Defending Sex Workers – All Hail Margaret Cho

I remember some years back my cousin and I were having a conversation about sex workers. My stance on the subject was that if a woman decided she wanted to do sex work, there’s no shame in that because it’s her damn business what she wanted to do with her body. My cousin’s stance was that I was crazy and a bane to all womankind with this attitude. Granted she was helping women in Nepal who were tricked, and / or sold into sex work and it was a sore subject to her. And coming from that daily reality I can understand why she so wholeheartedly opposed sex work.

Read on…

This isn’t the sex work I’m talking about

Let’s for a second put sex trafficking aside and focus on women who get into sex work because they want to – for whatever reason. For this article, this is the type of sex work I’ll be focusing on. Or rather, Margaret Cho, comedian, actress, author, fashion designer and all around awesome person, will be focusing on. Because she just schooled a bunch of ninnies about sex work. Cho took to her twitter account to shoot down haters by proudly defending sex workers.

“Sex work is simply work”

Preach it lady! Cho opened up about being a sex worker herself when she was younger and has never tried to hide it nor has she been ashamed of her past. She proudly embraces her decisions and demands that all sex workers should not only be respected but also worshipped! Amen!

Sex work is simply work. For me it was honest work. I was a sex worker when I was young. It was hard but well paid. There’s no shame in it.

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 29, 2015

I support sex workers because I was one and I know that it’s a job that’s needlessly shunned by society when frankly we should be worshipped

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 29, 2015

Protection under the law

Cho also weighs in on an issue that was recently all over the media. That of decriminalizing “all aspects of sex work” – something that was proposed by Amnesty International, and largely supported by Cho, sex workers, and sex worker advocates.

It’s hard work that’s not protected by law enforcement or unions. It’s unfair. We have the right to our bodies +work https://t.co/wcvQm07spI

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) October 30, 2015

The idea behind the Amnesty International proposal is that by decriminalising sex work, it will ensure the health and safety of sex workers while simultaneously fighting sex trafficking – particularly that of minors.

Opening up about her past

These tweets of course come after a heartfelt interview Cho did with Billboard magazine where she opened up about being raped for several years as a child. She talked about how she had more PTSD from her past rape than her work as a sex worker.

“I have more PTSD from rape. That’s real. Sex work was just a way to make money. At least for me then.” – Margaret Cho.

This really comes as a breath of fresh air. Not only am I glad to see Cho step up as a strong, sexual, opinionated Asian woman – a far cry from what Westerners usually associate with Asian women – but she’s also refreshingly unapologetic about her past. Especially her sexual past. She’s not taking any of your shit. Any of whatever shame you might be trying to heap on her. She’s is not owning your shit. In fact, she doesn’t want to have any shit tied to women who decide what they want to do with their own bodies.

#Respect