SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SELF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

A popular question that is asked, if a person chooses to exploit themselves, is it still exploitation? Given the definition of exploitation, it is understandable how someone might be confused by this. Exploitation isn't only defined by who does it, but also by what is being taken and at what cost. Choice alone does not cancel the exploitation. Choice can be influenced by a need to gain control and independence by generating money, power, or status. A person's choice can be a result of conditioning themselves to believe that there is a sexual value, which equals to personal worth.

Decisions are made by what we think remedies a situation, what feels good, what the rewards are, and an overall benefit. When a boundary is set, the boundary feels safe as limitations are made. We move boundaries when we feel it is safe to do so, or it provides a benefit to do so. Since worldly boundaries are mostly self-governed, they are moved at-will, gradually. This is how erosion happens with boundaries.

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Conditioning

Conditioning is how a person slowly trains their mind so that they can adapt to and self-approve of this lifestyle created. Gradually, they become familiar and normalize with the identity that was created in the lifestyle. The lifestyle can be rewarding in many ways, including financially. The dopamine in the brain is released on reward. The feeling of safety, for example from financial stress, mimics security. It falsely gives the impression that it is good and that a good decision was made, because it solved a problem.

People condition themselves into harmful patterns by not realizing that they are training. We ultimately either train ourselves up in Gods way, or in the world's way through our carnal nature.

DIFFERENCES

It is important to understand the differences between sexual exploitation and self-sexual exploitation:

Sexual Exploitation - With Sexual Exploitation, it is an actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust for sexual purposes. It involves taking sexual advantage of another person without their consent for the benefit of the perpetrator or a third party, often involving the exchange of money, goods, services, or other advantages.

Self-Sexual Exploitation - Self Sexual Exploitation, involves legal and sometimes, but less often, illegal choices by sexually marketing themselves using available resources such as digital, social media, dating sites, or actual locations such as strip clubs, night clubs, fitness clubs, swimming pools, resorts, even a work place to entice or persuade individuals by using their image, personality, or body sexually and seductively. They use their seduction and sexuality to entice, seduce or to influence others by triggering their curiosity, anticipation, sexual gratification, and more, in trade for the capital gained.

Developing relationships and a following is critical for monetization, views, followers, and subscribers. This converts sexual attention to value.

Sex Trafficking involves a 3rd party solicitation to unlawfully and fraudulently force one into performing sex work or sexual services, often involving relocation. There isn't freedom of choice without coercion. It commonly involves physical and emotional tactics to obtain compliance.

Sextortion- Can involve various forms of sexual exploitation. This involves a person or group of individuals that threatens to exploit by releasing sexual images, videos, or other content that is sexual in nature in exchange of goods, money, gift cards or anything of value to prevent the release of the content.

Mixed Exploitation involves different degrees of exploitation. This may have happened from progression from one type of exploitation to another, in a step-like progression.

Examples of mixed exploitations:

- Adult Strip Club Entertainer to Street Prostitution

- Sexual Instagram Influencer to OnlyFans model performing sex acts

- Sexy Waitress to adult entertainment dancer

Sexualized Culture

A sexualized culture is an environment where sexual appeal, physical attractiveness, and sexualized imagery are heavily emphasized. A false identity and belief system is created that one's value is in influence and image, to be used as a resource and as objects for consumption for entertainment, social media influence, fashion, modeling and even in peer influence in schools. It gives power to normalizing the objectification and creating this as a norm in society.

Feeling Objectified vs Not feeling Objectified

When someone is sexually objectified, they are being used as a source to fulfill someone's fantasy, sexual needs, or goals. Objectification is often done in a process that eventually discounts and erodes a person's feelings, thoughts, boundaries and spirit.

People who are objectified are reduced to hold their value in appearance, including but not limited to, body parts and enticing one's personality to focus on seduction, holding value in the ability to emotionally allure through charm, and other deceitful tactics. Often, the identity is attached to the role that is played during the objectification.

Identity That Feels Rewarding

Self-Sexual Exploitation often feels rewarding because it triggers a dopamine response, as a new identity that infuses with attractiveness, desirability, and the power in seduction. This leads to self-objectification, and can seem to rebuild self- worth, regain control in life, which can feel safe, happy and create the dopamine response. This dopamine response gives a psychological response of "this is how I feel good". This becomes the identity because it becomes the "way that I am made" and completely hijacks the true identity of the whole person and what God has intended for us to be. Ultimately, self-objectification leads to being deceived for a false sense of life abundance.

The Shift

One can shift from not feeling objectified to feeling objectified. There are many reasons why this happens, but the most common reasons are monetary, creation of identity and what once seemed like a choice, starts to feel like it is expected, demanded or assumed and in some cases, disrespected by others that feel like you lost your right to boundaries. This is dehumanizing.