Queer sex workers support families, pay for education – study
MANILA, Philippines — Queer sex workers are supporting their families or paying for their education, based on a study by the University of the Philippines.
Many gay, bisexual and transgender Filipinos are creating and selling sexual content online, gaining financial independence, flexible schedules and creative control over their work, researcher Jonalou Labor of the UP Diliman College of Media and Communication said.
Beyond needing money, Labor said many sex workers saw their work as a form of self-expression and a way to challenge conservative Filipino attitudes about sexuality and gender.
“The findings challenge binary exploitation/empowerment narratives by showing how digital sex work serves multiple purposes: economic survival, queer identity expression and political resistance,” the author said.
After interviewing 20 sex workers, the researcher found that they have experienced harassment and discrimination from banks and payment processors.
Online platforms often ban their accounts without clear explanation, hence cutting off their income, the study revealed.
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