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There are people whose only experiences with the commercial sex trade have been consensual. There are people whose only experiences with the sex trade have been trafficking/exploitation. And there are MANY who have had both consensual & trafficked experiences of the sex trade. 1/
If your only experiences of the sex trade were consensual and you say there is not coercion/trafficking, you are erasing/invalidating the experiences of the other two categories. 2/
If your only experiences of the sex trade were trafficking/exploitation & you say there is no such thing as consensual sex trade, or you say all sex trade is exploitation, or you conflate consensual and coerced sex trade, you are erasing/invalidating the other two categories. 3/
And if you project your own experience onto all others as if we are monolith, erasing & invalidating the experiences & self-determination of others, THAT IS GASLIGHTING. You are projecting your reality in a way that leaves no room for others to name & frame their own stories. 4/
We can have a big & complex enough reality to acknowledge that some people are in the sex trade through consent, some might not even find it difficult or traumatic! & some (like many working crap jobs under capitalist constraints to stay housed & fed) are in by circumstance. 5/
And some have been in through force, fraud, or coercion, without their consent. Or have been in consensually & experienced work-related sexual or state violence.
As for me, I will fight like hell for the safety, self-determination, & story autonomy of all people, 6/
As for me, I will fight like hell for the safety, self-determination, & story autonomy of all people, 6/
Because Iâm an advocate. My story isnât the only story, and I refuse to gaslight other survivors to further my own agenda. 7.
