Prostitution as Labour
I was reading a particularly annoying analysis of pornography today, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what was making me angry, until I got to this quote:
Prostitution should not be recognised as a form of labour. Rather it is a form of violence whose root cause is male demand for prostitution and other forms of commercialised sex and is rooted in gender inequalityWhy can't it be both?
Of course prostitution, particularly brothel or pimped prostitution, is a form of labour. You're selling your body, ususally in particularly coercive conditions.
I find the idea that men buy women's bodies deeply disturbing. I believe that the commodification of women's bodies effects all women, and knowing there are men who believe that I'm walking around in a commodity is really scary. But this doesn't make prositution any less a form of labour.
I think the problem here is not the analysis of prostitution, most of which I agree wiht, but the lack of analysis about the nature of labour relationships. A lot of labour relationships are coercive and violent; workers die every day because of their jobs, and many more are injured. I have a problem with all form of labour relationships where people are bought and sold. To me, saying prostitution is a form of labour is not saying that prostitution is OK, but saying labour as it stands isn't ok.