Noblesse Oblige: Queen Makes Former Sex Worker a Dame

It's no coincidence the British queen makes a New Zealand sex worker a dame, 48 hours after International Sex Workers Day.

No mixed signals: prince Philip the first one to bow to his queen at queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation.Don't worry, unlike in the Netflix show, Philip knew what he signed up for. (image: Netflix' The Crown)

A few days ago Paltego wrote about "International Sex Workers Day" which is held on June 2nd. At least once a month I joke about how there are too many "Because of This or That" Days" and how we should look at the calender to find that last free spot available and christen it in honour of the one day where you don't have to remember anything.

Basically too much of anything renders everything meaningless. Not so with "International Sex Workers Day". When you think of sex workers, pro-dommes but also prostitutes and adult movies actors come to mind. But there is more. Paltego makes an excellent point about porn images and sex workers:

"Some of you may be thinking that you’ve never hired a sex worker, so this isn’t your issue. You’d be wrong. Almost all the sexy images and movies on the internet feature sex workers of some sort."

A few days earlier, I read an article in the British newspaper The Guardian about how the queen made a New Zealand former sex worker a dame in her birthday honours.

Personally, I believe the queen wanted to make a point, it's why I remember the article. As a life-long republican and one who believes codified inequality of any kind plays a big part in sustaining racism and discrimination in today's society, I was impressed.

Even more so when I realised how secluded her life must have been. In Dutch we have a saying about how when "one lives in a gilded cage", she or he enjoys a privileged life, one where you have little or no worries - but also do not understand what's going on in the real world. Her majesty is perhaps the best example of that.

Therefore it's a huge deal when the queen - this definitely was a merit to be decided by her personally - is sending the world a message. All people are equal. Don't feel superior because of your job, race, money, sexual orientation or anything else. Nobody can escape their custom-made chains, especially not if you are born a future queen. With great power comes great responsibility and her majesty certainly excelled. Even more so once you realize how much "those who serve her" try to shield her from reality - or  perhaps from anything that endangers the world view of her servants. Kinksters of the world, pay attention!

In the second half of this short series discussing queen Elizabeth making a former sex worker a dame, I wonder why the West is so petrified of sex. Most likely answer? Religion.