Why Sex Work Should Be Destigmatized, Not Just Decriminalized

It might be the oldest profession, but prostitution and other forms of sex work are also among the most prohibited and regulated around the world. 

At the latest Reason Speakeasy—a monthly live event in New York City with outspoken defenders of free speech and heterodox thinking—Nick Gillespie talked with Kaytlin Bailey, the founder and executive director of Old Pros, a sex worker rights group and the writer and performer of Whore's Eye View, a one-woman show about 10,000 years of prostitution, female emancipation, and sexual freedom.

Bailey and Old Pros seek not just to decriminalize sex work but to destigmatize it too, arguing that sex workers have not only provided a much-in-demand service but helped to push the boundaries of freedom and liberty.

Produced by Nick Gillespie; edited by Adam Czarnecki and Justin Tuckerman; sound editing by Ian Keyser

Photo Credits: Fine Art Images / Heritage Images/Newscom; Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom; Romy Arroyo Fernandez/ZUMA Press/Newscom; World History Archive/Newscom; Ingram Publishing/Newscom