We interviewed sociologist Carol Bonomi, a doctoral student at Unicamp, author of controversial threads on Twitter about pornography addiction, and recently participated in an interview on Programa do Bial, on Rede Globo, where she spoke about her subject of study, sex work. She is the author of the course Diretos das Sexworkers.
Who is this course for?
- This course is suitable for: sex workers, porn actresses, camgirls, researchers, students, teachers, and anyone thinking of starting to work in the adult market.
- This course is also recommended for people from other areas of expertise who want to understand more about sex work instead of simply wanting to destroy/prohibit based on moral judgments, without arguing rationally and critically.
[clique aqui e conheça o curso]
Direct from Sexworkers
Carol Bonomi, tell us a little about your academic background and professional experience. Tell us what made you interested in researching sexuality.
I have a degree and a degree in Social Sciences, a Master’s in Political Science and a PhD in Social Sciences with an Emphasis in Gender Studies. I had the privilege of getting into a public university, UNICAMP, where I did all my training. Sexuality has always been an issue that crossed my life, especially because I am a cisgender woman and we know the impact of sex on our lives.
Studies on prostitution itself began in my third year of high school, where I studied at a public institution, at night with sex workers. Sharing personal and everyday life has always made me curious, especially about the lack of rights in this category.
Carol Bonomi
People usually classify all forms of prostitution in the same category, are there differences between sex workers? What are the main differences and how does this affect the problems they face?
Generally, people have the understanding that sex work is synonymous with prostitution. But we know that the category is diverse as well as the services offered in the sexual market. We have prostitution carried out in the streets, bars, motels, escort service, camming, striptease, dommes, actors and actresses.
During the research, I realized that the way these professionals identify themselves is reflected in the type of service they are offered. Obviously, there are also issues of stigma that affect naming as a way of disengaging from illegal acts and highlighting the profession. The problems are more diverse, from the precariousness of the places where prostitution is carried out, lack of laws that protect the safety and well-being of workers, network security, offenses, symbolic, verbal, physical and even patrimonial violence.
At what point is the discussion about the regulation of prostitution in Brazil, and how does the legislature that takes office from 2023 impact on this discussion?
The discussion about regulation has always been an agenda of the Brazilian prostitutes movement. Movement that was consolidated in the late 1970s denouncing police violence and for professional recognition of the category. There have already been several attempts to approve a regulatory model. From the French model, which aims to regulate the bodies of professionals via sanitary control, to the German model, which aims to decriminalize houses of prostitution.
The bill was proposed by former federal deputy Fernando Gabeira and then, in 2012, by former federal deputy Jean Wyllys. Both projects were written in partnership with the movement. In the drafting of the PL, the focus was on the decriminalization of houses and the conceptualization of the term “sexual exploitation”, which is defined by the Brazilian Penal Code. This has a general impact on the category, as the profession, despite being recognized by the Brazilian Occupation Classification, is still linked to illegal and illicit practices, causing a lot of stigma and criminalization of the activity. The current legislative, even more conservative than the previous one, tends to criminalize all sexualities. Sexual and reproductive rights are in the crosshairs of this congress in an anti-gender agenda that will harm everyone.
How have technology and social networks impacted the practice of prostitution and sex work in general? Is it possible to mention positive and negative aspects of this impact?
Technology and social networks are not new today, which is a way of exercising sex work. In times of financial crisis, labor relations and social security, more informal and flexible jobs become a way to generate income, whether fixed or extra, for many people. Like other works, during the research I have been analyzing that sex work was no different. In addition to the entry of many people into camming work, workers who previously did face-to-face work, have been performing more than one service, including camming, packs, films.
Which leads me to believe in a deeper process of precariousness, given the low demand for customers, financial crisis. In addition, we have the phenomenon of women and men who already have a formal job and supplement their income with sex work. On the positive side, we can think of the security that the internet provides for people to work in a safe environment. However, cybersecurity is also a discussion, which involves the values of platforms, or people who exercise more autonomously without the mediation of platforms, how they create domestic security mechanisms to combat fake profiles and the copying of their work. In addition, the discussion was more widely spread on social media. Several people use moral panic, such as exploitation of children and adolescents, pedophilia, etc., to produce content that provokes spaces of hatred against workers. The discussion of sexual rights still has to move forward.
How does an NGO that supports prostitutes work? What kind of activities do these NGOs promote and how can people contribute to these entities?
Prostitute associations are NGOs that are coordinated and managed by prostitutes. They develop prevention actions, discuss rights and provide legal support to the category. In general, associations are dependent on social projects that are publicized through public notices. For some time now, the associations have been discussing alternative ways to raise the institutions’ income so that they are not so dependent on these notices. given the Bolsonaro administration, the edicts fell tragically. This had an impact on sexual health prevention actions and on the expansion of associations in their states. People can contribute with donations, publicize social networks, invite professionals to consultations, etc.
Direct from Sexworkers
Do you have a course on law for sexworkers (Diretos das Sexworkers), can you talk a little about this course and who can benefit from it?
So, in partnership with the people at Rati, we created a course on rights for sex workers. From my twitter profile where I write about sex work, several messages from professionals asking questions about their rights were recurring. I gathered research data with my work in associations to address the main points about the right of sex workers as a way to help this category. In addition to stimulating collective struggle. I always say that if today we can talk about rights for sexwokers, it was because women came together to fight for a category. So it was a way to expand and help in this fight.
On your twitter account you’ve already made some very controversial threads about pornography addiction. How do you believe it is possible to have a healthy relationship with pornography or will addiction always affect consumers?
The discussion about addiction and pornography has been growing in the networks. Addiction is a historical, medical category that can vary over time and space. I’m not a doctor, but I invite people to reflect on their sexual practices, especially how their sexual education was inserted to problematize the self-diagnosis of pornography addiction. I point out how sexuality has always been something condemned and how the current discussion on the subject is.
More than that, I try to open a dialogue so that people question themselves about sexual practices, especially what is consent. Speaking of addiction to pornography has turned into yet another moral panic that involves socially criminalizing the category of workers. In addition to being an instrument to promote anti-sex and anti-gender policies. So, I invite people to reflect on the social and political impacts on the topic. Obviously, I always recommend looking for professionals who do not condemn, but talk about sexual preferences in a healthier way. For we know the growth of psi professionals in favor of illegal therapeutic practices such as gay healing.
sex work
What organizations do you recommend so that people who work with sex can know and seek their rights?
I always guide sex workers to resort to associations in their regions. Practically, in every state there is an association. The activists have extensive knowledge of the law and advise on several cases of violation of rights.
Finally, tell how people can access your course and say what you would say to someone who is thinking about starting with some kind of sex work in Brazil today.
My course will be available on the Rati platform, with special value for sexworkers. I always guide people to seek a support network, to know their rights, to dialogue with professionals in the area, above all, to understand that this job is not a crime. Sex work is work.
Who is this course for?
- This course is suitable for: sex workers, porn actresses, camgirls, researchers, students, teachers, and anyone thinking of starting to work in the adult market.
- This course is also recommended for people from other areas of expertise who want to understand more about sex work instead of simply wanting to destroy/prohibit based on moral judgments, without arguing rationally and critically.
[clique aqui e conheça o curso]
tags: sexwork rights, sex work.