You probably wouldn't think of sex work while watching Studio Ghibli movies. I didn't until a while ago and I've been watching them for as long as I can remember. I love them dearly. Obviously I can only talk about them from the experience of a white latin sex worker, so I invite you to read this with a grain of salt and to be aware of the cultural and time period differences from what they're based on.
Not long ago I realized that in some Studio Ghibli movies sex work is subtly portrayed. The most explicit example of this is Mononoke Hime. In this movie, the women who work in Irontown talk about how they used to work in brothels. I think besides San (Princess Mononoke), they are the most interesting human characters. They are shown as smart, skilled, funny and strong, especially Toki, the worker with the most screen time. I really like her character, I think she is a good representation of a sex worker, since most of us have or develop a lot of skills and strength to do our job. She briefly talks about the poor conditions they used to live in back in the brothels, which I think is understandable taking into account the context it is based on. As someone who's worked in similar establishments – obviously in a totally different context and culture – I can relate to them talking about clients being disrespectful and not being able to eat whatever they want.
Not long ago I realized that in some Studio Ghibli
movies sex work is subtly portrayed.
I also love this sort of distrust of men that they have. It comes from a life of being disrespected. They talk about it with humor and mock any man that acts with superiority. There's a scene where some samurai messengers come and tell them they should learn respect and they answer by saying “respect? What's that? We haven't had any respect since the day we were born!” They proceed to show them their tongues and shoot the ground to scare the messengers off. I like that they're portrayed as blunt and loud, they don't hesitate to express their opinions or discontent, and don't show any shame about their pasts as sex workers. This is great because it's so common to see sex working characters feel ashamed of their past – but not these former workers., They seem very proud to be themselves in every aspect.
The only thing that bothers me about these characters is the narrative that we often see of sex workers being “saved” by someone. In this case it is Lady Eboshi, the woman who owns Irontown. Even if Eboshi “saved” them from the brothels, it was for her own benefit, like everything she does. The women work really hard and she “spoils” them, but at the end of the day they are being exploited by another woman that wants to destroy the forest for money at any cost, even the lives of her own workers. This is a good example of what it means for people to “save” someone from sex work, which is putting us in exploitative jobs that are more morally acceptable for others.
Spirited Away is another movie where sex work is subtly portrayed the workers from the place where Chihiro ends up are “yuna”, which are basically women that work in a bathhouse. Keep in mind that they are also namekuji/slugs with a human-like appearance! They tend to clients, help them bathe and scrub their backs. The thing about yuna is that they have been known for doing sex work after hours. Unlike in Mononoke Hime, in this movie sex work isn't explicitly mentioned, but with the historical and cultural context of how the yuna worked, you can take a guess. A similarity I see between Mononoke Hime and Spirited Away is that in both movies the antagonist is an ambitious woman that exploits her employees, including current or former sex workers. Hayao Miyazaki is known for creating strong female protagonists and in these movies the villains are also powerful women. Although I strongly dislike their lack of respect for nature and their workers, I have to say that at least Lady Eboshi gives me big Dominatrix vibes.
The only thing that bothers me about these
characters is the narrative that we often see of
sex workers being “saved” by someone.
There are many jobs and disciplines related to sex work, and some of them are more erotic and performative than directly sexual. For instance, in Porco Rosso there's the famous singer and owner of Hotel Adriano, Gina, who's a close friend of Marco (Porco Rosso). She's not exactly a sex worker, but I would argue that she does work with eroticism. She sings beautifully and enchants everyone around her with her voice and subtle sensual charm. She makes pirates blush and rival pilots quiet down to listen and admire her while she sings. The way she knows how to treat all kinds of men, the ability she has of speaking, almost hypnotizing every client that goes to see her no matter how tough or manly, leaving them all enthralled – it reminds me a bit of how it is to work in an erotic café.
I think even though the representation in these movies is mostly subtle, it also shows that sex workers are and have always been everywhere, even in the marvelous Ghibli universes. Telling stories where we don't exist is just inaccurate, even if many times people driven by “decency” and mortality try to silence our realities or depict us in imprecise ways. Sex workers are a big part of the history of most cultures. Sex work can have a different connotation, status and name, sometimes even within a single culture, but in most of them we have a big part in the social disruption of gender roles, class discrimination, and in general what it means to be a “good respectable citizen”. Throughout many time periods and places, we take what many people think dirty or immoral and we work with it, embracing the unacceptable most societies work so hard on casting aside, and taking Porco Rosso’s words in account, I would say it's better to be a whore than a fascist.
Are you a sex worker with a story, opinion, news, or tips to share? We'd love to hear from you!
We started the tryst.link sex worker blog to help amplify those who aren't handed the mic and bring attention to the issues ya'll care about the most. Got a tale to tell? 👇☂️✨
