You are forced into a defensive stance where you end up defending something that is ultimately not a “thing” at all. Or worse, something that really is indefensible, inexcusable.
But I think that with your work you can make the sex industry, or sexuality in general actually, something that can be talked about and seen as a natural part of our lives and in that, I think, you do improve things for those who are “degraded”, albeit not in a way that is very visible from our point in time.

As to the arguments that were made for “legalisation”. Here in the Netherlands prostitution was legalised seven years ago. It did shuffle up “the market” but it didn’t really improve much for the workers so far. So don’t expect any miracles. (well it would be a miracle by its own rights wouldn’t it?)

Here’s the thing I always try to remember: The most exploited I ever was by an employer was when I worked for Ticketmaster. And the most abusive job situation I ever had was when I worked for a progressive lesbian/gay community newspaper. Does that make the entertainment industry or the gay press inherently evil? (Okay, a case could be made for the entertainment industry…)

I do think that sex-work-positive folks don’t do our cause any favors by pretending that sex work isn’t really hellish for some of the people in it. But I also fail to see how continuing to make sex work illegal and stigmatized helps those people in any way.

In fact, I would argue that it makes their lives much worse, and makes it harder for them to get out of the business. It gives people a criminal record, makes it harder to seek help from the police, makes them vulnerable to abuse by the police, etc. Not to mention the dreaded “unexplained gaps in your resume.”

Okay. That went on much longer than I intended. Obviously a topic on which my feelings run high.