Sex Workers Discover New Political Clout, Rolling Stone Reports

Of the many new political developments in 2018, including record numbers of women elected to the United States House of Representatives, one of the most remarkable and least discussed would be the emergence of sex workers as voting and activist bloc. A new article in Rolling Stone magazine online documents the new, politically outspoken movement among sex workers to advocate for their own rights often in the face of overwhelming opposition from both politicians and the public. “Not long ago, most porn stars, escorts, strippers and cam-girls wouldn’t feel comfortable entering the political scuffle,” wrote Rolling Stone reporter Jennifer Swann. “But thanks to a confluence of factors—including Stormy Daniels, arguably the world’s most famous sex worker, making herself a symbol of the anti-Trump resistance—the sex-work community has become America’s newest niche political bloc.” While attempts and movements to decriminalize sex work have been around for decades, Swan observes that, “it wasn’t until the passage of the so-called Online Trafficking bill SESTA/FOSTA last spring that many workers began to organize locally, forming grassroots coalitions not just to oppose the bill but also to support sex work decriminalization efforts more broadly.” The so-called SESTA/FOSTA bill, passed earlier this year, is purportedly aimed at curtailing online sex trafficking by making online sites liable for any sex trafficking activity on their sites by third-party users—such as online classified ads or social media postings—even if the site owners have no idea that illegal activity is taking place, as AVN.com has reported.  But even the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the law could actually make law enforcement’s job of chasing actual sex traffickers more difficult. At the same time, sex workers who rely on their online presence to operate their own businesses and screen out potentially dangerous customers have been forced offline onto the perilous streets.  As sex worker groups have become more outspoken against the law and in support of their own right to practice their trade, a small number of political candidates have spoken in support of their cause. As AVN.com reported, Julia Salazar—who won a seat in the New York State Senate in the November elections—made sex worker rights a key plank of her platform and as a result, a collective of more than 100 sex workers supported her candidacy, organizing campaign and fundraising events.  Suraj Patel, a New York University professor staging a first-time bid for Congress, also openly courted the votes of sex workers, taking a strong position against SESTA/FOSTA, though he ultimately lost his primary bid to unseat incumbent Carolyn Maloney, a SESTA/FOSTA supporter. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ousted longtime Democratic incumbent Joseph Crowley in a district covering parts of New York City’s outer boroughs, also staked out a position against the “sex trafficking” bill. In Washington, D.C., Rolling Stone reported, sex worker advocates helped crafty a bill to decriminalize sex work introduced by city council member David Grosso, while sex-worker organizations in San Francisco are leading a legal push to declare the state’s anti-prostitution laws unconstitutional. “I’ve never seen sex workers begin organizing in the way they did following SESTA-FOSTA,” sex worker activist Siouxsie Q told Rolling Stone. “Enough was enough.” Photo By Fibonacci Blue / Flickr Creative Commons