While I was writing my last VIP article about how feminism's primary goal is to punish the femininity out of women, a post on New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) was brought up in response to AOC telling Riley Gaines to get a real job, pointing out that it's rich for her to tell Gaines to get a real job when she believes sex work is real work.
The post was made in 2020 and refers to an EMT who joined OnlyFans to make extra cash, becoming an OnlyFans success story.
Sex work is work.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2020
The federal gov has done almost nothing to help people in months. We must pass stimulus checks, UI, small biz relief, hospital funding, etc.
Keep the focus of shame there, not on marginalizing people surviving a pandemic without help. https://t.co/eYib7310Rs
Read: Modern Feminism's Purpose Is to Punish Women
I disagree wholeheartedly. I don't think sex work is work at all.
To be clear, I know that "work" is involved. Being a stripper involves having to get up on a stage and at least know how to gyrate your hips. Prostitution involves work that I don't think I need to explain, and then there's OnlyFans, which often requires you to pose, post, and interact with fans.
But that's where the "work" part of sex work ends.
The chief issue is that after that "work" is over, nothing comes of it. In fact, the only thing that truly comes out of it is degradation for both "worker" and consumer."
My issue with what's known as "sex work" is that work is usually done as a contributor to society in some shape or fashion, and sex work doesn't really offer anything to society in any positive regard. The obvious rebuttal to this is that it meets a need, and even in the case of professional pornography and OnlyFans, it contributes to tax income.
Okay, sure, but there are two issues with this.
For one, the "needs" it meets are ultimately destructive. Mental health problems are actually prevalent among sex workers, leading up to and including suicidal ideation. This isn't rare, either; it's well-documented, and even former porn stars tell horror stories about their own mental health and friends they've lost to suicide.
The consumers themselves face addiction issues, which are also tied to depression and suicide. An interesting stat from AddictionResource.net found that a study showed a large increase in people reporting addiction to platforms like OnlyFans:
In the United States, with 1.1 million creators and the largest global user base, OnlyFans addiction appears to be growing at an alarming rate. Google research data reveals up to 1,0000 individuals per month per U.S. state searching for “OnlyFans addiction” and related terms. Behavioral health professionals report seeing increasing numbers of clients whose lives have been affected by compulsive OnlyFans use, often accompanied by serious financial issues.
Precise statistics remain limited due to the recent emergence of OnlyFans addiction, troubling trends are becoming clear overseas as well. A 2023 study in the UK found a 66% year-over-year increase in people contacting addiction recovery centers citing OnlyFans as their primary concern. With nearly 80% of OnlyFans users being male, the demographics suggest a particular vulnerability among men seeking connection.
This isn't even including the fact that a lot of what we consider "sex work" isn't voluntary. Sex work and sex slavery aren't just related; they're practically brother and sister. Many people, especially young women, are forced into it through various means. As reported by the AP, sexual exploitation is a serious problem across the globe, and many of these victims are children:
While the report said just over one-fourth of the victims worldwide were subject to sexual exploitation, it accounted for nearly $173 billion in profits, or nearly three-quarters of the global total — a sign of the higher margins generated from selling sex.
Some 6.3 million people faced situations of forced commercial sexual exploitation on any given day three years ago — and nearly four in five of those victims were girls or women, ILO said. Children accounted for more than a quarter of the total cases.
Whatever needs sex work is meeting are temporary and open the door for far more trouble, both for the individual and the safety of many in society. Meeting a need doesn't automatically make something "work." If that's the case, then drug dealing is work too. Moreover, the government skimming some of that sex work cash off the top doesn't exactly make up for the fact that billions of dollars go into stopping illegal sex work all over the nation.
"Sex work" does not result in growth, or at the very least, it results in growth for very few women. There are famous porn stars, and very successful, very rich OnlyFans models, but these are few and far between, and even then, the few that get out are forever painted with that brush of "former porn star." You become famous for what you did with parts of your body, not any real talent or skill you might have.
The rarity of success in "sex work" alone is a negative for everyone else who exposes themselves in various ways, only to find themselves at rock bottom both economically and mentally when all is said and done. It's not a viable path.
The only time "sex work" really produces anything of lasting value is if an accidental pregnancy results from a sexual act and the child isn't aborted.
This idea that "sex work is work" feels more like a virtue signal to radicals and people who want to feel less guilt about engaging in the acts they do. For all intents and purposes, there is no value to sex work. In fact, it's a danger to society and those who live in it more often than not.
