I guess it’s more important to use language to judge prostitutes from strippers than to specify between a small-town mayor and the Speaker of the House, because “mayor” doesn’t let us think about all those dirty things he might be doing.

If the gist of the piece is about US ALL, as a group, say about our rights, legal issues or history of activism, etc., then sure, call US sex workers. But when you’re talking about ME, say stripper or escort.

And for the record, there is, in fact, a big difference between stripper and prostitute when you’re reporting on someone being accused of the latter. The maid was being accused of an illegal activity (prostitution), not just a somewhat controversial job like stripping. That’s the basis of her lawsuit and an important distinction. To have called her a sex worker would have been confusing and bad journalism.

Again, I’m not trying to be rude. And maybe I’m missing something here, but I fail to see whom you’re angry at, exactly.

It’s not confusing anymore… @nymholepsy summed it up perfectly. Like I said, I’m completely new to this world, so patience would be appreciated.

the question of labels has been being discussed for ages among all sorts of minority and/or underprivileged and/or marginalized groups (think queers, persons of color, little people and those feminists who hate to be called girls and much prefer womyn). it shouldn’t be a far reach to expect that sex workers might also want the dignity of choosing their own identifier as a collective group AND as individuals.

What does “sex for money” mean? Penis in vagina penetrative heterosexual sex? Oral sex? Anal? Handjobs? If one man only orgasms while sniffing a woman’s feet, that’s sex for him. If another guy needs to be screwed in the butt while he wears women’s clothing, that’s sex for him, even if the person behind him is fully dressed. (Hopefully s/he is wearing something washable.)

It is a mistake to think that “sex” itself is a clear cut term, which is another reason why “sex worker” is useful. If you’re worried about offending a particular someone, as Bettie said, then you ask them what you prefer. If you aren’t talking about someone specifically, “sex worker” should be fine. If you’re only referring to women who work in a strip club, stripper is probably going to do it. And if you’re only talking about folks who work in a dungeon, they’ll probably be cool with dommes or switches or submissives. Etc. I am confused about why this concept is confusing.

When in doubt, I would just say “prostitute.” It’s not a dirty or offensive word, although the stigma attached to it can be annoying.

If a prostitute describes herself as an escort, then call her that. There aren’t really any clear-cut lines as to what type of prostitute does certain kinds of things, only works from certain venues, or whatever.

*not to imply that people who exclusively have sex for money are “better.” “Better” is modifying “term” here. Sorry for the ambiguity in that clause.

Well, you wouldn’t always say “I want to hire a person to fix my toilet,” you would sometimes want to say “I want to hire a plumber.” I guess it just makes sense in my brain for people who have sex for money to have a “job title” of sorts. I get the sense that escorts are a certain type of worker who may or may not have sex for money, while other sex workers almost exclusively do a sex-for-money exchange. Are these people still escorts? Or are they prostitutes/whores/some better, non-offensive term that I don’t know?