A Sex Worker’s Review of The Oldest Profession

By Virginia

Full disclosure: I was given free tickets to the show in exchange for writing this review, but I’m gonna keep it honest!

The Oldest Profession is a new live performance by comedian and sex worker Kaytlin Bailey that came to Boston last week. It covers the history of sex work over the past 10,000 years with wit, humor, and impressively fast paced visuals.

Not only did I learn things, but I also had the rare and incredibly refreshing experience of having my worklife accurately represented in art! Nuanced sex work experiences are rarely represented in the media, so it meant a lot to me to feel seen and understood by Kaytlin’s performance.

I’ve heard that being seen is such a similar feeling to being loved that it’s easy to confuse them. As a sex worker and otherwise nonconforming person, I’ve been really craving the feeling of being deeply understood lately, and that’s how I felt hearing Kaytlin talk about her own work experiences. The show was really powerful. I cried multiple times and laughed more.

Still, I basically never see a show that I don’t have at least a couple criticisms of, and in the spirit of giving a balanced review, I’ll mention those things too.

One was that I would have loved a more diverse history of sex work. Kaytlin was upfront that she’s a White person from a somewhat wealthy family and that the show focuses on sex workers similar to her. While “write what you know” is usually a good strategy, wealthy White folks overwhelmingly control historical narratives – and that causes a lot of oppression. But critiques of wealth inequality, sexism, racism, and militarism were central to the show, so it was still a more anti-oppressive take on history than most.

Also, maybe I missed it, but it would’ve been helpful for me if there had been a trigger warning at the beginning. Even a brief mention that the show will cover some heavy stuff, and encouragement to do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself throughout, would have made the mentions of violence feel less jarring.

Overall, I feel dazzled and moved by the show. I’m hopeful that it will help to destigmatize sex work and challenge norms about what sorts of work are seen as exploitative.

If you want to experience The Oldest Profession, there are shows coming up around the country, but unfortunately there aren’t any in Boston at the moment. I recommend either making a trip of it, or getting a taste of Kaytlin’s sex worker history expertise on The Oldest Profession Podcast.