As I mentioned earlier, today is International Sex Workers Rights Day. I have a huge backlog of emails and stories that I intend to cover, and I only hit a few of them today, which is why I didn’t get to writing about sex work — but I hope you checked out some of the blogs I linked, since they’re all way better at writing about it than I am.
Plus, sex work is one of those topics (like blowjobs, porn and bikini waxes) that is no doubt a feminist issue, but that inevitably degenerates into ugly fights. That’s not a great reason to avoid talking about it, but it probably is a good reason for me to defer to those who know more about the subject than I do. So I’ll just point out that sex work is as diverse as any other type of labor, and there is no singular sex worker narrative — not all sex workers are exploited girls from developing nations, any more than all sex workers are high-paid call-girls living fabulous and fun urban lives.
But many sex workers are talking and they are organizing. This week, there was an online forum about sex work, trafficking and human rights. It’s well worth checking out. Here are some of the most important points that emerged:
* Sex work must be destigmatized and ultimately decriminalized in order to protect sex workers, their clients, and their communities.
* Negative attitudes toward sexual freedom itself are part of the problem and need to be addressed at the individual and cultural levels.
* Sex work meets the economic needs of the people who perform it and meets social, sexual, educational, and emotional needs of those who consume it. The problems with sex work lie not in the work itself but in the cultural stigma surrounding it, and in the exploitive economic systems that sex work, along with most work, is performed.
* There is a huge divergence between the reality of “human trafficking” and the portrayal of it by media and political figures. This divergence includes hugely inflated numbers based on studies with flawed methodology; an over-emphasis on “sex slavery” at the expense of more common labor exploitation, like manufacturing of consumer goods and domestic help; and a paternalistic view of sex workers and migrant workers in general as the “other.”
* U.S. anti-trafficking policies actually make it harder to find and help real victims because resources are diverted to antiprostitution efforts, which do not help the majority of real trafficking victims. Those efforts also interfere with public health projects in other countries by refusing USAID money to any group that does not actively work against prostitution.
* Human trafficking needs to be understood in the context of international (and intra-national) labor migration patterns and in the context of global inequality. Much of what we call trafficking begins as voluntary migration from one economically depressed area to a less depressed area. Barriers to legal migration make those workers vulnerable to other human rights abuses.
* Politicians and media personalities scapegoat sex workers and their clients in such a way as to direct attention away from larger social and economic problems like poverty, consumer culture, racism, sexism, and the growing gap between the wealthy and everybody else.
* Sex workers are not a homogeneous group and they should not be treated as one.
* Research that relies on poor methodology needs to be publicly criticized. Policy should be directed by reliable, valid research.
* Academic researchers, activists, sex workers, and consumers need to talk to each other and listen to each other. And policy makers need to listen to all of them!
Sex work is a difficult feminist issue, but that’s no excuse for ignoring it. It’s also no excuse for comments that obscure the humanity and autonomy of sex workers. So let’s discuss it, but let’s remember that we aren’t talking about sex workers here — sex workers are already part of the conversation. We should be listening, we should be engaging, and we should be learning.
And I really hate using the word “we” repeatedly here, because it makes it sound like there’s a difference between “us” here at Feministe and “those” sex workers over there, but I can’t think of a better way to phrase it. Hopefully the larger point is getting across, and you’ll all excuse the awkward wording.