Should Sex Work Be Respected?

It should be legalized and taxed as should all drugs. Churches and other religious establishments should likewise be taxed.

And all universities too!

Tax them all - even the non-profits.

PROSTITUTION WHORES!

I've personally know several prostitutes. They were molested and when married abused by their husbands. One of them the husband was her pimp, put her in porno films as well. Beat her, let her be raped. The prostitution industry recruits girls that are young and the men in the industry are dirty as can be, exploiting and abusing these women, sometimes they are underage girls. No tidying it up with legalization will fix this. They will skirt the laws in ways they can, pay offs, loop holes. Whatever. I think the law should come down harder on the whole thing. Calling it a 'sex worker' makes it sound as if it's all just another job. It ain't.

R4 It’s one of those things where I think the industry should be criminalized but not the pros or sex workers. I think legit, clean facilities where men and some of these women can come and pay for sex. However streetwalking should be criminalized and any orchestrated setup of it should be prosecuted.

No.. There is nothing "respectable" about it.The term "sex work" is right up there with Republicans making Texas schools start referring to slavery as "involuntary relocation" - trying to sanitize a gross, obscene imbalance of power to improve the public perception of the power owners.

Black Tranny Sex Workers LITERALLY built this country.

[quote] What’s your stance?

Wide.

Op should HEROISM be respected?

[quote] I've personally know several prostitutes.

But you don’t know all of them. While you have a right to your opinion, your same logic could be applied to abortion. There are tons of women who are traumatized from it. Does that mean it’s right that it be outlawed? No. It really comes down to personal freedom and choice.

Prostitutes provide a service used by many. They should have legal protection and health insurance. They should get the same amount of respect given to porn “stars”.

I think it’s ridiculous and hypocritical that prostitution (sex work is such a euphemism) is considered a crime yet porn is given a pass. Both jobs involve money for sex, but one is legal because you’re filming it. SMDH.

Germany has legalized “sex work”. It’s a haven for sex traffickers.

Equal protection under the laws, yes. Respect? That’s not something that can be legislated or mandated.

Taxing churches would end the republican party

Respected? No. Sex workers are entitled to the respect and dignity that all people deserve. But it doesn’t mean I need to respect the job or the work.

It should be decriminalized perhaps, but decriminalizing something doesn’t mean it is moral, good for society or respectable.

It also doesn’t mean that I think the people who engage in it or horrible. I sometimes shoplift. It doesn’t make me horrible (I doubt Walmart needs that extra 1.50), but it also doesn’t make that aspect of my life respectable.

There are plenty of jobs I don’t respect. Repo Men, Debt Collectors, Drug Dealers. Sex Workers are just one of those.

I think sex work should be legalized and regulated but we should also try to provide more job opportunities for young, uneducated people. I've never bought into the idea that fucking for money is empowering. I think 90% of prostitutes are driven by pure desperation and hate their work. I don't feel like a paternalistic white savoir for saying this. Stop punishing them but also stop pretending sex work is awesome.

And by legal protection you mean the same protection afforded any other working person, not "special" protection. It should just be legalized. That's all. If they need a union they can do it themselves.

Katha Pollitt wrote a great piece on this topic:

everyone is selling something, sex workers r selling their body, not stealing like the politicians.

Respected? No.

Blow jobs are real jobs!

Without social media, I would say yes.

But with all social media and all the bullshit they say and do (especially the 'gay' ones), Objectively NO.

r11 But isn't porn and onlyfans also to be classed as sex work?

This thread is surprisingly closed-minded on a board where people regularly boast of being [I assume amateur] whores.

They provide a vital social service, so yes I am prepared to respect them. And it definitely should be legalised but off the street, as R5 says.

R12 it has been legal here for a few years, there has been no discernable increase in sex trafficing. I suspect the increase Germany has experienced is more down to their opening their borders a few years back than their legalising prostitution. Wide open borders with little control or monitoring are a boon for sex trafficers

Selling your body is a vital social service? Please.

[quote] But isn't porn and onlyfans also to be classed as sex work?

Yes, people who do porn are sex workers.

I would say sex work can include prostitution, but not all sex work is prostitution, so yeah, we do need the two different terms. But is there another, more appropriate term for sex work that captures prostitution, onlyfans accounts where couples perform for money (but don't exchange it from one of the participants to another), strippers, cammers, porn actors, dominatrices, phone sex operators, etc.

The definition of sex work is generally meant to specifically exclude things like sex trafficking and child sexual abuse and prostitution. It's *supposed* to be a consensual activity (which is of course always up for debate with those saying prostitutes and others really have no true way to consent).

