SMITH: Yes, there should be a negative stigma around sex work, it's undignified and empty

On this week’s episode of the Campus Countdown, Campus Reform’s video reporter Addison Smith criticized Naomi Sayers, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa, for tweeting that, “the best thing” young adults can do professionally is “sex work.”

“unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is do #SexWork on the side because your early career prospects will be unstable, unpredictable, low pay, likely contract work and very much exploitative,” Sayers wrote on Twitter Sunday. She then addressed the idea of sex work being an exploitative component of capitalism.

“That’s how capitalism works… People out here saying young people can be exploited in sex work. Literally, that’s capitalism. Lol. And quite literally, that’s any kind of work.”

Sayers’ publicist, Alex Krause, told Smith in an email that, ““Naomi is IN NO WAY promoting or suggesting that anyone should pursue sex work”. Smith asked Krause what Sayers then meant by her tweet. Krause responded that, “Her intent remains to call out systemic racism / stigmatization wherever it exists”. 

Smith rebutted Sayers’ promotion of doing sex work because of the supposedly exploitative capitalist system.

“There’s a significant difference... between “Capitalism” and prostitution. Namely, when you get a job, and you take that job voluntarily, you are selling a product, a good or a service… In sex work, you are the product and good and service. You’re the object being sold”, Smith said.

Smith also responded to Krause’s accusation that he was contributing to the stigmatization of sex work.

“First off, full disclosure, yes I am stigmatizing sex work. Guilty as charged. I fully endorse keeping a negative stigma around sex work, because It’s shameful and undignifying [sic], and I feel very sorry for those who participate in it, because the money that comes with it is certainly not worth the emptiness it brings you in exchange.”

In the rest of the episode, Smith discussed Rhodes College’s decision to charge unvaccinated students a $1,500 “Health & Safety Fee,” and condemned Portland State University for committing to the full disarming of their campus police.

Watch the full episode above.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @_addisonsmith1