I haven’t gotten super controversial in awhile, so I guess I’m due! I’d like to just say this and get it out of the way - I think sex work should be legal.
Pause for the judgmental crowd to have some shock and awe time.
Are we still here? Super.
I think a lot of policy and law is made out of judgmental ignorance. There are a lot of stigmas working against us that prevent realistic, fact based laws because we can’t get out of our societal rules learned over years of shock and awe.
Beliefs around sex start young. Often times the way in which we talk to men and women around sexual encounters is extremely different. We tell women to save themselves. We tell men to just be safe. We make sure women know they shouldn’t have too many partners. The list goes on.
I find all of that absurd. Sex is not shameful. Sex is not purely for procreation. I do not owe my virginity to the man I marry, just as he does not owe his to me. I am not a slut for any number of men I choose to engage in sex with. Nobody is a prude for choosing not to have sex. Like most things in life - my body, my choice.
Sex should be talked about more. And that’s what leads me to believing that sex work should be legal. Among many reasons, I’d say the most important is for safety. Sex should always be consensual, safe, and be between people who choose to have a discussion and do what works for them.
Legalize sex work and regulate it. It’s going to happen, in fact it does, it’s everywhere, make it safe. Tax it like you do any business and provide very clear laws around making it a safe transaction between consenting adults.
Illegal sex work is what hurts us. And it goes back to the beginning of time. It’s not something that’s going to go away. Take the power back by creating environments that again are focused on safety.
In all honesty - I’ve only done a few hours of research on how this operates globally. But financially alone, pimps in some major cities make $30K a week. A freaking week. The money is there. This is a HUGE industry that again isn’t going anywhere. Forget your morals, money alone is a huge motivator to take back control of the market and put the money back into the economy.
Did you also know that of that $30K less than 10% is spent on healthcare for the sex acts and sex workers? That means a large number of these acts are not safe. And that spreads disease.
How about physical safety? The attacks on sex workers are all too common. Not to mention the violence from their own pimps. I don’t care if you disagree with sex work, your morals do not justify violence against anyone.
I believe sex work should be legal. There’s enough test markets to say let’s keep trying it more and more in other places. A controversial blog perhaps, but I like things a little shaken up sometimes. What do you think? Open to the idea or letting your morals get in the way of being a little more open minded?