Unfiltered: "Society treats sex workers as second-class citizens"

Yahoo News, Yahoo News • April 26, 2018

By Brian Prowse-Gany and Joyzel Acevedo

As a prominent face in the world of adult entertainment, sex worker Ginger Banks has endured her share of insults and discrimination: “When I read comments on articles about sexual assault happening to sex workers, it breaks my heart. Because a lot of the people say, ‘Well, she’s a sex worker. She gets f***ed for money. Why can’t I grab her right now?’”

“Which makes no sense. If you are going to run into a UFC fighter on the street, you’re not going to punch him in the face and say, ‘That’s your job,’ right?”

Following a recent string of deaths by suicide and drug overdose among female adult-film actresses, including the popular performer August Ames, Banks has spoken out about the damaging and discriminatory treatment sex workers in the industry regularly face. The issue, Banks believes, stems from the stigma society places on sex work and the porn industry.

“There are people who probably respect drug dealers, that shoot and kill people, more than they do sex workers,” she says, “because sex is so negatively viewed still by such a large percentage of the country. … There are mothers who have had their children taken away from them because they are sex workers, there are banks and other institutions that have shut down sex workers’ accounts.”

“We’re all just people who want to provide for themselves and for their families.”

In this latest episode of “Unfiltered,” adult-film actress Ginger Banks explains why porn stars need more support for the kind of work they do — both within the industry and in society at large.

The 27-year-old has worked in the sex industry for eight years, first finding success as a webcam model and most recently having filmed a big-budget XXX feature. She was a chemical engineering student when she made the decision to pursue webcamming full-time, a choice that shocked her father. “When my dad found out, he immediately said, ‘Is someone forcing you to do this?’” she recalls, “Because it’s easier to think of that and accept that, than it is to realize that your independent, intelligent daughter decided to go into the sex work industry.”

Ginger Banks (Photo courtesy of Ginger Banks)

It took time for Banks to get past her shame: “When I was lying about my job as a sex worker, that’s when I was the most depressed. Because deep down I knew there was nothing wrong with being a sex worker, but I had to hide it and I had to lie to people about my job. And that made me feel terrible.”

Now, with the new Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, known as the FOSTA-SESTA bill, signed by President Trump on April 11, 2018, Banks believes the struggles many sex workers face will not only increase, it will also “cause [them] to die.” “Full-service sex workers are already at a higher risk of being murdered due to their job,” explains Banks. “And taking away their resources to screen through violent clients is just going to make that worse.”

Online platforms, like classified advertising website Backpage.com, are being held responsible by the new law for any sex related content. (Image: Backpage)

Banks also feels that the new law will hurt those who are involuntarily trafficked into the industry. “If we make it safe for people to do sex work,” she asserts, “We are going to be making it safer for these people to come forward who are being forced into this industry.”

Ultimately, Banks wants sex workers to be treated fairly and with respect, “My goal in life is to help change the stigma surrounding sex workers. … We are just like any other part of society,” she says. “It is important to see us as people, because that’s what we are.”

Original in English: "Unfiltered: 'Society treats sex workers as second-class citizens'", Yahoo News, April 26, 2018, https://www.yahoo.com/news/unfiltered-society-treats-sex-workers-second-class-citizens-001723120.html.

	Original text in English reproduced at Men of Worth Newspaper: "Unfiltered: 'Society treats sex workers as second-class citizens'", http://avezdasmulheres2.blogspot.com/2018/05/unfiltered-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Original text in English plus licentiousness videos at Periódico de Los Hombres de Valía: "Unfiltered: 'Society treats sex workers as second-class citizens'", https://avezdoshomens2.blogspot.com/2018/05/unfiltered-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traduzione in italiano senza video di dissolutezza in Men of Worth Newspaper: "Non filtrato: 'La società tratta le lavoratrici del sesso come cittadine di seconda classe'", http://avezdasmulheres2.blogspot.com/2018/05/non-filtrato-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traduzione in italiano con video di dissolutezza in Periódico de Los Hombres de Valía: "Non filtrato: 'La società tratta le lavoratrici del sesso come cittadine di seconda classe'", https://avezdoshomens2.blogspot.com/2018/05/non-filtrato-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traduction vers le français sans vidéos de libertinage au Men of Worth Newspaper: "Non filtré: 'La société traite les travailleuses du sexe comme citoyennes de seconde zone'", http://avezdasmulheres2.blogspot.com/2018/05/non-filtre-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traduction vers le français avec vidéos de libertinage au Periódico de Los Hombres de Valía: "Non filtré: 'La société traite les travailleuses du sexe comme citoyennes de seconde zone'", https://avezdoshomens2.blogspot.com/2018/05/non-filtre-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traducción al español sin videos de putaría en Men of Worth Newspaper: "Sin filtrar: 'La sociedad trata a las trabajadoras sexuales como ciudadanas de segunda clase'", https://avezdasmulheres2.blogspot.com/2018/05/sin-filtrar-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Traducción al español con videos de putaría en Periódico de Los Hombres de Valía: "Sin filtrar: 'La sociedad trata a las trabajadoras sexuales como ciudadanas de segunda clase'", https://avezdoshomens2.blogspot.com/2018/05/sin-filtrar-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Tradução para o português sem vídeos de putaria no A Vez das Mulheres de Verdade: "Não filtrado: 'A sociedade trata as profissionais do sexo como cidadãs de segunda classe'", http://avezdasmulheres.blogspot.com/2018/05/nao-filtrado-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.
	Tradução para o português com vídeos de putaria no A Vez dos Homens que Prestam: "Não filtrado: 'A sociedade trata as profissionais do sexo como cidadãs de segunda classe'", https://avezdoshomens.blogspot.com/2018/05/nao-filtrado-ginger-banks-FOSTA-SESTA.html.