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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Normalisation of sex work

59 replies

MaryGubbins · 02/04/2021 00:46

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-who-lost-job-lockdown-23819036.amp

This popped up on my face book today. And while I’m not personally condemning the woman in question the comments were so disheartening. Along the long the lines of “good on her” “well done.”

Sorry, underneath this is a story that a woman who has fallen on hard times has resorted to sex work. I think that at any other point in history we’d consider that, well, at least a bit shit.

Young men posting - saying it’s nothing to be ashamed of, an honest days work etc. I wonder how they would feel in a hypothetical world where the job centre said “well it’s honest work so get your bits out for cash on the internet for blokes to see or your benefits are sanctioned.”

OP posts:
yellowlorry123 · 02/04/2021 09:11

She's slim and attractive and has big - prob enhanced - boobs

I don't reckon I'd make a million on there.

But I do f think I'd pay a man to show me his bits on screeen

It's as funny world. Men are strange creatures

justanotherneighinparadise · 02/04/2021 08:12

It works for both sides doesn’t it? The women making millions can call it empowering, the men paying their subscriptions can say ‘nobody got hurt, these women are earning a fortune’. Unfortunately the trafficked of drug addicted prostitutes are in that middle ground of exploitation that no-one much cares about.

dayoftheclownfish · 02/04/2021 07:51

It's partly a consequence of seeing sex as purely transactional. The entire point of prostitution is having sex with someone you would not consider as a sexual partner IRL. It could be someone you find repulsive.

But somehow 'sex work' has been confused with 'an authentic expression of a woman's sexuality'. A lot of people have put in a lot of work to create this confusion.

The young het men who write this are reassuring themselves that should they ever want to visit a prostitute, they will be aiding a woman in her sexual self-expression. Because some women are just sluts, right? So progressive.

Sittinonthesand · 02/04/2021 07:48

The use of the term ‘sex work’ is what normalises it. It’s prostitution or pornography.

MaryGubbins · 02/04/2021 07:41

I know the job centre can’t sanction you for not agreeing to sex work. That’s why I said hypothetical. I was just trying to make a point about people saying how it’s just normal work when I bet they would not consider it an appropriate occupation for themselves, their mother, their sister or their children.

OP posts:
MandalaYogaTapestry · 02/04/2021 07:35

Men are active on OnlyFans too? Who do they work for - women or gay men?

Tibtom · 02/04/2021 07:32

This has never happened to anyone, job centres don't do that.

That is why it was posted as a hypothetical question. But if sex work is work then how long before this happens? And why not? Why should you be allowed to turn down work and remain on benefits sanction-free?

CuthbertDibbleandGrubb · 02/04/2021 07:12

Whilst we should not condemn those who resort to sex work, often out of economic desperation, we should never normalise it. We should be supporting ways to get women (and men though a minority) into normal employment.

The condemnation should be for the men who use prostitutes or buy other sex work.

MargaritaPie · 02/04/2021 01:14

The media does this and promotes OnlyFans as some sort of "sign up and you'll be rich!" thing. In reality only a few of the performers on there make bank as big as that- the market is very saturated (probably thanks to the media publishing articles like this) with more performers trying to sell material and make money than there are buyers. The demand isn't there to make every performer rich.

www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-sex-workers-cam-girls-online-1498024

Young men posting - saying it’s nothing to be ashamed of, an honest days work etc. I wonder how they would feel in a hypothetical world where the job centre said “well it’s honest work so get your bits out for cash on the internet for blokes to see or your benefits are sanctioned.”

This has never happened to anyone, job centres don't do that. There are in fact a lot of men selling on OnlyFans too.