‘Sex work is work’

Sex work is work. The sex and adult entertainment industry is notably and unusually dominated by women. The desire to rid Bristol from sexual entertainment venues, expressed by Labour’s mayoral candidate Marvin Rees, is concerning for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I do not believe Mr Rees consulted with any dancers currently working in Bristol’s strip clubs or sexual entertainment venues. If he did, he would find grown women with agency, foresight and a knowledge of what field of work is most suited, convenient and advantageous for them. He would very quickly find that the assessment of strip clubs as exclusively a place of exploitation would be incorrect.

He would also find people bewildered by his ambition to take away not just their means of employment, but a booming industry in Bristol. A form of entertainment visited by, to quote one Bristol dancer, “a widespread clientele from students, to business types, to hen parties, to work do’s, and so on”.

She continues: “This industry is not seedy, it is fun entertainment and it seems that due to the lack of understanding or even first hand experience in one of these establishments, a false perception is created.”

The women (please note that while I am referring to women sex workers in this article, I do not wish to exclude men, trans and non-binary workers in the sex industry from the issues addressed here) working in Bristol’s strip clubs and bars have a right to earn a legal living however they wish and no one has license to take that away from them.

Dancer and activist Stacey Clare of the East London Stripper Collective says that “women who choose to work in the sex industry suffer huge a disservice by being stigmatised in public by political figures and their careerist agendas”.

If Mr Rees was truly an ally to women, he would address the working conditions of strip club dancers that have become increasingly worse over the last decade and are a direct result of well-intended but ultimately ill-informed and damaging legislation. Conditions such as drastically increased house fees (i.e. paying to work) and “at will” employment that allows dancers to be fired for minor infringements without due process.

In his speech, Mr Rees lists female genital mutilation and domestic abuse victim housing alongside sexual entertainment venues. One Bristol dancer I asked said: “Why is he lumping us in with FGM and domestic violence? We are independent, self-employed women who work by choice.”

Choice is a key word here. Women and girls who are victims of sex trafficking, FGM and domestic violence do not have a choice. According to international human rights organisation Equality Now, Bristol has one of the highest rates of FGM in the UK. This needs to be urgently addressed and I look forward to Mr Rees consulting with local groups, like Integrate Bristol to see how he can use his potential political weight to put an end to FGM and give a voice to the often voiceless.

Strip clubs and adult entertainment are not for everyone. No form of entertainment is. But just because something is not for you, doesn’t mean it isn’t for anyone. If you love women, you love all women. Not because they are someone’s mother, daughter, sister or wife, but because we are human beings deserving of equal treatment, kindness, respect and the right to earn the law abiding livelihood of our choosing.

I hope that Mr Rees will take the information presented here not as an eye roll or snide look, but as a view directly from the women his political platform impacts. A view that he needs to take a seat and actively listen to.

As Stacey Clare says: “Please think twice before branding people’s livelihoods as nothing more than a social ill to be eradicated. I don’t expect everyone to understand my job, but I expect to be listened to and have a say in how my working conditions are created – starting at a political level.”

Dancers should be invited to have a say in how society “deals” with the problems within their industry – not sacked and silenced by a local politician who would rather just erase the clubs instead of actually getting his hands dirty, working alongside those of us who would appreciate the help to affect change for everyone’s benefit, and taking some responsibility by implementing useful laws and policies to protect those of us who are most vulnerable.

It’s not a game, it’s work.

Tuesday Laveau is a dancer, producer and teacher. You can catch her and her team of Renegade Strippers at CoochieCrunch Presents: Food at Smoke & Mirrors on Friday, March 25.

Read more: Rees seeking to close strip clubs