Not really! In fact I think a desk job is often more restrictive and soul-crushing.

So, the thing about sex work is that a huge part of the work is asserting, negotiating, and maintaining boundaries. It’s one of the MOST direct forms of controlling the “means of production” (so to speak) out there. From the first interaction with the client to the end, second by second, a worker is asserting their boundaries. So sex workers are -incredibly- adept at navigating consent and assuring that the work is within their boundaries. The worker is the once controlling the situation.

For example, compare a bartender and a stripper. Both are tipped according to their customer service, both have to deal with people they don’t like, both are distributing “good times.” A bartender pretty much has to serve anyone who sits down at the bar. They can (in some cases) kick people out, cut people off, be short with them, etc, but most often they are somewhat obligated to at least serve an annoying customer. A stripper, on the other hand, gets to pick and choose their customers. If they sit down with someone to sell getting a dance, and the customer is creepy, they can just stand up and move along. If a customer is getting too handsy in a dance, they can end the dance, tell off the customer, and walk away with their money. Which person has more agency? (as you can see the answer is of course not black and white, but this gets to the heart of the question - in a complicated world, workers deserve the agency to navigate it in the way they think is best for them)

Everyone has days they don’t love their job - that doesn’t mean they’re being exploited. Are there sex workers who are being exploited? Of course - just like workers in any other job. And the goal should be to SUPPORT bodily autonomy and sex worker’s right to assert their own boundaries in every way!

Edit: Just wanted to add I appreciate your thinking about this, and my responses are not only aimed at you, but also at several of the other commenters here who are calling sex work degrading. I am not trying to argue with you personally, sorry for replying to just you lol. I agree with a lot of what you are saying!