Should sex work be a crime? (with Kaytlin Bailey)

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Nov 27, 2024

Kaytlin Bailey, founder of Old Pros and host of The Oldest Profession Podcast, passionately advocates for the rights of sex workers. She delves into the stigma faced by sex workers in the U.S., discussing how laws like SESTA-FOSTA can inadvertently increase risks. The conversation tackles whether promiscuity stigma is rooted in biology or cultural norms, and explores the impact of legal frameworks on workers' safety and autonomy. Bailey emphasizes the need for decriminalization and a broader understanding of sexuality, challenging misconceptions surrounding the profession.

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INSIGHT

Whorephobia and Misogyny

Kaytlin Bailey believes whorephobia is the foundation of misogyny.
She theorizes that societal obsession with controlling women's sexual activity stems from paternity concerns.

INSIGHT

Promiscuity and Evolution

Societal disapproval of women with many partners might be cultural, not biological.
Kaytlin Bailey suggests transactional sex may have been an ancestral survival strategy.

ANECDOTE

Jesus and Sex Workers

Jesus interacted with sex workers and marginalized groups.
Pope Gregory I misidentified Mary Magdalene as a prostitute in a sermon.

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Read the full transcript here.

Why are sex workers treated so badly in the US? What effects do licensing requirements have on sex workers and their customers? How do sex worker rights connect with privacy rights more broadly? In what philosophical principles ought sex worker rights (and their customers' rights) to be grounded? How do sex work laws affect people who aren't sex workers? Is "whore-phobia" the root of all misogyny? Is misogyny built into human nature, or is it learned? How does testicle size affect evolutionary fitness? Must religions necessarily have rules and norms about sexual purity? How do the Abrahamic religions teach sexual purity, and to whom are these lessons taught? Do sex workers have more or fewer STIs than the average "civilian"? If Alice is a sex worker and has had sex with 20 partners, and Bridget is not a sex worker and has also had sex with 20 partners, then which of them is considered to be the more promiscuous of the two? What sorts of tools and processes do sex workers use to screen clients? Are sex workers harmed (psychologically, physically, etc.) more through sex work than the average person is harmed through their work? How common are pimps nowadays? What are the various legal models for sex work around the world? Why does there seem to be a strong connection between sex work and illegal drug use? Why are women more opposed than men to the legalization of sex work? Does legal sex work potentially encourage the objectification of women and thus increase misogyny?

Kaytlin Bailey is the founder and Executive Director of Old Pros, a nonprofit focused on changing the status of sex workers in society. She hosts The Oldest Profession Podcast and is currently touring her award-winning one-woman show Whore's Eye View, a comedic mad dash through 10,000 years of history from a sex worker's perspective. Old Pros sends out a weekly newsletter with a round up of sex worker rights news from around the world, upcoming live events, and new episodes of The Oldest Profession Podcast. Subscribe to that newsletter at oldprosonline.org, or interact on Twitter / X at @oldprosonline. To reach Kaytlin directly, send her an email at kaytlin@oldprosonline.org or message her on Twitter / X at @kaytlinbailey. To find upcoming tour dates for Whore's Eye View, visit whoreseyeview.com.

Further reading

Resources about sex work decriminalization @ oldprosonline.org

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
WeAmplify — Transcriptionists

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