Sex industry lobbyists: who are they and what the hell is their problem?
First of all: credit where credit is due. I want to thank no-amanda and her curiosity for inspiring me to write this scribble. Go follow her, sheâs a very sensible, cool woman who blogs about radical stuff, such as feminism, animal rights and other politics.
Now, this writing will be a (probably incomplete) list of archetypes for the sorts of people that together make up the sex industry lobby. I will try to not name any names, nicknames or other identities, for obvious reasons: I donât like being abused and I know what these people are capable of. The names for the archetypes I use are entirely made up, they are not at all formal consensus on how people call these groups of individuals in any discourse. So keep this in mind.
The Profiteer: They are the brothel owners, pimps, lady-pimps (my own word for âmadamesâ, which sounds way too classy in my opinion), escort agencies, (ethically) corrupt officials and leeching âboyfriendsâ that make good money off of commercial sexual exploitation. Itâs obvious what their stake is in a flourishing sex industry. These people (with the exception of the women) tend to hide behind the screens, as they know how it would look if theyâd speak about it in public. An example of their influence is the (financial) infiltration of Amnesty International.
The Payroll Lobbyist: Probably one of my favourite assholes in the lobby, because they are sinister as fuck. When people hear the word âpayroll lobbyistâ, they think of Mafia movies, suitcases full of money and âoffers you cannot refuseâ. Reality is a bit different, because thatâs not how this actually works. Lobbyists most often arenât literally bought, they simply get financial support for a job they were already doing or something they already were sympathetic about. If they stop being sympathetic to the industry or do their job âwrongâ, they lose their financial support from the archetypal Profiteers. Payroll lobbyists are often researchers, sexologists, sexual health educators, journalists, politicians or other useful professionals. This can get so ridiculous that in Germany, STI/AIDS organisations can formally oppose condom use in brothels, because influential members are on a payroll.
The âSex Workerâ: During many dark periods in human history, oppressed people often have been set up against one another, to oppress their peers for favours from the oppressor. The term âUncle Tomâ found its way into our vocabulary because of this. Prostituted persons are no different. The âsex workers rights movementâ is a euphemism, but there is a core of truth to it: there is some unity among the Uncle Toms of the sex industry to get the most out of what they do. Many of them work in the relatively âsofterâ (take this word with a grain of salt) sectors of the sex industry: they are strippers, camgirls, phone sex operators or dominatrixes. Their motivations are hard to pinpoint: some honestly really feel they enjoy what they do, some have their financial situation in mind, some truly came to believe theyâd be safer under decriminalisation or legalisation and some are pragmatic and have only in mind to get rid of their criminal record (in countries where selling sex is illegal). On Tumblr (but also Twitter and other social media) people who claim to be part of this group are very vocal.
The John: There is some overlap between the payroll lobbyist and this group of course, because many johns are powerful men in powerful professions who would love to keep indulging their sexual appetite. Not much has to be said about this type of person: they may hide that theyâre johns, but itâs very clear why they propagate an unrestricted sex industry.
The Pornographer: The porn equivalent of the Profiteer archetype. They have a very similar Modus operandi, just for a different sector. One difference is that porn is legal in many places, so they can permit themselves a lot more lobbying freedom. The power of this side of the lobby was demonstrated in the fight against Measure B (mandatory condom use in Californiaâs porn business). I think they tried every trick in the book to avoid such a simple, yet important health and safety measure for porn performers. (More on this here).
The Pawn: This archetype always makes me sad, theyâre often found in the pornography sector. In this case I can even name names, because as pawns theyâre placed as examples in the public sphere. Women like Miriam Weeks (Belle Knox) or Sasha Grey are being used by pornographers to tell a convenient story in the media. All the words of sexual empowerment by Sasha Grey in the media are actually those of her former pimp Ian Cinnamon (source), spoken through her mouth. Technically these women are part of the lobby, albeit - just like the Sex Worker archetype - arenât all what we would think of as what a lobbyist entails.
The Sex Positivist: Ah, the sex positive movement, not really lobbyists, but definitely worth mentioning. I certainly donât want to imply that all people who consider themselves sex positive are selfish, cruel bastards who hate women, children and some men (I love you sex-positive-anti-porn ;-) ), but a lot of them certainly are. They are the happy consumers of sexually violent porn and without their addicted brains, what would the sex industry be? These folks are all too glad to break their keyboards online defending commercial sexual exploitation for the sake of their own boners. Of course this dynamic is fiercely debated among feminists and Iâm one of those people who does acknowledge that liberal women are pressured and manipulated into âsex positivityâ since their tweens. But it still pisses me off. Some of these women are victims themselves, but too stuck to do anything. Please know that there is help and that we all make mistakes: changing your mind about sexual violence is nothing to be ashamed of.
This is already quite a long piece, so Iâm calling it a day. Are you now super interested in getting to know our favorite powerhungry (homophobes and) misogynists better and would like to read more? I might do another one of these Sextrade Lobby 101 writings in the future. Stay tuned, stay safe and smash the patriarchy. :)
