Merged with virtually identical existing thread, right down to the OP.

If this is annoying you so much NS, maybe stay off the internet and spend a bit more time engaging with other things? I spend very little time online beyond what's absolutely necessary and see very little of this sort of cobblers as a result .

Tbh, I don't really care if people view sex work  as not being work. What does concerns me is once sex work is considered to be actual 'work', then the DWP can push sex work as a viable option and sanction those who refuse to pursue this path - I think sex work should only be undertaken by those who choose to do it, not those who have been pushed into it.

The DWP is just plain evil at the moment but then we have a screamingly evil government in power. DWP plans to push people into any job at any price have met with huge pushback from business and rights activists. The DWP are also refusing to release their own reports which are reported to confirm these policy paths are disastrous and harmful and make no economic sense.

As for government refusing to acknowledge sex work as work I don't know if this is for reasons of dogma or because of legal issues with consent and contract law and taxation. It may be worth approaching the Law Commission for a view.

The government website has a report. (Search for " Nature of prostitution and sex work in England and Wales. Research report produced by the University of Bristol on the current nature and commonness of prostitution and sex work in England and Wales.") The preamble gives a good breakdown of the type and variety of sex work, who practices sex work, and while the language is soft very usefully highlights how poor public policy and discrimination may form an environment where the state effectively pushes or coerces people into sex work. They also note that the Home Affairs Select Committee published a report on prostitution which was leaning towards a more progressive view.

I personally feel that porn needs better regulation. I am not happy that mostly large America tech companies dominate the porn industry and turn the almost always exclusively male owners into multi-millionaires or billionaires. Nor am I happy with tasteless porn which encourages bad habits. The Guardian in the column "When it comes to porn’s damaging effects, millennials and Gen Z feminists are united" is hyperventilating and appropriating feminism to shut down sex positive feminists. I feel they are going to far and not helping progress public policy development to balance women's agency and safety with consent.

I know it's a political comment but I do not see this government doing anything about poverty nor making sex workers or women's lives easier.

There isn't much skill or talent working in macdonalds but it's still work. Work is anything that makes money I think .

Well you say that but you still need to be organised and use there systems that if you never used one would need training. I don't think shop work is always as easy as it seems.

To me sex work is a job as i charge people money and pay tax on it just like any other self employed job but i would never say it's a career as there is no prospects or promotions and most would not put it on there CV or linkedin profile if they were going for a non sex job as most of us know we would not be taken on if we were that open about it and imagine the gossip if we did get a job and other work associates knew.

I am not embarrassed about sex work when seeing clients as there doing the same as me but outside of it i don't want it known at all.

Said this many times and to many people, both sex work industry and civvy twats/ignoramuses/idiots who are such hypocrites  in my experience.

If whatever we/you do to earn your living and it pays your bills and keeps a roof over your head, then it is work.

I know a lady in civvy life who shags anyone when she is pissed. Her choice and not for me to judge but one conversation I had with her when she was boasting of her latest escapade and I said (she knows my occupation!) you could be an escort as you have no inhibitions (or words similar) and her response was "no I prefer to work for a living" meaning she viewed what I do as not work.  She thought she had the upper hand on me and was in effect looking down on my chosen profession.

I won't say what she does daily for minimum wage but I know who is happier and it ain't her! 

I know a lady in civvy life who shags anyone when she is pissed. Her choice and not for me to judge but one conversation I had with her when she was boasting of her latest escapade and I said (she knows my occupation!) you could be an escort as you have no inhibitions (or words similar) and her response was "no I prefer to work for a living" meaning she viewed what I do as not work.

Think part of this is, people associate sex with pleasure and pleasure can’t possibly be work. Work isn’t supposed to be enjoyable. And it doesn’t matter shagging randoms and pretending you’re having the time of hope life isn’t exactly the best thing in the world, they just can’t compute.

Tbh, I don't really care if people view sex work  as not being work. What does concerns me is once sex work is considered to be actual 'work', then the DWP can push sex work as a viable option and sanction those who refuse to pursue this path - I think sex work should only be undertaken by those who choose to do it, not those who have been pushed into it.

I think this should be the case for all work, not only sex work. DWP is already firing people to be sex workers through sanctions and the means testing. This sounds dangerously close to nordic model supporters logic tbh and it's scaremongering. No country with decrim does this. Also stripping is legal and DWP is forcing people to be strippers.

At the minute we are liable for tax, but we are criminalised for working with others and have very little legal protection.

What’s DWP? 

You really don't know?

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseekers benefits/UC (merging into one as they are phasing out JSA)
Pensions/sickness benefits/a whole load of other forms of income but the fact that millions of job vacancies are not filled and filling them or most of them with people being strongly encouraged to take work they don't want will eventually reduce the "benefits" bill.

If you are registered as self employed then the DWP will know about it as HMRC and DWP are very closely linked as far as sharing information is concerned. So you must be within that system somewhere northernstar?

On the Youtube channel LastWeekTonight is a new video (28 Feb 2022) "Sex Work: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)". You will need a VPN with a US access point to watch it. He covers sex work is work plus all the usual talking points we all know about and others specific to the US but is getting it out to a general audience. I don't personally like him but it's information.