Sex workers in America 1

Sex Workers in America

Elizabeth Vargas

Arizona State University

Sex workers in America 2

Sex Workers in America

When I first arrived in Idaho, I was welcomed to a dinner party that included my step-mother,

my father, and two neighbors next door. I was finally able to sit at a “big kid table” with other

adults, and able to intervene in adult conversations. With a little wine mixed into the equation,

came some pretty grown-up topics and one happened to be about the subject of brothels. The

next door neighbor was gawking about the time he and his friends visited an active brothel in

Montana and the wild encounters they had with the sex workers and madame. The story focused

more on the excitement and taboo around these brothels, and not on the conditions or the treat-

ment, or any sympathy for these sex slaves. Looking for more answers about these “whore hous-

es,” I found that sex workers are just a fancy way of saying prostitution. Society is aware of the

abuse and crime of trafficking going on primarily in the United States, but fail to use one univer-

sal language that can be used throughout all sorts of conversations. Social media, films, and mu-

sic in a way glorify or romanticizes this way of lifestyle of women either legally selling their

bodies or just merely talk above the surface and come to no conclusion.

Women have the freedom to do what they please, and if that’s pleasing others with their bodies

then go ahead. Although many allegations speak poorly on the conditions of sex workhouses.

Brents and Hausbeck agree that there is a negative notion on the Nevada brothels as they

write,”They talk of violence as fear of physical danger at the hands of customers, pimps, and po-

lice when working the streets where prostitution is illegal. The brothel workers also talk of risk

and threats of a different kind of violence—violence to their bodies and health through the spread

of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Likewise, brothel managers and owners see themselves

as protecting women from violence on the streets by providing a legal alternative to illegal pros-
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titution. They also see themselves protecting both customers and prostitutes from disease through

state-mandated health testing in Nevada’s brothels. So not only does an assumption of violence

remain at the heart of the institution of sex work, but this assumption also includes disease as a

form of abuse to the body (Brents and Hausbeck). As a society, we are eager to judge and make

allegations towards subjects that are already seen as taboo.

The other side can argue that we should approach it with an open mind. Not all sex workers

are subject to abuse or have been sexually abused in the past. Not all sex workers are located on

a street or whore house or who have a pimp that is watching their every move. We should not

make this hasty generalization as a community and degrade these women or men more when

they are already putting their self-esteem and vulnerability on the line.

The book Yes Means Yes states that in the conversations these authors had with multiple sex

workers, it was agreed on that self-esteem plays a big role in regarding how they feel about the

stigmas and negativity circling their lifestyle, “The shame and stigma that come with sex work

can midday a woman’s self-esteem if she doesn’t own the sex work, if she hasn’t deconstructed

those negative societal views surrounding the work and the ideas of what a woman is supposed

to be in our society”(Yes Means Yes). Is it because of rape culture that defines the acts of sex

workers from people who work in the sex industry see this not only as perversive and moral

crime but one that strips away the dignity of those who choose to get involved in it?

The adult industry is not all BDSM, dominance and submission, and everything in between the

lines. For some, it’s an outlet for expression, but for this one Duke University student, it was a

way to pay for college. Miriam Weeks, stage name Belle Knox, was outed by a fellow student

who realized who it was when he caught her in an adult video online. She was then attacked by
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many online, even though she was doing it because her financial aid was not accepted and she

wanted a better education. In an interview with Weeks interviewer, Shteir acknowledged, “THE

MOST CONTENTIOUS THING Weeks has done to argue that a woman's consent to violence

can be a feminist act” (Shteir), in regarding one of Miriam’s adult scenes. There are aspects of

sex work that society does not regard because of the social views that we are used to; no matter

what stance someone will take on this, there’s always going to be a debate about what or what,

not a woman should do with her body. Women are either told to watch what they wear, or are the

ones taught not to get raped, but if we have the slightest audacity to have empowerment or liber-

ation, we are seen as too easy or promiscuous. It’s like the woman has to be conservative, but

sexy, and feel liberated but under certain guidelines. There’s no winning, there’s no gaining. In

another interview with Belle Knox she speaks on her truth, “ ‘In this backdrop of our society

where women are so often robbed of their sexual autonomy and are subjected to sexual violence

and this backdrop of, you know, misogyny against women, it’s incredibly freeing and liberating

for me to have that choice to make decisions about my own body’”(Happy Warrior).

Rape culture, as defined by Marshall University is, “An environment in which rape is preva-

lent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and

pop culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectifi-

cation of women’s bodies, and glamorization of sexual violence…” [Marshall University). The

fact that we know it’s there and is present, but we aren’t active in helping these people subjected

to it, creates this rape culture in the first place. Yes, Means Yes argues that “At the heart of the

sexual assault issue is how mainstream American culture constructs sex and sexualities along

gendered lines. Female sexuality is portrayed as passive, while a male is portrayed as aggressive”
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(Yes means Yes, 18). Why is it that society creates this gateway to use women’s bodies and sexu-

ality, but do little to nothing when it comes to aiding those in sex trafficking, conditions in broth-

els, sexual assault victims, and more? In conclusion, America has built this human-made culture

that chooses to ignore sex crimes and instead put a label on it called rape culture but chooses

nothing to help end it otherwise.

There is an ongoing debate whether we should allow women to sell their sex for money, letting

them choose what to do with their bodies, which goes along with this body positive idea, but at

what cost are these women willing to go to and what extent are they willing to push those limits?

