Hoes & High Fashion

ESSAY by LAURA TORLASCHI

PHOTOGRAPHY by PENELOPE DARIO

Sex workers have long been the subject of cultural fascination. Flouting the norms of gender, sexuality, and capitalism, the sex worker is a vision of life on the fringes of polite society. Unfortunately, that level of subversion often comes with detractors. Centuries of low-blow humor and cautionary tales mean the general public has a singular view of these communities. The world perceives a sex worker as conniving, unintelligent, drugged out, and lazy. Sex workers face discrimination in all facets of life, intrinsically tied with misogyny, queerphobia, xenophobia, racism, and classism. Despite the negative connotations of the industry, the world has increasingly adopted the trappings of sex work as an edgy aesthetic.

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