Do It Yourself
I am often righteously angry at people who advocate a position that sex industry work is either empowering for women or that it is always a good thing for people to get involved in if they are of lower socio-economic status. The reason being that, when I peek behind the veil of the advocate's identity, I often find individuals who would never think of going into that particular line of work for themselves.
What I have found is that those who are such wonderful advocates for the sex industry have never been around it, never worked in it, know nothing of it other than from a feminist theoretical perspective. They have read and read and believe all they have read. Often they are highly educated and have never personally needed to come within direct contact with it.
They believe that it is "humaine" to encourage those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale to get into it. After all, they are the "poor unfortunates" and can "economically empower" themselvs by doing sex work.
If it's so "economically empowering," why don't you try it for a bit? Or, is it that someone with your fancy education and social standing doesn't need to do it, and sex industry work is only for those who are in such dire financial straits that they *need* to do it?
Hypocricy at its worst.
The other contingent who encourage sex industry work, esp. among young people, are educators who are also full of theory and lacking in experience. In their case, I see the motive a bit differently. Their self-deception comes, in part, from reasons a bit purient. They actually like to have sexual fantasies about the young people they encourange. They like to believe that they are giving the young people the freedom that they didn't have.
But, I can honestly say that anyone between the ages of 30 and 50 has not been stifled by the society so that they could not explore sex work. We didn't grow up in the repressed 1950s. We grew up in a time when it was definitley okay to do what you wanted. I see these vociferous encouragers as chicken-shits. With their maternal/paternal mentoring they are trying to live thru the young people by getting them to do what they themselves were too lilly-livered to try. They would like young people to go out and do what they could have but were too scared to try, and then have the young people come back and tell them how it was.
If that isn't the height of hypocricy and cowardice, I don't know what is.
My advice to all these well-meaning intellecutals and upper-class class promoters of economic opportunity is this: get off your ass and do it yourself.
If you firmly believe that sex industry work is such a cool thing, put your fears of falling off the social ladder or hurting your parents or going against your religion or of endangering your tenured position aside and get your ass out there on the front lines. There are plenty of places to go and things to do in the sex industry for pretty pretty people who aren't chronological youngsters--and places where you won't get arrested. Go be an escort or dancer or pro-domme or go make a porn film. Don't give me the crappy argument that you are too old, given that I was able to be a pro-domme in my 40's, and there are many successful escorts who are also in their 40s, and that most male porn actors are in their 30's.
Stop being hypocritical cowards and experience what you advocate.
And when you can say you've been there and done that, your arguments will have far more credibility than they previously had.
Or do you just fear having your perfect theoretical world shattered?
What I have found is that those who are such wonderful advocates for the sex industry have never been around it, never worked in it, know nothing of it other than from a feminist theoretical perspective. They have read and read and believe all they have read. Often they are highly educated and have never personally needed to come within direct contact with it.
They believe that it is "humaine" to encourage those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale to get into it. After all, they are the "poor unfortunates" and can "economically empower" themselvs by doing sex work.
If it's so "economically empowering," why don't you try it for a bit? Or, is it that someone with your fancy education and social standing doesn't need to do it, and sex industry work is only for those who are in such dire financial straits that they *need* to do it?
Hypocricy at its worst.
The other contingent who encourage sex industry work, esp. among young people, are educators who are also full of theory and lacking in experience. In their case, I see the motive a bit differently. Their self-deception comes, in part, from reasons a bit purient. They actually like to have sexual fantasies about the young people they encourange. They like to believe that they are giving the young people the freedom that they didn't have.
But, I can honestly say that anyone between the ages of 30 and 50 has not been stifled by the society so that they could not explore sex work. We didn't grow up in the repressed 1950s. We grew up in a time when it was definitley okay to do what you wanted. I see these vociferous encouragers as chicken-shits. With their maternal/paternal mentoring they are trying to live thru the young people by getting them to do what they themselves were too lilly-livered to try. They would like young people to go out and do what they could have but were too scared to try, and then have the young people come back and tell them how it was.
If that isn't the height of hypocricy and cowardice, I don't know what is.
My advice to all these well-meaning intellecutals and upper-class class promoters of economic opportunity is this: get off your ass and do it yourself.
If you firmly believe that sex industry work is such a cool thing, put your fears of falling off the social ladder or hurting your parents or going against your religion or of endangering your tenured position aside and get your ass out there on the front lines. There are plenty of places to go and things to do in the sex industry for pretty pretty people who aren't chronological youngsters--and places where you won't get arrested. Go be an escort or dancer or pro-domme or go make a porn film. Don't give me the crappy argument that you are too old, given that I was able to be a pro-domme in my 40's, and there are many successful escorts who are also in their 40s, and that most male porn actors are in their 30's.
Stop being hypocritical cowards and experience what you advocate.
And when you can say you've been there and done that, your arguments will have far more credibility than they previously had.
Or do you just fear having your perfect theoretical world shattered?
posted by Tish Grier at 10:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home