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Let me complain about how I'm being exploited at my job while voluntarily choosing said job over literally every other job available to me.
by cedarscarlett 7mo ago
Let me complain about how I'm being exploited at my job while voluntarily choosing said job over literally every other job available to me.
- swiftcoder 7mo agoPlease do enumerate these other jobs that are available to the Filipino currently performing this job for... checks notes... $2/hour?
- mhb 7mo agoPlease say what you think the hourly average wage is in the Philippines and how you conclude that this isn't the woman's best option despite her revealed preference that it is.
- swiftcoder 7mo agoI don't think you and I are disagreeing here? The article explicitly states that she only took this work because she couldn't find other work, and that she dislikes the work intensely (... but has no better job prospects)
- phendrenad2 7mo agoSo what is your point exactly? That we as a society should see to it that no matter how much sex work pays, we provide an equally high-paying and easy job for people? What do you propose?
- SpicyLemonZest 7mo agoI'd endorse that principle. It's true, of course, that societies without an abundance of easy and high-paying jobs may struggle to satisfy it except by banning sex work.
- swiftcoder 7mo agoThe person I was replying to suggested that this person voluntarily chose this job over a bunch of equally good jobs. My point is that this is at best a mischaracterisation - they chose this job because of economic necessity. Yes, it may be that it pays more than equivalent non-porn jobs due to being rooted in foreign exchange. But that doesn't make it any more voluntary
- mhb 7mo agoHow is that different than the reason most people work? Mining coal, putting out oil fires, industrial fishing. These are not only unpleasant - they are also dangerous.
- swiftcoder 7mo agoAgreed. Again, I was only responding to the original comment that this was a choice among equally good alternatives
- phendrenad2 7mo agoI don't think anyone was saying or even implying that there were equally good alternatives. Being a con-man might be your best option if you're naturally gifted at lying. But that doesn't mean you get to complain that you're being exploited by the jail.
- cedarscarlett 7mo agoI did not suggest that she chose it over equally good jobs. Reread my comment. I said she chose it over any other job available to her. Therefore it is by definition the best job available to her by her own admission. Do you disagree with any of that?
- swarnie 7mo ago> As of early 2026, the minimum wage in the Philippines is set daily rather than hourly and varies by region, with a common daily minimum of approximately 695 PHP in some sectors, often equating to less than $2 USD per hour Pretty much any Wagie job?
- mmooss 7mo agoThat's how exploitation works: The exploited don't have another choice. That doesn't make doing cruel things to them wrong and (hopefully) illegal. For example, someone could compel people who are starving to do all sorts of horrible things for food, and then say 'well, they chose to do it!'.
- mhb 7mo agoOnce you make this job illegal, what do you think she does then for a job? By taking this job she has revealed that this is her best option. When you make the job illegal, you're forcing her to take a worse alternative.
- mmooss 7mo agoThat's the argument of employers, who introduce that false choice. The option they don't mention is to pay them more.
- mhb 7mo agoThat's only an option in your imagination; not in the world she lives in.
- mmooss 7mo agoWhat is that based on? The employer is making a profit; they can reduce those profits and pay employees more. It happens all the time in response to the labor market. If the labor market caused employees to be paid more, would the employer refuse? Shut down?
- mhb 7mo agoIt is based on the idea that the employer is running a business and competing with other businesses to provide the best product at the lowest cost. The employer is operating at the lowest profit he considers acceptable. In your imagination there is some "labor market" which is going to coordinate to bring all these businesses to an impasse. That's not going to happen. If somehow the labor market was able to coordinate to demand higher wages, the business would have to increase its price. There would be less demand at the higher price. Consequently there would be fewer businesses and fewer workers would have jobs at all.