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The Internet of today bears little resemblance to the primitive military inspired, free-net communications network of the 1950s and '60s. The involvement of corporations in the control of the Internet has encouraged a capitalistic undertone that has redirected the rather simple and questionably inclusive intentions of the early Internet. Instead, corporate ownership and control have manifested and glorified the acquisition of none other than a healthy bottom line. Quite simply, there are commodities for sale and privileged purchasers. This, in turn, has fueled a cyberworld which embodies favorable advances for some while simultaneously exposing the repugnant underbelly of racism, misogyny, classism, and heterosexism. Some researchers have asserted that the Internet has demonstrated an accelerated growth that mimics colonization of the past where western, English-speaking dominance has created extreme and often insurmountable power differentials between western and developing countries (Sciachitano). Nevertheless, the Internet has become a ubiquitous reality.
Globally, issues of sexism and adherence to traditional gender normative behaviours have provided a basis for much discourse on the subordinate role women play in cyberspace. To further exacerbate inequality, the obscurity of cyberspace and its utopian image both serve to mask the transference of real world-inequality to cyber-inequality as the Internet merely reflects societal values, social structures and power hierarchies. Compounded by almost complete lack of regulation and enforceable legislation around safe and equitable usage, the Internet has become a breeding ground for exploitation.
In particular, the sexual exploitation of women and children has experienced an unprecedented explosion due to the enabling structure of the Internet. The Internet is now considered the preferred space for the buying and selling of women and children (Sciachitano; Coopersmith; Hughes 2000; Plasencia). Pre-existing widespread sexism, lack of formal regulation and increasing lack of control, but for only a few, have enabled sexual exploiters to become the commercial champions of the cyber-world (Hughes 1999). Within a democratic and capitalistic framework, the championing of successful, though morally repugnant practice is rationalized and normalized. Though certainly not limited to the business of sex trafficking, many researchers have identified a conscious partnering between tech savvy entrepreneurs and vulnerable third world countries (Schiachitano; Coopersmith; Hughes 2000, 1997).
In this paper I will examine the "mail-order bride"(1) industry and the sanctioning effects of the Internet and associated...