Some Thoughts on Sex Work

There are these kinds of nights where I’m hanging out with friends, chilling (probably stoned) and someone starts asking morally ambiguous questions, like ‘Would you watch a politician having sex with a pig on TV like in Black Mirror?’ or ‘What would it take for you to eat human flesh?’. Might sound macabre but for some reason, there’s something intriguing pontificating about the dark side of humanity. During one of these nights, somebody asked the question that sparked this blog post…

What would it take for you to prostitute yourself?

Besides people who already work in the sex industry, this is probably not an easy question to answer. There are many forms of sex work, and different people might consider different things prostitution. It’s probably easier to slip into becoming a stripper or a webcam model than working the block.

I don’t think I’ll ever do any kind of sex work, but if all would go wrong in a majorly way I cannot even imagine and all my skills would become useless for the rest of time, sex work wouldn’t be off the table. I guess in matters of life and death, you may not always have any other choice.

What if you were in debt majorly?
Let’s say you’ve lost all your cash and loan sharks are hunting you down?
What if you could somehow save a loved one by doing so?

Or, a little more realistic, let’s say you’re living a regular single life. In a bar, you meet a sexy guy or girl you feel attracted to. You hit it off and after a couple of drinks, you decide to go with him or her to their hotel room and spend the night. When you wake up in the morning, he or she has already left. On the counter, there’s an envelope, written on it ‘Thanks’, inside there’s cash. The guy/girl thought you were a prostitute and you’ll likely never see him or her again. Do you take the envelope?

What about finding a sugar daddy or momma?

Have you ever heard of services like Seeking Arrangement? On there, sugar daddies and mommas can find sugar babies to spoil. Most sugar daddies/mommas are busy in their careers and make good money. On the side, they don’t have time for a regular relationship but sometimes look for a companion. Sugar babies are mostly asked for a specific kind of service, The Girlfriend/Boyfriend Experience, where for the time being together they’re acting as if they were in a relationship.

The terms are completely up to you, sex is on the table but doesn’t have to be; what kind of arrangement would you be willing to participate in? And would you consider it prostitution?

Aren’t you already prostituting yourself a little bit?

I know, I do. The freelance work I do includes making on- and offline PR for myself. The works I do very often makes me feel like giving away a tiny part of myself. I know it’s not considered prostitution as I’m not doing anything physical. But isn’t giving away emotional parts just as valuable? And don’t all jobs make you sacrifice some of your sanity from time to time?

I know this post was quite long and I compiled a variety of thoughts into it. Still, I would love to hear your opinions. Whichever of my questions you may wanna answer, I look forward to hearing new perspectives!

BenLeander