HBO’sLast Week Tonight,and its hostJohnOliver,is known for dealing with current matters, often controversial ones, without hiding behind a veneer of political correctness. Last Sunday night’s episode went for an extra 10 minutes wherein, as usual, Oliver discussed with the incredibly timely news of the week then moved on to the main topic of the episode — sex work — and how it’s viewed around the world and in contrast to completely legal things like porn.
After commenting on the tragic developing situation regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oliver then pivoted to discuss sex work as the main topic of the episode. As expected, this garnered some squeals from the crowd. But after a couple of jokes concerning birds and grandmas, the host revealed the social quandary to be dissected: how society has never been good at talking about sex. The natural causation to be learned here — and how it connects to sex work — is that society’s discomfort and shame in dealing openly with the matter has influenced the way people perceive workers who make a living through sex and performing sex acts.
Sex work is illegal in most places around the world, Oliver explains, including the United States — except for a few counties in Nevada. The host addresses multiple points of hypocrisy and contradiction during the episode regarding how people view and treat sex vs. sex workers. One of these contradictions is how the recording of consensual sex for money, also commonly known as pornography, is not illegal, whereas doing it without the presence of a camera is. “Everything about the way we regulate sex work in this country is confusing and counterproductive,” Oliver says.
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As Oliver points out, sex work has existed for as long as society has, so it’s about time that we are more understanding of it. There is no single reason why a person decides to begin sex work, and the host makes a clear argument in favor of people who have a legitimate reason to be in the profession. Not that they should need a reason, as long as they are consenting. But even between consenting adults, the practice is criminalized — because of that, sex workers are left in an unjust, unfavorable, and sometimes dangerous position.
This episode makes an argument that sex work is labor just as much as any other job, and thus, it should be treated as such. This was “not a piece about morality,” as Oliver clearly states, but viewers are shown multiple instances and first-hand accounts from sex workers that should open one’s eyes to the precarious situations that these people — yes,people, the host needs to emphasize — have to endure. However, not all sex workers are victims in need of saving, especially not if the help they are offered comes from the police, who often end up arresting and treating them like criminals— or worse, assaulting them. This makes it so that if a real problem arises, sex workers will be hesitant — and rightly so — to go to the police for aid.
As we can understand from Oliver’s conclusion, more countries should take on New Zealand’s example and allow sex workers to legally do their work while their employers ensure that they are not underage and use safe sex practices. The difference between New Zealand and the other countries is that New Zealand lawmakers consulted with sex workers before making the laws that affect them. The best way to “fix” the situation, as the episode tells us, is to allow sex workers their fundamental rights and to treat them like the human beings they are.
