Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Seeking other academics concerned by student sex work

85 replies

PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 10:46

Hello. I'm an academic at a UK university, and am worried about this push to make universities "sex work friendly", and by the development and promotion of sex work "toolkits" (e.g., by University of Leicester, who also collaborate with the university I work at).
Obviously, I'm all for supporting students who are working in the industry, and absolutely do not feel any negative judgment towards the individuals who do.
But surely there are better ways of approaching this than the apparent encouragement in these toolkits? The promoters of these talk about "reassuring" students that what they're doing is legal, and say that universities should support students to balance studies with their sex work.
I get that the guides/toolkits are meant to be realistic about the fact that students WILL do this, and to reduce risk - and that's great. But I really don't think that's all they do.

Just wondered if any other academics are with me on this?

OP posts:
Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 11:08

@YetAnotherSpartacus

I tried to approach mine with a research proposal to find out more about why this happens and what we can do to give students other options.

The student union (male president) knocked me back quick smart.

That was a decade ago. I suspect it has got worse since then.

Blimey, @YetAnotherSpartacus - that's scary. I wonder how many others are/have been scared away from this research area....
OP posts:
Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 11:07

HI @WinstonsWeirdVole. Many thanks for posting. It's a relief to hear that at least some students are critical of this. I really am worried about the future, as well as current, wellbeing of students this has been normalised for.

OP posts:
ChattyLion · 18/03/2021 11:06

We need to have a massive campaign to go back to student grants. It’s an investment that we need to make as a nation, especially post-Brexit if we’re supposed to be some kind of leading information and life sciences based economy.. we need an educated workforce.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 18/03/2021 11:04

I tried to approach mine with a research proposal to find out more about why this happens and what we can do to give students other options.

The student union (male president) knocked me back quick smart.

That was a decade ago. I suspect it has got worse since then.

WinstonsWeirdVole · 18/03/2021 11:01

Student here, and I completely share your concerns about this. IMO the normalization of sex work among students is particularly irresponsible in the current climate where so many of the “typical” jobs that students do to support themselves (retail, hospitality) are no longer available and sex work may therefore seem like the only option for some. FWIW the (female and male) academics I know (including one at the university you mention) are really depressed by this and see it as a massive backwards step. Of course students who do sex work should be have access to MH support etc at university, but I fail to see how legitimizing sex work among a financially vulnerable cohort is going to help anyone in the long term.

Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 10:57

The work seems to be funded by the ESRC, so it's not just the university promoting it...

OP posts:
Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 10:57

@Nonsensetower

I'm also concerned about this. There are many student jobs that are lucrative but dangerous (taking part in medical trials, for example) but I can't remember ever seeing 'toolkits' for those. The arguments for doing this are spurious. Only a tiny minority of students engage in sex work. The motivation seems to be a drive to normalise prostitution and indeed to objectify and degrade female students by reminding them and everybody else on campus that women's bodies can be bought for sexual gratification. Women students don't need to be reminded of this, they need to focus on getting their degrees. I wish the university had poured the money spent on this toolkit into student hardship funds or first generation student scholarships.
Hi @Nonsensetower, thanks for posting.

It doesn't actually seem very rare (5% of students seems to be the best estimate; this includes online work, stripping, and "direct services" - prostitution).

OP posts:
Nonsensetower · 18/03/2021 10:55

I'm also concerned about this. There are many student jobs that are lucrative but dangerous (taking part in medical trials, for example) but I can't remember ever seeing 'toolkits' for those. The arguments for doing this are spurious. Only a tiny minority of students engage in sex work. The motivation seems to be a drive to normalise prostitution and indeed to objectify and degrade female students by reminding them and everybody else on campus that women's bodies can be bought for sexual gratification. Women students don't need to be reminded of this, they need to focus on getting their degrees. I wish the university had poured the money spent on this toolkit into student hardship funds or first generation student scholarships.

Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 10:54

And, perhaps more to the point, the "Toolkits" which go with the policies.

OP posts:
Original poster
PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous · 18/03/2021 10:52

Here's a link to the University of Leicester's Sex Work Policies (for both students and staff):

reportandsupport.le.ac.uk/support/student-sex-work

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread