Sex Trafficking

We are not all victims of sex trafficking.

It seems like the save-a-whore gang can’t resist asking sex workers if they’re victims of sex trafficking or how bad their criminal record is. Amazingly, there are many of us that were never victims of sex trafficking and we don’t have criminal records. Unfortunately, most of the time, no matter what you say to the virtue signalling brigade, there’s nothing that will convince them that you’re not covering up for someone or lying. A certain mega church has proven that with pamphlets stuck in my mailbox and a weekly prayer meetup (now) in their parking lot. Such groups don’t want to accept anything that differs from the popular narrative, more so especially when that reality differs greatly from the one that puts large sums of money in their pockets. – Sadly, there is no shortage of schemes to make a dollar on the backs of sex workers.

There are many paths that lead to the sex industry. Addictions, sexual abuse and yes, even sex trafficking but those are by no means inclusive of everyone. My path is directly attributable to a college debt and equity hiring practices. On what can only be described as a fortunate set of circumstances, I became a male stripper, first in handful of specialty events catering only to women and then later in gay strip bars because there was more work and the money was better. Interestingly, the majority of my co-workers were both heterosexuals and fathers trying to support their child/ren. My experiences show that the hardest substance consumed by most of the dancers was marijuana. In those days, the only addiction I saw was among the actual homosexuals, but it was for steroids.

People with substance addiction problems, abuse issues and financial desperation exist in every industry. Human trafficking only becomes sex trafficking because of the sexual element. However, agricultural workers are trafficked and construction workers are also trafficked. An example is how human trafficking syndicates in Dubai lure Filipinos with training programs and then ship them to jobs in Iraq when their tourist visas expire. No one however, seems to talk too much about them; because “saving-a-whore” and specifically targeting sex trafficking is far more salacious in the public’s mind. As a consequence it earns virtue signalling groups more money, while pushing its advocates higher up the political ladder.

Sex work is work.

Porn workers aren’t all that different from professional athletes. Often what happens on camera entails a lot of physical effort. Also, many of us put a huge investment in our bodies by working out and taking supplements. The point is the majority of sex workers are not victims of sex trafficking and they don’t need to be saved. What’s needed is the decriminalization of sex work, because it double victimizes those who turn to this industry because they have no other options which satisfy their particular circumstance. There is an independence that sex work affords us, a self direction of how we spend our time and energy. It pays well, and accommodates those with extreme personalities or time-consuming responsibilities. For all these reasons, this decriminalization must come with continued independence. To legalize it, then require of us some certification and registration or that we work within the confines of some government sanctioned institution, just removes the very freedoms that make the job worthwhile. We’d all be much happier if the government and NGOs just disappeared; their resources could be better used elsewhere, and maybe just maybe they might prevent some from the situation that causes this work to become an option in the first place.

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