The Dirty Whore Argument, Part III

This was my late reply to my poetry professor concerning the topic of sex work:

Dear [Poetry Professor],
I did do a quick online search and found that yes, there are studies and research out there investigating the link between prostitution and drug use/addiction. One thing I do know after reading a book on addiction, and writing two research papers on it (which doesn't make me an expert or even educated on the subject) and subsequently doing a lot of reading about drug policy and social costs of addiction in addition to my own experiences with opioids, I have learned how complicated the factors are (environmental, social and genetic, to name a few) for drug addiction in the general population, or better said, of people who suffer from a substance abuse disorder. In other words, the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know, which happens to most of us.

So, I can't say why prostitutes may or may not have a higher incidence with substance abuse--is it directly from their job? From the stress of their job and their vulnerability to sexual assault? Or is it because prostitutes are more likely to develop addiction due to some factor that has nothing to do with their occupation? Is it due to the risk of arrest? Or an even better question, is it at least partially linked to the stigma surrounding sex work?

I know that people with mood disorders, I'm thinking specifically of bipolar disorder, have a higher rate of drug abuse and addiction, and there are a few floating theories as to why. One of the more prominent thoughts is that these people, patients, are proned to self-medicating, but could the picture be larger and more complex than that?

My point isn't to argue who is more likely to develop an addiction, but rather to highlight a resounding interpretation of those facts: someone gains very little understanding of what it's like to be affected by a mood disorder upon learning the link between that psychiatric illness and drugs. It doesn't give you a "crude overview," it is merely a data point. You learn nothing about the daily struggles of someone who has a mental illness, you learn nothing about depression or mania or psychosis or the terrible social consequences of this disease.

I would ask that the same conclusion be drawn about prostitution. Perhaps they do experience a greater suspectibility to drug addiction, but what does that really say about being a sex worker him/herself? Next to nothing. 

For reference and more data on the subject, I recommend SWOP.