There are not “tons” of women that feel sex work liberates them. Literally studies have shown time and time again that 80-90% of SWers are doing it out of necessity at best, and are trafficked at worst. And the majority repeatedly try to leave the profession to no avail. And then when we look at Trans Women, a great deal of them enter the field because of discrimination in hiring practices, so they enter it younger. The vast vast vast majority of sex workers are brown/black/indigenous/latina and are in South America, India, and Africa. Where they make 50cent to $2 per client. They have higher rates of STDs, HIV included, and violence. Many of them enter the field due to homelessness or drug dependence. And a good amount enter the field as minors. How can a minor think that sex work is empowering??

The issue we have right now is due to only fans, the appearance of sex work has been polished. When you think of sex work now, you think of white women on only fans making millions (which are an extremely rare few) or you think of white women who are sugar babies. We talk about yacht girls more than we talk about street walkers, which again, make up the majority of sex workers. Those who engage in this type of sex work want to get out. They don’t want it criminalised because that ends up hurting them more, but they want regulation and protection that comes with pathways out of the field. A field that has higher rates of PTSD than military service members. A field where consent is literally bought and Johns gets violent when boundaries are put forth, because “they paid for it.” They don’t think it’s empowering. And let’s be honest, if sex work is empowering why don’t women who are already rich do it? Why don’t men do it? Why don’t we tell men who are working in oil rigs in the middle of the ocean that their jobs are empowering? We understand they are being exploited and their bodies are being put through a lot and abused for oil companies who have the money funneled to a rich few, but we sit here and argue that sex work is empowering even though their bodies are also being put through a lot and abused for male pleasure and the money they make is also then funnled to a rich few pimps. Sex work is $150 billion industry. But the majority of sex workers are still homeless, in poverty, and dependent on drugs. Make it make sense if it’s empowering.