The Perpetuation of Human Trafficking in Popular Culture

America's popular culture has and continues to perpetuate the second largest illegal business of human trafficking globally. “Pop culture has played an instrumental role in helping to keep the business of modern day slavery thriving.”  Human Trafficking, or modern day slavery, is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring and/or harboring a person through the use of force and coercion for the purpose of exploiting them. People are sadly trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery and similar practices. Tragically, “its popularity is growing exponentially and it is expected to surpass drugs and become the leading illegal business globally within the next couple of years."

Popular culture, now expanding heavily through social media, has the ability to reach a vast array of people in a matter of seconds. This applies to anyone who watches television, has a social media account, or simply surfs the internet occasionally. However, what we see in the media is not always a good representation of morals and ethics. Popular Culture often has the tendency to exploit and downplay serious issues as funny or whimsical, causing a very nonchalant attitude towards an often very serious subject. In regards to human trafficking, the last thing society needs to do is have an apathetic attitude towards the issue. Unfortunately, adults and children are bombarded daily by negative media. Stars such as Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne proudly portray themselves as pimps everyday, glamorizing the lifestyle as a way to achieve "true manhood". Snoop Dogg has even gone as far as to publicly announce in an interview that as a kid he "dreamed of being a pimp."

Music, and the musicians that make up the industry, are a very influential part of our popular culture, especially towards young impressionable children and adults. Along with Snoop Dogg and countless others, there is a growing trend of vulgar lyrics glorifying the abuse and ownership of women. For example, famous artist and producer, Jay- Z has a hit song, titled “Big Pimpin” and Kanye West shouts in just one of his many hit songs, “You know how many hot b*tches I own!?” It's unbelievable that nowadays artists are rewarded with Grammys, million dollar record contracts, social media revenue, and corporate endorsements for writing songs and producing videos that degrade and abuse women. When confronted about these issues, artists take the same apathetic approach that the media often takes when questions are raised about their morals and ethics. However, “these musicians can't pretend that the pimping their lyrics glorify [are] not the same heinous federal crime that affect millions of underage children globally!”

Another addictive part of our pop culture that perpetuates and dehumanizes the heinousness of human trafficking is video games. Grand Theft Auto, one of the most popular and best selling video game franchises of all time, “makes it cool to pick up, beat up, and even kill prostitutes”. This is all possible and even encouraged by tips on YouTube, chat rooms, and worst of all, the games instructional manual. In 2014, Grand Theft Auto set a record as the fastest growing entertainment property to ever gross $1 billion dollars, selling over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours.

In this day and age, we can’t underestimate the far reaching effect that popular culture has on children and adults. At the age of 17, a young child can purchase Grand Theft Auto, and accidentally perpetuate the way human trafficking is viewed and accepted by society. That same child can then turn on the radio and hear his favorite rapper dehumanize women. It's no wonder why human trafficking is one of the largest growing issues not just in America, but in the world. Overall, our popular culture is doing more than just perpetuating the business of human trafficking; it is tragically desensitizing it right in front of our own eyes.