We live in patriarchal societies premised on male superiority over women and girls. Many of the images we see and the media we consume sexualize and objectify women and girls, feeding a system grounded on discrimination and violence against women. These images and attitudes contribute to normalizing sex-based and gender-based violence and discrimination. The sex trade is both a cause and consequence of this system. By its very nature, it reduces women to sexual objects that can be bought and sold for the pleasure and entertainment of men and the profit of third-party exploiters. The media and academia often glamorize the sex trade, ignoring its inherent harms and life-long consequences. A culture that accepts the sex trade is one that normalizes violence and discrimination against women and girls. When women are objectified, bought and sold, all women can be perceived as commodities by society.

Other branches of the sex trade, like strip clubs and pornography, play a major role in normalizing these attitudes toward women and girls as well as the entire trade itself. While strip clubs are mistakenly believed to be harmless to the women they employ, these establishments are rife with sexual harassment, violence and exploitation.

A lot of pop culture has been molded by and has generated harmful gender norms. Pornography has done the same to pop culture. Porn has influenced much of the media and entertainment that is part of our daily lives, from advertisements to song lyrics to video games, normalizing and desensitizing us to sexualized inequality. With 88% of porn videos showing physical aggression, sexual violence against women is normalized. Together, this creates what sociologist Gail Dines calls porn culture, where women are reduced to sexual objects for consumption and the notion of consent is redefined.

Glorifying any aspect of the sex trade perpetuates dehumanization, gender-based violence and discrimination, and porn culture. Without understanding these connections, we’ll never be able to achieve equality.

Further reading:

Prostitution as Financial Aid: Three College Students Speak Out | An Evolution from Selling “Sex Tips” to Selling Porn: Cosmopolitan Joins Forces with the Porn Industry

To watch:

#WomenNotObjects | The Truth About Porn

A Note on Terminology

The words we use – to describe people, systems, political and social movements – have far-reaching consequences. The terms “sex work” and “sex worker” were coined and aggressively promoted by  individuals and groups that aim to legalize or decriminalize the system of prostitution. The characterization of prostitution as a form of labor normalizes the sex trade and conceals its inherent violence. The International Labour Organization states that “decent work involves opportunities that are productive and deliver a fair income, security in the workplace, and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration…”. The sex trade offers no such opportunities.

Historically, the word “prostitute” has been used to degrade women in prostitution. It is also used to denote criminality. In many penal codes, “prostitute” is the identifier of someone committing a listed crime; however, the codes don’t identify people as “murderer,” “thief,” “carjacker,” etc. The word “prostitute” implies that she has full control of the system that is harming or exploiting her – erasing sex buyers, third party exploiters, and the sex trade itself as actors responsible for the injuries perpetrated against her. It is also a term used to stigmatize her, although the system of prostitution is inherently stigmatizing in every country around the world.

Better terminology is “prostituted woman/person” or “woman/person in prostitution” to reflect what is done to that woman or person.