immigration, from silk-weaving French Protestant Huguenot refugees in the late 1600s, to Russian Jews in the 1880s, and most recently Bengalis from Sylhet in Bangladesh. It is a vibrant place, a hotspot for curry houses, music, art and vintage fashion shops. Many of the cobblestone streets remain preserved much as they were in 1880, though houses once over-crowded with some of the poorest people in London are now exorbitantly expensive and form the edge of Liverpool Street’s financial district.
Tired of seeing the Whitechapel murders glamourised, trade unionist and Irish History Month coordinator Austin Harney set up the Five Martyrs of Whitechapel Tour. “I focus less on how they were murdered and more into their lives and looking at society at the time,” Harney says. “It was very racially prejudiced and there were high levels of poverty. Women had no choice but to sell themselves. They had broken families, no full-time jobs, they were trying to look after their children and were struggling.”Tired of seeing the Whitechapel murders glamourised, trade unionist and Irish History Month coordinator Austin Harney set up the Five Martyrs of Whitechapel Tour. “I focus less on how they were murdered and more into their lives and looking at society at the time,” Harney says. “It was very racially prejudiced and there were high levels of poverty. Women had no choice but to sell themselves. They had broken families, no full-time jobs, they were trying to look after their children and were struggling.”
Indeed, Mary Ann Nicholls – murdered in Spitalfields at the age of 43 on 31 August 1888 – was married with five children. She worked part-time in prostitution in order to support her family. It is a pattern that fits three of the other murdered women: Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddoweson. Only the fifth, Mary Jane Kelly, from Limerick in Ireland, was 25 years old and unmarried.Indeed, Mary Ann Nicholls – murdered in Spitalfields at the age of 43 on 31 August 1888 – was married with five children. She worked part-time in prostitution in order to support her family. It is a pattern that fits three of the other murdered women: Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddoweson. Only the fifth, Mary Jane Kelly, from Limerick in Ireland, was 25 years old and unmarried.
In the past, the Five Martyrs tour has held a candle-lit vigil for Mary Jane Kelly, who was murdered in her home at 13 Miller’s Court on what was the notoriously violent and decrepit Dorset Street. In 1920, Miller’s Court was demolished by the Corporation of London; Dorset Street has been renamed and is now marked largely by a multistorey car park.In the past, the Five Martyrs tour has held a candle-lit vigil for Mary Jane Kelly, who was murdered in her home at 13 Miller’s Court on what was the notoriously violent and decrepit Dorset Street. In 1920, Miller’s Court was demolished by the Corporation of London; Dorset Street has been renamed and is now marked largely by a multistorey car park.
Also attempting to counter the portrayal of East End history as one of shadowy, bloodstained labyrinths is author and historian David Rosenberg, who runs his own tours of east London. “People who do the conventional tours probably leave the area with some of the worst stereotypes about it,” he says. “Whereas the tours that I do talk about people like the Matchwomen, the Dockers, the East London Suffragettes, the Poplar Councillors who went to prison in the 1920s, the anti-fascist marchers of Cable Street, and the Bengali women in the 1970s who fought against racist attacks and for housing.”Also attempting to counter the portrayal of East End history as one of shadowy, bloodstained labyrinths is author and historian David Rosenberg, who runs his own tours of east London. “People who do the conventional tours probably leave the area with some of the worst stereotypes about it,” he says. “Whereas the tours that I do talk about people like the Matchwomen, the Dockers, the East London Suffragettes, the Poplar Councillors who went to prison in the 1920s, the anti-fascist marchers of Cable Street, and the Bengali women in the 1970s who fought against racist attacks and for housing.”
Rosenberg is a member of History From Below, a global network of radical tour guides. He describes the East End as “the cradle of so many struggles for justice and better conditions for all workers that were then replicated elsewhere. There is so much to celebrate in terms of achievement of the people in east London.”Rosenberg is a member of History From Below, a global network of radical tour guides. He describes the East End as “the cradle of so many struggles for justice and better conditions for all workers that were then replicated elsewhere. There is so much to celebrate in terms of achievement of the people in east London.”
It is a compassionate view of history shared by Alia in Mile End: “My thoughts are with the victims of the Ripper. They were women just like me, ready to do whatever was needed to ensure their kids were fed. Our lives matter, then and now.”It is a compassionate view of history shared by Alia in Mile End: “My thoughts are with the victims of the Ripper. They were women just like me, ready to do whatever was needed to ensure their kids were fed. Our lives matter, then and now.”
As for the identity of the murderer, Harney remarks: “Who was Jack the Ripper – who cares? It’s the victims who died that should be remembered.”As for the identity of the murderer, Harney remarks: “Who was Jack the Ripper – who cares? It’s the victims who died that should be remembered.”
Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook and join the discussionFollow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook and join the discussion