Asklemmy

I believe a victimless crime shouldn't be, and that unless a very strong case is made otherwise for a specific person, people can decide what they want for themselves.

Of course people being forced into sex work is bad, but then so is people being forced into working kitchens or call centers. If they decide on it voluntarily that's all good and well.

Also, since I can't resist:

~~approve of sex work~~ approve sex work

Yes, it's my job to personally rubber stamp every truck stop girl. /s

If you believe that laws forbidding gambling, sale of liquor, sale of contraceptives, requiring definite closing hours, enforcing the Sabbath, or any such, are necessary to the welfare of your community, that is your right and I do not ask you to surrender your beliefs or give up your efforts to put over such laws. But remember that such laws are, at most, a preliminary step in doing away with the evils they indict. Moral evils can never be solved by anything as easy as passing laws alone. If you aid in passing such laws without bothering to follow through by digging in to the involved questions of sociology, economics, and psychology which underlie the causes of the evils you are gunning for, you will not only fail to correct the evils you sought to prohibit but will create a dozen new evils as well.

—Robert A. Heinlein, Take Back Your Government

Work is work.

Is sex work selling your body? Is doing masonry carpentry or road fixing work anything less than that?

Is sex work ethical? Is working for a weapon manufacture ethical?

I think the point on sex work is a different one: exploitation. That is wrong and should not be allowed or tolerated. But is it avoidable?

The focus should not be on the sex workers tough, but on the clients. The sex workers will always be there as long as there is demand for them.

So, yes, give sex workers the opportunity to work in a safe and not abused environment, so that it can be a choice like any other work. Which means, legalize, regulate, and so on.

Not really. I've never paid for a prostitute, I've never gone to a single strip club in my life or anything. I've only read the horror stories of what porn actors had gone through and it's really not a sustainable way of living.

Sex should be treated as just a consenting activity between two or more people where nobody has to be hurt or wronged in any way for doing.

There's a lot of variables and unchecked liabilities involved when it comes to treating sex as like a job.

Sex isn't special in the sense of being on a pedestal. Sure, it can be magical in that two people in love come closer together, but that is also true of many intimate experiences. The physical act should not be restricted from being performed, shared, or even monetized because of the sense of morality of others.

Sex workers are working. They may get someone off via their actions, but they're providing a service, same as someone who fixes your broken phone, provides medical care, or unclogs your toilet. It's a form of labor.

My life doesn't include a special realm or being beyond that of people to provide incentives or guidance on how to live. That's entirely decided by people and their own sense of decency. Treat others well, as you'd wish to be treated, and try not to live in a way that negatively affects others. That's the whole of morality to me. I think this will lead to a good life. In no way would paying for or receiving money for sexual acts be affected by it.

Hell, give me enough money and I'll perform whatever sex acts you want.

Yes, as long as everyone involved is consenting. It needs to be destigmatized especially in healthcare settings.

Yes

Totally fine, work is work, you decide what you want to do with your life and if that fills the gap more power to you.

We need more regulation though, like Amsterdam where if you're working you have to get weekly check ups, and psychological counseling should be freely available.

Sex work is a good industry but it also harbors trafficking which needs to be cracked down on hard.

In today's world, we all get fucked one way or another.

Like most people say here, if that's something you want to do that's all good so long as you're protected by law and workers' rights and all that jazz. Personally, though, I don't really understand it. I mean, why would anybody want to do this with all the risks (rape, diseases)? I'm open to receiving perspectives and education, currently I just don't really "get" it.

I think George said it best.

Do you watch porn? Porn is monetized sex with the purpose of getting money, and with a high degree of abuse and exploitation might I add. You and I and any law don't get to define the purpose of anything, we only decide wether something is allowed or not. If you want to sell your body for money you should have the freedom to do so, protected by labor laws and health assistance. This is a very good way to reduce the spreading of diseases and reduce the power of exploitative criminals

I'll kinda take a different approach since everyone's covered the basics with sex work. The problem with how you've presented it, is you're defining an act on how you perceive and want to regulate it. The simple question becomes, "should people have bodily autonomy?"

