Lily Phillips & the Politics of Sex Work
Diabolical Lies
Intro
This chapter tackles the sensitive topic of sex work through a feminist lens, opening with a trigger warning for specific listeners. It features an engaging discussion on the cultural implications and societal perceptions surrounding women's bodies and desires, inspired by the experiences of British sex worker Lily Phillips.
In this conversation…
Let’s get spicy, y’all! Today, we’re talking about the politics of consensual sex work, through the lens of a recent, extremely viral documentary that covered sex worker and OnlyFans influencer Lily Phillips’s 100-men-in-a-day sex stunt. If you haven’t watched the documentary yet, we’ve embedded it in this post for your easy viewing pleasure. And yes, this documentary is safe for work; the curse words are censored and there’s no actual nudity. The same cannot be said for the podcast episode. You’ve been warned!
A note: this conversation was recorded prior to the are-they-or-aren’t-they viral drama of Phillips and fellow influencer-sex-worker Bonnie Blue both claiming they are pregnant within hours of one another, but for apparently different reasons (?), so we didn’t cover that. But please sound off in the comments if you’d like to discuss!
References in This Episode
The video of Ben Shapiro insisting quite seriously that women who fuck around will always eventually find out
“Lily Phillips, OnlyFans and the big lie that sex work is good for you,” a rollicking ride of a think piece by Tanya Gold which dares to ask the question on everyone’s mind these days: What if women are not, in fact, sentient?
“Shame on the men exploiting Lily Phillips,” a left-wing take by feminist Julie Bindel that will show you just how bipartisan the hatred for sex work truly is <3
“Men in the Lily Phillips’ Experiment Are the Real Victims,” an essay by Liz Plank that is honestly the most normal review we covered lol
“The Dirty Secrets of Pompeii,” a kind of touristy verbal romp through the fuckfests of Pompeii
“Sex Work Through the Ages,” a very accessible deep dive on sex work that features our gurl Valeria Messalina sucking and fucking her way through life
“The 7 Most Common Fantasies — and How Many People Have Ever Had Them,” a survey/data study on sexual fantasies by social psychologist Jeff Lehmiller of the Kinsey Institute, which—plot twist—actually took women’s fantasies into consideration
“What Kinds of Porn do Men and Women Watch Most Often?,” another survey by Lehmiller on the relative kinkiness across genders
“A Heated Debate: Theoretical Perspectives of Sexual Exploitation and Sex Work,” a nice li’l academic paper on this topic that can serve as a puritanical palate cleanser amid all this raunchiness
“Sex Worker-Led Provision of Services in New Zealand: Optimising Health and Safety in a Decriminalised Context,” which explains what they are doing right in the LAND DOWN UNDAH
“The Real Impact of the Swedish Model on Sex Workers,” a report by Global Network of Sex Work Projects, a nonprofit that advocates for the health and human rights of sex workers, that is just generally helpful
“The Audacity of Tolerance: A Critical Analysis of Legalized Prostitution in Amsterdam’s Red Light District,” a report by Humanity in Action, an international nonprofit organization that educates and connects young leaders on issues related to human and minority rights, about why sex workers hate *special rules*
“Dominance Feminism: Placing Sexualized Power at the Center,” a kind of dry academic paper about dominance feminism (honestly just read the abstract and you’ll get the gist lol)
“The Kingdom in the Closet,” a great overview of the profound contradictions taking place within OuR tReAsUREd eCoNomIC pArTnER, Saudi Arabia!, written by Nadya Labi for The Atlantic
And of course, a link to the GREATEST PODCAST (BESIDES THIS ONE) OF ALL TIME. Highly recommend the gang bang episode, the Saudi Arabia episode, the sex workers in New South Wales episode, though honestly, all of them are—wait for it—bangers
Bonus Reading
“4 Sex Workers Answer On How Much They Actually Earn,” an amazing Financial Diet rundown that shows just how much a sex worker’s life/finances/schedule/offerings can vary
“[What the Lily Phillips] Doc Gets Right About Sex Work,” by Jessie Sage for Rolling Stone—this is notably the only mainstream take on Lily Phillips that dared to center the perspective of actual sex workers
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