I have a small dilemma. You see, there is an ad that keeps popping up on my Facebook page- an ad that makes me uncomfortable. It’s for a massage parlour in the North part of the GTA, they are hiring young women, and the headline screams ‘$2000+!!!’For about a week now, I’ve been debating whether or not I should report the ad to Facebook and make sure it’s taken down.

First of all promoting sex work (or advertising just about anything to do with sex and pornography) is against Facebook ad policies. As someone who’s done some FB advertising in the past (non sex-related), I know that FB is usually quite strict about reviewing every ad before it goes live. In fact, I’ve had quite a few of my own ads disapproved. So, I am quite surprised that an ad that so blatantly violates the rules should somehow get published.

But why does the ad make me uncomfortable enough to want to complain about it? After all, I’m sure that age/sex targeting is set to women who have reached the age of majority (at least I certainly hope so). Plus, having danced for the better part of the last 7 years, I take no issue with sex work. Well, sort of. I support honest sex work, but find massage parlours to be questionable.

Part of this attitude I acquired a few years ago, when massage parlours started gaining traction in Toronto, cleverly offering more than strippers do, and for less money. Although I never really found that I lost any clients because of this, I’ve heard too many dancers blame masseuse-girls for the money they themselves didn’t make. I took issue with massage parlours when, having walked to my car one night after work, I found a flyer for a parlour on my windshield. Hour long massage packages, some of which promised a full release to potential customers, were priced at less than half of what most dancers charge for an hour in the VIP. Massage parlours went on the aggressive campaign meant to undercut strip clubs and steal their clients.

That was the beginning, and soon afterwards, the effects of the parlour campaigns became more noticeable- not even in the fact that clubs were no longer as full as before (SARS scare, smoking ban, the economy – all had something to do with it), but the fact that more and more strip club customers started bargaining. Simply put, suddenly, customers acquired this sense of entitlement, this knowledge of what they should expect for $20. Or $40. Or $60. What used to be known as an ‘extra’ became the new norm, something he openly asked for, arguing that since the girls in the parlours did it, it was now part of the deal.

I left small bars and moved to bigger, more exclusive clubs, where customers came for the experience, not for a full release, and where bargaining- if there was any- was about $100s, not $20s. My income didn’t suffer. If anything, I gained much more by moving to larger, greener pastures. But my animosity toward massage parlours remained, something I discovered when I saw that ad on Facebook. A few years ago, the parlours moved onto the club’s turf in search of business. Now, they are moving into the public domain- and somehow, someone reviewing the ads, let it slide.

Although I fully defend the right of a woman to decide what to do with her body, I am also very clear with myself about what has to stay in the bedroom, or the club, and what gets displayed in public. There is a place for everything, including prostitution, pornography and sex jobs postings, as well as industry websites that carry information, offer tips and help.

But sex work marketing does not belong in the PG rated domain. Reaching out to young women via their personal Facebook pages, luring them into prostitution with promises of money is intrusive, unethical, deceiving, and –I am pretty sure- illegal.

So, next time that ad pops up on my page, I will very likely report it. What would you do if you were me?