One nation Under (a Christian) God
The battle to have sex work recognized as labor in a christian nation.
It isn’t hard to imagine many different jobs when hearing the term sex work. This work can vary from being a phone sex operator to actually performing sexual acts. There is common ground however, that these acts of sex work have in common; time and energy are being used and are not being protected under labor laws. Not to mention this job field has a negative stigma that not only affects the workers but the culture that the US has coined around sex. Although legally the US does not have the right to implement moral and virtuous commandments on its citizens it is easy to see that the US favors a Christian state of virtue.
Christianity is the largest spread religion in the United States with about three-quarters of citizens identifying with the religion. With this in mind let’s look at the people in charge of making our laws. More than 90% of the congressmen that serve us claim to be of the Christian faith. It is not made mandatory in our constitution but it is clear to see there is a strong belief in Christ in America. I’m not saying all Christians are bad or that all religion is toxic but the values in Christianity regarding sex can put many people in dangerous relationships and can form a harmful mentality. In the Christian bible in the chapter 1 Corinthians 7:1–40 it states the wife does not have authority over her own body but her husband does, it also states that if you need to fulfill your sexual urges it is better to marry than to burn in hell. It is scary to read these virtues of the congress people who are supposed to be keeping our best interest as people but with a mindset like that it is hard to believe that those virtues do not interfere when forming laws. To have these preconceived notions about women or any person who chooses to have sex while not married can create this illusion that a person can’t have sex outside of marriage and be a “good person.” Although some may strongly believe in Christianity, or any religion for the matter, it is inhuman and cruel to take those virtues out on people who may not believe in this religion and more importantly they DO NOT HAVE TO. With laws in motions sex workers now have to keep a low profile about their work and risk jail time and sadly violence against those who do not respect their work. If the government won’t respect and acknowledge people who decide to do sex work that is setting up a destructive mindset for those who are taught to be against the sex industry.
The ideals of no sex before marriage have been causing more harm than good in our country for as long as it’s been implemented. This ideology has caused violence against sex workers and it has contributed to rape culture, and victim blaming. Women who choose to dress revealing are told they are less worthy and it is their own fault when someone terrible happens to them. As a young woman and a survivor of rape it is ridiculous and outrageous for me to keep hearing these insults and although I cannot attribute this all to Christianity I do feel strongly that it is feeding this harmful culture. As long as there are hidden Christian agendas in our politics and policies there will be a continuation of stigma against sex workers and anyone who wishes to live not in accordance to this religion. This stigma not only contributes to violence but to the livelihood of those who choose to do sex work. This stigma forms these assumptions that those who do this work are not doing “actual” work. There is so much more to this industry that a person has to attend to before they can perform their job as made beyond clear in Melissa Gira Grant’s article, “Let’s call Sex Work What It Is: Work.” From cleaning, to being a receptionist these sex workers are putting more than there fair share into their jobs, that not only require them to have a main focus but contribute to surrounding roles around them and work like a team.. hmm kind of like a “real” job? There needs to be a reevaluation on what this country attributes as work and we need to protect all kinds of labor whether they go hand in hand with our personal beliefs. It is time that this country begins to look at other religious and non-religious perspectives when forming speculations about sex. I can only theorize that with a more religiously diverse and non-religious congress there would be different perspectives on sex and they would hopeful bring the criminalization of sex work to an end and finally bring dignity back to all workers of the sex industry and all job fields.
