"Sex Work Is Work" is a shit slogan.

[ScreamingMeMe]

I know the intent behind it is that sex work is nothing to be ashamed of, and it absolutely isn't. But there isn't a great deal of nuance to it, is there?

For every self-proclaimed "happy hooker" or Only Fans worker, there will be 1000s of women who have been abused and/or trafficed whose "choice" to do sex work wasn't really a choice at all, whose lives are grim and shit.

"Sex work is work" makes no such distinctions. So can we really expect the men who use sex workers to?

I'm trying to think of a better slogan, but can't come up with anything quite as catchy. But maybe simple, catchy slogans aren't possible for complex issues.

"Don't Shame Sex Workers"?

I dunno...

Great post, CharlieParley

@AssassinatedBeauty

The intent of that slogan isn't about removing shame from the women who are involved. It's about normalising it for punters and for everyone else. To gloss over the obvious issues and make the debate into one about employment rights and employment protections rather than women's safety and status in society.

Amazingly well put.

@Coronawireless

Playing Devil’s advocate, who gets to decide what is exploitation? Who decides that paying for access to someone’s body is exploitation but paying someone to clean up shit or go without sleep or expose themselves to disease is not?

‘Playing devil’s advocate’, sure.

There are lots of different types of exploitation. Paying someone to access their body is absolutely one of them, regardless of the tiny percentage of people who do it willingly.

I was personally playing Devil’s advocate because I don’t agree with sex work.
But my question is valid. Who decides these things? Why should one person’s opinion stop a consenting adult from engaging in a transaction with another consenting adult which harms no one?

I just can't accept the word 'work' when I have two daughters. Will they go off to careers day and be asked if they have considered a job in the sex 'industry'? 'Work' is just a way to dress something exploitative up (not including that small percentage who love it). What age do sex workers work to? Is it like footballers and you retire on a fortune at 38?

@Coronawireless

I was personally playing Devil’s advocate because I don’t agree with sex work. But my question is valid. Who decides these things? Why should one person’s opinion stop a consenting adult from engaging in a transaction with another consenting adult which harms no one?

It does harm people though. For every one woman totally happily allowing multiple men to take her up the arse for a tenner, spit on her, choke her, pass on disease to her, there are probably a thousand woman and very, very young girls who don’t have the luxury of choice. And that all leads to a culture where people say ‘well, devils advocate here, sure some young girls are raped by fully grown men to pay a pimp but also some like it’.

Guilt-free exploitation. What's not to love?

If they don’t have a choice it’s rape. Not the same thing as what we’re talking about here.

Are you a sex worker op?. If not you really don't need to come up with a better slogan. It actually is a lot if work, the sex is just a tiny part of it. Advertising, phones, bookings, chasing up references for new clients, accounting. Keeping fit (its a physical job), organizing monthly testing. There is a lot involved

@Coronawireless

If they don’t have a choice it’s rape. Not the same thing as what we’re talking about here.

It is though. It’s all put under the culture of ‘sex work’ where people like you can play devils advocate for the 0.01% of women who choose it and pretend it’s therefore not completely hideous for all the rest.

@Sundaysunfay

Are you a sex worker op?. If not you really don't need to come up with a better slogan. It actually is a lot if work, the sex is just a tiny part of it. Advertising, phones, bookings, chasing up references for new clients, accounting. Keeping fit (its a physical job), organizing monthly testing. There is a lot involved

Why don’t we offer it as a suggestion to 6th form boys on career day then?

@ArabellaScott

I liked this point.

Yes, Excellent

Just wondering... the women who 'choose' sex work, do they choose freely? Free of trauma in childhood? Free of abuse in past and present relationships? Free of lack of opportunity in other areas? Free of lack of education? Free of feeling they aren't worth more?

I'm not sure, maybe we should?. I'm being flippant, my point is unless you work in the industry why do you care about the slogan, most service providers don't. I know what I do is seen as unacceptable by most of society (women in particular) a slogan doesn't change anything. I work hard, I'm good at what I do & it's provided a good & steady life for me & my family.

@Sundaysunfay

I'm not sure, maybe we should?. I'm being flippant, my point is unless you work in the industry why do you care about the slogan, most service providers don't. I know what I do is seen as unacceptable by most of society (women in particular) a slogan doesn't change anything. I work hard, I'm good at what I do & it's provided a good & steady life for me & my family.

