Supporting Queer Sex Workers: How and Why

By Dr. Laura McGuire

Sex work is term and concept that is, at best, misunderstood and vilified at worst. While almost everyone has benefited from sex workers’ labor at some point in their lives, few acknowledge this fact or think about the lack of support or rights that these artists and healers have in western modern society.

If you respond “yes” to any of these statements, you have benefited from the labor of sex workers:

I have watched porn.
I have gone to a strip club.
I called a phone sex line.
I have watched a burlesque show.
I have financially supported someone on the basis of dating me. 
I have selected a restaurant or bar because the servers were dressed in a sexual manner.

Sex work is an ancient and sacred vocation—in centuries past, sex workers were employed by pagan temples and the Catholic Church, and sex work continues to be present in every world culture today (even some primates have sex workers). Sex work includes everything from exotic dancing to porn performers to escorts to dominatrixes to sexual surrogates and sugar babies, to name a few. One of the greatest challenges that modern sex workers face is the misconception that consensual sex work is the same as human sex trafficking. This lack of knowledge surrounding the sex work industry has led to recent legislation like the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and the Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA)—laws that were passed in 2018 with the intention of protecting trafficking victims, but ones that made no distinction between trafficking victims and sex workers. In turn, these laws shut down the majority of online sites that provided sex workers with tools for vetting clients, finding community resources, and which had kept sex workers off the streets and safe in their homes.

As queer people, we know what it is like to face a world that demonizes and misconstrues our reality. Add that to that fact that many queer people are sex workers themselves, and you can imagine how challenging navigating safety and support can be, especially under our current administration. This fall, I got to talk to two of my fellow Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP) board of directors members to gain insight into how queer folks can better connect with and support our sex worker siblings.

Dr. Laura McGuire: Do you mind introducing yourselves—name, titles, pronouns, and any other identities you want to share?

Cris Bleaux, SWOP USA board member: I use he/him/his pronouns and am a queer person.

Justice Rivera, SWOP USA president: She/they pronouns. I identify as a queer Jew Rican.

How do you define sex work? What are some common misconceptions about this term?

CB: I define sex work as any type of transaction that involves utilizing sex or sexuality for goods or money. This can mean anything from escorting to pornography to burlesque. The spectrum is huge. I’ve seen a lot of folks try to like cling to “acceptable” sex work while ignoring or shaming other types. For example, legal sex work is okay, but illegal is not, and honestly, this is not okay especially when it comes from sex workers themselves. There needs to be solidarity among all types of sex workers.

JR: The exchange of sexual services for something of value.

What is your personal experience with sex work and sex worker advocacy?

CB: I’ve been an on/off sex worker since my late teens. I’ve done escorting, street sex work, and burlesque at different points in my life. As for advocacy, I am currently on the board of the Sex Workers Outreach Project.

JR: I began doing survival sex work around 2008, but I didn’t call it that. I worked the streets a bit too back then. I stopped doing sex work for awhile, as it was really tied up with problematic drug use for me. During that period, I was connected to groups of drug users and sex workers who organized to keep each other safe and cared for, which really transformed a lot of the internalized stigma I held about what I was doing. I have been involved in sex worker rights advocacy ever since (about seven years now).

What are the statistics on LGBTQ–identified sex workers? Do you feel the queer community at large supports our sex worker siblings? Why or why not?

CB: [Those statistics are] not well documented. It’s complicated because sex workers are rarely seen as a population, while LGBTQ folks are also typically poorly documented (hello, Census!) and this creates unreliable statistics. I think the queer community is split—a lot of queer folks are sex workers, but it seems those that hold on to these heteronormative ideals tend to be more likely to find sex work shameful.

JR: I think it depends. Most of the Internet-based sex workers I know identify as part of the queer and/or trans community. I recently had the opportunity to do some community-based research with street-based workers in Seattle, and I was surprised that only 30 percent identified as LGBTQ. It is hard to capture the industry as a whole because it is so vast. Regardless, I generally don’t feel that sex workers are supported by the LGBTQ community.

How does a queer identity impact being a sex worker and receiving community support?

CB: There’s a lot of shame that can go around and be assigned to sex workers by other people. I am really lucky that I live in a city that has an LGBTQ health center that is trauma–informed and sex worker friendly. When I was about 21 or so, I came out to their nurses about being a sex worker and they were so supportive. I had never felt fully empowered as a sex worker until those in community–centered nonprofits affirmed me (this is a personal experience, as I did not find the actual sex worker community for many years when I was active).

JR: It’s really only weird with my clients.

What are the three most common myths about sex work that you see being spread in 2018?

CB: That we are traffickers or do not care about trafficking victims/survivors.

JR: 1) All sex work is coercive/trafficking; 2) All sex buyers are exploitative and need to be punished; and 3) Only straight cis women are sex workers.

How can individuals get involved in supporting sex workers within the LGBTQ community?

CB: Call us by name. Have support groups for us. Host December 17th (Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers) events and vigils. Realize that we are a part of your community and family and friends and have always been and will always continue to be. But it’s critical you recognize us and affirm us.

JR: Come to our events, donate to our fundraisers, work with us to become educated on our issues.

What organizations can we connect with and donate to?

CB: SWOP USA, but also look into your local city or town and see if SWOP has a local chapter. They need love and support too.

JR: SWOP USA and SWOP Behind Bars; St. James Infirmary; HIPS; Women with a Vision; Project Safe; Sex Workers Project; and Reframe Health and Justice.

Any final thoughts?

CB: Hug your local sex worker. Screw FOSTA/SESTA. Empower people.

To learn more or donate, check out swopusa.org.