top of page
Writer's pictureThembeka Heidi Sincuba

Why Sex Workers are Heroes

Updated: Apr 15, 2022


Critics of sex work find it hard to grasp how one could sell their body. Yet they have no problem accepting the work a coal miner, a builder, a sportsman, an actor or a model do, which all involve lending one's body, often at great risk, for financial compensation.


What most people don't understand is that it is not necessarily the body that is being sold in sex work. It is love. The erotic. Unfortunately, many clients seek out sex workers as a last resort. Often these are people who are unable to fulfill their sexual desires elsewhere. They are either stigmatized because of their desires or simply because of their bodies or character.


People often associate sex work with debauchery and while that is one aspect of it, a lot of clients really need erotic services. Because of misguided morality, the client is often guilt-ridden and fearful of condemnation. Even though he may love his wife or girlfriend, church, or job, he risks seeking out a sex worker because of a genuine need.


We live in an unethical society riddled with unspeakable atrocities. Take it from a sex worker, the world would be much worse without us. You don't want what we purge to be roaming the streets. What we do is real work and it benefits, not just us and the client, but the wider community as a whole. Sex workers are helping to fix things that are often broken.


People who judge sex workers are delusional. No matter what their opinions are of sex workers, one thing remains - the clients who engage in sex work are part of their community. Their friends, lovers, husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons are the ones that have kept this, the oldest profession universally profitable for so long. They find us on the street, in bars, publications, or online, and they keep coming back.


The decriminalization of sex work is imminent and integral not only to the feminist movement but to human rights. Not only do sex workers deserve legal aid and medical care, but protection and reciprocal communal care. Their education, sexual and emotional health should be of communal concern. These women are mothers, sisters, and daughters. They should make their own choices about their bodies and how they choose to make a living. But they should also be commended for the work they do for our communities.



Comments


bottom of page