The image of sex work is a polarizing one. Sex workers are either viewed as glamorous hustlers, portrayed as quasi-celebrities to be envied and emulated, or they are viewed as exploited victims desperately in need of not only rescue but the total extermination of our work. This black-and-white perspective ignores the myriad reasons that people choose to go into sex work, and does little justice to the day-to-day reality of being a sex worker. No two stories of sex work can be the same, just as no two individual workers are the same. The commodification of the image of the sex worker as either celebrity or victim removes our ability to be seen as equally capable human beings.
It’s Not All Thousand Dollar Days
One of the primary misconceptions affecting sex workers is the idea that all sex workers are high earning. Glassdoor cites the average earning potential for a stripper as $42,000 per year. Polls I’ve conducted using my own follower base on SequinMicroBikini, my now-defunct sex work infomeme page on Instagram, have found that the average nightly income for a stripper is about $200, with a great night being anything above $500 and a bad night being anything below $100.
Strip clubs also experience slow seasons, during which earning potential drops significantly as the clientele base decreases. This is also applicable to nearly all types of sex work- cam models and full-service sex workers also report slow periods in which they experience a drastic decrease in clientele and lessened earning potential. In America, northern cities tend to see their busiest seasons in the summer, whereas southern cities see a sharp downturn during summer and experience their busy season in the winter.
Different Individuals, Different “Earning Potential”
Factors such as race, age, size, disability, location, and gender identity and presentation also have significant effects on a sex worker’s earning potential. Trans women have reported significantly lower earnings than cisgender sex workers, with Black trans women reporting some of the lowest earning potentials of all. Disabled sex workers may be unable to work consistently for swaths of time, resulting in lowered incomes. In rural or economically disadvantaged areas, sex workers may experience a small or near to nonexistent clientele base, and as a result, may only barely stay afloat.
The reality is that sex work, like many other forms of self-employment, is often a matter of feast or famine, and is subject to massive fluctuations.
The Glitz and Glamor Isn’t Always Reflective of Reality
The glamorized image of sex work, of glittery outfits and stacks of cash, has led to the misconception that sex work is easy money. During a work meeting, a friend of mine was subjected to jokes and comments from a coworker about their past as a sex worker. The meeting was derailed as their coworker made inappropriate comments about how he wished that he, too, could sit in front of a webcam for an hour and collect an easy $1,000 a day.
Nearly every sex worker has experienced the same types of ignorant comments about the perceived easiness of our jobs, and social media has only worsened this misconception.
Strippers are assumed to make thousands every night from simply undulating around a pole and getting showered in cash. Content creators are assumed to post a single photo and rake in six figures from sites like OnlyFans. Entire websites are dedicated to pushing the false idea that sugar dating is easy and only involves texting or meeting a client for dinner with no expectation of anything further. I, along with every sex worker I know, have faced a barrage of questions from others about how they’re tired of their jobs and they heard that they can make an easy few thousand a month from selling used underwear.
Social media marketing is client-facing: it’s designed to look glamorous, attractive, and effortless because the image of a beautiful sex worker making money with ease only adds to their appeal to clients. You’re only seeing what they want you to see.
It’s More Work Than We Make It Look
Our jobs require us to be our own managers, accountants, producers, social media teams, marketers, sales representatives, editors, and web developers in addition to being on talent.
The delegitimization of the labor of sex work and assertion that sex workers are only sitting back and collecting an easy paycheck have, in part, made it incredibly difficult for sex workers to secure housing, loans, or to leave the industry if they choose. Sex work is not considered by many to be valid or legitimate work or work experience, and as a result, sex workers are often rejected from housing applications and may be unable to include their time as sex workers on a resume at all.
Work Doesn’t Have Be Empowering to Put Food On Your Table
Many draw from this delegitimization of our labor the idea that sex workers are all victims of circumstance, that sex work is inherently degrading and traumatic, and that no one would elect to become a sex worker if there were any other options available to them. While it may be true for some sex workers that this job was the only option and that they’re doing so only because of financial necessity, the same can be said of almost all entry-level jobs. I didn’t work at Whole Foods to be empowered. I did it because I needed to pay my bills, and many sex workers share that experience.
What differentiates survival sex work from survival work in a “vanilla” environment such as entry-level retail or food service jobs is the cultural attitude toward sex and criminalization of sex work. The belief that engaging in sex for money is degrading is founded on misogynist and puritanical principles dictating the sexual behavior of those affected by misogyny, and asserting that sex itself is somehow inherently degrading or shameful. This mindset coupled with criminalization has led to a crushing stigma that forces survival sex workers to engage in riskier and more desperate behavior to have their needs met.
Is There A Solution?
The solution to the problems and misconceptions affecting sex workers is a broader cultural acceptance of sex work as a profession and sex workers as laborers.
The catchphrase “sex work is work” is often touted but many fail to grasp its meaning- sex workers are workers, and all workers are inherently deserving of basic protections, the ability to conduct our work safely, and the ability to have our work respected as legitimate. Representation and glamorization are not enough to lift the stigma of sex work as a profession unless they are coupled with a larger shift toward open-mindedness about the choice to do sex work.
In order for society to reckon with this, it’s crucial that we broaden our minds and work to unlearn harmful and puritanical ideas of sex. It may feel like an uphill battle or an insurmountable challenge, but all cultural shifts do at first. Working to combat the stigma, the ostracism, and the rampant misconceptions is only the first step.