Trans* Sex Workers and Their Experiences in the Trade

The sex trade is an economy that has been in existence for centuries, and consists of those who monetize their sexuality for financial security. Sex can be commodified for access to resources, and is a form of work that can be accessible for people who might not be able to participate in the economic system through more conventional means of labor. Sex work is appealing for people who have varying degrees of ability, mental health issues, inconsistent access to transportation, or other life experiences and identities that might marginalize them. Specifically, sex work can be used as a means for survival for trans* people who often face job discrimination and are often considered “unhirable” by potential employers, or face discrimination and harassment at their job if they do manage to get hired.

Conversations surrounding sex work often do not account for trans* experiences in the trade. Sex workers who receive the most attention in this trade are often white cis women who are existing in the sex trade by choice, rather than by lack of other opportunities. When talking about sex work, it is not only important to differentiate between sex trafficking and consensual participation in sex work, but it is also important to differentiate between those who are partaking in survival-forms of sex work from those who have more agency in determining whether or not they engage with sex work due to a plethora of other job opportunities or economic privilege.

For people who are trans* and engaging with sex work, it can do more than just allow them to survive their day-to-day. If they are privileged enough in the field, it can also be a way to access gender-affirming surgeries and medications without it being a daunting and hopeless goal. Sex workers have the ability to choose what types of sex work they engage in, whether it be “full service” which includes sex with clients, or alternative forms of sex work which might involving “camming” or going on dates with people. The type of sex work that a person engages with can determine the amount of safety that they have, with full service, street sex workers facing the highest rates of violence. Full service street sex workers experience the largest rates of violence from clients, and beyond that, face the most extreme forms of violence from the state. This is largely due to the fact that when people who partake in the sex trade are arrested, they are jailed according to the gender that is on their documentation, which often does not align with the gender that they identify as, which can be both emotionally and physically traumatic.

In addition to the risk of being jailed, state violence can occur in the form of neglect for trans* sex workers due to the lack of resources available for them beyond the criminal justice system. This is often due to the fact that sex work is criminalized, and often instead of offering sex workers rehabilitation services (which are often unwanted, due to the fact that most trans* sex workers enter the industry willingly), arrests are made. There are rarely “women’s” shelters that will accept trans women into their space, as most women’s shelters operate from a bio-essentialist understanding of gender and associate gender with genitalia. Simply put, those who operate women’s shelters often do not view trans women as women because they have a penis. This prevents trans* people from accessing care if they do need it from violence that they face on the street.

Sex work is a topic that is just beginning to be discussed more openly in the media, but as mentioned before, it still centers cisgender and white experiences of sex work. In order to better support sex workers who are not cis and white, and might exist with more marginalized identities, it is important to amplify their lived experiences. It is also important to provide material support in the form of money or housing. A simple way to support trans* sex workers is by listening to them and helping to support them in accessing their needs, whatever they may be. In a less direct sense, trans* sex workers can be supported by advocating for the decriminalization of sex work, especially post-implementation of FOSTA/SESTA, which criminalized many safety networks that sex workers utilized in their profession. One of the easiest ways that people can support trans* sex workers is to become informed of the struggles that they face and educate others about their struggles, which amplifies their lived reality and brings their struggles to light while centering their humanity.

 

Sources:

Http://Www.transequality.org/Sites/Default/Files/Meaningful Work-Full Report_FINAL_3.Pdf.

Crocker, Lizzie. “Inside the World of L.A.’s Trans ‘Sugar Babies’.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 30 Nov. 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-world-of-las-trans-sugar-babies.

Grace Neo (Writer) |. “When Sex Work Is All a Transgender Woman Has.” Youth.SG, 14 Nov. 2017, http://www.youth.sg/Spotted/People/2017/11/When-sex-work-is-all-a-transgender-woman-has.