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India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

restofworld.org

11–20 of 81 posts

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#11

> When Dhokne’s friend lent her a smartphone to find work online, she didn’t know how to use it. “I had always used a black-and-white [feature phone],” the 35-year-old told Rest of World. Incredible to read so vividly about the digital divide. Glad there are organizations geared towards connecting people with more digital tools, lest them and their children get left behind.

In India, voice-based UIs are extremely important in the local app ecosystem, because of wide illiteracy in rural areas.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#12

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

Why, why would you say that? Parent leaves for work, parent comes home from work with income.

Is it because sex work is dangerous? So is fishing, and pizza delivery, and construction.

Is it because sex work wears down your body? Plenty of general contractors, nurses, and landscapers have jobs that are more physically demanding.

I genuinely do not see how, if someone has a reasonable separation of work/home, it would present any more negativity on a kid's upbringing than any other physical labor.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#13

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

It's just a job. If you're independent, mentally sane, and not blowing your money on drugs, you could actually give a better to life to your kids that 99% of people. I knew someone who invested enough of the money she made that way so that her daughter would never have to work a single day of her life, and she was like 40yo.

It’s a job, sure… but it certainly isn’t straightforward or without its problems. And above all, sex isn’t exactly “I tried these gloves and I didn’t like them so I will get the other ones” type of deal.

Love is great because it’s innocent and exploratory, I find it hard to believe these sex workers deal only with clients who are in it for romantic aspects, which means a lot of the time these women will be taking on whatever nasty bullshit their client is dealing with in their own life…

And that isn’t something you can suppress for the rest of your life. It will eventually seep out and begin to distort your view of reality. And no amount of money can fix that.

Not trying to be too cynical but it’s a major point to consider if you want to weigh the topic as a whole.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#14

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

It's just a job. If you're independent, mentally sane, and not blowing your money on drugs, you could actually give a better to life to your kids that 99% of people. I knew someone who invested enough of the money she made that way so that her daughter would never have to work a single day of her life, and she was like 40yo.

I think that how harmful it is depends on the society in which it takes place.

I mean, everyone who works is a prostitute in the more abstract sense. We are all renting the use of our bodies for money. The only difference between me and a sex worker is that I'm renting my body to someone to be used toward a different purpose.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#15

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

I'm fairly certain what you describe in the last sentence there is a crime. A very serious crime.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#16

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

Perhaps you should look into it, try and find out a bit more from other people's experience whose parents were sex workers, before you decide. Otherwise you come across as bigoted.

The saddest problem from sex work that I'm aware of is people get forced into it from lack of money. It may not be the sex work so much as the poverty that does the damage to the children. In terms of growing up with the constant fear of lack of money, that deeply affects your parents, and that in turn damages you. Yes I am speaking from experience.

edit: "A woman in Zambia stated that five blowjobs would allow her to purchase a bag of cornmeal for her children." https://www.socialconnectedness.org/the-stigmatization-behin... Fucking hell.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#17

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

Why, why would you say that? Parent leaves for work, parent comes home from work with income. Is it because sex work is dangerous? So is fishing, and pizza delivery, and construction. Is it because sex work wears down your body? Plenty of general contractors, nurses, and landscapers have jobs that are more physically demanding. I genuinely do not see how, if someone has a reasonable separation of work/home, it would…

It seems like a judgemental attitude induced by religion. Those most against prostitution seem to be in religious groups.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#18

> She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn’t want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. It must be wild to have a sex worker as a parent. Maybe I’m getting older but there’s no way that’s a good environment to be raising a kid in. Like that adam22 guy, no way his daughter will turn out normal. Especially when they were using her for c…

I think working from home is probably a much worse environment to raise your kids than going to work and coming back and they don't know that you sold your body for the day. The latter case is indistinguishable between jobs.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#19
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why, why would you say that? Parent leaves for work, parent comes home from work with income. Is it because sex work is dangerous? So is fishing, and pizza delivery, and construction. Is it because sex work wears down your body? Plenty of general contractors, nurses, and landscapers have jobs that are more physically demanding. I genuinely do not see how, if someone has a reasonable separation of work/home, it would…

It seems like a judgemental attitude induced by religion. Those most against prostitution seem to be in religious groups.

> It seems like a judgemental attitude induced by religion. Those most against prostitution seem to be in religious groups.

That's a common misconception, but it's simply not true. If you talk to actual sex workers, they'll consistently tell you that they face judgemental attitudes and discrimination across the board, not just from religious people.

Re: India’s sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely

#20
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why, why would you say that? Parent leaves for work, parent comes home from work with income. Is it because sex work is dangerous? So is fishing, and pizza delivery, and construction. Is it because sex work wears down your body? Plenty of general contractors, nurses, and landscapers have jobs that are more physically demanding. I genuinely do not see how, if someone has a reasonable separation of work/home, it would…

It seems like a judgemental attitude induced by religion. Those most against prostitution seem to be in religious groups.

I would go further and say that some people who are against sex work are against the propensity for other crime to occur (including trafficking, drug use etc) or for violence to be perpetrated against sex workers.

Ironically, if we didn't have puritan attitudes, the majority of those issues would be mitigated quite drastically.

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