I see sex work as somewhat analogous to coal mining. It’s not that it isn’t real work, or that those who work in that capacity don’t deserve rights, dignity, or a society that works for them. The problem, of course, is the ever-present exploitation of the workers coupled with the severe unpleasantness of the occupation which ensures that the people who do work these jobs are those with few other options. That isn’t to say that all sex workers and/or coal miners are miserable. Even so, the patterns around this kind of work are unmistakable.
Given these facts, I think most reasonable people understand that sex work should go extinct. That isn’t to say that you can’t make pornography or have sex with strangers. However, it’s impossible to gauge enthusiastic consent when money is changing hands, and enthusiastic consent is a vital component for an ethical sexual encounter.
My question for the community is how exactly this is meant to be accomplished. How can sex work be abolished without harming the very people it’s meant to protect? The number one problem western sex workers face, more so than creepy clients, is the cops, who profile them, steal their wages, and arrest them on a whim. Clearly, criminalizing sex work hasn’t done much for sex workers. What are some alternatives?
So I’ve guided (retired?) sex workers in the past. I wouldn’t overreact if I said that out of a room of 200 sex workers, 1 or 2 would do it because they wanted to. The rest was either trafficked or forced into it.
I fully support sex workers and their orgs in protests, unionizing and activism and I fully support orgs trying to help them with the work or help them escape. Their struggle to change the industry is a thing they need to have control of, as they are the ones being a part of it.
Personally, I don’t see a point in trying to regulate an industry that is filled with so much suffering. I always figured that if the people involved got the chances to do something else in life, 99.9% of them would. In a society where these people wouldn’t have to rely on sex to survive, sex work isn’t needed. That doesn’t mean that a free sexual moral wouldn’t exist. Quite the opposite, I think.
I’d also be curious as to what “wanting to” really means in such a misogynistic society that necessarily is internalized by everyone including (especially) sex workers. At best, “wanting to” engage in sex work really just means wanting to have sex anyway, and does not legitimize sex work in any way, IMO.
I personally only have met white, already well off women that wanted to do sex work. You know, people that were stuck in a job or got out of a long relationship and somehow became a high end escort, with a lot of freedom of choice. That´s the people I refer to that want to do this. They do exist (in very, very small numbers).
I didn’t meant to use them to legitimize sex work.