"Does sex work happen in Wakanda?"
A real question I've asked myself this past week as I re-watch the MCU movies.
“Do you think, in a world where everyone had the resources they needed, that any woman would choose to do sex work?”
This questions is asked of me during the course of a conversation I’m having about my work in philanthropy; it’s not a bad question, and not one many people take the time to really understand, so I appreciated the inquiry. Two months later, I have come back to this inquiry; to begin the thought experiment, I turn to Wakanda.
For the past few weeks, my husband and I have been re-watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise starting with 2008’s Iron Man movie. By our second week, we reached Wakanda, the afro-futurist Black utopia nestled in the heart of Africa, featured in Black Panther.
In the Marvel universe, Wakanda has hidden itself using advanced technology (and magic) from the outside world. This is an intentional choice the monarchy makes to ensure their natural resources, wealth, and technologies do not fall into the hands of the outside world: for protection— sound familiar? (*cough philanthropy cough*)
Anyway, in the scenes that feature Wakanda’s capital, Golden City, we see what appears to be a bustling metropolis with vast markets, vendors, and diversity of people. Naturally, my brain went straight to sex work— does it happen in Wakanda? In this Black utopia? Where theoretically everyone has what they need, from food to housing to cultural and community connections, etc. Would sex work happen here?
The larger question here is, would sex work occur where there is no economic need?
Let’s zoom out.
What is sex work? What is work? What does work look like under a non-capitalist utopia? (Does Wakanda operate under capitalism?) What, beyond economic need, presupposed the conditions that facilitate sex work?
Wherever people trade goods and services, there is sex work. Beyond economic need, there is a social-spiritual connection in the exchange of sexuality that western society has predominantly shied away from because of white Christiaan sensibilities.
I can say this… At 9 years old, I had no immediate economic need to engage in sex work, but I was intensely intrigued by the pornography I was exposed to. I clearly remember thinking, “I want to be a porn star when I grow up.” And I did that, enjoyed the experience, and moved on. In the process of becoming a sex worker, I learned how to find the divine within myself and appreciate my body in a way that I never imagined as a fat girl.
Without the historical exposure to Christianity and the Atlantic slave trade, I believe sex workers theoretically live and thrive in Wakanda, and the spiritual element of sex and sexuality informs the religious and cultural institutions that recognize life and the interconnectedness of people and nature.
Sex work is primal, and the aversion to sex workers is rooted in white supremacy. More on this later.
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