I think that how harmful it is depends on the society in which it takes place.

I mean, everyone who works is a prostitute in the more abstract sense. We are all renting the use of our bodies for money. The only difference between me and a sex worker is that I'm renting my body to someone to be used toward a different purpose.

You don't see a difference in your body being the actual product?

Your body is always the product, that's the point. You're selling your body (the product) to a company or directly to the consumer.

And how many people are like that? You are basically discard most of the population

Independent, sane, and drug-free doesn't seem like that high of a bar to me.

A lot of people where work is tied to your healthcare are not independent. A lot others work so much it leave them no choice to not be sane after a while. And sometimes people can't afford the expensive tools needed to deal with lots of personal issues (tools like therapy) so they turn to the cheaper options, like drugs.

I don't think it's so shocking that not a lot of people would actually be above that bar.

I had a feeling somebody would quibble with "independent." In context, I don't think it's a high bar. If we're talking about sex workers, we're not talking about people with regular jobs so work is tied to their healthcare. "Independent" has to mean no more than an independent-minded personality; exactly the sort of person who would be inclined to run their own business doing something that's less socially acceptable.

Therapy is not the universal requirement for mental health that many people seem to think it is. Most people just muddle through and manage to stay reasonably sane without developing substance abuse disorders. In many cases that might not be optimal, but it's not insane or drug-addled either.

Most sex workers I've come across are not drug addled nor mentally unwell. Obviously that's a tiny proportion and not enough to draw solid statistical conclusions from, but at least it's more data than you have.

It’s a job, sure… but it certainly isn’t straightforward or without its problems. And above all, sex isn’t exactly “I tried these gloves and I didn’t like them so I will get the other ones” type of deal.

Love is great because it’s innocent and exploratory, I find it hard to believe these sex workers deal only with clients who are in it for romantic aspects, which means a lot of the time these women will be taking on whatever nasty bullshit their client is dealing with in their own life…

And that isn’t something you can suppress for the rest of your life. It will eventually seep out and begin to distort your view of reality. And no amount of money can fix that.

Not trying to be too cynical but it’s a major point to consider if you want to weigh the topic as a whole.

> isn’t something you can suppress for the rest of your life. It will eventually seep out and begin to distort your view of reality. And no amount of money can fix that.

Anyone working a job that deals with a lot of drunk people, or criminals, or mentally unwell will experience a fair amount of nasty behavior. It sucks, but people do the work because it's their best option and others rarely judge them for it. Except sex workers, they get judged by practically everyone.

Some jobs like bar work or physiciatric work carry risks of physical altercation etc.

In prostitution the physical encounter is the whole job, there's no avoiding it. Your body is the product.

Sex itself is also highly exceptional emotionally. Your body reacts to sexual behavior neurochemical in a way that's incomparable to really any other activity, and it's unique in how it can affect your relationships and self perception.

Please note that I make No judgement against sex workers when I say this.

Every woman should just be multi-millionaire prostitutes to be better mothers than corporate wageslaves!