At the 97th Academy Awards, Mikey Madison won Best Actress for her performance in Anora and said in her speech, “I want to recognize and support the sex worker community as an ally.” But normalizing sex work reduces women’s value to physical appeal, undermining true empowerment rooted in respect, intellect, and character.
The debate over sex work is not new. Legal theorist Catharine MacKinnon has long argued that the proliferation of sex work in media has molded how women are viewed culturally in society in ways that reinforce rather than challenge objectification. Similarly, psychologist Melissa Farley describes prostitution as a “cornerstone of rape culture,” emphasizing that societies that tolerate or glamorize sex work inevitably condition people to see women’s bodies as commodities rather than individuals of intellect and purpose.
A study by S. S. R. Calogero supports these concerns, showing that men who were exposed to sexualized images of women exhibited reduced activation in brain regions associated with recognizing human agency, in effect, perceiving these women as objects rather than people. When the female body is continuously framed as a product to be sold, women are viewed through a transactional lens.
Advocates for legitimizing sex work often argue it reduces stigma and improves worker protections. Yet, in Germany, where prostitution is legal, stigma persists. Sex workers are often treated as second-class citizens, struggling to secure housing, banking, or healthcare amid relentless judgment and police harassment. Driven by male demand, the industry frequently draws women out of economic necessity, not choice. Far from empowering, legalization often entrenches gender imbalances, confining women to roles shaped by male desires rather than enabling self-defined aspirations.
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Madison’s speech comes at a time when young women are already navigating conflicting messages about empowerment. A striking example is the controversy surrounding 17-year-old YouTuber Piper Rockelle, who recently collaborated with adult content creators from OnlyFans. The backlash was immediate, with critics pointing out how such partnerships blur the distinction between content aimed at minors and explicit adult entertainment.
This incident is not an isolated one. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X—formerly Twitter—often promote hypersexualized content under the guise of confidence and empowerment, leading young women to believe that their worth is tied to external validation—often by men—rather than internal character. The American Psychological Association’s (APA) Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls found that the proliferation of sexualized media is actively harmful to young women’s mental health. Studies link exposure to hypersexualized portrayals with higher rates of depression, eating disorders, self-objectification, and a distorted sense of self-worth.
Girls exposed to sexualized media often internalize the belief that their worth is defined by their sexual attractiveness rather than their intelligence, skills, or accomplishments. This message, reinforced by the media, contributes to feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. UNICEF has found that this constant sexualization leads to higher levels of body dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem, and increased anxiety among young women. Instead of empowering them, these portrayals of women often strip away confidence, leaving them with a distorted sense of self-worth. And social media has accelerated minors’ exposure to adult content and, in some cases, enabled them, or even their parents, to become entangled in the industry itself. For example, Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Smith, was sued for allegedly exploiting and abusing young content creators, ultimately settling for $1.85 million. Yet despite this, Rockelle continues to operate in online spaces that overlap with the adult industry, raising troubling questions: Where are the boundaries? Who is protecting young women from exploitation disguised as empowerment?
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When high-profile celebrities, media figures, and influencers publicly celebrate sex work without acknowledging its risks, they contribute to a culture where young women internalize the idea that self-objectification is acceptable or even aspirational. For centuries, women have fought to be recognized for their intellect, leadership, and contributions, rather than being valued solely for their bodies. Today, we have more opportunities than ever before to define our worth beyond objectification, but the glorification of sex work threatens this opportunity.
True empowerment does not come from selling one’s body in a marketplace still dominated by male demand. It comes from having the freedom to choose a future that is not defined by external validation, but by personal strength and purpose. Feminine dignity is not found in commodification; it is found in the ability to stand with confidence, grace, and wisdom, knowing one’s worth extends far beyond appearance.
A culture that equates women’s empowerment with selling their sexuality is committing the ultimate gaslighting—it is packaging exploitation as freedom. Mikey Madison’s speech is emblematic of Hollywood, social media, and influencers normalizing sex work, ignoring its harm to women’s equality. True empowerment offers women options, dignity, and the freedom to pursue passions without objectification. Society must create opportunities that eliminate the need to sell one’s body, not glorify industries that profit from it.
Femininity’s future lies in grace, confidence, and self-respect—a world where no woman faces exploitation as her only path forward.
Image: “Vigil to End Violence Against Sex Workers at San Francisco Hall” by Steve Rhodes on Flickr
So you value respect over money? Isn’t respect just seeking the approval of social conformity?
Have you ever worked a minimum wage job? Have you ever felt exploited in employment agreements? What do you say to a woman who finds that she can make six figures doing sex work? Do you feel that respect will subsidize her bills? It’s cute that you think people should or ever would choose less money and more work for intangible social approval.
Because the value of sex work and women with aesthetic appeal are valued so much more highly than other forms of skilled labor sex work in its many forms, both regulated and unregulated will continue to persist.
Until the labor market provides the same benefits of sex work people will reasonably continue to choose sex work as we do live in a capitalist society. I will continue to make huge amounts of money (I don’t even do nudity) for minimal labor on my own schedule and save for retirement with my master’s degree, while I watch my friends pay their student loans dutifully with jobs that provide minimal income, low security, and social approval they all seem to be slaves too.
Choose your master wisely: if you have to choose between being loved or feared, being feared is more profitable.
OK, I’m going to say this — the above is the flip side of the justification of date rape.
http://www.snlarchives.net/Episodes/?199310028
The argument is the man has purchased sex by spending a lot of money on the woman and thus is entitled to the sex which he has purchased. The law doesn’t recognize this, and decent people don’t recognize it, BUT it is the argument that something like the above raises.
Are men purchasing sex, and — if so — do they then become entitled to it? This, and the related argument that Ms. Harley raises are not easy questions — particularly if you deal with them concurrently.
And then some of us are idealistic romantics….
I highly recommend this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248736.Unprotected
“For centuries, women have fought to be recognized for their intellect, leadership, and contributions, rather than being valued solely for their bodies.”
I argue that the converse is true — girls have always wanted the boys to notice them and to pay attention to them, but now it’s solely their bodies. Qualities such as nurturing, intellect but in the sense of “fun to be around.” Leadership but not always being officially in charge, women were good at this in the past. Being someone whose smile “lightens the entire room” — that’s not her body.
Women have tried to prove they are better then men, at the things men are good at, and this is the consequence. other than their bodies (and sexual gymnastics), we are three generations into women ignoring what they are good at.
Dare we say that women are more emotional then women?
There was a study at least 30 years ago — they gave dolls and dollhouses to boys who flipped the dollhouses on their sides to make ramps and created a competitive game of launching dolls into space. They then gave trucks to girls and they made truck “families” — Daddy Truck, Mommy Truck, Baby Truck.
There is an interesting addendum to the infamous Wellsley survey that found that teachers called on girls more often — they then asked the girls why the thought the teacher had done that. “Because the boys will be bad if she doesn’t.”