TITANS OF PORNEIA: Keynote
The Black Sex Workers Collective has pushed the philosophy and practice of the autonomous and political body of sex workers for the past 8 years. I’ve been able to witness the founder, Akynos, help Black sex workers in real time through arts practice, practical assistance such as lodging and bureaucratic financial assistance, education services, resource sharing and so much more.
It is no small feat that now the Black Sex Workers Collective now have a tangible place of gathering, a place to create together, a place to break very dry bread, and devour delicious afro diasporic food.
In a time where sex workers autonomy is being challenged, a space where self actualization can exist is paramount.
Currently there model that is purported to serve and protect sex workers but has contributed profoundly to their vulnerability and further marginalization.
This model is called The Nordic model as it has been adopted by 5 Nordic countries: Denmark Sweden Iceland Norway Finland. This model’s main objective is to abolish the sex industry by punishing the purchase of sexual services making working in the sex industry more difficult.
The model criminalizes buyers of sex work while decriminalizing the sex worker and offering rehabilitation services to promote the end of sex work as a viable form of labor.
The issue with this model is that it conflates sex work with sex trafficking which is the equivalent of conflating work with slavery in the most simplistic of terms.
It also takes away the ability for those who have chosen sex work as their profession to choose.
It assumes that every person who has chosen the path of Sex work has been forced into it by some external entity.
When I think about this assumption it prompts me to think of the origins of sex work and how it was viewed in the past that now informs dangerous policy of the present…
Sex work has been considered by historians to be the world’s oldest profession having been thought to originate in ancient Mesopotamia in 2400 BC. Yet the spiritual aspect of sex work has been linked to Gods and Goddesses since time immemorial.
In dedication to the gods Ishtar (also known as Ashtoreth or Inanna), sex workers were divided into three classes of women:
1. Harimtu (The "Courtesan" or "Prostitute"): Often translated as a temple prostitute or sacred woman who engaged in sexual acts as a ritualistic act for the goddess.
Kizertu (The "Curly-haired" or "Gala-woman"):Associated with the sacred rituals of Ishtar, this group was known for ritual performances, sometimes involving the "scattering" of hair or specific hairstyles.
Šamhatum (The "Joyous" or "Well-endowed"):Similar to the harimtu, these women represented the sensuality, fertility, and sexual freedom associated with Ishtar.
It’s important to note here that these were groups of women gathered together with sex as an acceptable attribute of their positioning in society. Sex, being sexual, nor the act of having sex itself did not degrade or marginalize these women.
Complex theological debates swarm around the topic of sex work bending and manipulating the practice into legalization, decriminalization and stigma. All at once.
In Greece and Rome, brothels were established institutions, but sex work was often performed by slaves. These women were called pornai or ‘free women’.
Further terms that were used in Ancient Greece in regards to Sex work were closely related to porneia(sexual immorality) and porne (a prostitute), which stemmed from pernanai ("to sell").
Mary Magdalene who is considered one Of the most powerful women mentioned in the Bible. has been suggested to have been a disciple of Jesus, or even his wife, or perhaps a courtesan/prostitute. This last is supported by representations showing her with long, curly hair (more respectable women of the era would have had their heads covered) and wearing yellow, a colour traditionally symbolising shame and madness.
The word ‘brothel’ comes from the old French bordel, a variation of the word borde (small house or hut), but is also connected to the fact that in French cities the brothel quarter was always located on the banks of the river (bord de l'eau – at the border of the water). Historically, brothels have been considered places of chaos, where violence wasn’t unusual. This may also explain why the term bordello in Italian also means noise or mess.
19th-Century Regulation: Many regions implemented strict systems requiring sex workers to register with police and undergo health checks to combat venereal diseases.
20th Century & Modern Era: The term "sex worker" was coined in the 1970s by Carol Lelay to unify diverse forms of erotic labor and frame it as legitimate work. The 1975 French sex workers' strike marked a significant shift toward organized resistance against repressive policing.
Stigma and Safety: Despite long-term existence, the profession has consistently faced, and continues to face, severe social, legal, and safety risks, including high violence rates.
Research and Documentation: Modern historical research, such as studies presented on H-Soz-Kult, seeks to move beyond viewing sex work solely through a lens of legal regulation, exploring the actual sexual practices, economic motivations, and personal experiences of those involved
To reference again the important fact of sex work centering collectivity as a means for protection of sex workers is reflected in the 1975 movement of more than a hundred French sex workers in Lyon. Who protested ever changing laws that targeted sex workers and police intimidation. It has been said that this event was a failure as no political change was tangibly made however it showed that as a collective body, sex workers could organize in mass, intimidate, occupy and connect with each other as a network of powerful autonomous beings.
We can see this as a mirror of Lysistrata, a Greek comedy made circa 411 BC where women withhold Sex from their husbands to end a war.
Or even
Iroquois Women (1600): Women refused sex to stop unregulated warfare, gaining veto power over future wars.
From the French action sex workers today now occupy parliament to promote sex workers rights through policy.
Through insurrections centering the sexual autonomy of women, policy has been transformed
Such as in
Liberia (2003): Leymah Gbowee organized women to abstain from sex during the Second Liberian Civil War, demanding peace talks. The effort is credited with pushing warlords to negotiate and led to Gbowee winning a Nobel Peace Prize.
Colombia (2006/2011): In 2006, wives of gang members in Pereira withheld sex to reduce violence, leading to a 26.5% drop in murders by 2010. In 2011, women in Barbacoas struck for better road infrastructure.
Kenya (2009): Women struck to end political infighting between the President and Prime Minister, resulting in a more stable government within a week.
Philippines (2011): Women in Mindanao staged a strike to stop fighting between rival communities, successfully bringing peace to their village.
I had a thought today that sex work having survived so many systems of government to feudalism, communism, socialism, dictatorships, capitalism… it has managed to shift in a way that still manages to be non exploitative to the sex worker, as the sex worker, when given the complete autonomy to do so, is able to set their own hours of labor, their own fee, choose which services they provide.
So, all of this is to say that Throughout history , sacredness and prohibition of the practice a truth remains that sex work possesses the power of exchange beyond a typical world order. It transcends politics, government and gender limitations
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