If you’re looking for work to recommend to your young-adult child, a University of Ottawa professor has advice.
According to Naomi Sayers, you should direct them to sex work.
Per the attorney, it’s “the best thing” they can do.
Naomi whipped out the wisdom while commenting on a Twitter thread by immigrant Jordan Kong.
Here’s Jordan:
“Unpopular opinion: The best thing young people can do early in their careers is to work on the weekends. I’ve worked countless weekends since I started my career 10+ years ago. Just like every other poor immigrant kid who has become successful in tech. Nobody handed us anything — we had to will success.”
Jordan believes in playful work, but that isn’t always possible:
“People talk about work feeling like play when done right. In the best of times, this is true. But even when it was a slog, I still worked my [butt] off day in, day out. Only quitters quit.”
Crappily, her struggles were doused with diarrhea:
“It didn’t come without costs. I gave myself pre-diabetes when working 90+ hr/week in my early 20’s. Suffered stress-induced IBS when my first startup went through ups and downs. I’m not saying it’s easy to live this way.”
But what came out in the end? Something tremendous:
“[I] wouldn’t trade any of it because the work has brought me tremendous joy and happiness.”
She even beat the white guys:
“I outworked my peers to earn opportunities that were typically reserved for white guys who went to Harvard & Stanford — not an introverted, short, nerdy Asian female.”
On June 12th, Naomi supplemented the subject with more specific instruction:
“Unpopular opinion: The best thing young people can do early in their careers is do #SexWork on the side because your early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative.”
unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is do #SexWork on the side because your early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative. https://t.co/HRAmZFPDNX
— Naomi Sayers, Lawyer (@kwetoday) June 13, 2021
“Because,” Naomi followed, “that’s how capitalism works.”
Through sex work, your young-adult child can avoid low-quality employment:
“[S]ex work means you can take on the jobs you want to take on and avoid having to put yourself into s—-y job prospects … because capitalism.”
Naomi also addressed the notion that sex work’s exploitative:
“People out here saying young people can be exploited in sex work. Literally, that’s capitalism Lol.”
She added, “And quite literally, that’s any kind of work.”
“And saying young people should be working retail, or McDonalds or other low wage work that pays unliveable wages (literally exploitation)… That’s exploitation. That’s how capitalism works.”
It was a curious point. Capitalism is, of course, a system based on a free market economy in which an individual may own his or her own business.
In an alternative — socialism — low wages and high prices can still exist. So do places like McDonalds; they’re just owned by the government.
Still, Naomi insists the government must take away her right to be her own boss:
“Also, if you really want young people to not be exploited, provide them with liveable wages, access to safe housing, clean water, free education. Literally. Abolish capitalism.”
In response to the thread, Alex Krause — Naomi’s publicist — spoke to Campus Reform.
Don’t misunderstand:
“Naomi is IN NO WAY promoting or suggesting that anyone should pursue sex work, her point was to facetiously criticize capitalist society, to quote her initial tweet ‘…early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative.’”
As Alex explained, Naomi was calling out “systemic racism” and “stigmatization”:
“What Naomi meant is stated plainly. Yes, it is nuanced; but NO, she is not directly advocating for sex work. Her intent remains to call out systemic racism / stigmatization wherever it exists, and it is rampant within for-profit Canadian higher education institutions AND the prison system.”
To hear Alex tell it, criticism of Naomi’s tweets is proof of her point:
“Your interpretation of her coy and nuanced take on exploitation of capitalism vs exploitation of sex work may be indicative of the exact issue she is trying to highlight – the quickness to stigmatize and/or ‘slut shame’ sex work.”
It seems Alex would like her right to start a business revoked as well:
“Capitalism has created an economy that many people leave university indebted for decades, and in turn feel pressured to work in exploitative career paths… Sex work can be exploitative, just like any other kind of work, and in fact, it predates capitalist societies. Capitalism only further incentives ‘have nots’/marginalized communities to pursue whatever means they must to survive.”
As for whether Naomi was joking, the lawyer/professor posted before-and-after photos last October:
Left: This photo popped up in my Facebook memories, me, as a stripper. I think I was 20? 🧜🏽♀️🙋🏻♀️💃🏻👯♀️💅🏼
Right: Me, an Ontario lawyer, just called to the Alberta bar. 🤓💪🏼❤️👩🏻⚖️👸🏻🦸🏻♀️#SexWork #LawyerLife #IndigenousLawyer pic.twitter.com/VjN2WD9tMt
— Naomi Sayers, Lawyer (@kwetoday) October 29, 2020
And if you’re keen to end debt by removing an individual’s right to work for themself, Naomi fingered one more way you can better our world:
“Actually, abolish prison but whatever.”
Alex seconded:
“Capitalism, for-profit education, and prison are inherently stigmatizing towards certain marginalized groups. As we noted in the previous email, Naomi’s lived experience of stigmatization in the legal realm is telling, considering the massive investment that she made personally and financially to pursue a legal education.”
Read Naomi’s entire thread here:
And if your children end up combining Jordan Wong and Naomi in a recipe for success (but refuse to start their own business), here’s to hoping the components are hard work + becoming a teacher.
Not sex work + having diarrhea.
I assume that duo would stink.
If you’d like to hire Naomi, her personal website indicates an emphasis in Indigenous law, litigation, corporate law, and Aboriginal Law (duty to consult and accommodate), among other areas.
As stated by the site, she owns her own practice.
-ALEX
UPDATE 6-19-21: Campus Reform reports Naomi’s publicist has “insisted Sayers has no relation with the University of Ottawa as a professor.” However, her LinkedIn profile credits her as an adjunct professor at the school, December 2020-May 2021, teaching “Colonialism, Territory & Treaties at UOttawa’s Institute of Indigenous Research and Studies.” Additionally, the Ontario Paralegal Association’s website lists “Naomi Sayers, Lawyer, adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa” as a panelist for a May 31st Discussion on Advocacy as part of the OPA and TriOS College CPD Series. And Theorg.com features a photo of Naomi with the caption “Naomi Sayers is on the Board of Directors at YWCA Toronto. Naomi is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa.” Campus Reform says it’s awaiting a response from the University of Ottawa. An update will be provided once more is known.
See more pieces from me:
A Mom Revolts After Elite School Shows Video That ‘Tarred and Feathered’ White Women
College Forces Students to Get Vaccinated or Pay Over a Grand as a ‘Health and Safety’ Fee
Find all my RedState work here.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member