{"id":84831,"date":"2019-06-19T10:02:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T15:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/?p=84831"},"modified":"2019-06-19T10:02:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T15:02:27","slug":"teen-vogue-fashionably-frames-sex-as-suitable-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/life-issues\/challenges\/cultural-issues\/teen-vogue-fashionably-frames-sex-as-suitable-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen Vogue Fashionably Frames Sex as Suitable Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Teen Vogue<\/em> touts its publication<\/a> as \u201cthe young person\u2019s guide to conquering (and saving) the world.\u201d I don\u2019t know how many of their 3.3 million followers are actually teenagers, but teens are the audience they claim to be for.<\/p>\n

Before I say more, let me be clear about some things I\u2019m for. I\u2019m for compassion. I\u2019m for understanding. I\u2019m for healthy debate and dialogue. I\u2019m for showing love to all people, on all sides of the walls that are being built between us these days, even when we disagree.<\/p>\n

I am for<\/em> people.<\/p>\n

But loving and being for people does not mean loving or being for their ideology. And as the father of a 13-year-old girl, when Teen Vogue<\/em> moves from popping pimples to pushing pimps, I need to raise my hand and say, \u201cUm, yeah. I\u2019m not for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irresponsibility<\/h2>\n

Teen Vogue<\/em> recently published \u201cWhy Sex Work Is Real Work<\/a>.\u201d Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng bookends her thoughts with two ideas. First, she claims that it\u2019s \u201cnot right or just that people who exchange sexual services for money are criminalized, and I am not [criminalized] for what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citing her work as a doctor, she writes that helping people with their sexual issues is no different than other sexual services. She ends the article by saying, \u201cEvidence, not morality, should guide law reforms and sex work policy for full sex work decriminalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although I don\u2019t agree with her, I\u2019m not against Dr. Tlaleng for writing this piece. I\u2019m for free speech, which I obviously value even as I write this now.<\/p>\n

Sad but true<\/h2>\n

Vogue<\/em> could have published this piece in any of their 23 editions. But they intentionally published it to their teenage audience. An audience that likely includes minors who have been, or have the potential to be, harmed and abused physically, psychologically, and emotionally by the sex trade in its many forms.<\/p>\n

Here are some statistics<\/a> to ponder.<\/p>\n