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Nov. 2, 2024
Buy One, Buy All
The institution of prostitution has received a re-branding in recent times, appropriating terms from labor and the corporate world such as “sex work”, “full-service”, “clients”, “sex workers” “doing bookings” arranged by “managers” - presumably in order to de-stigmatize women who sell sex, to make the practice safer for sex sellers, and to make the sex industry mainstream.
But has the nature of the practice - of men buying women for sexual use - really changed?
In this episode, Elle talks to author and activist Andrea Heinz, who spent time in the sex industry in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where prostitution is regulated under the Equality Model, where the city of Edmonton issues licenses for brothels, and where the “sex work is work” model is fully embraced.
In this hour we talk about what Andrea learned through her experiences in prostitution and how it changed her, about her awakening and exit, and how she is now channeling those years of trauma into speaking and writing about the realities of working in the sex industry.
We discuss the belief systems underpinning the “sex work is work” creed and try to answer questions like - if sex is a service that women provide to men, then what is sex for women? What are the actual risks and impacts of having unwanted sex with many strange men all day, every day? Has the “sex work” makeover de-stigmatized sex sellers as promised and made prostitution safer?
Episode Links:
When Men Buy Sex: Who Really Pays?
Andrea Heinz’s academic paper A Mule For The Patriarchy
Contact Us
Website: https://www.subjecttopower.com/
Instagram: @subject2power
Email us at subjecttopower@gmail.com
Credits
Host: Elle Kamihira
Produced by Elle Kamihira
Audio Engineering by Jason Sheesley at Abridged Audio
Cover Art by Bee Johnson
Music by Beware of Darkness
Andrea Heinz
Author & Human Rights Advocate
Andrea Heinz spent seven years in the licensed commercial sex industry In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 2006-2013. She holds a diploma in Correctional Services and is presently completing a Bachelor of Professional Arts in Governance, Law, and Management.
Andrea is a peer-reviewed scholar on commercial sexual exploitation, has written for several professional publications, participated in a number of interviews, and appeared as a witness for the parliamentary review of Canada’s prostitution laws. She is the recipient of many awards including a Woman of Courage award (Centre to Empower All Survivors of Exploitation and Trafficking), the inaugural Dr. Zohra Husaini award for exceptional dedication towards advancing the human rights of women (Indo-Canadian Women’s Association), and a Human Rights Champion award (John Humphrey Centre for Peace & Human Rights). Andrea is happily married with 3 young children.