[CW: Discussion of Sex Work, SWERFism, Abuse, Misogyny]
I'm unsure if you folks will find this too heavy to handle, but I hope not. I have feminist views that may be interpreted as being highly exclusionary to sex workers, and I feel they are problematic, but I'm having a hard time changing them. I think my views are leaving me to tune out positive outlooks from sex workers because I cannot trust what they are saying.
I believe that sex work is inherently misogynistic and exploitative. I do support sex workers in their struggles, but I feel very uncomfortable when a sex worker denies that they are being exploited, objectified, dehumanized, etc. I feel like this is a denial tactic used to make them feel better in the scheme of capitalism because they are having a difficult time coping with the pain that capitalism has brought upon them, as it does with most people.
However, I will concede that I feel as if I'm arguing from incredulity here because I simply find it hard to genuinely believe differently than my position, but disbelief in the credibility of other viewpoints quite obviously is not a solid basis for a good argument.
I understand that sex work can be lucrative, but I think that doing it sells so much dignity that it's a really absurd tradeoff regardless of how much money you make from it. I also think, in the context of capitalism, things like escorting should be legal because I'm fearful that if an escort goes through abuse during her services, she will not be able to report it without getting in legal trouble herself. However, my ideal viewpoint is that communism would make sex work redundant and that's because my issue with it is the "work" part and not the "sex" part.
I think that sex positivity, free love, and sexual liberation are good, but consent is a huge part of it. I don't see sex work as anything "consensual." I see it as women being victims of capitalism and misogyny getting coerced into thinking that the best way to make sure that they have their needs met is by being seen as a sex object for men.
If you view women as being a class within the framework of patriarchy, I don't think it would be a contradiction... Prostitution is at the confluence of labor exploitation by the bourgeoisie and sexual exploitation by the male class, no?
But if prostitution is objectionable, let's be Marxist about it. What would need to happen for its abolition? Laws just push it underground, so we need a change in social relations. Presumably, the abolition of private ownership, class, any meaningful sex/gender distinction would finally lead to the disappearance of the sex trade. But since we're currently just fighting for labor rights under capitalism - where the abolition of prostitution is impossible - you absolutely should take sex workers' opinions seriously when it comes to how we can fight for better working conditions/quality of life.
edit cause now I can't reply but maybe you're interested idk:
Concepts like dignity aren't really useful for this. It's subjective. Many Marxists will disagree about there being no dignity in sex work, but Marxists shouldn't disagree with an analysis on class relations. You should be able to have a productive conversation if you start from there.
Sex work is very broad. So you think escorts should be legal because it'll be safer for the worker, but what about onlyfans, amateur pornography, corporate pornography, brothels, etc.? If your answer is safety is the most important, and abolition can wait until communism, I don't really see how your opinion is a problem. But of course, you do seem to be disregarding sex workers' opinions that are contrary to yours, so maybe you're close-minded about how to make sex work safer in the meantime.
That is essentially what I meant by this portion of my post.