Yeah we’re going there. Let’s get this struggle session up early.
Sex would be banned in a proper socialist society to preserve everyone's vital essence, so I'm going to have to say no.
As long as society has progressed past the existence of the precariat, I don't see why not.
People needing to sell their sexuality to eat and have shelter is bad. Coerced labor is bad. Coerced sex is bad. So coerced sexual labor is particularly bad. (This is not the fault of sex workers. SWERFS fuck off.)
If everyone's basic needs are automatically met, but we're still using a money-like system (call it labor vouchers if you must) to allocate the remaining scarce goods, and someone decides to sell nudes for extra spending money, then whatever. It's no longer coerced so I don't care, go for it.
If we've progressed beyond all forms of scarcity, then sex work doesn't exist because work doesn't exist. That's just a roleplay kink. Go for it.
Depends on the stage of communism. In a low stage communist society (as well as late dictatorship of the proletariat, 'socialist' society) it would likely exist at least in some form. Hopefully this form will be less coercive. This stage is likely the best any of us could hope to see, which is why it is important to recognise sex work as socially necessary work.
In an advanced stage, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" society prostitution would likely not exist, at least as we currently recognise it. There would still be a need for porn, but it might be produced more as a hobby, as the line between hobby and creative work would be blurred.
Or what do I know, maybe people will just be jerking it to Karl Marx hentai.
Yes, but coercive sex work should not.
Sex work cannot be abolished. Outlawing sex work will just result in a black market for sex work. This is the worst outcome.
In a Communist society, without money, there would be little need for prostitution except in times of scarcity; there's little that can be done to prevent prostitution in times of scarcity, as there will always be bartering in a black food market.
The issue today and in these situations is that sex work is, typically, a thing that poor and oppressed people do to get by. They'd rather not be prostitutes but they have to, to pay the bills. In a Communist society, poor people would not need to prostitute themselves to pay the bills, which means that only people who enjoy sex work would practice it. Legalization means that slowly, sex work is de-stigmatized.
A good question is: in a moneyless society, is commissioning a prostitute free? What decides how time with a prostitute is apportioned? Lots? Rations?
Disclaimer: I don't really know what I'm talking about on this topic so I'd be happy to be better informed. But here's how I see it:
I'd have to ask you to clarify what you mean by sex work. Prostitution (is there a better term for this? actually not sure) absolutely not. As I see it, the description of that job is basically, "have sex with people you dont want to have sex with (in order to get money so you don't starve to death)." There's another word for that and I don't think any end-goal society would contain it. Why would it? If every person is assured their needs as they should be, there would be no reason to choose to do that. You'd only have sex with people you do want to have sex with. Sounds like an improvement to me.
As for other kinds of sex work, like sharing nudes and whatnot, I'd also say no for a similar reason. You could still publicly share nudes all you want or whatever, but you wouldn't be doing it in order to not starve to death, you'd be doing it because you want to. Doesn't that make it not work to begin with?
A socialist society is not necessarily opposed to requiring labour from people. The ethos is, after all, ‘from each according to their abilities’. The question is whether sex work should be considered work.
Let us assume that our hypothetical society has free education, and sufficient job opportunities for all people that sex work is not a necessity for survival, but one of many options.
In that scenario, do your objections stand?
A socialist society is not necessarily opposed to requiring labour from people.
Of course not, but "requiring" people to have sex with people they don't want to have sex with seems indistinguishable to me from the ideal society of an incel.
A socialist society should be structured according to needs. There should be, to grossly oversimplify, a list of stuff that needs to be done. Then, people who are able will work their way through that list of stuff. I do not see "have sex with this person" being on that list. If the only work you are willing or able to perform is having sex with people you wouldn't choose to have sex with if not for some form of obligation, I'd far rather you just stay home.
I'm sorry but I still do not see the difference between this and your average incel paragraph. Having sex with people who do not want to have sex with you is not a need.
I do not agree with your "every human interaction is transactional" analysis and frankly I think it is a disgusting side effect of capitalism's influence on your mind.
But, I mean... they'd have a job, right? The whole jobs guarantee/universal employment thing is pretty key. Unless we're talking about some far future utopia where scarcity is completely over and the robots do everything, people still have to work. "From each according to his abilities." Or even "he who does not work does not eat." I really don't have much hope in a project that makes work completely optional and just assumes everything will get done out of some shared sense of duty.
The debate is then over whether or not prostitution would be officially recognized as legitimate employment in a socialist society. If it's some anarch-ish society where you can choose your employment with near-complete freedom but then have to justify it to society to get your stipends or something, then maaayyybeee, but if it's some sort of planned economy then absolutely not--seriously, what the fuck. (Currently imagining someone writing a grant application to strip at parties.)
If it's your side gig you do to afford more hobby supplies or something then knock yourself out, I guess, but an economy where everyone needs a side gig is edging pretty close to "failed state" territory (sorry, Cuba! And America!).
should it be illegal for someone to do that?
Of course prostitution should not be illegal. Rather, it should be made impossible and inconceivable. To get to the heart of my point, sex with a person you're paying to have sex with you cannot be consensual. This shouldn't be a controversial statement. In no ideal society should rape be not only commonly accepted, but systematic and institutionalized. That's all.
In other words, insofar as there exist "illegal" acts, prostitution should be seen as a "legal" but unfortunate side effect of some failure in the way the society is structured.
Thinking ahead to a communist society, I personally don't think escorting or full service work would, it's purchasing consent, which I guess is fine of your willing to sell it, but why would you sell it if you didn't need money.
You have better things to do with your life than sit around entertaining a client, for starters you could just have sex with people you actually want to.
money and "communist society" are about as antithetical as it gets. if money buys you differential access to resources then someone can start trying to accumulate value again, liberalizing the society.
sex work, like all other forms of work, must cease to exist by the higher stage. people might choose to have sex as one way of providing value to society but what's wrong with that? it's obviously valuable to people and fulfills real societal needs.
I don't think it should be banned or whatever, but I don't see why people would become a sex worker in a society where their needs are met (which is true for a lot of types of work) and I don't see how it would be that distinct from other types of sexual activity.
I don’t see why people would become a sex worker in a society where their needs are met
Some people just enjoy it. That’s true for every kind of work. And if you can do what you like and get payed for it, then why not?
and get paid for it
In a classless, moneyless society, what's the point. And how is sex work distinct from exhibitionism and/or sex if there is no financial transaction.
Like if having sex with people who are desperate for it is you kink, and/or nakes you feel empowered, great, but without a monetary transaction, how is it different from sex.
Similarly a lot of "artistic work" will end, because it will just be art.
