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The unmasking of sex work 30 years into democracy, and the uncomfortable truths it reveals

The unmasking of sex work 30 years into democracy, and the uncomfortable truths it reveals
Mbali Mazibuko and Kabelo Motswagae
By Mbali Mazibuko and Kabelo Motswagae
22 Oct 2024
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The reality show “This Body Works for Me” premiered on Showmax on 23 November 2022, soliciting a very mixed response.

The first season of the show follows the lives of a group of seven young black women in the sex work and adult entertainment industry in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

The show was renewed for season two because it attracted widespread national attention by showing how these women navigate providing for themselves while working towards actualising their dreams using their bodies. 

We think that sex work not only refers to the sex act, but also to labour that sells the fantasy of sex, including erotic dance and the selling of nude photographs. 

In This Body Works for Me, the cast members engage in various forms of sex work where some only engage in erotic dance, while others have sex for cash or create pornographic content sold online like the popular adult site OnlyFans. Of course sex workers are not only women as we have seen with the recent show profiling male sex workers, Chocolate Kings, which is also on Showmax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPOiDDT_wdM

This Body Works for Me is the popular culture moment that we reference to think through sex work, the rights of sex workers and democracy in South Africa. 

We think that televising such content indicates the need to unmask the trade by humanising the women within the industry so that they do not live in shame. This then challenges our democratic state to delink morality from the rights of sex workers in order to decriminalise sex work. 

Mixed reactions 


It appears that the show solicited mixed feelings. 

Rae Seleme, who is a lifestyle writer, illustrates that an X user (previously Twitter) expressed their disapproval regarding the reality series, as it was seen to be glamourising sex work and was easily accessible to children. While the issue of censorship, particularly for the underaged, is crucial and should be addressed, these viewers are representative of continued national intolerance and stagnancy. 

Thus, disapproval and negative remarks were once expressed in shows such as Yizo Yizo, which shows the need to maintain silence and secrecy around social issues that occur in our everyday lives and in very visible ways. 

There is a much longer history of the erasure and shame attached to sex work, as shown by some X users. 

One of the users argued: “U realise sekudayiswa (sell) something sacred, it was called private parts sisakhula (when we grew up), for a reason.”

In this regard, women’s sexuality is restricted and limited to a private sphere to suit societal expectations and norms. While the new Constitution of 1996 has prioritised freedom of expression, it has failed to address the legacy of apartheid that often disregarded the sexual expression of black South Africans, resulting in  the forms of anger and discomfort that continues to linger on women who express their sexual rights, irrespective of the 30 years of democracy.  

The anger and discomfort levelled against women on “This Body Works for Me” is a recourse to the incarnation of African sexuality that deems the autonomy and sexuality of African women to be problematic. 

Even outside the show women expressing themselves in sexually assertive and liberated ways have been on the receiving end of a backlash and shame. It comes as no surprise given the secrecy, shame and denial of women’s bodily autonomy in general.    

Secrecy, sex and history


History reminds us that sex has always been a trade between women and men. 

South Africa’s history of the migrant labour system under apartheid that saw men leaving their families to work in mine shafts contributed to the supply and demand chain for sex work. 

It remains commonplace for men to banter about buying sex from women when they convene in their infamous “boys clubs”. Therefore sex work is not new and only applies as a taboo to women and children because the women in the sex work industry are often used as cautionary tales for how not to be. 

The criminalisation of sex work highlights the need to contain the trade through shaming the women who use their bodies for economic gain. When television content focuses on the lives of sex workers and their trade, it demands we interrogate the value of advocating for the decriminalisation of sex work. 

While some women in sex work have ventured into the industry because of their unfavorable social and economic conditions, a great deal of autonomy and self-sufficiency has been made possible as a result. 

We have seen this in how some cast members of the show, like Wandi Ndlovu, have celebrated being able to move into her own apartment while taking care of her mother and sister. 

Sex as a political right


South African scholars such as Deborah Posel argue that post-apartheid South Africa has been crucial in transforming how society views sex, making it a public matter. 

Under apartheid, the regime enforced strict boundaries that restricted sexual relationships, effectively banning pornography and public nudity.

However, the new 1996 Constitution protected individual rights and emphasised freedom of expression, allowing sex to be seen as a personal matter rather than something controlled by the state or religious institutions. 

Additionally, the rise of neoliberalism opened up global economic opportunities leading to the commodification of sex and pornography. 

For many young women, sex has become a way to meet their needs and desires. Therefore, sex work is work and should be recognised as such, and of equal importance is that we need to understand what people do with neoliberalism.  

Seemingly, sex is still not a right. Posel argues that the Constitution did not effectively address the persisting taboos of the old, which is evident in the negative reactions from ordinary civilians who disapproved of the new regime and religious authorities. 

New forms of anger


Consequently, new forms of anger emerged and were levelled against shows such as YizoYizo and Soul City, as these shows were said to signal a state of moral decay. 

Drawing from this view, these writers contend that Season 1 of “This Body Works for Me” revealed the forms of anger that continue to linger in South Africa, particularly against women. 

At the same time, the renewal of the show and the adoration of the women on it alongside the hatred that they face reveals a hidden desire to know more about their industry and experiences. Unmasking sex work and sex workers by placing them in plain sight destabilises the morality discourses and forces our democracy to revisit the labor of sex work as a political and economic right. DM

Dr Mbali Mazibuko is a Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg, Department of anthropology and development studies, and Kabelo Motswagae is a Master’s Student, University of Johannesburg, Department of Sociology.

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