LOS ANGELES — The Daily Beast has published a long essay by Siri Dahl that gives a personal context to society’s pervasive and endless vilification of sex work.
Dahl’s essay, titled ‘‘’Get a Real Job, Whore’: The Dark Reality of Sex Worker Hate,” walks the reader through the reality of the veteran adult performer, who has made her living as a content creator, on-and-off, for nearly a decade
"Being told to get a ‘real’ job is a regular occurrence for all sex workers," Dahl wrote. "The verbal denigration we face is just one facet of our culture’s fear and hatred of sex workers."
“Regardless of what you think of my job, there is one thing I want and, frankly, need you to understand: Sex workers have a massive impact on our economy,” she explained, adding that last year, for the first time in her life, she was able to "donate significantly" to the causes she cares about, including racial justice, trans rights, sex worker rights, LGBTQIA+ youth programs and a local animal rescue.
“Many sex workers use their income to support their families,” Dahl continued. "Many of us support our chosen families, too. This is just what sex workers do for our communities, in a culture that would rather see us dead or barely surviving."
Many Forms of Discrimination
Dahl also noted that “it’s routine for sex workers to have trouble opening a bank account, or to have an existing bank account shut down and funds seized without warning."
They are also "far more likely to be victims of violence — sexual or otherwise," she said. "Being a sex worker in 2021 feels like I’m waking up to a new dumpster fire almost every day, and I am exhausted.”
“It’s time that we stop erasing the efforts of sex workers simply because the word ‘sex’ is in our job description,” stated Dahl. “If the impact of sex workers on our communities and economy were laid bare for all to see, that impact would be so undeniable that the war on sex workers would be revealed for what it truly is: hatred masquerading as salvation.”
To read the article in full, visit TheDailyBeast.com.
For more from Siri Dahl, follow her on Twitter.
