--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't really think myself that sex work…" description: "\"I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.\" — Alix Kates Shulman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg" --- # I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily… ![“I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.” quote by Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg) > “I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.” [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that sex work is not inherently more demeaning than other exploitative jobs, challenging stigma. **In simple terms:** Sex work isn’t uniquely demeaning compared to other exploitative work. Key Takeaway Question societal stigma, consider worker dignity. Themes stigma labor rights gender equality Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - policy debates - activism - personal relationships - media representation Key Concepts social justice ethical labor Questions to Reflect On - How does stigma affect sex workers’ lives? - What policies could reduce exploitation across all jobs? A Different Perspective Stigma persists despite logical arguments; cultural change is slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-work/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Here's how men think. Sex, work - and those are reversible, depending on age - sex, work, food, sports and lastly, begrudgingly, relationships. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/here-s-how-men-think-sex-work-and-those-are-reversible-depending-on/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [“I saw a documentary about prostitution in Holland a few years ago, that said over there health insurance actually pays for monthly visits to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/i-saw-a-documentary-about-prostitution-in-holland-a-few-years-ago/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [“When I was thinking about How Poetry Saved My Life entering the “big literary world” I more so viewed it as sub genre or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/when-i-was-thinking-about-how-poetry-saved-my-life-entering-the-big/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“Maybe he'd never come across anybody as well versed at objectifying body parts as I was. In my defense, this was an occupational hazard;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-shaw/maybe-he-d-never-come-across-anybody-as-well-versed-at-objectifying/) [Aiden Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-shaw/) > [I've moved away from writing about and describing actual experiences of sex work, whether mine or anybody else's, because the culture is obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-ve-moved-away-from-writing-about-and-describing-actual-experiences/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I don't know why it's anyone's business! People do what they need to do. I did it, and it was nowhere near as traumatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-don-t-know-why-it-s-anyone-s-business-people-do-what-they-need-to/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [“…The shocking thing about any stripper gathering, I discovered, was that you have never heard women talk so fast and so explicitly about money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/the-shocking-thing-about-any-stripper-gathering-i-discovered-was-that/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Early in my career as a domme, I both admired and feared becoming one of those career dommes. I saw, in myself, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/early-in-my-career-as-a-domme-i-both-admired-and-feared-becoming-one/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [Sex work is a completely unregulated industry and to make the affront even worse, the product and the labourers are the same thing! The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/sex-work-is-a-completely-unregulated-industry-and-to-make-the-affront/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I advocate for people who believe sex work is work. But women have so many avenues open. In the same way, a trans woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/i-advocate-for-people-who-believe-sex-work-is-work-but-women-have-so/) [Laxmi Narayan Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laxmi-narayan-tripathi/) > [“Many people believe trans women choose to engage in the sex trade rather than get a real job. That belief is misguided because sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/many-people-believe-trans-women-choose-to-engage-in-the-sex-trade/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [You mustn't force sex to do the work of love or love to do the work of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/you-mustn-t-force-sex-to-do-the-work-of-love-or-love-to-do-the-work/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“Why do prostitutes when they get straight always try and get so prim? It's like long-repressed librarian-ambitions come flooding out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-do-prostitutes-when-they-get-straight-always-try-and-get-so-prim/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Maybe he'd never come acrross anybody as well versed at objectifying body parts as I was. In my defense, this was an occupational hazard;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-shaw/maybe-he-d-never-come-acrross-anybody-as-well-versed-at-objectifying/) [Aiden Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-shaw/) > [“Feminists have accepted that choice is possible when it comes to a different, difficult subject: abortion. The feminist position (and I agree with it)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-brown/feminists-have-accepted-that-choice-is-possible-when-it-comes-to-a/) [Chester Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-brown/) ## More by Alix Kates Shulman > [Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there's probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/within-walking-distance-of-any-spot-on-earth-there-s-probably-more/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [It's always difficult to write honestly of one's deepest feelings, particularly without the protective veil of fiction. But the more difficult, the more rewarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/it-s-always-difficult-to-write-honestly-of-one-s-deepest-feelings/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Ever since Freud, being alone has been considered something of a psychological failure. The point, according to Freudian theory, is to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/ever-since-freud-being-alone-has-been-considered-something-of-a/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [“His cup of tea did not include the dregs, though the dregs are the tea. His brew was nothing but vapor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/his-cup-of-tea-did-not-include-the-dregs-though-the-dregs-are-the-tea/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Solitude offers a lot that being coupled or being in a group does not. It helps us learn what we are capable of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/solitude-offers-a-lot-that-being-coupled-or-being-in-a-group-does-not/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [When I became a feminist, when the movement started in the late sixties, I started writing because I had something urgent to say. