The Complicated Nature Of Sex Work

The Complicated Nature Of Sex Work

In this day and age, sex work is easier and safer than ever.

Whether it's digital work in the form of Only Fans, Cam Girling, and Financial Domination, or something in person like Stripping or Sexual Intercourse, sex work has become much more accessible than it was 10 years ago.

Personally, I believe this is a good thing.

I'm all for legalising and legitimising sex work, I believe this would allow greater protections for women (sex work, after all, is a dangerous industry) and could ultimately make the industry more profitable. What's more, I also feel like legalising this industry would also help to destigmatise it. Only recently a woman was fired by her employer after her Only Fans account was discovered - despite her engaging in all Only Fans activity outside of work hours and under a different name. By legitimising the sex work industry we would be able to help diminish the stigma surrounding it and ensure that women don't face harassment or unfair consequences for engaging in it.

However, this does not mean that sex work should be unregulated.

But what do I mean by this?

Well, recently, Only Fans came into the headlines when internet sensation/ TV brat Bhad Bhabie joined the platform (she does make some bangers, though.)

And whilst this in itself isn't that newsworthy, it was the fact that she broke Only Fans records by making a whopping 1 million Dollars in only 6 hours.

Impressive, right?

At first glance this could be the perfect instance of someone 'girl boss'ing it up - making her coin, earning that bread, whatever you want to call it. 

The issue with this is that Bhad Bhabie is only newly 18 - as of the 26th March.

There's something extremely uncomfortable and unnerving about someone who has only recently reached a legal age making so much money off her sexuality. Whilst, technically, Bhad Bhabie is a legal adult and can do whatever she wants with her body, you cannot deny that her immaturity and youth doesn't make this a questionable situation.

It raises the question that, really, is she any more mature and therefore entitled to sex work now that she's 18, than a week ago when she was only 17? It is not as if at the stroke of midnight on her 18th birthday that she was suddenly inundated with years of wisdom and life experience which would allow her to make such an important decision.

However, I do not mean to completely place the onus on Bhad Bhabie.

She does have her own agency and bodily autonomy and therefore is entitled to do what she wishes.

The issue with women like her who so quickly turn to sex work as soon as they are of legal age is that there is no doubt that the men who are consuming her content are predatory.

Whether we consider the fact that Bhad Bhabie was often frequently commented on and her body objectified when she was a minor, or that - given that she has only recently turned 18 and the volume of content on her platform - it's safe to assume that some of the content was created when she was underage, it calls into question how safe sex work is for people so young.

How can we protect women as young as Bhad Bhabie from men who are so quick to consume pornographic content from a minor under the guise of new legality?

Many people online have raised this issue and answered with a solution: to make sex work legal only when someone reaches the age of 21.

Whilst it may only be three years difference, you cannot deny that there are huge distinctions between a woman aged 18 and a woman aged 21. These added three years could help to ensure that the women deciding to enter the sex work industry have the comprehension and life experience to make a fully informed decision, and if they agree to, that the people paying for her content are less likely to be doing so with predatory intentions.

Yet, I personally believe that this does not go far enough.

As I said earlier, sex work has become much more accessible than it once used to be. But that does not necessarily mean that it is an option for every woman, and that we should be promoting it to minors.

What do I mean by this?

Well, you don't need to be on TikTok long before you come across a video of someone explaining their life as a sex worker - or an 'accountant', as they call it in code.

These videos are usually a 'day in the life' style vlog that shows the viewer them getting ready for their job, and can even sometimes be more appealing videos of a woman cashing in the money she's earned from her job. What's more, the content typically focuses on how easy and unchallenging life as a sex worker can be. They intentionally glamorise and romanticise sex work, and often don't show a balanced perspective of how the industry actually is.

The issue with this is that it creates a false impression about sex work, and can trick impressionable and young minors into thinking that this is a safe, easy, and carefree career choice.

This is not always the case.

In response to these videos circulating online, many sex workers have chosen to counter these videos and to prove to young people the realities of sex work. Videos like these explain how hard it is to become popular and thus turn a profit, the consequences you can face from your employers/friends/family for being a sex worker, as well as numerous other issues the industry faces. 

These sex workers aim to create more balanced and truthful content as a way to educate young people considering the industry. Not to disparage them, but to inform them so that they can make an educated decision.

Sex work isn't always safe or fun or easy. Especially if you are a woman of lower socioeconomic status, or a woman of Colour. The sex work industry can be oversaturated with women of these categories - often who choose to enter the industry due to lack of opportunities available to them. 

As perfectly explained in a paper for the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law, sex work is "where racism and sexism intersect." 

As such, it can be a dangerous field for poor and non-white women to work. They likely are not sharing the same glamorous experiences as the TikTokers we see online, and are very possible struggling much more with the work they are undergoing and the life they are experiencing.

You cannot deny that all too often, women will enter the sex work industry not because this is their dream job or because they willingly want to, but because they have no other choice. You only need to google 'Coronavirus made me join sex work' to see hundreds of articles from both men and women who claim that, following losing their job, they turned to Only Fans or other forms of digital sex work to earn a living.

As I said earlier, I'm all for legalising and decriminalising sex work.

I believe that everyone has agency and autonomy over their body and that as long as it is conducted in a safe environment, that sex work is a perfectly acceptable career choice.

The issue that lies within sex work, however, is that the conversation still remains imbalanced.

Whether this is a symptom of 'girl boss' feminism which praises women for earning their bag at the expense of men, or simply because social media has allowed women to record their journeys in the industry, conversations around sex work usually seek to glamorise it.

And as a result, there are plenty of minors and young women out in the world who are counting down the days until they turn 18 before they can start an Only Fans and start earning what they assume to be easy and consequence-free money.

If we are going to legalise sex work and make it a legitimate industry, we need to start having sensible and truthful conversations about it.

Sex workers need to be aware of the responsibilities they have as people with platforms to ensure that they aren't misleading young and vulnerable women into thinking that sex work means an easy life. This means stopping the TikTok videos explaining how to set up an Only Fans, or how they've bought 3 houses and 8 cars thanks to the money they're earning.

The realities of sex work is that, on average, you will only make £27,000 a year - and half of sex workers will make less than £20,000 a year.

You are also at higher risk of placing yourself in danger - with 82% of prostitutes having experienced assault since working, with a further 55% of them having been assaulted by customers.

This, combined with the potential risks of your content being leaked and losing your main source of employment, sex work isn't always the easy lifestyle the internet makes you believe it is.

Ultimately, we need to ensure that we are arming young and impressionable individuals with the right information which would allow them to make a proper decision about entering the sex work industry.

We need to stop the romanticisation of sex work and instead engage in honest conversations about the realities of it - behind every successful FinDom, is 10 others struggling to pay their bills.

We need to appreciate workers reasonings as to why they are entering the industry in the first place - is it because of a genuine interest in the work, or a desperate need to earn quick money?

And, more importantly, we need to make it a safe environment for all those involved.