Comments on: Sex Work Snobbery

By: An Intimate Life: Sex, Love, and My Journey As A Surrogate Partner (2013)

An Intimate Life: Sex, Love, and My Journey As A Surrogate Partner (2013) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 18:18:42 +0000

[…] her work has to do, as it so often does, with the criminalization and stigma around prostitution. (I’ve written about this before, so I’ll try not to repeat myself.) Notably absent from the entire memoir is any discussion […]

By: Sex Work Snobbery | Tits And Sass | tumblr backups

Sex Work Snobbery | Tits And Sass | tumblr backups — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:34:54 +0000

[…] Sex Work Snobbery | Tits And Sass […]

By: Douglas Fox

Douglas Fox — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:57:05 +0000

Sorry but could not resist a giggle when I saw Theirry Schaffauser being quoted as an example when he is probably one of the worst offenders when it comes to “snobbery”, especially of the inverted kind against fellow sex workers. That observation aside I would suggest that snobbery within sex work is often a reflection of a sense of pride in “your” work. Rightly or wrongly people naturally want to feel better about their work which often results in adopting what appears to be a negative attitude toward others in the same business.
Indoor sex workers for example commonly sneer at street workers but if we examine why it is usually because indoor sex workers hate being caricatured and that caricature is inevitably of the problematic street girl. How many times for example do we see articles on sex work with a photo of a scantily clad female on the streets? How many times do abolitionists and some leftist sex worker activists use examples ie she was a teenage runaway, on drugs, blah blah blah etc….These populist images, caricatures of sex work experiences feed a populist mythology that all sex work is always problematic. When the average sex workers argue against these caricatures, often clumsily, they are curtly dismissed as privileged whores and unrepresentative whores. Sex work activists on the left are ( re Thierry) often the worst offenders in silencing voices of sex workers who do not fit their politically motivated narrative that all sex work is the same, by dismissing such opposition as classist and privileged etc.

I suggest that we should be more understanding of snobbery rather than negative and use the inevitable snobbery of sex workers to create a more reflective narrative that is more representative of the diversity within the the sex worker experience. Diversity can be strength if used imaginatively.

Arguments about who or who does not use condoms for oral etc are not really snobberies but more reflections of jealousy in that the sex worker doing oral with out may get more work etc. Sex work is a market where the client rules and unless condom use is enforced for oral then inevitably some sex workers will loose out. I would argue that enforcement however is an infringement of liberty which is another argument.

By: maxine doogan

maxine doogan — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 12:37:51 +0000

Here’s some codes of ethics from the cyprian guild, our trade association from the 90’s in San Francisco that I’ve modified to fit the idea of industrial organizing.
1.) Have a sincere commitment to provide the highest quality attention to those who seek our professional services.
2.) Conduct our business and professional activities with honesty and integrity. Project a professional image in all aspects of our practices.
3.) Acknowledge the confidential nature of the professional relationship; with clients, other workers and support staff and respect union member’s right to privacy.
4.) Perform only those services for which we are qualified, and utilize techniques which protect health and safety.
5.) Keep all business agreements or renegotiate in a timely fashion.
On another note, almost everybody had run ins with the law in some form or another.

By: Recommended Reading #109: Responding to Discord

Recommended Reading #109: Responding to Discord — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:52:55 +0000

[…] “Sex Work Snobbery” by Charlotte Shane (Sex Work, Sex and Culture, Self-Awareness) 10/13/11 While often when I’ve considered […]

By: Jaeleen

Jaeleen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:48:44 +0000

Thanks so much for writing a great article!

By: Leah

Leah — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:28:25 +0000

Thank you, Charlotte, this is a concept that’s been on my mind for a while. I became aware of my own sex work snobbery a few months ago when I was getting disillusioned with the Tantric sexual healing I was offering. At the time–for a while, at least–I legitimately believed in what I was doing, and I felt very attached to the idea of my clients taking away more than just a “superficial” sexual gratification. Because of that mindset I naturally fell into the habit of contrasting my services from those of others as a way of not only legitimizing myself but also as a way of making the hustle; it seemed clients who were visiting me for this “deeper” work also wanted to distinguish THEMSELVES from other clients who just wanted to have sex with whores (they all think they’re not like other guys, don’t they?), so in an attempt to elevate our entire experience above that of more crude ones, I often found myself speaking negatively of the enigmatic “other providers” who were, in our collective mind, sketchy and skanky.
+1

By: Sex News: Male Rape, Amber Cole, Facebook Labels Breast Cancer Survivors “Porn” | BLOG erosexyshop

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:15:43 +0000

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By: Sex News: Male Rape, Amber Cole, Facebook Labels Breast Cancer Survivors “Porn” | MISTERSEX

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:30:51 +0000

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By: SEXXXYSHOP BLOG - Sex News: Male Rape, Amber Cole, Facebook Labels Breast Cancer Survivors “Porn”

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:18:13 +0000

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