Visibility and Sex Work
An essential element in discussing sex work is choice. As Jill Nagle pointed out, choice defines how we approach sex work, and most anti-sex feminists have ignored choice in sex work entirely. To them, it is only done through an act of desperation and nothing more. For the sex workers that do choose to enter that line of work, they are also choosing to be visible, and (in the case of dancers/peep show workers,etc.) to be hypervisible. Many times, it is those that have chosen to enter sex work that are most vocal about their experiences, making those who lacked that privilege of choice essentially invisible. Perhaps they are threatened with violence or embarrassment. Either way, such women should not be ignored in a sex-positive discussion.
These visible/invisible roles are not set in stone, however. As can be seen in the opening scene of the film, many, if not most, sex workers, when not working, are seemingly invisible within society - they are able blend in with the "good" crowd. Being seen also creates an interesting dilemma for women. They choose to be seen, and seen in a sexual way, and in this way they appropriate their sexuality/sexualness. However, they are essentially on display for a mainly male audience, thereby becoming objects of their audience (in a similar way to the "male gaze" of cinema). Some sex workers are able to play with this duality, using it to teach their customers the proper way to treat women (as described in Nagle's article), but I can't imagine that this is common for most sex workers. In this way, while I do believe that it is possible to be feminist and a sex worker or to be feminist and embrace sex workers, I also believe that the reality for many sex workers remains a poor and possibly abusive one.