Listing Sex Worker Employment on Linkedin

The judgemental and morally righteous crowd on Linkedin has spoken. A sex worker isn’t the type of job one needs on one’s resume in order to network on Linkedin. This is a professional site, and the thought of sex work being professional does not sit well with this crowd.

What exactly are these old boomers picturing? Women walking the streets looking for Johns? Is their worldview shaped by the events of watching some dodgy cop show back in 1972? Do they still believe there are pimps dressed like Jimi Hendrix exploiting women while hanging out on street corners?

If you declare your previous employment as a sex worker on Linkedin, you’re clearly not caught in the underbelly of dodgy deeds and sex trafficking. It’s a fair assessment to suggest that maybe you’re privileged and sex work was a choice that led to the empowerment of your body.

So what happens when you make a post declaring your current occupation as a sex worker? Can you guess? This is social media after all. People judge. The moral right stands aghast and asks where societal value has fled. The liberal left clapped and cheered and celebrated people being open about themselves and all their faults. And every view in between bled through the cracks of the professional platform.

Is it an obvious extension of agency and capitalism? Should the ‘this is not Facebook’ brigade fuck off and accept that sex work is like any other type of work? Why should they judge somebody selling their body to an agreed party and then pay tax afterward? Isn’t that exactly what a bricklayer or any other construction worker does? Capitalism thrives on exploitation.

What exactly did Arielle Egozi have to say?

“I charge exorbitant amounts.

I have no problem taking rejections from those that don’t want to pay it, because I charge what emotional labor is required right into the fee.

I set and hold boundaries, and engage only in ways that are safe, playful, and abundant for me. I don’t waste my time with anything less.

I stopped pitching and negotiating. I have nothing to prove. I’ve done the work up front to make my value evident.

why is this different than any other client work?”

It is no different. And now it is on her Linkedin profile.

Egozi was not on the poverty line. She didn’t choose to be a sex worker because she had no choice. She had employment with ‘fancy benefits’. She is from Brooklyn, New York and it is fair to say as an attractive woman with a university education that she has never had to fight poverty while raising children. She comes from a position of privilege.

From this angle, Egozi is somebody to celebrate. She is empowered. She does what she pleases. She has control over her life and her body. She is a beaming example of a liberated woman succeeding on her terms in a patriarchal society. No arguments from me. I lean to the liberal side of life.

But Linkedin is anything but a liberal playground.

Linkedin is a social platform where the idea of ‘professionalism’ is subjective. Working in the sex industry is frowned upon by the stewards of the moral code of Linkedin. Politics don’t belong on Linkedin even if your role is working in politics. Having an opinion isn’t allowed unless you are an industry expert. Can you see why this platform has descended into chaos and continuous argument? So many unwritten rules trying to control what people say or think.

This continuous clash of cultures is what makes Linkedin a fun environment. These aren’t one-line insults via a tweet. These are long, drawn-out comments that argue their viewpoint amassing equally long replies that will often descend into a playground ruckus.

When the comments reach over 1500, it’s fair to say Egozi wouldn’t be replying to any of them. Why add fuel to the fire? She said what she said and she shouldn’t have to defend her position. Sex sells in more ways than one.

And what did the wise old heads of Linkedin have to say?

Think of women’s dignity.

Think of your bleak future.

Think of your career.

Think of yourself.

Think of the children.

Honestly, I could go on. There were as many negative comments as there were positives. There were mini spats breaking out everywhere you read. This was a lively debate that divided people. There simply was no black and white answer.

And that’s the point.

There is no black and white answer. There is no clear choice. Every decision in life has shades of grey. Every perspective is valid. Everybody reaches a decision based on their experience. X doesn’t always equal Y. The world is full of variables and we should stop being so judgemental especially on social platforms with a global community.

We can’t all agree. And that’s okay.

I applaud this post from Egozi. I love her stance. I love her power. I admire her bravery to speak forthrightly about what she does. It doesn’t matter how she got there or whatever privilege she possesses.

Make no mistake, this is a strong and confident woman who won’t back down in the face of criticism.

And for that, I’m thankful.

arielle egozi, queen and legend.