Text by Lileet_Miriam, Copyright 2024
Photography by Tony Ward,Copyright 2024
Styling by KVaughn
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Work is Work, Isn’t It?
The concept, by design, is meant to be transactional. An even exchange. You provide “x” set of skills for a particular field so therefore you should be paid “y” in return, right? The good ole “employer/employee relationship.” But, what happens when you are both the employer/employee that must rely upon a third party (cash app, social media platform, or even a reputable banking institution) that is designed, let alone meant to provide you with the steady income you worked for only to be told in return, sometimes without warning, “no, we can’t provide you with your hard earned money because THESE set of skills you possess, we actually frown upon.” Welcome to the constant struggle of the current sex worker.
As The New York Times reported in November of 2023, “workers in sex-related industries – whether creating online content, or working in a strip club or even a legal brothel, – often risk their safety and face social and employment discrimination. But a lesser-known struggle is that it’s often difficult to maintain a basic bank account and other financial relationships that most people take for granted.” The ability to maintain a business bank account, a line of credit, or to generally use the financial services of banking institutions or service providers like Zelle or Venmo, are essential to commercial undertaking. In the life of a small business operator, that quickly bleeds into one’s personal life and ability to perform basic economic functions like use a checking account, obtain a mortgage, or even keep a credit card. Unfortunately, for many sex workers, who are disproportionally women, these basic rights are denied, forcing them into a continuous cycle of financial instability and hardship.
Whether driven by moral condemnation or financial risk assessment, too often women involved in sexually explicit work find their access to banking institutions and financial service providers denied. According to a May 2023 report from the Free Speech Coalition, nearly 40% of workers in the adult sex industry have experienced account closures and denials of service in this past year alone.
Some of the dangers are clear. The inability to access financial services and banking causes significant financial instability and prevents the creation of new businesses and wealth. This cycle in turn forces workers in the adult sex industry to depend on less reliable third parties or operate through the use of far less secure payment methods like cash and cryptocurrency. The negative impact far transcends the business end of the operation for most small business operators. Lack of credit and easily documented income can quickly have a negative impact on one’s personal credit, impacting the very basic needs of modern life.
Work is work, except for when a bank decides that it is not the type of work that one should be doing. Then work becomes an arduous journey to secure a glimpse of financial security. For many women, who comprise a significant sector of modern adult sex work, this has become a reality which often compromises their ability to work for a living.
