This one hit me like a ton of bricks

So first of all, we are just going to ignore that men and women are sexual beings? You are going to ignore the fact that men will ALWAYS have a sexual gaze because they are infact sexual beings just as women are. To ignore a man's sexuality is just as stupid as ignoring a woman's. Second, sex work is so dangerous because it is illegal. Sex trafficking exists because sex work is illegal and not regulated and protected. Would it exist if it was legal, yes, but it would significantly drop. Men would then be chastised for raping sex workers instead of the sex worker being blamed for "selling herself". Women would be allowed to unionize and women who turn to sex work out of desperation would be given better resources and options so they didn't have to. Every sex worker who's commented on this thread has made the point that they did it out of desperation. Which is NOT why you should do sex work. Because at that point you are willing to do anything for money that you do not have your own boundaries of shitty men. Do NOT blame the sex industry for their lack of boundaries, but POVERTY. Poverty was the first problem. A woman shouldn't have to turn to sex work because of poverty, that's a poverty problem and the lack of aid in the country for those who are desperate. Lastly, you are 💯 right on how women of color are treated in the sex industry. But what's the root problem of that? A RACIST problem. Not a sex industry problem. That is a racist and sexist problem when it comes to colored women and just like every other industry, most women have to work 4-6x harder to get any where. That's in EVERY industry making it clear it's a racist problem. Not a sex work problem.

I'm a sex worker and I love my job. As a fitness dominatrix I get to help people get into shape in a kinky fun way. I've always had a GIANT ego of a Goddess and firmly believe I should have people worshipping me. And I do. Men who not only worship the ground I spit on, but respect the crap out of my professional opinion of fitness. Do I deal with shitty men every day. Absolutely. But I don't give that behavior the time of day. You clearly aren't aware of how much sex work costs and how alot of sex workers haven't even had to work this year from their years of savings they have made from sex work. Sex work is a luxury item and expensive as fuck (if you are doing it right and not out of desperation) NOT TO MENTION a FUCK ton of sex workers are NOT women. Are we going to hate women but exclude men? Are we going to chastise a stripper but not the chippendale?

You can be sexual without sexually objectifying someone. We can create a culture that respects people for being sexual. This ideology of "it brings the rest of us down" is disgusting and is rooted in patriarchal ideology and christian ideology that a woman's body is only sacred enough for a man's sexual pleasure or men and women should only have sex in marriage and not of her or his own free will. Whether there is a patriarchy or a matriarchy or anything in-between. There will always be a market for sex work. It is about making it a safe space to do so. Period.