I think I fell for the common misconceptions about the sex industry, even when I was living in the midst of it. At the age of about fifteen, I made a heart vow that I would never have anything to do with prostitutes. They were dishonest, selfish, untrustworthy, dirty and addicted.When I was eleven, my family and I moved into a red-light district area of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Drugs, gangs and prostitution could all be found in our neighborhood which also housed the heart of the Middle Eastern community in the city. We were the large, white, Christian family living in the midst of it all and trying to make a difference.On several occasions, I watched my parents give the last few pounds in their purse to help those around us, and their generosity never seemed to be repaid in the ways it deserved to be. In fact we were stolen from countless times, called liars, taken advantage of and targeted for our white skin and Christian faith. Rather than feeling boundless compassion for my neighbors, I struggled with feelings of judgement toward them because of their brokenness, and I was angry at their apparent choice to stay that way. Now, almost fifteen years later, all I want to do is love on those men and women and hold out my hand to assist them into freedom.I’m no expert but I have gained a little experience over the past few years and one of the questions I get asked the most is: ‘Well, don’t the women choose to work in the sex industry? Isn’t it empowering for them?’I believe that we have distorted our definitions of empowerment to where it looks a lot like having control over somebody else. When we talk about the sex industry being empowering for women, we are really thinking that they get to have control over their customers and feel powerful so that must therefore be empowering. It is transactional empowerment however, using the currency of manipulation and desire, rather than true freedom. To empower somebody should be from a place of freedom and ultimately for freedom.
The fact that we even have a sex industry is revealing of what truly rules our hearts and drives our decisions. The act of sex and all of the pleasure that comes along with it has been successfully turned into the biggest-selling product in the world. The problem with that is that intimacy was meant to be developed in relationship, founded in love, that would ultimately empower one another to be the men and women we were created to be. Remove intimacy and connection and all you have is physical function.
When a product is being sold, the consumer is always preferred over the seller. It is not an equal relationship for ‘the customer is always right’. Put sex, or the thrill of it, into the equation, and the one selling it is always going to be less than the one buying. His or her desires are not the ones being paid to be met. I don’t think anyone truly chooses to work in an industry where that is the detailed job description. “I chose to work in the sex industry”, is often another way of saying, “I didn’t feel like there was another option for me”.
'89% of 854 people in prostitution from nine countries told us that they wanted to escape prostitution, but 75% needed a home or safe place, 76% needed job training, 61% needed health care, 56% needed individual counseling, 51% needed peer support, 51% needed legal assistance, and 47% needed drug/alcohol treatment.'
- Prostitution Research & Education -
People want out of this industry because it is NOT empowering.My dream is to see women free, not just free to wear a pant suit and vote in an election or run a business or lead a nation. I want to see women living free of sexual exploitation and objectification. I want to see them truly empowered and powerful, shattering every glass ceiling that’s ever been held above them and replacing misconceptions with the truth. That dream starts with you and it starts with me. It begins with how we choose to believe in one another and whether or not we hold out a helping hand to those more needy than us. It is seeing the one in front of us for who they really are and silencing anything less than the truth.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c1tGD7f2Hs&feature=youtu.be
