Sex Workers Are Different — Similar - The World Over

By Megan, 3:20 PM on Tue Jun 23 2009, 20,861 views (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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Prostitution is often referred to as the world's oldest profession, but it's also one of the most common occupations held by women -- and men -- throughout the world.

As I've looked to illustrate the stories we've written about sex workers -- both in terms of rallies for their rights, and women turning to sex work during the recession -- I end up scrolling through pictures of women from all walks of life, and from all over the world, who engage in sex work. And as I've read more and more about sex work, the dichotomy between the ways we view women in the developed world and those in the developing world who chose to sell access to their bodies strikes me more and more deeply.

Although many take a default view of sex workers in the developed world as responding to rational choices about the economic valuation of their bodies, there is story after story after story after story after story about how sex workers in "free" societies are often driven by a sense that they have few other options or coerced into the work; meanwhile, an equally nuanced view of sex work in the developing world seems to escape us.

What follows is a sampling of sex workers from around the world: some are posing; some are protesting; some are simply going about their days. Some are more wealthy, or happier-looking than others; some reveal their faces; others camouflage them; still others hide them in shame. Some are exploited, while others seemingly feel more in control of their destinies. But one thing no one can do is predict from whence they came, or where they're going, simply by looking.