A few years ago, Erin attended her first secular convention after contacting the Freedom From Religion Foundation about a megachurch's inappropriate promotional event at her son's school. At the FFRF gathering in San Francisco, she experienced acceptance within the atheist community — until she disclosed her profession as a stripper.
The article argues that purity culture extends beyond religious communities into secular spaces. As Erin writes: "Purity culture and the idea that openly expressing sexuality and promiscuity are wrong…aren't only for religious zealots."
Even within the secular community, Erin faced skepticism about her career choice. People questioned whether she had willingly chosen sex work or was deceiving herself about enjoying it. She argues that dismissing sex workers' agency — their ability to choose and enjoy their profession — represents its own form of control, and that it is "not ever appropriate to tell someone that they don't really feel the way they say they do."
She also criticizes mainstream reporting that defaults to victimhood narratives, preferring "redemption stories" over acknowledging that some sex workers genuinely chose their work and find it empowering. While secular communities avoid religious language, they can employ similarly damaging judgments about sexuality and bodily autonomy.
Originally published in Free Inquiry magazine.