By David Futrelle
So the MGTOWs on Reddit are discussing the #SexWorkIsWork hashtag, and they have some, well, interesting takes on the subject.
One fellow uses the power of math and a lot of dubious assumptions to “prove” that if sex work is work, those doing the work should only be earning sixty cents per fuck.
I was wondering when ‘SexWorkIsWork’ and for this assumption to be true it should look like this:
1. Paying taxes
2. Minimum wage – The only requirement is legal age
3. Continuous work – with one short break in 8 hours
Example based on data from United States in 2019: 7,25 USD/h is minimum wage
The average intercourse time is little over 5min (date from google)
One hour has 60 minutes so: 60/5 = 12 number of intercourse per hour
7,25 USD / 12 = ~ 0.60 cents
So if ‘SexWorkIsRealWork’ – intercourse should cost 60 cents in such a rich country as USA
Yeah, that’s not how any of this works. Sex work involves a lot more than the literal act of intercourse, as I’m sure everyone but MGTOWs and other misogynists are aware. (Indeed, there are many varieties of sex work that involve no intercourse at all.)
Also, equally obviously, no one can fuck for eight hours. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ. I challenge this dude to peg himself with a dildo for even six hours and see how much he likes it.
But I do think this dude has accomplished a couple of things here. First, he inadvertently shows how shitty minimum wage jobs are, and why we need to immediately raise the minimum wage to $15/hour or more.
Second, he reveals how bad sex is for a lot of people. Five minutes? I hope the people bringing the average down are doing things other than intercourse as well.
Another MGTOW offers this bit of dubious wisdom:
Sex work isn’t gonna repair a generator.
Ah yes, because only mechanical work counts as real work, and everyone other than mechanics is doing fake work.
I can’t help but wonder how many MGTOWs could repair a generator, or even identify one in a room full of heavy machinery. Given how well they handle basic cooking, I can’t say I trust that any of them are very handy with their hands.
Then there’s this guy, who thinks that it’s the johns, not the sex workers, who are doing all the work.
If it’s real work, then it’s low value work. Unless she’s riding that cock like she’s riding a pissed off bison, the man, as always is doing the work. Paying a hooker too much so you do the bulk of the effort is like paying a plumber only so he can watch you unclog the toilet.
Yeah, a few desultory thrusts aren’t “work,” dude. And neither is sex work — or sex — very much like unclogging a toilet.
Well, to be fair, sex with a MGTOW would probably be equally disgusting, and there might be a similar sense of relief once it was done.
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In addition to prep work, research, vetting clients when possible, and networking with other sex workers – all of which are vital and work-related, takes considerable chunks of time, and aren’t directly compensated for – there are also work-related expenses (travel, cosmetics/outfits, STI testing, birth control and/or pregnancy testing, though the latter was never a concern with me because I’m infertile)… and there’s the matter of hazard pay, as the legal, social, physical, and medical risks to the sex worker is typically much higher than to the client. Also, while I did do a 5-10 minute hand job or blow job a few times, a typical session was much more involved and lasted anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours. (Longest session I did, I spent 3 hours thoroughly cleaning a guy’s place naked while he watched and then jerked him off after. Scored $135 off that – $40 per hour of work and $15 for the quick handjob. Yes, I know that was risky entering someone’s home, but that was early on when I really needed the money…)
I mean, there do exist sex workers who don’t have access to resources or networks to help reduce their risks, and due to circumstances outside their control can’t meaningfully demand hazard compensation of any kind, but to the best of my knowledge that’s not common – the idenpendent ones in that position aren’t in much demand, and the enslaved ones have to charge extra anyway so their slavers are compensated for the work and expenses of keeping them alive and enslaved.
There’s no reasonable or functional sex work enconomy where most sex workers are paid at (or below) minimum wage for all aspects of the work they do, let alone a ridiculous scenario where they get paid 60¢ a handful of times per day.
…I just thought of a helpful metaphor – paying a sex worker only minimum wage and only for the time when they’re directly servicing the clients is very similar to buying things at a store at a price only just enough to cover the minimum wage for all the employees (including the supervisors) and *only* for the periods when they’re manning the cash register and not doing any of the other necessary work, and then also forcing all the employees to pay utilities, property taxes, and any other expenses out of their own pockets. I think that, legalities aside, most people can easily see why that doesn’t work.
Sex workers, even independent ones, aren’t your employee and you’re not directly paying their wages. They’re functionally a business that you’re hiring services from. You’re paying their service fee, which covers much more than just their wages. And that’s ignoring all the reasons why minimum wage isn’t reasonable.
Naglfar wrote @ Lumipuna:
While “calipers” and “micrometer” (my-KRAH-muh-tur. micro-meter is a micron.) both measure lengths, they are different tools (but micrometers are sometimes called micrometer calipers).
Calipers look kinda like either a fancy pipe wrench with a ruler on the handle (and sometimes a gauge), a pair of curvy, pear-shaped tweezers or tongs, or a compass (brake calipers are shaped a bit like a hot dog bun or taco and are not for measuring). A micrometer looks like a C clamp with a handle. It’s usually the more accurate of the two devices, but both have their uses and strengths and weaknesses.
If you image search the two separately you’ll see that they’re not actually interchangeable.
Is it only work if you make minimum wage? Has he not heard of the gig economy? Sex workers are independent contractors, so the free market these dudes care so much about will determine how much they make. Additionally, most sex workers have hourly rates and minimal booking times. Is he really implying that independent contractors who set their own hours just don’t have jobs?
Also, if he doesn’t want to do “all the work” then he doesn’t have to? Sex workers will generally perform many different kinds of sexual labour and there is a lot of flexibility here and a wide variety of services offered?
These people have such a profoundly warped idea of the entire world.