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What is the Sex
Industry?
The sex industry
involves a wide range of activities
including: prostitution, phone sex,
stripping, pornography, mistressing,
madaming, pimping, and all other forms
of commercial sex work. This might
include performing on live internet
sex sites or placing an ad in the
“Alternative” section of a newspaper
and advertising for a “benefactor,” or
sugar daddy.
It is easy to be
in denial about our addiction, when
our culture, on the surface, appears
to validate our involvement. For
example, if you are a stripper, it
might seem as if you receive a lot of
attention and money for your
performances. And yet how many times,
while practicing “our art” were we
verbally, or even physically harassed?
How many times did customers cross
that line and make us feel we deserved
it because after all, we were
strippers?
Or, perhaps we
tell ourselves we aren’t really in the
sex industry at all. If we are
“performers” who are paid to have sex
in front of web-cameras, we may tell
ourselves, “at least I’m not on the
streets.” Or: “I’m only doing this
until I get my first big acting role.”
The method by
which our sexuality is conveyed does
not change the fact that we are indeed
involved with the sex industry. The
sex industry is the sex industry,
whether it is played out behind closed
doors as an exclusive call girl, while
being filmed as an internet sex site
performer, or during a stage
performance as an exotic dancer.
We find that
focusing on our differences keeps us
stuck in our addiction. We are any man
or woman, of any race, religion or
sexual persuasion who accepts money or
goods, for sex, or sex related
activity. We all have different pasts,
different kinds of clients, and
different prices.
We wish to de-glamourize
the sex industry. There is nothing
glamorous about winding up stuffed in
a dumpster, raped, dehumanized, and
treated like a piece of meat.
We believe that
it doesn’t matter how long you did it,
how you earned it, how much you got
paid, or how long you have been out of
it. We believe that the sex industry
violates basic human rights: the right
to be treated with dignity and
respect. Everyone loses, both the
prostituted individual, and the
perpetrator.
How can I define
Sobriety?
When we use sex,
in any form, in exchange for material
or monetary gain, we release our
addiction all over again.
Therefore, the
date in which there is an absence of
sex related earnings is the beginning
of your sobriety. When we accept money
or goods through only legitimate
means, we will begin to be free from
our addiction. The only way to keep
from returning to active addiction is
not to take that first transaction.
Our sexuality is no longer for sale.
Today, we know that are bodies are
sacred, and we respect who we are by
placing a protective boundary around
our sexual selves. Together, we will
examine our beliefs, deal with our
issues, and become empowered to be who
our higher powers intended us to be.
We no longer feel
the need to attain a sense of power
through our sexuality. Instead, we are
busy rebuilding our sense of self,
discovering our true talents, and
perhaps retraining ourselves so that
we are fully contributing members of
society. We are worthy, recovering
sex industry survivors.
We understand
that as we begin to tell our stories
to other recovering sex industry
survivors, we heal ourselves and each
other. |
Did you ever work in Nevada's legal
brothels?
If you have
please click here for more information
There are online discussion groups.
A recovery textbook is in the
making, as well as other pieces of
literature.
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