“I invented sex work. Not the activity, of course. The term. This invention was motivated by my desire to reconcile my feminist goals with the reality of my life and the lives of the women I knew. I wanted to create an atmosphere of tolerance within and outside the women’s movement for women working in the sex industry.”
- Carol Leigh, aka Scarlet Harlot,
in her essay “Inventing Sex Work” (1997)
Every year since 1976, June 2nd has been observed as International Whores’ Day, also known as International Sex Workers’ Day. While the occasion is absolutely one of celebration and elevation of sex workers everywhere, the primary intention behind International Sex Workers’ Day is to center and advance the project of sex worker liberation particularly as it relates to labor rights and working conditions.
As our opening quote from activist, artist, author, and sex worker Carol Leigh (1951-2022) illustrates, the goal of solidifying sex workers’ rights as squarely within the realm of workers’ rights more generally is an explicitly feminist goal. Despite all-too-often condescending and ill-informed critique from those who would demonize sex workers or erroneously conflate them with victims of sex trafficking, the project of sex worker liberation and enfranchisement is firmly rooted in considerations of consent and the rights to self-determination and bodily autonomy. Looking through an intersectional feminist lens, the fight for sex workers’ rights is both theoretically and practically intertwined with anti-racist action and queer liberation, with sex workers of color and transgender sex workers being at even greater risk of violence.
Why June 2nd? To answer that, let’s go back to France in the early-to-mid 1970s—and particularly, the city of Lyon. Increasingly, those engaged in (what we would now call) sex work found themselves struggling against intolerable and inhumane working conditions, with local police offering consistent harassment and antagonism rather than protection. Following a series of murders of sex workers in 1975, as well as subsequent government inaction, enough was enough: over a hundred sex workers gathered together to occupy the Saint-Nizier Church and demand recognition, respect, legal reform, and better working conditions. As the national and then international news reported on the protest, several other church occupations occurred throughout France. Eventually, on June 10th, those occupying Saint-Nizier Church were ousted by police, with the government continuing to undermine and minimize the efforts of those desperate for change.
Today, the struggle continues—and the movement continues to grow. Organizations including (but not limited to) the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the World Health Organization all support the decriminalization of consensual, adult sex work. (It’s worth noting that the qualifiers “consensual” and “adult” are included there largely for clarification and emphasis, since nonconsensual activity—including activity by those who are incapable of giving consent—would not fall under the scope of sex work.)
If you’re wondering why the push is for decriminalization rather than legalization, the sex-worker advocacy organization Decriminalize Sex Work (DSW) maintains a detailed FAQ and resource list to address exactly that question.
So you’ve read the FAQ, perused the resources, and now—even though you’re maybe not a sex worker yourself—you find yourself wondering how you might join the cause and help out? Here are a few suggestions:
First, reflect on and challenge your stereotypes of what—and who—sex workers are. The reality is that sex workers come from all walks of life, claim all manners of identities, and engage in a wide range of work activities: escorting, camming, video and other content creation, dancing, professional Domination, and more. The scope of sex work is vast and diverse, as are the persons who engage in it.
Beyond that, realize that you are probably not as far removed from the world of sex work as you might initially think. It might seem to you that you don’t know any sex workers—that’s almost certainly false. You almost certainly do. And the odds are even higher that you know someone who has, at some point, engaged in sex work or will someday do so. Current, past, and future sex workers are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our family, and our partners.
Next: this is also a good time to critically examine your own assumptions about work, labor, capitalism and their relation to sex. It might seem to you that the situation of the sex worker who isn’t terribly enthusiastic about their job but goes to work in order to make rent and pay the bills is somehow different from that of the coal miner or fast-food worker operating under the same attitudes and for the same reasons. If so, you might pause and ask: why? Is the difference merely that, while all three involve labor in some sense mandated under capitalism, the situation of the sex worker strikes you as somehow worse simply because it involves sex work? Central to allyship in the project of sex worker liberation is really understanding that sex workers’ rights are workers’ rights because sex work is, indeed, work. Conceive of it as such, and treat it as such.
Finally—but not really, since the work of allyship is never actually done—always keep in mind that when working alongside or in support of sex workers (or any other marginalized demographic): there should be nothing about us without us. If your allyship isn’t centering the testimony and lived experience of sex workers, particularly those at highest risk for violence and oppression, it is simply incomplete and misguided, no matter how well-intentioned. When sex workers talk about their struggles, their working conditions, and their proposed solutions, listen to them. Take their words to heart. Let those words guide your advocacy.
When sex workers declare, over and over, that they want and need rights, not rescue—hear them.
The Sexual Health Alliance recognizes that no conversation about sexual health is either adequate or complete if it excludes or ignores the experiences, perspectives, or voices of sex workers. On International Sex Workers’ Day and every day besides, we honor and support the sex workers in our community and beyond. We invite you to do the same.
Written by Ley David Elliette Cray, PhD, CSC, ABS (she/they).