As long as we are a culture saturated in capitalism which taints everything it touches, there is going to be an overabundance of people in the sex industry who would be better off doing anything but.

The idea that intimacy is non-commodifiable is a viewpoint that pervades anti-sex-work and white feminist thinking, but I argue that there are many professions that may be described as intimate, and their commodification is never brought into question.

Many believe that teaching is a noble profession, so teachers should do their jobs for love of their profession and the good of their students, not for money. These types of cultural attitudes and beliefs support and perpetuate social inequalities. If poverty and capitalism promote limited resources for many, then inequality is not by accident, it is by design. It’s the easiest way to ensure that there are enough cogs to keep the machine running with the most capital rising to the top.

In an ideal world we all'd be on level footing, and none in a position of status, power or resource over another.

But you know that's simply not reality.

Some people are mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually... whatever-ly... unlikely to experience any sort of sexual intimacy sans alternative impetus. Were it not for us whores, they would die virgins.

I have (or I guess I should say, had) two such persons in my life. Both of whom had Muscular Dystrophy. Both recently passing of COVID. The fact that money is what leveled the playing field does not in any way cheapen our relationships. Nor does it prevent my eyes from tearing up as I write this.

All intimate encounters, be they a one off or something that lasts for decades, should be entered into by equals. This isn't always the case. Under capitalism, sometimes capital is that equalizer.

I was going to point out the position of unacknowledged privilege from which this is written, and how using that privilege in an attempt to tip the scales in your favour regarding the exchange of capital in intimate situations is pretty bougie, but I've gone and made myself sad, so my heart's not in it anymore.

I'll save that diatribe for when you make your way to the Island. ;)