A week ago Friday I met up with Blondie at a fundraiser supporting Sex Work Awareness and their media training for sex workers program. It was hosted by the lovely Tess and Diva of Tied Up Events.
I not only went because so many of my friends were going to be there, but also because I believe in the cause. For me, sex worker rights are intricately tied into women’s and gay rights. Let me explain.
Sex work is looked down upon and devalued. Much work that’s done predominantly by women (or women and gay men) is devalued. “Women’s professions” typically get paid less than a similar male counterpart. I know this well because I’m in a profession that’s dominated by women and has a fair number of gay men in it – librarianship.
“(sex workers) are viewed as less than human – all because they accept money for doing something that’s an integral part of human life.”
“Well,” you may say, “librarianship is legal whereas sex work is not.” Personally I think sex work should be legal. By keeping it illegal, the most dangerous aspects of the work are perpetuated. If a sex worker is assaulted by a client, they have no recourse. Sex workers are often targets for killers because it’s thought they won’t be missed. They’re viewed as less than human – all because they accept money for doing something that’s an integral part of human life. If a sex worker is screwed over by a client they have no recourse. They have to do all their soliciting and sex work in the shadows for fear of arrest, and by keeping sex work in the shadows the shadier sorts will take advantage of sex workers.
Women and gay men are often viewed as less than human by our culture to begin with. This is, quite frankly, abhorrent. I am a human being. I deserve safety while I pursue my happiness here in the United States. My brother, a gay man, deserves safety as well. And women and gay men who do sex work deserve their safety too. I don’t care if you don’t approve of what they do. Considering the vast amounts of safety given to the corporate elite who screw us all over far more than any sex worker could ever manage to do, why can’t we extend basic human decency to people who commit “victimless crimes”?
I have known several sex workers (probably more than several) over the years. They have done work ranging from phone sex, to hand jobs, from whoring, to porn, to webcam. The work they have done has not made them any less human, or any less the fabulous friends they’ve been to me. The idea that their rights are not equally protected pisses me off to no end. If any one of them turned up dead from some deranged murderer, the impact would be felt by many, many people. The world would have lost someone valuable. Without religion telling us that any sex other than “hetero, married, missionary position and for procreation” is wrong, would we ever think that? Humans are sexual creatures. If one can make money providing sexual relief to someone, why is that wrong? I’m not talking about the small portion of people who are coerced or forced into sex work, I’m talking about the large number of sex workers who choose their work.
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