Ask a transsexual anything

[TaraJo]

What can I say? Trans women face heavy discrimination in other workplaces, but in sex work, being trans is actually seen as a positive. Combine that with the fact that transitioning takes money (for things like hormones, clothes and surgery) and sex work is damn tempting. Societal norms inflate the numbers a bit. But I also think the numbers there seem higher than they actually are because of the nature of sex work. I mean, if a girl is doing sex work, she kinda has to advertise that she's trans and kinda has to promote her genitals. If she's working as a doctor, lawyer, bus driver, burger flipper, secretary, nurse or pretty much an job that isn't in the sex industry, she isn't going to have to advertise that she's trans, and because of that she usually won't tell people she's trans except those she knows on a personal basis. In fact, you're probably encountered your own fair share of transsexuals just going about your life and you never even know it.

As far as prostitutes rights, there's a push for that, no doubt, but it's not really an official part of the GLBT community. "Prostitution" isn't a natural trait in the same way sexual orientation or gender identity is.