Everyone has a different opinion on what can be considered intimate/romantic. Some people feel a full body massage is too intimate, others a dinner with a co-worker is too romantic (not agreeing, just throwing out examples). If we start regulating based on how someone feels something should be perceived than it's a slippery slope. I can fully understand that you believe sex to be romantic while also realizing that others don't feel the same way or view it as a positive aspect of it. If it's not being forced on you then it shouldn't be a problem what consenting adults do in privacy.

Sex work is going to happen whether it's legal or not. Might as well regulate it and provide sex workers with a legal framework, healthcare, retirement funds, etc.

I think it should be legal and regulated. It's a service that people want and others are willing to fill. We just need laws to protect all parties, particularly the workers.

"Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isn't selling fucking legal?" -George Carlin

Yes. I am a libertarian.

I personally don't see anything wrong with it, unless it's forced, which is unfortunately common here.

Friend of mine used to be a whore. She says it has been the most fulfilling and fun job she has ever had. She got to meet many interesting people. And she also has a lot of funny stories to tell.

It was also fun for her that she could get tax breaks for underwear and other sexy clothes.

I don't approve of work.

I think it's dangerous now, without regulation and protection, and I think it's a long way from how I feel it will eventually come to be viewed; as something more akin to performance art or a form of therapy.

Yes.

If they hurt no one else and infringe on no one else's rights I have no business policing what two consenting adults do with their bodies, time and/or money.

Edit: it should also be totally legal, like all drugs.

The purpose of sex should be defined by the participants, not by third parties. Government (public, third party) interest in the private act should be limited to protecting the participants from fraud, undue influence, unexpected diseases, unexpected pregnancies, violence... Basically, so long as everyone involved in the act is aware and freely agrees to the purpose, the actual purpose is functionally irrelevant.

Sex work is work.

I can see regulations against establishing an employer/employee working relationship, and instead mandating a private contractor relationship: an employee can disciplined or fired for failure to perform, or for refusing to serve the employer's customers; a contractor can pick and choose their own clients.

The right of assembly; the freedom of association should broadly protect mutually consensual activities.

I think whether anyone approves of it or not is really irrelevant. People have bought and sold sex for thousands of years and will continue to do so.

The only questions is whether you think the sex trade should be illegal or stigmatised. My personal opinion is that criminalising sex work is a fools errand and that it's no ones business if two consenting adults want to trade money for sex.

Sex work is work, and work (tying your capacity for labor to your continued survival) is bad. Sex workers should be supported like any member of the proletariat

Sex labor on the other hand? Sure as long as you have removed the exploitive element that comes with work.

The choice/situation blends in with every occupation so as long as no aggression or wrongful leverage is involved.

I think a great example is OnlyFans. Pornography is close to full sex work, so it's a fair comparison. Here was a field that was dominated by predatory companies and people in the worst places. Actors and Actresses frequently talked about how they were abused, pushed beyond what they thought was acceptable, underpaid, hurt, raped, and honestly still worse.

Enter OnlyFans, a more legitimate way for workers to create their own content, their own pricing, set their own rules and their own boundaries. By legitimizing pornography and pornographic actors it made the entire thing safer for the workers themselves.

It's natural that sex work would follow this. It's wildly known that sex work is not a safe business, and it's extremely predatory. Taking our opinions out of it completely, if the options are A) let the extremely terrible and predatory underground business continue as it has or B) legitimize the business, add protections, and allow them to set their own rules - well then, isn't the moral option obvious?

My approval is irrelevant. People do it, and people pay for it, so it deserves all the same respect and rights as any other work. No one's value comes from my opinion of what they do to pay the bills, and it is not my place to tell people what sex "should" be.