Although brothels are legalized in Nevada, it is authorized only in remote counties with popula-

tions less than 700,000. Some would argue that the word “slut” “whore” and “skanks” are a

harsh label to put on brothel workers because using the word brothel sex workers have a legaliza-

tion aspect added to the name. People would think that since something like this is allowed and

legalized, it is safe since it’s not going against the law. The District of Columbia: National Press

Academy writes that“The language used to describe aspects of commercial sexual exploitation

and sex trafficking crimes and their victims and survivors— a collection of terms derived from

the range of agencies, sectors, and individuals working to prevent and address these problems—

varies considerably. Some terms are diagnostic and scientific (e.g., screening and medical foren-

sic exam). Others are legal terms (e. trafficking, offender, perpetrator). Some terms are frequent-

ly used in popular culture (e.g., pimp John, child prostitute). Still, others are focused on the expe-

riences of exploited children (e.g., victim, survivor, modern day slavery). The result is the ab-

sence of a shared language regarding commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking minors”

(Confronting Commercial Sex Exploitation, 2013). From what I understand from the thesis of
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this book is that they also believe that these humans are being misunderstood and overlooked.

They feel that since these stories are told over and over whether it’s in the form of girls being

kidnapped across the border or mail brides, the media has been desensitized to this issue. Using

certain terms for certain issues creates this gateway for people to desensitize an issue because it

doesn’t seem as harsh when specific terminology is used. Instead of using words like “whore

houses” or “pimps” and “prostitutes,” these facilities use terms like “Sex workers” or “brothels.”

If we wanted to get real technical couldn’t we call porn stars the same thing? They get paid for

sex, it is considered a job, there is an audience or market for it, and society normalizes it because

there is a market. What constitutes what or what is not a prostitute? Society fails us as women to

tell us that we do not need to sexualize our body to feel good. Yes, I do believe that body positiv-

ity is important, but do we need to prove so by taking our clothes off? I am all for loving your

body and dressing how you would like because if I didn’t, I’d be seen as sexualizing another

woman, and I’d be missing the main point; we have engraved in our minds that we forget what

body positivity truly means and we instead over-sexualize women in general. But there is another

side that would say that none of these arguments can be valid because it’s hiding the real moral

dilemma over something that is commercialized and profited off of.

Women have always been subjected to sexual abuse. Looking at statistics in brothels, female

workers receive much more mistreatment than male workers do. Is it because in sexual activity

males are more seen as a dominant figure and women are seen more as submissive? According to

the Sex Crimes Law website in regarding the comparison of how men and women sex workers

are treated, “This is mainly because a smaller proportion of them work for pimps. They typically

have shorter lives because they are subject to the abuse from both clients and pimps. 58% of
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American prostitutes reported a violent assault at the hands of clients. With a higher instance of

physical violence perpetrated against them, female prostitutes are more likely to get murdered. In

five years in Newark, New Jersey, 14 homicide victims were known, prostitutes. That is an in-

credibly high figure in a city of 280,000 residents with an average annual murder rate of 7 homi-

cides per 100,000 persons.” If we don’t start seeing these women as actual people, then there is a

long run in actually treating these women like they are people; there is a lack of empathy and in-

timacy for these women. The conditions of these brothels make it no easier for these women to

feel like humans as well. There are panic buttons for the sex workers to press, but even then they

still are subjected to abuse; many of these women were already subjected to sexual abuse as chil-

dren claim Melissa Farley who visited these Nevada brothels for a documentary (The Guardian).

The issue with rape culture is that it not only dismisses these accounts of abuse, but it makes

these sex workers seem as if “well since they’ve already been sexually abused, it’s a lost cause to

help them, so leave them be.” There is an issue with power and authority over sex workers from

all aspects of the sex industry where authoritative figures abuse their higher position because

they know that these workers don’t go home to a family or stop this job from 9:00-5:00. This is

their life, this is their lifestyle, and this is who they believe they are and nothing more.

What rape culture does is desensitize sexual abuse by ignoring the actual issue and making

only an issue for the victim. Instead of finding answers to why people sexually abuse, our culture

today avoids in doing so and somehow found a way to market sexual abuse and to make it seem

like it is not logical to even question to a predator. The market for sex workers and sexual content

in this era make it difficult also to be shocked or acknowledge the serious sexual exploitation,

abuse, or unfair treatment this industry encounters because of the wide audience that interacts
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with this issue. Although yes, not all legal prostitution (porn, escorts, brothels) are subject to

abuse, mistreatment, or neglecting of these workers needs, but it creates a more narrow pathway

in succeeding to find a way to bring awareness to those who are facing those issues.
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references:

1. Brents, B. G., & Hausbeck, K. (2005). Violence and Legalized Brothel Prostitution in

Nevada. Journal Of Interpersonal Violence, 20(3), 270-295. doi:

10.1177/0886260504270333

2. Friedman, J., & Valenti, J. (2008). Yes means yes!: visions of female sexual power et a world

without rape. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.

3. Marshall University. (n.d.).Retrieved February 23, 2018, from http://www.marshall.edu/wcen-

ter/ sexual-assault/rape-culture/

4. Prostitution Statistics - Sex Crimes | Laws.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2018,

from https://sex-crimes.laws.com/prostitution/prostitution-statistics

5. SHTEIR, R. (2014, August 15). When Pornography Pays for College. Chronicle of Higher Edu

cation. pp. B14-B15.

6. SMITH, K. (2014). Happy Warrior. National Review, 66(6), 48.