The War on Sex Workers Reflection

This is my favorite subject, and it's one that is not discussed enough...not in women's studies classes, not in our society, not by labor unions, not by anyone except those who actually engage in it as a profession. There is a dyer need for sex work to be researched on an international scale, since the majority of people who are arrested for prostitution, beaten by police officers, raped by citizens and stigmatized by cultural standards are women: women of color and transwomen predominantly. Sex work is different than sex trafficking. There is no doubt about that. All of us, feminists, sex workers, academics, law enforcement authorities, etc. can agree that sex and human trafficking are a serious problem. However, I'd like to talk about consent a little bit in this reflective response to the article we read.

There is such a thing as consensual sex work. There are many women who travel the world, pay for schooling, and feed their children by engaging in sex work as a profession and I think that the author of this piece does a great job at making that clear. Having sex work be illegal does nothing for women's rights, women's agency and choices. In many ways, it actually oppresses them, and this is ironic considering the fact that the crusade against sex work is fought by conservatives, feminists (who I'd categorize as second wave and sex negative, versus my pro-sex, anti-censorship sex positive feminism which celebrates what little agency and choices I think women have when it comes to human sexuality and their expression of it).

However, I do also believe that consent is something that is manufactured and controlled by something much bigger that I wish this article spoke more about, and that is the labor market. Conservatives in the United States like to believe that markets are and should be unregulated and "laissez-faire", meaning simplistically, "leave the market alone." It is entrepreneurial in nature and the reason why so many people consider corporations people, yet women with children are being thrown in prison for the distribution and monetary exchange for their bodies, and they are people. In a way, isn't sex work just like working at a supermarket? Let me explain.

Given everything we've learned thus far about class and different kinds of capital and how one acquires them, doesn't it make sense to say that the labor market is coercive in general? Given this, what makes sex work different than someone who is forced by their position in the world to work selling lottery tickets and cigarettes? The only real difference is the cash...with sex work, you can make an unlimited amount without being taxed or having to report it to the government, you can hide money anywhere you wish, and in a way, it's one of the most radical things you can do to act out against patriarchy and capitalism, if you're doing it safely (i.e. in a controlled environment with protection) and consensually. And who are we to say it isn't consensual just because women don't grow up from being little girls saying "I want to be a hooker someday!" Does anybody grow up saying, "I want to work at a gas station someday."? Didn't think so.

Here's a link to a documentary I spoke in on sex work: http://vimeo.com/39171507

Excuse me for being awkward and shy and having long hair and not coming out of the closet yet. Lol.