I think because we generally look a bit wider than well, it suits me, therefore tough shit for everyone else.

Mmm, ok it does suit me but I certainly don't think tough shit to everyone else. In my experience (10yrs in the industry) its actually sex workers who are the main advocates for other sex workers & who do the most to contribute with time, money & resources to help trafficked & abused women. We work quite closely with our local police to pass & pass on a lot of information about bad people & bad situations.

@Sundaysunfay

Mmm, ok it does suit me but I certainly don't think tough shit to everyone else. In my experience (10yrs in the industry) its actually sex workers who are the main advocates for other sex workers & who do the most to contribute with time, money & resources to help trafficked & abused women. We work quite closely with our local police to pass & pass on a lot of information about bad people & bad situations.

Sure. While at the same time validating the choices of the very people who think absolutely nothing of paying for the bodies of very young girls, whether they want them to or not.

@DoingItMyself

Just wondering... the women who 'choose' sex work, do they choose freely? Free of trauma in childhood? Free of abuse in past and present relationships? Free of lack of opportunity in other areas? Free of lack of education? Free of feeling they aren't worth more?

I don't know the answer to this, but I always cringe a bit when I see these types of statements (sorry). It's just my gut reaction, I find it really patronising. For one thing, how many people have never experienced any trauma? How many people are making completely free choices when it comes to earning a living? And what about women who enjoy having more sexual partners than whatever is seen as the norm - do we assume it's because they feel they aren't worth more? It reminds me of that conservative, religious type of proselytising about abstinence or abortion.

I don't think these arguments really work because nobody can say with certainty what any other woman feels about it. Hypothetically even if 99% of women feel this way, what about the other 1%? 99% of people probably wouldn't choose all sorts of lifestyles or jobs but that doesn't mean they don't have their niche.

@Pumperthepumper I see you have a good grasp of the quote function .

Anyway whatever you thoughts on the industry &
People like me who work in it. My original point (probably not well put). If you want to help woman in vulnerable or non consensual sex work there are far more particular &.useful ways to do it which will have much more impact than navel gazing over a stupid slogan.

If you consider sex work to just be work, or be empowering, would you be ok with your DC doing it, through choice of course?

[quote Sundaysunfay]@Pumperthepumper I see you have a good grasp of the quote function .

Anyway whatever you thoughts on the industry &
People like me who work in it. My original point (probably not well put). If you want to help woman in vulnerable or non consensual sex work there are far more particular &.useful ways to do it which will have much more impact than navel gazing over a stupid slogan.[/quote]
It’s pretty easy to use, to be fair.

If you want to help women in sex work, don’t work in the industry and pretend you’re doing exploited women a favour because it works for you.

don't know the answer to this, but I always cringe a bit when I see these types of statements
Yes. I cringed a bit when writing it, because it seemed patronising - of course people can make their own choices, there are all kinds of people in the world, perhaps sex work 'works' for some.

But I still wondered. My choices are affected by my previous experiences and I'm not sure that anyone is entirely free of such things.

How many people are making completely free choices when it comes to earning a living?
Absolutely. I certainly didn't have free choice - I needed to make the money for school fees and pay the mortgage. The job I did hurt me, made me ill. Perhaps there's not much difference between my former job and prostitution. I did something I didn't want to do, for years, until it broke me, for the money.

And what about women who enjoy having more sexual partners than whatever is seen as the norm - do we assume it's because they feel they aren't worth more?
I hear you. It's not about numbers, though, it's about who. I could choose a hundred sexy blokes to shag and feel great about it. I might think I was worth their enthusiastic consent. But if I had to take whoever came along with the money, I don't think I'd feel great. That's what worries me. That and the suspicion that a lot of women in prostitution might believe they're worth more but still not have another option at the time.

""If being a sex worker was a safe, lucrative career option men would be doing it in spades."

Male sex workers are often ignored completely by the media and politicians, leaving most of the public to think it's just exclusively women. It's worth mentioning a search of any of the escort directories for active escorts reveals between 1/4 and a 1/3 are male(you can try this yourself if you are happy to access such a website to try this). Out of tens of thousands that is quite a lot.

"I don’t see why the existence of consenting sex workers should be used to justify rape and slavery?"

Noone is justifying rape and slavery, they are illegal and noone is campaigning to change that.