Beyond Stigmatisation, Moralism, and Reductionism: Philosophical Guidelines for Research, Media Representation, and Policy-Making on the Topic of Sex Work

This essay offers an ethical and philosophical framework for researchers, policy-makers, film-makers, and writers working on the topic of sex work. It argues that in order to provide a more accurate and useful representation of the industry, three philosophical shifts have to take place. The first shift is from stigmatising sex workers to picturing them as complex, diverse, and whole human beings. The societal gaze upon sex workers tends to depict them as undesirables who have to be hidden, deviants who have to be cured, or victims who have to be saved. To challenge this stigmatisation process, Iuse Martin Buber’s concept of the I-Thou relationship, Maria Lugones’ concepts of world-travelling and the loving gaze, Linda LeMoncheck’s concept of care respect, and Kimberl Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality. The second shift is from moral ethics to pragmatic ethics. A pragmatic approach interrogates the practical consequences of our beliefs and rejects the idea that there is a universal ethical principle. It allows us to depart from a moral judgement of sex work itself and instead focus on sex workers’ experiences and needs. The third shift is from considering sex work as an isolated topic to embracing an approach based on Edgar Morin’s concept of complex thought, in order to address the systemic interdependencies and multidimensionalities of the topic.