It’s the oldest profession in the world and also the most contentious. Sex work has been a facet of society since 2400 BCE and has been the subject of generational scrutiny ever since.
Much like any marginalized community, the most categorically ridiculed factions of the population often serve as the biggest inspirations because irony is a cruel mistress.
The latest cog in this painfully cyclical machine is the cultural obsession with the aesthetic profiles of sex workers. Platform “pleaser” style heels, fitted shapewear-esque lacy dresses á la Poster Girl and more are all undeniably inspired by the form-fitting, racy and eclectic style. This trend has been going on for years, but it’s recently been placed under a new microscope thanks to TikTok’s discourse-stirring nature.
Recently, the concept of wearing a Poster Girl dress to non-club engagements has been going ubër viral online. The crux of the discussion started with whether or not these outfits were appropriate to wear to dinners at the local Applebees and rapidly spiraled toward a full-on generation war and landing somewhere in a forest of mixed-temp takes.
Perhaps one of the most interesting components of this whole thing, though, is people discussing the appropriation of sex work culture in a world that still demonizes the profession. These women are at the forefront of emotional and physical warfare, so witnessing their entire schtick be paraded by a delegation that actively mocks and further stigmatizes their existence is jarring, to say the least.
How can anyone in good conscience support the adaptation of these wardrobes without any meaningful change in the social perception of actual sex workers?
These women experience disrespect in their line of work and from outsiders on an unabating basis most people can’t even fathom, often being forced to give their full backstory, including every ounce of trauma, if they want to receive basic human empathy from others. So much of their work includes breaking off pieces of themselves to satiate others, and now their wardrobes are being seized with no sign of acknowledgment or salute.
Before we start dictating who can wear $300 shapewear to which mid-tier restaurants, we need to examine the way we view and discuss sex work.
The incessant invalidation of their trauma and categorization of their pain as a deserved byproduct of their career is abhorrent, and dismantling this should be the focus of any sex work adjacent conversations.
