Don't Let FOSTA/SESTA Be The End Of Sex Work

It has been horrifying to witness the fallout from the signing of FOSTA/SESTA and what it has done to sexwork in the United States.

For those who have been living under a rock, FOSTA (Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) and SESTA (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) are bills from the House and Senate that were signed into law back in April. Ostensibly, on the face, the bill were created to make it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking.

However, they was essentially a poison pill included that amended a past Communication Decency Act, which removed immunity from online services for the actions of their users.

What this poison pill has led to was the seizure of Backpage.com, the termination of the classified section of Craigslist, and the shutdown (out of fear) of other sites in the United States that provided a forum for professional sex workers to advertise and promote their services.

It has also led to Twitter and other social media sites to revise their terms of use to provide them more shielding in the wake of FOSTA/SESTA (and probably to continue and step up their shadowbanning of sex workers).

This has had harmful, deleterious affects on the women who utilize these services.

One of the things that sites like Backpage, Craigslist, and Mojovillage did was allow women within the industry a certain level of agency. Instead of being beholden to a pimp or madam, these sites allowed for women in the industry to manage their lives and their careers themselves.

There was no need for a middle man/middle woman. There was no need to give anyone a cut of the money they made. There were plenty of women who might have been in dire situations who were able to get out of those situations thanks to the internet.

And now…those avenues are gone.

Instead of removing a threat, the elimination of these sites because of FOSTA/SESTA have allowed for the pimps to return. The old network, which had been significantly reduced, is reportedly coming back.

Shadowy, predatory creatures have returned from the rocks that they were forced under.

Risk has returned.

And some assholes on the internet (which is a given; assholes love the internet) that are clients were celebrating when things started to go sideways last month. I saw one post where a dude was saying that this was good because (and I am paraphrasing here because I can’t find the screen shot) providers would have to lower their rates to get business back.

WHAT?!

Now, before I continue, I also tweeted something kind of stupid, and I will own up to my own privilege. I deleted the tweet because, well, it was garbage. I was rightfully called on my garbage tweet by a local Las Vegas provider I greatly respect. My tweet was me saying that I was glad that I was “retired from the hobby”. That provider (Heather Jana) reminded me that, for all intents and purposes, I was an idiot for talking about retiring from something when all I was was a client, not a provider.

She was right. For me to use the term “retirement” and even to use the term “hobby” was stupid. It was also tone deaf, given the circumstances. I am willing to admit that I was 100 percent wrong. It was an instance of speaking from a place of privilege, of not thinking, and I am truly sorry.

With that being said, it begs the question: What now?

These are trying times in our country for a variety of reasons; the signing of FOSTA/SESTA appears to be an extension of a troubling trend of men (and some women) legislating against the rights of consenting adults to do certain things behind closed doors.

At this point, politically, the pressure would have to be on repeal. Writing and calling legislators and candidates to repeal the bill and replace it with something that is actually going to be effective in achieving their alleged stated goal.

(Of course, the cynic in me believes that this was their actual goal all along; but I digress.)

In the real world, though, the best thing that can be done is support sex workers. If you have the means and the ability to do so, become a polite client. Schedule and keep appointments. If she does film/video, buy clips from her store. Order something off her Amazon wish list.

Be positive and encouraging, not a horny, lecherous jerk. If you can’t manage that, then the best thing that you can do is shut up and sod off and not contribute to the mental negativity that’s already out there.

Remember, sex work is work. And it is a unique kind of work where the provider is taking on multiple roles. As clients (not hobbyists) we really do need to be cognizant of that fact and respect the whole individual.

One final thing: As other services online have become more inhospitable to sex work and sex workers, I would encourage you to read about and (again if it is in your means) donate to Assembly Four, an organization that created a sex work friendly social space called Switter. You can donate to Assembly Four here or here. You can check out Switter by visiting switter.at and creating an account.