IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v16y2026i8p234-d2000188.html

Challenging Anti-Porn Policy: Digital Sex Worker Journalism

Author

Listed:
  • Lauren Robinson Levitt

    (XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA)

Abstract

Through textual analysis of 15 English-language articles by seven predominantly U.S.-based sex worker journalists published between 2014 and 2025 across 11 online platforms, this article examines how sex worker journalists aim to influence public opinion around anti-porn policy. Sex workers report on legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), age-verification laws, the Stop Internet Sexual Exploitation Act (SISEA), and the Survivors of Human Trafficking Fight Back Act, maintaining that these laws cause harm to sex workers. In the process, they challenge sex work stigma perpetuated by the mainstream media and stake alternative validity claims. They also construct sex worker expertise based on their lived experience in the sex trades through new modes of address and by citing sex workers alongside other progressive organizers. This, furthermore, supports coalition building between the sex workers’ rights movement and other movements for social justice.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren Robinson Levitt, 2026. "Challenging Anti-Porn Policy: Digital Sex Worker Journalism," Societies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:16:y:2026:i:8:p:234-:d:2000188
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/16/8/234/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/16/8/234/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:16:y:2026:i:8:p:234-:d:2000188. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.