This Week: Selling $EX
Is it okay to pay for it, or is it inherently exploitative?
Selling sex — the world’s oldest trade — is back in the headlines as a fierce political flashpoint. The Jeffrey Epstein scandal exposed the devastating consequences of abusing minors and reminds us that consent and power dynamics at any age can be manipulated whenever they are asymmetrical. On the other hand, even as adult consensual sex work remains illegal in most of the U.S., a 2025 New York City poll found a plurality of voters now support decriminalization, reflecting shifting public attitudes. Meanwhile, waves of female empowerment campaigns and gender‑equality reporting over the past year are reshaping how society thinks about agency, power, and sexual freedom.
Arguing Yes: Kaytlin Bailey, Sex Workers Rights Advocate; Founder & Executive Director of Old Pros and Host of “The Oldest Profession Podcast”
Arguing No: Yasmin Vafa, Human Rights Attorney; Co-Founder and Executive Director at Rights4Girls
Quotes
Arguing YES
“We can, and should, make it easier for people to report crimes committed against them and aggressively prosecute people. We should provide shelter and real resources to people who are fleeing violent relationships and employers. But we will not do any of that by arresting people for paying for sex.”
— Kaytlin Bailey
Arguing NO
“It's beyond time to decriminalize people in prostitution, who are some of the most marginalized members of our society. But offering legal protection to the men who purchase them for their own sexual gratification is a dangerous policy that threatens to grow the sex trade, unleashing market forces that pour vulnerable people, including children, into the market to meet this ever-growing demand.”
— Yasmin Vafa
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Open to Debate, As Seen on Socials
This week, Dan Griffin, who argued “yes” in our debate “Does AA Work?,” posted a reel where he reflected on the question and revealed his insights about whether AA works now.
In it, he says, “The question is not ‘Does it work?’ I think it’s pretty clear that it works, but who does it work for, and beginning to understand ‘How can it evolve so it works for more people? How can it evolve so it’s safer for everyone?’”
Watch it now on Instagram or below:
NOTES
Since this debate first aired, our debaters have continued to advocate for sex workers and against sex trafficking worldwide. Here’s what Kaytlin and Yasmin have been up to:
Kaytlin Bailey
“Since that debate, which I believe was recorded in May 2024, I've taken my retitled, one-woman show The Oldest Profession to Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, where I had the opportunity to meet s*x workers and hear their stories. They were so inspiring that Old Pros produced a podcast episode where listeners can hear directly from s*x workers impacted by End Demand policies.
We also worked with regional organizers to put together the S*x Worker Stories and Public Policy conference at the Nordic House in Reykjavik, Iceland. Organizers from Red Umbrella Iceland invited s*x workers from Sweden and Norway, public health researchers, journalists and feminist advocates to share their stories about how end demand laws impact their lives, and to ask for the full decriminalization of sex work. The conference was recorded and will be available on Old Pros' YouTube channel, where people can see and hear for themselves what criminalizing clients does to people who sell s*x.”
Yasmin Vafa
“We just published a new report last year called Buyers Unmasked: Exposing the Men Who Buy Sex & Solutions to End Exploitation, which features sexbuyer quotes from across the country to expose the ways in which these (predominantly) men view and discuss the individuals they purchase for sex acts as well as the overall act of sex-buying. The quotes reveal that, on the whole, buyers are largely aware and indifferent to overt signs of coercion and desperation in the women they purchase for sex. By showcasing sex buyers in their own words, highlighting key trends among their attitudes, and revealing demographic data of sex buyers versus sex trade survivors across the U.S., we argue that current prostitution policies must be reformed to address these realities and offer possible solutions to better protect survivors and end sexual exploitation. In addition, we examine case studies of Australia, New Zealand, and Rhode Island and conclude that current calls to decriminalize “sex work” are a failed approach because they result in an expansion of the sex trade, offering more women and youth up to the very men we highlight in the report, while frustrating efforts to hold sex traffickers and other exploiters accountable. Instead, we offer the Survivor Model (Swedish or Abolitionist Model)—the policy framework I discussed on the show that provides services and legal protection to those engaged in prostitution while holding accountable those who exploit them for profit and sexual gratification. By analyzing data from Sweden, Norway, France, and other jurisdictions, we provide evidence that not only is the Survivor Model extremely effective at shrinking commercial sex markets and by extension, reducing sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, but it has also facilitated a cultural shift towards gender equality in nations that have adopted this approach…
…I have since testified before the U.S. Congress on the importance of curbing the demand for commercial sex (aka buying sex) as a means for preventing human trafficking at major gatherings, given the U.S. will be hosting some of the world’s largest sporting events in the years to come, e.g., the World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. My testimony is available to read here and watch here beginning at 40:06 from Dec 17, 2025.”
Inspiration and Curiosity from the Open to Debate Team
This week, we’re introducing a new section where our team here at Open to Debate shares the podcasts, books, TV shows, and more they’re engaged in — and the thoughts and questions that they’re curious about.
From Alexis, our Executive Producer:
Everyone on staff knows I tend to listen to a lot of podcasts while I commute, and additionally, that I’m on a Ross Douthat kick. Although it’s not new, I would recommend his interview with Peter Thiel from June. It gets into some strange territory about the antichrist that's fascinating, especially considering Thiel is one of the richest and most powerful people in the world. But I also loved the recent Culture Study podcast episodes on Love is Blind (pods reopen soon!!!) and how dating got so bad.
From Julia, our Video Producer:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is completely rewiring the way I think about creativity. Embrace life! Reject fear! Demystify creativity! This book is a wonderful reminder that creating things is an intrinsically human pursuit, and that creative living is within reach for all of us.