As a feminist, I believe that it’s more important than ever to support sex workers’ rights, while also being wary of the fact that I’m not sure if it’s oppressive or not and what I’m trying to say is it’s good and bad and certainly a problem disguised as a solution.
Take porn actresses, for example. They are sex workers and they are being exploited by and supported by the filmmakers who are their champions and also exploitative and helpful and harmful. I think that it’s right that it’s wrong to shame and glorify anyone who uses their body in this way and I think any well-educated feminist would agree with me or at least disagree with where I’m coming from.
As we all know, feminism means supporting an industry that sex workers are a part of while also trying to shut it down and let it flourish freely while being in and out of control of our own bodies legally and who needs laws?! Obviously, if you are a feminist, you view the porn industry as something mutually beneficial and mutually exclusive. It’s that very something that allows women to be a part of the problem as well as solve their solution. And I won’t apologize for that.
The fact that “slut-shaming” and sexism is so ingrained in our culture that we don’t even recognize our own bias in how we perceive female bodies in the heterosexist pornography that pervades in our culture, but we can’t even change the conversation around the fact that those girls are barely 18 which I both question and don’t question at all because human agency is complicated but also very difficult.
So what can we do? Simple. It’s time for women everywhere to come together to put a stop to and encourage open mindedness about the very cut-and-dry, complicated issue of sex work. And that’s not negotiable. We are women, and at the end of the day, a united front is what will carry us through the next period of change and stagnation, and that’s my final word on the matter.
