Sex workers are the backbone of the porn industry. And the porn industry is huge. Psychology Today estimates that 20 percent of mobile-device searches are for porn. Like many other working Blacks and business owners, some Black sex workers feel undervalued. “People watch us, but don’t pay us,” asserted Chy Latte.

Latte has a point. Porn sites attract more visitors each month than Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter combined. However, 88 percent of porn contains violence against women.

Black sex workers are disproportionately affected by the violence, abuse, and harassment, among many other more invisible issues. Black trans women, who are also sex workers, are particularly vulnerable.

In a newly released video, several Black sex workers intimately and honestly share their experiences as Black adult performers.  When speaking how much harder Black sex workers must work to obtain the same status as their White counterparts, Ariana Ames concluded, “And the sex industry is definitely no different.”


Note: The terms “sex trafficking,” “sex work,” and “prostitution” are often intertwined. Sex work and sex trafficking involve prostitution by definition. However, sex work entails a willing engagement in commercial sex while; sex trafficking involves force, coercion, or deceit.