Does Sex Sell?

When people say “sex sells” — they don’t mean you will become successful from sex. It is simply a marketing tool used to manipulate vulnerable people in an overly sexualized world, men and women, and all genders and orientations alike.

When you see successful musicians use sex to enhance their music and reference sex work in their lyrics and performances, it’s important to ask yourself, “What made them successful?” Was it the sex work or was it their music?

The majority of survivors of the sex industry whom I have met did not exist in that world to empower themselves. Maybe it was initially something new and different, but in the long run, they stayed there out of desperation. The sex industry always has the potential to ruin lives. In fact, it thrives on that particular aspect: The more lives that are ruined, the more desperate individuals become, which makes them easier to exploit.

Sex sells, but so does vulnerability, desperation, helplessness, ego, insecurity... the list goes on.

By Amanda Moon Ellevis