First published as “Are Men or Women Driving the Stigmatization of Sex Work?” in Psychology Today
KEY POINTS
- Women have often drawn harsher judgment than men for sexual activity, and some argue that women suppress one another’s sexuality.
- In a new study, researchers had people read vignettes describing 80 fictional women and rate each woman’s “humanness,” an indication of stigma.
- The more sexual a woman’s described job or activity is, the more dehumanized she is by women but especially by men, the research shows.
One of the many absurd things about humans is the way people judge others for the sex they are having, or even appear to be having. Throughout history and across cultures, women have drawn harsher judgment than men. From purity myths, to concealing one’s self behind a veil, to “slut-shaming” women for their sexual activity while ignoring or even venerating the men they sleep with, keeping a lid on the cauldron of human sexuality falls overwhelmingly to women.
One group of women draws especially strong judgment: female sex workers. Not only judgment; they are stigmatized and dehumanized by a surprising variety of people of both genders. Indeed, a considerable number of feminists – normally the first people to oppose double standards and the suppression of women – seem unable to countenance that women who exchange sexual services for money are not “prostituted” but are, rather, savvy agents who have chosen a particular kind of work.
…. read more at Psychology Today.
