Former Sex Worker Maggie McNeill on Why We Should Decriminalize Prostitution

"There is a very common form of rhetoric that's used against us ... that sex work isn't work. That it's a dodge. That it's a scam. That it's a form of exploitation," says Maggie McNeill, a former sex worker turned activist who blogs at The Honest Courtesan.

"We still pretend that there's a magical mumbo jumbo taboo energy about sex that makes it different from all other human activities."

McNeill sat down with Reason TV's Thaddeus Russell for a wide-ranging interview where she responds to the feminist critique of sex work, explains why research on trafficking may not be reliable, and says why prostitution should be decriminalized.

"The problem is that there are already laws for these things," states McNeill. "We have a name for sex being inflicted on a woman against her will. We call it rape. We have a name for taking someone and holding them prisoner somewhere. We call that abduction. ... Why do we need prostitution to be laid on top of all these other things that already are crimes?" 

Produced by Alexis Garcia. Shot by Garcia and Zach Weissmueller. Music by Lee Maddeford. 

About 28 minutes. 

For a transcript of the interview and for downloadable versions of the video go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2014/07/14/former-sex-worker-activist-maggie-mcneil