There's possibly a lower proportion on HN than elsewhere, but suggesting that most of the population works voluntarily, and not to avoid starvation and homelessness, is going to be a bit of a stretch.
Sex work just makes the dynamic more obvious. There will be some who do it because it's a talent and a calling, but the majority do it because they need to put food on the table.
And some of those will be posting how awesome it is on TW etc because it's free advertising.
I don't see how it's any more obvious. Our culture is replete with examples of people complaining about their jobs, their bosses, their stress, TGIF, hump Wednesday, hate Mondays, etc. There are far more of these than examples of exploitation in prostitution.
If all work is exploitation and pressure, then sex work is still just like any other job.
Nitpick: decriminalization means that something is still illegal, but it's not a crime.
In NSW (Aus) and New Zealand (both decriminalised), there are no laws restricting sex work. Local councils may have zoning laws restricting where brothels may operate, but sex work itself is fully legal.
Illegal actions go through a civil justice track, and typically result in fines and/or some sort of civil restitution for victims.
If you ignore building codes you're acting illegally. If you ignore building codes and people die you're a criminal.
Which is fine as far as it goes. But criminality is often defined politically, not empirically in terms of outcomes.
Sex work is complicated precisely because it's on the edge of consensus morality. It has so much moral and political baggage, and for those who care it's so difficult to manage in ways that minimise harm for all involved, that it's almost the definition of a political football.
It doesn't help that authoritarians are invariably utterly hypocritical about it. Sex workers know that business is going to boom whenever a convention of self-styled moral hawks hits town.
So there's always political pressure to keep that hypocrisy hidden, which makes the criminal/civil line even more of a hot-button issue than it would be anyway.
Legalisation means making it actually legal, as many US states have now made marijuana, or as NZ has made sex work. It can still be regulated or taxed, but in general its fine.
So, precisely exploitation and pressure, same as any other job.
Your perception would be wrong. The vast majority of sex workers are doing it for the money, same as any job.
> The illegality of prostitution
Prostitution is not illegal in many parts of the world, and even decriminalised is some parts.
> I hear of no stories where people have found happy and fulfilled lives as prostitutes.
That's because you aren't listening. There's plenty of sex workers who blog or who are on twitter that you can ask. Just follow some and see.
> prostitutes are routinely destroyed by their work.
The biggest risk to sex workers in parts of the world where it is illegal is rape and murder by law enforcement.