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/when-i-became-a-feminist-when-the-movement-started-in-the-late/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Being alone for a woman is probably much more scary than for a man. I'm all for getting over our fears by facing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/being-alone-for-a-woman-is-probably-much-more-scary-than-for-a-man-i/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I think you get mentally ill being homeless. Most of the bag ladies wind up mentally ill pretty quickly - what people would call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-think-you-get-mentally-ill-being-homeless-most-of-the-bag-ladies/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [For many decades my relations with my parents constituted unfinished business. I had dealt with them through sheer avoidance and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/for-many-decades-my-relations-with-my-parents-constituted-unfinished/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [The movement for women's liberation was about an emotional transformation, an explosion, a feeling all over the country that things must be different, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/the-movement-for-women-s-liberation-was-about-an-emotional/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I am a feminist. I'm trying to show the relationships between men and women, always the structural relations, not individual villains. I'd never make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-am-a-feminist-i-m-trying-to-show-the-relationships-between-men-and/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I did not intend to be a writer. I first wanted to be a lawyer, like my father. Then I got bit by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-did-not-intend-to-be-a-writer-i-first-wanted-to-be-a-lawyer-like-my/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Fiction is ideally suited to re-creating the important emotional aspects of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/fiction-is-ideally-suited-to-re-creating-the-important-emotional/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [I am not a psychological novelist, and I try very hard not to allow the reader to see the plight or circumstances of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-am-not-a-psychological-novelist-and-i-try-very-hard-not-to-allow/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [Sexism goes so deep that at first it's hard to see; you think it's just reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/sexism-goes-so-deep-that-at-first-it-s-hard-to-see-you-think-it-s/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) [Explore all 33 Alix Kates Shulman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) ## More Demeaning quotes > [I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [When I think about what we now know about Donald Trump and what he's been doing for 30 years, he sure has spent a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-i-think-about-what-we-now-know-about-donald-trump-and-what-he-s/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“My sense of what I’m worth depends on how much of the world I displace as I walk around? Christ, that’s a demeaning thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sense-of-what-i-m-worth-depends-on-how-much-of-the-world-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If there were more temple work done in the Church, there would be less of selfishness, less of contention, less of demeaning others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-there-were-more-temple-work-done-in-the-church-there-would-be-less/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [To be told that one can be dependent on one's parents until age 26 should strike a young person who wants to grow up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/to-be-told-that-one-can-be-dependent-on-one-s-parents-until-age-26/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [I never respond to Donald Trump's personal insults about me. I could care less what he says about me. I'm going to respond when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-never-respond-to-donald-trump-s-personal-insults-about-me-i-could/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Sexism is bad enough when it's men demeaning women. When women do it to other women, it's even more deflating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-robbins/sexism-is-bad-enough-when-it-s-men-demeaning-women-when-women-do-it/) [Mel Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-robbins/) > [For Democrats to reduce women to beggars for cheap government-funded birth control is demeaning to the women that I know who are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/for-democrats-to-reduce-women-to-beggars-for-cheap-government-funded/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [The amount of people that I feel like... I'm not being self-demeaning, but I actually feel like I'm not as cool as them, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-vernon/the-amount-of-people-that-i-feel-like-i-m-not-being-self-demeaning/) [Justin Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-vernon/) > [There are a lot of movies out there that I would hate to be paid to do, some real demeaning, real woman-denigrating stuff. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beah-richards/there-are-a-lot-of-movies-out-there-that-i-would-hate-to-be-paid-to/) [Beah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beah-richards/) > [A man who is violent to his woman, with or without provocation is less than a man; and a woman who deliberately provokes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tia-nnebo/a-man-who-is-violent-to-his-woman-with-or-without-provocation-is-less/) [Tia Nnebo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tia-nnebo/) > [The McJob tag is misleading, and demeaning to our staff and franchisees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-easterbrook/the-mcjob-tag-is-misleading-and-demeaning-to-our-staff-and-franchisees/) [Steve Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-easterbrook/) > [It's the end of the day where wives stay home and raise the kids and all that. That demeaning stuff? No more. Country club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-s-the-end-of-the-day-where-wives-stay-home-and-raise-the-kids-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [There has to be so many other ways of approaching airline security than demeaning ourselves by giving up a lot of our dignities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quico-canseco/there-has-to-be-so-many-other-ways-of-approaching-airline-security/) Quico Canseco > [“...to protect her from male attention, that feeling of being scored each time you walked down a street, the demeaning comments yelled out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/to-protect-her-from-male-attention-that-feeling-of-being-scored-each/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) Browse all 102 Demeaning quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alix Kates Shulman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-work-is-necessarily-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demeaning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-work-is-necessarily-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/alix-kates-shulman-19070_demeaning_i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-wor_977231.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't really think myself that sex work is necessarily more demeaning than other kinds of demeaning work.” — Alix Kates Shulman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alix Kates Shulman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't really think myself that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-work-is-necessarily-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/i-don-t-really-think-myself-that-sex-work-is-necessarily-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```