Society loves to hate a woman who makes money in the sex industry, but do you know who they hate even more? A woman who dares to leave the industry and get a “real” job. And guess what they hate most? When that woman, who has left the sex industry for a “traditional” job, is also a single mother.
We’ve all seen it. When a woman is making bank on OnlyFans, people tend to call her all sorts of horrible, slut-shamey things. “Get a real job” is the phrase you see dropped most frequently. AND YET, as soon as they do, you can bet your bottom dollar that the outrage that follows will be something to behold. That Laura Martínez was already making money online legally and independently was enough to piss people off. Throw in a government job, and—well.
Suddenly, there are a lot of armchair experts ready to say what she is and isn’t qualified for, and what level of education she does or doesn’t have. All these experts on job qualifications, and not a single one of her haters stopped to actually do their homework and note that—yep—those are credentials, babe. The real problem isn’t so much that they think she’s unqualified. Don’t get me wrong, that’s what they want to believe. It’s much easier to tell yourself that a sex worker is unqualified for a well-paid job outside the adult entertainment industry than it is to confront the fact that you don’t believe sex workers deserve the chance for a well-paid job outside the sex industry.
Ouch.
Let’s repeat that for emphasis: just because someone has been a sex worker doesn’t mean that’s what they have to remain for the rest of their life. And even if she had stayed in the industry—so what?
If society has a favorite punching bag, it’s single moms. Bonus hate points if the single mom is a former sex worker who isn’t ashamed of her past. The attacks against Laura’s character have escalated to the point where she is now fielding threats against her child—the very reason she started doing sex work in the first place. It’s hard enough to support yourself as a single woman, never mind supporting a child who is autistic and whose needs may not necessarily align with those of other kids in a traditional school setting. Laura was just doing what she had to do to make ends meet, and now that she’s done the thing and gotten that “real job” so many online haters yelled at her to get, her child is being threatened.
Apparently, the worst thing a single mother can do is thrive, because we all know the hate isn’t really about her job with the Colombian government. It’s about punishing a woman for daring to succeed outside of the box labeled whore that they thought they’d packed her into.
And before I go any further into my feminist rant (apologies): Laura isn’t just an OnlyFans content creator who happened to get lucky with the right subscriber. She has a degree. She met the requirements for the position. I’d say that the discussion is over, but facts don’t generally matter when the goal from the beginning is shaming women who dare to step outside the roles that society has already assigned them. Meanwhile, corrupt politicians are so common across the entire globe that they’re literal joke fodder for stand-up comedians worldwide.
Whether Laura’s making money with her body or her brain, people are going to find a reason to hate her. When women are mothers, sex workers (current or former), or both, society can’t handle a successful woman who dares to be more than one thing.
Laura’s real crime? Living unapologetically, without shame for the career that allowed her to put food on the table. And for that lack of shame? Society just cannot forgive her for her existence.