But I can't think of another term that would describe the whole category. And sometimes terms like these are meant for use in the social sciences and public services, and don't always sit easily and aren't really intended for the public (like "men who have sex with men". I really don't like that term, but I do HIV prevention research and that's the term that was decided on long before I got involved and what we we use).

Sex work is a an assault on the psyche of the person doing it. That’s why most of the sex workers are victims of abuse or other trauma. I wouldn’t legitimize it in anyway. That doesn’t mean that it should be illegal or the sex workers punished. I’ve known a few prostitutes and It’s a horrible way to make a buck.

OnlyFans and cam sites should be illegal. That started the end of street work and escorts. Now they can make money without ever touching someone. That should be banned. Make escorting legal.

As someone who can only get laid by paying, they provide an essential service for many.

R11 I think that’s a bit of unfair comparison. In the porn industry, the guys are tested as well and all adhere to industry standards and clean environments The John’s seeking pros aren’t tested. A big part of prostitution are street hookers and sex trafficking. Ideally prostitution would be legal and regulated. However I suspect there so much dirty money involved, money laundering, illegal sex trafficking of minors that it would shake up the industry and the current occupants like the current setup.

[quote]This thread is surprisingly closed-minded on a board where people regularly boast of being [I assume amateur] whores.

R24 couldnt agree more as an amateur whore myself

How many here have OnlyFans accounts?

[quote][R24] couldnt agree more as an amateur whore myself

As an amateur whore, what kind of requirements do you have to fulfill to go pro? Do you have to do a certain number of training hours to complete for free or at a discounted rate first?

What forms would “respect” take? Would filing taxes on their income make their jobs more respectable? Would clients posting reviews of their work on Yelp bring more respect? Would users feel more respect if the service providers’ websites pointed out the continuing education classes they had taken in order to enhance their resumes and stay current with the latest industry thinking about positions, role playing, and pricing?

How much of the appeal of taking and giving money for sex arises because it’s NOT respectable? How much do the customers go for it just because the providers are happy to do the job and leave?

Is pretending that “change” had come about and that whores’ lives were greatly enhanced because we use different words to refer to them and their work a steaming load of bullshit? Or is it the much-needed first step in the log slog toward truth and justice for all?

R32 Being a whore is not the same thing as being a prostitute. Shouldn’t you be old enough to know the difference. Additionally having lovers who buy you expensive gifts or pay your bills is still not the same as implicitly selling one’s body for the sole means of fornication and orgasm.

All whores aren’t prostitutes but all prostitutes are whores.

People should be respected, but prostitution is not a job like any other.

I don't disrespect sex work, much, but neither do I give a shit about its pronouns.

It can have an air of respectability, if one wears black & gold robes and has little Victorian style lamps with shawls over the shades sprinkled around whatever room one does the whoring in.

You can respect people as human beings without having to pretend what they do should be respected.

There should be a certification exam and state licensure requirements.

R40 that's kinda brilliant.

Who am I to judge, but most women prostitutes are substance abusers or trafficked, who would sell their pussy unless forced?

No! Respect the architect, not the sex lady!

I recall about a year or so ago a British porn star, James Cowe I think saying that sex work is just as hard work as being a carer in a care home(that was his previous job) or even harder-I think he also said the same for being a nurse.That really boiled my p***. Instahoes and people on onlyfans I have no problem with them exercising their right to choose that but come on lets be honest about it.Dont lie and put the job on a pedestal-Part of the reason you chose the job was the allure of easy money and in some cases quite a lot of it.

Making a claim it as hard as those jobs is actually really demeaning and insulting.

Whores aren’t people. They should be treated as they are just a cum receptacle. They know it too.

Does this also apply to bottoms? Many people have no respect for their (consensual) sex partners.

Somebody check r46's basement. Just a hunch.

[quote] But with all social media and all the bullshit they say and do (especially the 'gay' ones), Objectively NO.

Why, are they annoying online?

[quote] Without social media, I would say yes. But with all social media and all the bullshit they say and do (especially the 'gay' ones), Objectively NO.

Why, are they annoying online?

R50 There are some whores who call actual gay men of 'close-minded' 'transphobic' for not fucking pussy, Also there are other whores who say that being gay is 'limiting yourself'.

A lot of these 'sex workers' are homophobic as hell and it's kinda make sense since vast majority are bisexual trash.

For my money, I respect the hustle and grit it takes to survive that way when you have little other recourse but SW. I also respect anyone taking gross personality-disordered user men for a ride financially or emotionally, they need taking down a peg or two.

