246. Why Sex Worker Rights Should Matter To Everyone

Honeydew Me

Cassandra Anderson

Self-improvement, Education, Sexuality, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 533 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sex worker rights aren’t a niche issue. They’re a human rights issue. In this episode, we’re joined by Kaytlin Bailey, stand-up comic, sex worker rights advocate, and expert on sex worker policy and history, to unpack why moral panics around sex work harm far more than just sex workers. We talk about power, policy, women’s autonomy, and why everyone, especially women who care about freedom, bodily autonomy, and choice, should be paying attention. We cover: Why sex worker rights affect everyone. How laws and stigma aimed at sex workers quietly erode rights for all women. What moral panics actually do. Why fear-based narratives around sex are so effective and so dangerous. The historical roots of sex work criminalization. How policy has long been used to control women’s bodies, labor, and sexuality. Why “good girl vs bad girl” thinking still shapes policy. And how that mindset limits freedom far beyond sex work. The difference between protection and control. Why many laws framed as “safety” measures actually increase harm. How storytelling changes public opinion. Why human stories are one of the most powerful tools for policy change. What sex worker rights teach us about bodily autonomy. Consent, agency, and who gets to decide what women do with their bodies. Why this conversation matters now. How current cultural and political shifts are putting foundational freedoms at risk. How to learn more and get involved. Ways to support sex worker rights through education, advocacy, and listening. Kaytlin Bailey is the Founder & Executive Director at Old Pros, a nonprofit that uses storytelling to advocate for sex worker rights. She hosts The Oldest Profession Podcast and is touring the live show The Oldest Profession. Follow @oldprosonline — Email Newsletter | Instagram | X ⁠Learn more about 1:1 coaching HERE!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Get Honeydew Me Merch HERE!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our Patreon and access exclusive content HERE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, you're a gem shine when the light grows dim. See one, two, three, four, three, two, one. Because no one can do it like who we do it, like who we do it, like we do it, like we do it, like we do it. Because no one can do it like we do it, like we do it, like we do it, like we do it. Hello. Hello and welcome to Honeydumie Podcast. I'm Cass. And I'm Emma. And this is our podcast where we dive
0:23.9	into everything in the bedroom within your friendships, in your relationships. We talk about the good,
0:29.7	the bad, the shameful, the sticky. And yes, we mean that gross. And yeah, we mean that in the gross
0:36.5	way. In a gross way because it's good to talk about and normalize.
0:40.5	And not enough of us talk about the sticky, whether that's emotional, interpersonal, or in the bedroom.
0:45.9	And we just want to be those people that talk about the stuff that you feel a little embarrassed about or shameful about because we've all been through it.
0:53.0	You're not alone.
0:55.0	And this is the community to get answers and get a little advice and get a little help and get a little love.
1:00.3	Yeah. I don't care if your relationships feeling a little stale or you got cum in your eye. We're
1:04.6	your girls. We're your gals. We're your gals for those sticky sitches. For those sticky sitchies. Absolutely. And today I am
1:14.5	actually so excited to talk about what we're about to get into because we've never really
1:18.9	discussed this topic, which is kind of crazy for our work. Yeah, we're talking about sex worker
1:25.6	rights today. Where they're at, where they've been, where we want them to go, like all of the things that I had no fucking idea were a thing.
1:35.3	We talk about all these policies that we're trying to implement to supposedly protect women and children that are actually harbing them and harming sex workers.
1:45.1	Like, it's so good.
1:48.0	It's so interesting.
1:49.7	You're going to love Caitlin.
1:51.7	Yeah.
1:52.0	Yeah, we're talking with Caitlin Bailey.
1:53.8	She's a stand-up comic and sex worker rights advocate.
1:57.5	And she also is just like a fanatic about the history of the oldest profession, which is
2:02.3	aka sex work. And it's always great to get like a history lesson on where all of this has
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