Intimate Labour Commodification

Final assignment:

CTSJAR002

The commodification of intimate labour challenges the separation of the public and private sector. It shows that it is not entirely separated and that the one influences the other. The commodification of intimate labour allows for these different jobs to be considered work and deemed as valuable. Intimate labour is a necessity in today’s world where it has become the norm for both parents to work. Intimate labour is needed for this to be made possible. There are many benefits of intimate labour, not just for the people doing the labour, but also for countries involved. However there are also downsides to intimate labour such as exploitation.

Intimate labour is labour that entails emotional or bodily closeness.

One of the biggest market exchange relationships is that of sexual activity, sex work. Sex work is not a new profession; it is one of the worlds oldest. It began with temple prostitution in ancient Babylon. Commercial prostitution developed from the enslavement of women and the joining of classes. There is a lot of criticism regarding the commodification of sex work, but the economic analyses of sex work sees nothing inherently wrong with it. It is seen as the result of economic logic and free-market mechanism. It is seen a natural outcome of different factors, because there are benefits involved in sex work, because there is a supply and demand for sex. The problem with sex work, is that often women are not making the choice themselves to do this kind of labour. They are often forced into it, either by actual physical force, such as human trafficking, or they enter it because they are conscious of their economic status and other lucrative employment alternatives are unavailable to them. They seek financial freedom and independence and this is the only form of labour that they can enter to where they are able to become financially independent. Women also tend to want to enter Global cities in hope of a better life. A global city refers to a city that plays an important role in the economic system. Women from third world countries migrate to

This is because there is a higher demand for female prostitution. Sex work is often related with the exploitation of women and the female body. There is more objectification over women’s bodies than there are of men’s. Gender inequality is inherent in the promotion of prostitution; it helps to normalize it. Sex work promotes sexism and classism. The women that find themselves in these survival circuits are often from a lower economic class. They take on this form of labour in order to try and achieve more financial independence.

Radical and liberal feminists have very different views on sex work. Radical feminists are against it because it degrades women and helps to further empower men. They believe that sex work is not a choice and that the women involved are victims of coercion. It is not viewed as work, but rather a consequence of inequality. It is not seen as work, because sex workers aren’t selling their labour, but their bodies. They are giving people access to something that is theirs and by doing so they lose their