Still, I think we should go back to Vestal Virgins or nothing at all, it would be healthier. Sex addicts and drooling p0rn freaks won't stand for that, though, society is too broken I fear to put it back in the box.

I had a friend who thought he could make money prostituting in NYC, at the docks. We didn't know he tried this till the morning after he came over our house. He was beaten up. Lost a couple of teeth, they took his shoes, his leather aviator jacket which he was so proud of, and it was winter so cold out, I don't even know how he got home because they also took all the money he had on him. I don't know how much that was but when they were done with him he had no money on him and he lived in Queens so you have to pay to get home. I think he also was sexually assaulted but he didn't want to go into it because he was so mortified. He had bruises on his face, face swollen especially by his eye, bruises probably other places I'm sure, which we as his friends could not see. The reality is some people get with these people to do this, sadists, thieves, rapists, murderers. Walking the street is dangerous. He was lucky they didn't kill him.

You can’t legislate respect

I have often wondered how porn gets away with prostitution, someone is getting paid for sex, sometimes multiple people, yet it isn't considered prostitution, how does that work?

I follow a former porn star on TikTok who uses her platform to talk honestly about her time in the industry. Basically it really really sucked, was abusive and unsurprisingly, she can’t get away from having done it. It will follow her forever.

Her name is Maddison Callaway. And she is faaaar outnumbered on that platform by porn workers (movie and Onlyfans) who insist they are having ThE BeSt TiMe!! And making so much money!!!

R55 they’re actors.

R56 one of the prettiest and sexiest and naturally hottest findom girls I’ve ever seen says she left more conventional in-person escorting/SW and the domme dungeon scene despite pulling down 7 figs P.A. because she was being stalked by more than one client and it got seriously heavy.

That was enough to scare me off ever trying it, though honestly I could really use SW money, it’s hard to keep other jobs in my emotional state, and I don’t have many skills/a good resume.

Here’s the thing tho r58. Only about 1% really make good money and that’s because they are most likely sociopathic like Stella Barey (who is also a sexual predator though physically she defies the stereotype of what a sexual predator looks like). Stella Barey claims to make an insane amount of money and maybe she does, but they ALL exaggerate their incomes regardless.

According to Maddison, who went by the name Carmen Calloway, she would have made better money being a waitress. Work was inconsistent and the agents who get you hired are disgusting sleazes. But you need to be in their good favor to get jobs. They can really fuck you over financially. She was in the business for 10 years (starting at 18), was an AVN winner and pretty up there in terms of popularity and fame. Yet, she didn’t make good money. Enough to rent an apartment etc, but certainly not enough to build a savings.

Maddison doesn’t advocate for eliminating the industry but she wants there to be changes made so workers are better protected. Until that happens, it’s just such a risk. If a person has emotional and/or mental health issues you will get abused. It’s a guarantee.

PS not saying your friend is a sociopath, I’m just saying making good money is not really that common.

R58, there was a thread on DL a few years ago where dominatrices were discussed. Domming might seem easier and safer because they're not having sex with the guys, but some of those 'submissive' men are nuts, and you do have to worry about stalkers. Also, some sex workers disassociate when they're with a client, but you can't do that as a domme, you could hurt or kill someone if you started disassociating during a scene.

if i'm expected to respect an 'athlete' who gets 300k a week to act like a whore just with his kit on then i'm gonna respect women forced to do worse behind closed doors for a pittance

[quote] Domming might seem easier and safer because they're not having sex with the guys, but some of those 'submissive' men are nuts.

That's what's so sad and unfair. Submissive type men are my favourite type, especially cute pretty younger ones, but because misogyny runs so deep in our society, they tend to be self-loathing and fucked-up and disordered. Our world still doesn't allow enough respect or enough freedom for men who openly like sexually/physically submitting to women, though oddly enough it's considered healthy and normal for a man to emotionally or domestically defer to a female (funny how that works...)

I've slept with multiple rentmen. Some of them rocked my world, some of them I wanted a refund (but didn't ask).

I respect people who are good at their jobs.

Sex work should be tolerated and regulated, yes, for safety reasons. Sex work will never go away. Respected? No. I've seen the damage it does. No hooker I've ever known (and I've known quite a few) hasn't been fundamentally damaged by it. I'm not morally outraged by sex work I just know what it does to people, and I care about that.

Onlyfans = sex work

Stories from real survivors are stomach-turning as well as heartbreaking.

How anyone can defend the current model of ‘sex work’ is beyond me.

