Men's Group

. . . you've lost sight of the big picture. Overall, sex touches a lot of contradictory emotions and instincts. So, it's emotionally complex.

You'd be correct about "empowerment" if your definition were standard, but I don't think anybody else has in mind a purely internal, emotional effect. There are already better terms for your definition, like "a thrill" and "a rush."

Empowerment can have one of two definitions in these debates. It refers to something motivational, building of self-esteem and confidence. I don't know whether sexual thrills are translatable into general self-confidence, but I think they rarely are. Otherwise sex workers would be some of the most together people on the planet. No, I think that's a fantasy, part of the emotional complexity I refered to.

It could also refer to increase in status and prestige. That's easy to test: would you vote for a woman for president only because she was a stripper? Would you seek advice from her about important personal decisions? Would you trust her with your life in a stressful situation?

I'm not talking about if she was once a stripper, or if she's a stripper and something else, but just because she was a stripper.

I think not, unless you're crazy, and I think my point is made. It might not hurt your opinion of her, but it's not empowering, by any definition anybody else uses.