Here’s the latest news/comedy bit from Bill Maher’s Real Time, this one called “America’s Whore Complex.” It’s about the sudden honoring of sex workers, which I suspect derives from the movie “Anora”, featuring a stripper/prostitute played by Mikey Madison). Maher is discombobulated with the change of the word from “prostitute” to “sex worker,” and observes that the fancier word has become a liberal euphemism. Maher also notes that 41 American actresses were nominated for Oscars for playing sex workers (they’re all shown in photos).
Maher, however, concludes that the word “sex workers” should revert to the old word “whore”, because the virtue-signaling of the former word does “harm to the cause” by sounding “too benign.” His thesis: that often the job is not voluntary, mentioning Andrew Tate, who’s been accused of forcing women into sex work (Maher criticizes Republicans for remaining silent about those activities because Tate’s a Republican).
It’s not one of his best bits. It’s okay, but I was surprised to learn that there have been over forty Oscar nominations for women playing sex workers/prostitutes/whores.
I mostly agree with the substance of his remarks, but I disagree with his favoring of the word “whore.” “Whore,” as in Whore of Babylon, carries a strong pejorative connotation. “Hooker” is too slangy, “lady of the night” too euphemistic, and “call girl” too sanitized. “Prostitute” is a perfectly good, neutral word that denotes a person who performs sexual acts in exchange for money. It does not imply judgment or praise; it doesn’t valorize or obscure the practice.
Well, I sanitized his statement in my title.
You are entirely correct about this.
“Sex Worker” has actually been around for awhile. I remember being on a left news site around 2012. People were calling for referring to prostitution as sex work and claiming it was a choice of vocation like any other. In the late 1980s I read a softback series of interviews with women in the sex trades like porn movies who claimed it was liberating. I am against this nonsense. So you can find a handful of women who claim it is a free choice and a liberating form of self-expression. Picture Deneuve in Belle de Jour For the majority of people, it is dangerous exploitation and they are grateful to get out. As far as legalizing or decriminalizing, there are strong arguments that legalizing increases exploitation instead of making prostitution safer. Perhaps only arrest pimps and johns instead of prostitutes.
Policy issues regarding prostitution and trafficking are difficult but there is good evidence for the policy mentioned at the end of Emily’s post, in which what is illegal is the activity of the johns and pimps, not that of the prostitute. This is the “Nordic model” implemented in Sweden and Norway. There is also the issue of what prostituted women themselves say, including the two authors, Juno Mac and Molly Smith, of “Revolting Prostitutes”.
The Nordic Model makes sense only if one assumes that all prostitution is forced prostitution.
In many places in the USA, prostitution (person 1 paying person 2 for sex) is illegal, but porn (person 1 paying persons 2,3,4,… for sex, filming it, making it publicly available, and making money off of it) is legal.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prostitution_laws_of_the_world2.svg
In this regard Ecuador also calls these people “trabajadoras sexuales” and has done so for many years. It is legal here.
Not one of Maher’s funniest, but he made some solid points.
The use of “sex worker” instead of “prostitute” and the mindless “sex work is work” mantra have been around for a while thanks to retrograde “third wave” feminism, sadly.
The term “Sex Worker” tends to make this armchair economist think in terms of supply and demand. The term “Sex Worker Community” makes me think of Las Vegas.
The euphemism of sex worker seems to be another way to reduce women to objects to be used or controlled by men, in the same manner as the claim that hijabs are empowering or that sharing a locker room with unwanted nude men supports women’s rights.
🎯
A certain type of liberal believes that words are magic. Any negative connotation must somehow be attached to the word used to denote an activity or thing. Change the word. Presto! Remove the evil spell. Problem solved. All again is goodness and light.
Change the word. The job still sucks. Reminds me of the craze in my youth to rename “garbagemen” as “sanitation engineers.” Yeah, that spruces up the job.
Just pay the prostitute more; she’ll be happier no matter what you call her. And since it’s such a noble job, maybe the word magicians can line up some gigs for their mothers, wives, and daughters.
If prostitutes must now be called “sex workers” then pimps should be called “sex entrepreneurs.”
Sex worker I think incorporate both sexes, gays, trans, porn stars, etc., in the “industry” where dollars changed hands, whereas prostitution, traditionally applies to women. I could be wrong. Sure you can also say prostitution to all of the above and not be wrong, but it seemed sex worker was a more contemporary way to classify to include everyone.
Some brilliant comments here. Some funny (pimp = sex entrepreneur), but all making sound points (aka sane, in these troubled times).
Reading the comments on this website is often one of its many pleasures.
Could you take a look at this ridiculous?Article coin trying to claim that sex is not simple as male and female.I’m not an expert so I can’t look into this myself That’s why i’m reaching out to you about this https://www.sciencenews.org/article/biological-sex-male-female-intersex
Please stop calling me “coin”. Can’t you even get the spelling of my name right.
The article is the usual collection of misguided attacks on the sex binary, attacks that I have refuted many times before. Look up articles by Colin Wright.