"But, but ! I once accepted 20$ for getting fucked by a guy I know, so I'm a sex worker too and my experience is just as valid!!!" I genuinely had a middle class friend with good parents tell me she was in a place to speak because she had taken money for sex that one time.

And I've even known libfems who think they can speak for prostituted women because they've sold "slutty cosplay pictures" and/or did some cam stuff. They think their experience is the norm, while the thousands of su!cidal trafficking victims are sad outliers.

There is nothing empowering about prostitution. I read a stat this morning about how prostitutes have the highest rates of PTSD and yet we never hear about this. We seriously somehow have libfems talking about how all labour is coerced *except* for "sex work". Honestly, we have a lot of work to do to correct course. The Nordic Model would be a good start.

I think it should be much more respected. It's not easy selling truckstop anal at my age.

Sex Workers can be respected. They're called models, actors, and dancers. It's the other forms that aren't well respected, like prostitutes, strippers, and porn actors. They probably will never be respected because they're not as talented.

It’s a tricky one. People should have the right to work in the industry if they want and have full control over their bodies. But in a wider context, it is exploitation and I don’t think it’s terribly healthy.

Are male escorts better respected than female ?

R70 why disrespect performers of the arts. You rancid cunt. No class.

Sorry, but after reading Ann Rule's book about the Green River Killer when it came out, where she dived into the very difficult and troubled lives of many of his victims, there's really no way I can join in on the 'glorification' of 'sex work'. It's still prostitution to me.

Yeah, when it comes to the subject, we like to pretend that things have radically changed since the early 1980s, but has it really?

As a job? Hell no. As a kink? Sure

[quote]Should Sex Work Be Respected?

Only if it's done well.

r45 I've also seen pro-sex work activists spewing the same analogy "sex work is similar to nursing".

r68 Vocal ones I've come across belong to the privileged class.

They should be treated with respect but their line of work is exploitative and filled with abuse and should not be glorified. I think people over the age of 18 should have the right to work in that field if they want to but they need a lot of protection on par with any other job. Unionization is essential too. I think if we ever really focused on eliminating poverty and creating a better safety net and rehabilitation for drug addicts, we would not have many people who are doing sex work. Having sex on camera is so different than being a prostitute on the streets or a high end escort. The former you have a lot more protections in place.

R73 The bedroom is were a lot of "networking" happens, and the rent in NYC and LA isn't cheap!

r77 It's a pathetic argument isn't it? Very deluded to say the least.

This homophobic whore just got fired for discovering his whore profile.

HAHAHAH love it.

r81 What are you talking about?

R82 He was shaming actual gay men for not fucking pussy months ago, He was a NYC judge.

They discovered his pron career and fired him for 'unprofessional behavior'

I love this song.

There's a whole thread about the fired Whore-Judge...

R77 the only similarity I can see is how more venal companies expect their customer base somewhat to subsidise their employees. And that's fucked up, exploitative, and needs to stop. But it's still not as dangerous and exploitative as sex work.

Nobody listens to former prostitutes, strippers and porn stars on the matter. And the saying "prostitution is the world's oldest business" had more to do with the fact in many societies, women had no access to the jobs that men had. That's why families pushed to marry their young daughters off to a wealthy man in order to ensure she'd be taken care of. A poor woman who was orphaned, unmarried or taken as a slave was the most likely to have to prostitute herself. Poor men didn't have to prostitute themselves to survive like women had to do historically.

A lot of the pro-sex work crowd come from privileged backgrounds where they have money and time, they'll do porn or OnlyFans or even escort to "slum" it but can leave at any time. It's easy to make money off of this when you have it already. It's no coincidence it's tied to neoliberal capitalism which seeks to turn everyone into a commodity or brand. Sex work should be legalized, regulated and unionized to protect sex workers and fight trafficking and abuse. But at the same time, we need to invest in a better social safety net and stop the war on women too to make sex work less of an option. Porn itself has an issue with abuse and exploitation and that's tied to our society's love of capitalism (the most extreme, degrading videos get clicks and sell and studios push quantity over quality). I heard of porn stars unionizing which should be a good idea.

I have a very good friend who identifies as a sex worker as a dominatrix. She is not a prostitute and seems to treat work very casually as anyone would regard their day-to-day job. She certainly deserves legal protection, insurance, and access to the courts with how she earns her living.

[quote] We need to invest in a better social safety net and stop the war on women too to make sex work less of an option.

One idea is harm reduction centres that are single-sex only and that ban pimping, spaces for female addicts and homeless to go where they will be safe from traff!ck!ng.

R88 so to be clear: are we strictly defining 'prostitute' only as someone who gets naked and penetrated for money?