Shaming and Stigmatising Sex Workers isn't Feminism

· 2 min read

A post on the Feminism Reddit proclaims: “Sex Work isn’t feminism”. A commenter on that thread said:

“The main reason I think prostitution is bad because

  1. human trafficking/slavery

  2. the great risk it puts women in

  3. most woman who willingly are prostitutes only do it out of desperation/no other way to support themselves (or their children.)” “How do I know prostitution is bad? What woman who has millions (is very wealthy) prostitutes herself?”

Taking each issue one by one:

  1. Is an immigration issue. Human trafficking happens because of the threat of deportation/incarceration. If you’re concerned for trafficking, end that threat. A great book on this issue is “Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice”.
  2. Then make it less risky? Decriminalising it makes sex workers safer (Decker et al., 2015; Shannon et al., 2014) (if you believe the actual workers). The UN, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, all support decriminalisation for this reason.
  3. That’s a capitalism problem. You’re correct, many do it for financial reasons. Many people in SW also do it because they have disabilities. As capitalism continues to drag many into poverty, that will only continue. Providing a viable social safety net will help people to not make that choice. But social safety nets are being destroyed (by financial institutions, mainly IMF policies), not created.
  • Sex work is not feminism.
  • Teaching is not feminism.
  • Nursing is not feminism. Additionally:
  • Shaming vulnerable women isn’t feminism
  • Removing sex worker’s right to bodily autonomy isn’t feminism.
  • Removing sex worker’s ability to consent isn’t feminism.
  • Speaking for sex workers, instead of collaborating with sex workers isn’t feminism.
  • Making already vulnerable women seek out even more dangerous forms of sex work to survive isn’t feminism.
  • Making sex worker’s job more unsafe isn’t feminism.
  • using the “empowerment” straw man argument isn’t feminism
  • Posting to Reddit in a way that further stigmatises vulnerable women isn’t feminism.
  • Creating a post on Feminism Subreddit thread proclaiming that “sex work is not feminism” isn’t feminism.