That is the title of an essay by Sarah Katherine Lewis at Alternet. Below is an excerpt:
… Do I feel “empowered” by the very nature of the work I performed? No. Do I feel like sex work is an inherent vehicle for feminist expression, or a way to address historic gender inequality? Possibly. But not because I think it does any woman any particular good to prance around in complicated footwear, flirting with men for cash.
No — it’s the money, honey. The unglamorous truth about my experience as an adult entertainer is that I felt empowered — as a woman, as a feminist, and as a human being — by the money I made, not by the work I did. The performances I gave didn’t change anyone’s ideas about women. On the contrary, I was in the business of reinforcing the same old sexist misinformation you can see in any issue of Hustler or Girls Gone Wild DVD. I wasn’t “owning” or “subverting” anything other than my own working-class status. Bending over to Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” didn’t make me a better feminist. It just made me a feminist who could afford her own rent. …
Update: Kate Smurthwaite responds to this essay at the f-word blog here.
