The term ‘sex worker’ was coined by Carole Leigh in the late 1970’s. Before this, sex workers, who have historically been overwhelmingly women, were referred to as prostitutes, which means ‘to put to an unworthy use’ or ‘to expose to public shame.’ Although the term ‘sex worker’ is relatively new, it has since, through activist work, been adopted as the official term to describe the act of sexual service for money and is used by leading organisations – such as the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/Aids, and the World Health Organisation.
The reasons for this are manifold; the first is to describe sex work as it is practised in countries where sex work is legal. The buying and selling of sex has existed as far back as written records: ‘prostitutes’ can be found as far back as Ancient Egypt, where a Greek prostitute called Rhopopis supposedly built a pyramid with her earnings, to Ancient Rome, where rent from a brothel was a legitimate income for a respectable man. Various governments and rulers have made efforts throughout history to restrict prostitution, but most have been unsuccessful due to the unrelenting demand for the trade. Now, in the 21st century, the pragmatic approach is often taken that it is better for prostitution to be legal and regulated. Germany is an example of this, where sex workers undergo a medical exam and are then given licences, where they can then work in slick bars for high earnings. If this industry is legal and regulated by law as a field of work, it is accurate to describe it as ‘sex work’. Especially with the invention of pornography and sites such as OnlyFans, where selling of sex has become more ‘flexible,’ a more readily available means of income, it feels appropriate for many to have a descriptor to accurately describe ‘prostitution’ as a practical form of work.
The second motivation behind the term ‘sex worker’ is that it is often considered a more inclusive and accepting term. The word ‘prostitute’ does not refer to the work, but rather to the woman (or man). Nowadays, many sex workers would rather use a term which reflects their independence and agency rather than one which is used to portray the sex worker as a powerless and unfortunate victim of circumstances or can be considered a derogatory term alongside words such as ‘harlot’, ‘strumpet’, or ‘whore’.
This is not a view shared by everybody, or even all sex workers for that matter. Many women argue that the effort to rebrand paid-for sex as a respectable field of ‘work,’ and to use the terms ‘sex work’ and ‘sex worker,’ has a more sinister aim: to disguise the harsh reality of prostitution. To abolitionists of sex work, it is insidious to claim that sex work should be considered a form of work like any other because it often does not require experience or participation – a person can be used for sex while drugged or unconscious, and does not have to be of age – in some cases, experience is regarded as a disadvantage. In a study conducted across South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Zambia and the US, it was found that 92% of sex workers wanted to leave sex work. 73% reported being physically assaulted in their work; 62% reported being raped, and 67% met criteria for a PTSD diagnosis. The term ‘sex worker’ perhaps has more humanity to it, yet Johns (people who pay for sexual acts) and pimps are given names which remove any notion of seediness or corruption: client and procurer. But sex work is a business rife with paedophilia, grooming, coercion, sex-trafficking and rape.
It is dangerous work, even when regulated, and it is doubtful to some that a distinction can even be made between safe and unsafe sex work because the demand for both comes from the desires of some men to assert dominance over women through sex, often aggressively, and the supply of it promotes the idea that consent can be bought. The sex industry is indiscriminate in the types of sex work it profits from, ethical or otherwise. For many sex workers, the decision to go into sex work was not one of independence and agency – they were driven to it by poverty, hardship, trauma, drugs, or grooming – many sex workers are underage when they make the decision to go into sex work. And for those who have been trafficked, it is simply not a decision at all. To claim that it is the independent choice of a sex worker to sell themselves disregards these factors which often cause people to go into sex work, and if this person has a traumatic or difficult experience in the work – as is often the case – both politically in countries which have legalised sex work, and socially, they are a portrayed as a willing agent in a scheme which they have been a victim of.
‘Prostitute’ is undoubtedly a disparaging term. In 500AD, St Augustine described ‘prostitutes’ as a group separate from ordered society, but necessary for society to maintain order: ‘Remove prostitutes from human affairs, and you will unsettle everything because of lusts; place them in the position of matrons, and you will dishonour these latter by disgrace and ignominy.’ Regardless of whether sex work is ethical, the term ‘prostitute’ attacks the women, not the work, nor the men who control them and profit from their suffering. Even when ‘prostitutes’ were considered reprehensible, pimps were not – men could respectably profit from their labour (and suffering)ю But it is important that, while supporting the drive to treat empowered sex workers with respect, we do not overlook the sex workers who are not empowered or independent, whose voices are often unheard.
