Wednesday 20 June 2012

Anti-Sex Work Academic's Feeble Attempt at Stigmatising Us


On Jun 19, Caroline wrote an opinion piece in the Age, Standing up for sex workers is standing up for pimps.  You can read her vitriolic bigotry here:  http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/standing-up-for-sex-workers-is-standing-up-for-pimps-20120618-20k84.html#ixzz1yNviycSl 

The shortsighted moralist tone of Norma's words isn't lost on the readers, many of whom (both sex workers and non-sex worker) voiced their disapproval in the comments. 

Amongst the 158 posts is mine. You can read it here:
I am a sex worker. This article is moralistic, abolitionist rubbish that further contributes to the debilitating stigma that already negatively impacts on the mental and physical health of sex workers.
From the headline, Norma is arguing that we should not stand up for sex worker rights, as if we have none. She is advocating for our poverty, our prosecution, our social exclusion. She wants everyone to think the worst of us, victims incapable of making a choice. With that prejudice in the minds of the community, it is no wonder we are treated as second class citizens, no wonder people don't recognise our human rights, no wonder we get no protection from the police or the law, no wonder perpertrators of violence against us feel that they can get away with it.
I am sick of constantly being portrayed as a victim. I've never been pimped out. I used to work for an escort agency but I chose to leave and support myself by working independantly. I chose to. The clients I have chosen to see are diverse- some have disabilities, some have lost their long term partners, some are super busy,some are extraordinarily lonely. The reasons they see sex workers are as varied as their lives. None of them want to exploit, assault or victimise me.
I know I'm not alone in my experience because I've also chosen to stay connected to my colleagues - sex workers of all sexes and genders- for emotional, occupational and community support.
We are not going anywhere. We are part of one of the most enduring professions in human history. Elite Academics like Norma can bad mouth us all she likes. But the truth is we are workers and we have human rights- how about you start recognising them?
Commenter: Christian Vega
Location: Melbourne
Date and time: Jun 19, 2012, 11:32AM

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