The Fight to Legitimize Sex Work

The past two years have proved successful for the industry, but safety is not yet guaranteed

By James Schaak

Over the last couple years, it has appeared that sex work is on the verge of a turning point. Prior to the pandemic, exotic dancers were calling for a nationwide unionization effort, political efforts for the decriminalization of prostitution seemed to be growing, and gay porn performers began pushing for fairer pay. Not to mention Hustlers, the Hollywood blockbuster starring a slew of A-listers, like Jennifer Lopez (who was nominated for a Golden Globe) and Cardi B (a former stripper herself). Based on the real-life story of strippers' efforts to thrive amidst the 2008 financial crisis, the movie’s position as a pop culture sensation worked as a soft news companion to the year’s burgeoning sex industry headlines. An industry often maligned for its assumed seediness was proving effective at pushing for a more mainstream position. 

Even as COVID-19 began to ravage the world this past year, sex work was able to evolve and keep its progressive strides moving. OnlyFans, a subscription-based website displaying user-generated content, fulfilled its longheld potential as the future of pornography. Though it was founded in 2016, rose to prominence in 2019, and features many SFW creators, the network’s importance felt more fully realized when it allowed sex workers to continue to make an income while following social distancing guidelines. Others, who previously never participated in sex work, also joined OnlyFans in search of a second income during the economic strain. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even jumped to the defense of one such EMT. Simultaneously, the nation’s most recent racial reckoning provided opportunities for a look at the role of race in sex work: black exotic dancers protested the blatant racism found in many strip clubs, and black trans activists outlined how their disportionately large sex work community is especially at risk of violence caused by sex work stigmatization. 

After not only persevering, but also making gains, during one of the most difficult years in American history, the Atlanta spa shootings came as a devastating blow to the movement. Violence against sex workers is common and often not talked about. Yet this tragedy queasily thrust the issue into the spotlight. It quickly became clear that the crime was motivated by a perverse web of anti-Asian sentiments, sexism, and sex worker stigmatization. Though the killer has dubiously claimed that he was motivated by sex addiction, rather than anti-Asian racism, it is clear these two impulses are inextrictable. For decades, from Anna May Wong through Lucy Liu, American popular culture has fetishized and exoticized Asian women with the intent of satisfying the leering white male gaze. Couple this media pattern with the well-known role that Asian women (some due to coercion, but not all) play in illicit massage parlors and that is a more fully formed, albeit still simplified, explanation of why the Atlanta spa shooting victims were specifically targeted based on their identity. 

A mass shooting directed at women presumed to be industry professionals is undoubtedly a setback in the sex workers’ rights movement. These sorts of highly publicized accounts of violence afflicted against sex workers offer media pundits the opportunity to spread dangerous anti-sex work rhetoric. In the days following the shooting, Tucker Carlson predictably listed prostitution as one of the reasons why the shooting ocurred, while explicitly doubting any possibility of a racial motivation. This combination of misinformation and borderline victim blaming is characteristic of right-wing media. Narratives of sex workers deserving their victimization, rather their rights, being broadcast to millions of Americans, only encourages further harm. Studies have shown a correlation between negative media attitudes about sex work and increases in violence against sex workers. 

Once again, violence has served as a reminder that sex workers are putting their lives at risk everyday. Often marginalized for their feminine, immigrant, non-white, or queer identities, and without the necessary legal or professional framework to protect themselves, these professionals are on the frontlines of America’s battle against hate crimes. Despite these odds, sex workers are creating a wave of progress that could provide more security to not only their wages or their jobs, but their lives and their futures. Through organized labor, increased legal capital, and better media representation, sex work could finally become a legitimized industry.