QT: What do you think of the argument that prostitution should be recognized as legitimate work because a lot of trans people rely on it for income?

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands and sex workers can go to the police, to medical practitioners, to therapists etcetera without fear of being arrested for being a sex worker. There are still some issues, which I'll admit I'm not educated enough on to discuss, but people here who are trafficked or turned to sex work because they financially had to are legally protected rather than that they'll suffer if they make it known to any legal instance (usually while the people taking advantage of them go free).

Additionally, especially for visibly trans people, it's very hard to find a 'normal' job when discrimination against trans people exists (just ask GC here if any of them would hire a trans person - the notion that we're 'too difficult' or 'a liability' is rampant, even though the difference of me now vs pre-transition is that I swapped locker room, am happier and no longer call in sick to ride out the depression blues), whereas there's a fair demand in sex work because fetishists don't see us as people, some like a uniqueness over the same old, and some enjoy seeing bodies like their own. Get rid of it and numerous trans people will have nowhere to turn to.

/r/GCdebatesQT Thread