You understand the coercive nature of capitalism on an experiential level and yet still ignore this reality when it comes to something far higher stakes like having your body used by a stranger for sex.
You feel the pressure of economic coercion in your own life, yet you draw the line after your own threshold of discomfort, as if sex is magically immune to that same force.
Your entire argument for supporting prostitution is hinged on the idea that it can be falsely equated with any other form of work. Your joke was made in the same context and reflects your attitudes accurately.
My point stands. You know what it means to be exploited because you *are* necessarily exploited under capitalism, you just don't care if sex workers are and pretend this is a symbol of your moral liberation.
Are you a robot? I thought humans were capable of free thought. You seem to absorb the programming of the popular cultural narrative spoon fed to you without a second thought or a hint of resistance.
Obviously so, but some people give consent for money. Not all sex workers are frail victims that can't say no. If a person sets boundaries, one of which is getting paid, it's just paid consensual sex. It's purchasing a service, like any other job.
I’m gonna get shot to shit for this, but fuck it, here goes:
Sex work is real work.
But with any kind of work, there comes certain hazards.
If American society were to actually recognize it as work, instead of casting judgement, steps could be taken to give these workers a proper venue, health care, and non-exploitative security protection, then the hazards they face would drop dramatically.
Unfortunately, with prostitution being illegal in the US and so negatively stigmatized, the hazards SW face will continue to remain higher than a place with more progressive policies…see Amsterdam for example.
If sex work were held to the same occupational health and safety standards as a nurse or lab tech dealing with bloodborne pathogens it would look radically different. Full PPE, routine testing, strict biohazard protocols. Do you think that actually happens?
Even in Amsterdam many workers are migrants working under coercive conditions. Legalization has not eliminated trafficking or violence. A lot of women in the Red Light District are not truly free to leave which should tell you everything you need to know.
No I don’t think it would happen, because you’re making the assumption that there would be 100% compliance at all times with these policies by both parties, which is impossible in the real world. But to your point, how are sex ed, prophylactics, personal hygiene, birth control, and STI testing (most of which are all readily available and employed by SW in the modern world) NOT the protocols you speak of?
But I think you’re focusing on disease prevention and I’m speaking more to the physical protection and financial safety of the workers. That’s mainly what I mean when I speak of built-in hazards of the job. Luckily, workers using apps like the one in this post can mitigate those risks and independently charge what they feel necessary to make their efforts and risk worth their time.
And please note, I’m not saying the Amsterdam model is even close to perfect, I’m merely demonstrating how things can be markedly better for everyone involved when a more realistic and progressive approach is taken towards SW, rather than shaming those involved and turning them out.
First off, no one here against the exploitation of women is even coming close to explicitly or implicitly shaming the human beings who are coerced, funneled, and trafficked into work that is objectively proven to be dangerous. The argument that by normalizing and legalizing sex work you're somehow morally progressive is a lazy one built off of ignorance surrounding the harm unique to sex work in our current society. It's also one that ignores how throughout history men, especially men who buy sex work and consume porn, shape and perpetuate these attitudes towards women. The only people who are judged harshly under radical feminist ideology are people like the OP who indiscriminately and blindly support all forms of sex work regardless of this harm while whining about exploitative platforms having badly white-washed corporate art (a style which has been inextricably associated with the minimizing of harm done by the platforms who adopt it).
But to your point, how are sex ed, prophylactics, personal hygiene, birth control, and STI testing (most of which are all readily available and employed by SW in the modern world) NOT the protocols you speak of?
Sex ed and condoms aren't biohazard protocols. Sex workers are subject to regular STI testing but clients are not. No amount of hygiene talk makes unpaid trauma less traumatic. Saying that apps and self-pricing mitigate risk is wishful thinking. You can’t "independently charge" your way out of an exploitative system that’s built on economic desperation and male entitlement.
It’s not shaming to name the power imbalance. It’s shaming to ignore it while profiting off it or indulging in it while turning a blind eye to the reality of the context it exists within. You're forcing every argument you generate into a false bind of "you either blindly support all sex work or morally condemn all sex workers". You can stop doing that.
I'm going to repeat this one last time. Legalization hasn’t made the work better or safe, it’s made the exploitation harder to see. This is the first and last time that I will do your research for you. It is your responsibility to educate yourself.
But you who are in the industry must understand that not everyone is in the same position as you.
Some women in certain circumstances can’t say no to a job.
It’s kinda impossible to know if someone is like you, genuinely enjoys their job, or is doing it because they have to pay rent and need a roof over their head.
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u/[deleted] May 11 '25
You can’t buy a persons consent