When you think of the term “sex worker,” what kind of characteristics come to mind? Most people envision a stereotype: Someone who is desperate, and has no other choice. Something must have gone wrong in their life for them to end up doing such a job.

As a society, we attach negativity to sex positivity. This is especially true when it comes to sex workers.

Sex work has long been criticized and stigmatized in our society. While many members of society view sex work as immoral and degrading to women. The root of this stigmatization may be due to the manner in which sex work is perceived in the eyes of the law. But every human being has the right to make informed decisions about his or her own body, laws that govern an individual’s right to make decisions about her own body.

Sex work can be very profitable for women, and many women may enjoy work that allows them to creatively express their sexuality. But a Mom from Portland, Oregon, believes that being a sex worker has helped her be a better mother to her five-year-old daughter.

Elle Stanger is a mom, writer, and podcaster but she’s also a sex worker, and she’s proud of it. In fact, believes that being a sex worker has actually helped her be a better mother to her child. When she’s not writing or recording her podcast, she spends her time being a mother to her five-year-old daughter and working as a sex worker.

Now, Elle is breaking down stereotypes and challenging people’s preconceptions about what it means to be a good parent and a sex worker in today’s society.

She recently told Barcroft TV, “I feel like being a sex worker makes me a better mommy because I’ve developed a greater sense of empathy. It means that I am responsible to make a human being that is better for the world. I think it’s just my job to kind of raise a little human that’s going to make the world a better place.”

Elle isn’t just a stripper, though. She’s also created her own adult films and worked as a webcam girl and escort for various clients in the Portland area over the years. Despite having multiple sources of income from her sex work, Elle is a dedicated parent who wants the best for her child. She believes that being a sex worker has actually taught her how to be a better mother.

But not everyone agrees with Elle’s career choice. Critics argue that being a sex worker makes her a bad influence on her daughter. However, Elle dismisses these criticisms and claims that her job only makes her a more dedicated mother to her child. “I think people don’t trust that I could raise a child in a nurturing, safe, structured environment because they’re projecting their own fears onto me,” she said.

Unlike most parents, Elle’s job requires her to take off all her clothes and present her naked body to paying customers. She works three stripper shifts at Portland’s Lucky Devil Lounge and makes a whole lot of money from it. She uses that money to provide for her daughter and give her the best life possible.

Elle may be a sex worker, but she’s also a college graduate. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice but chose to pursue a career in sex work instead of becoming a law enforcement officer. She realized that she could make much more money as a sex worker, and she also found that the job taught her more about human beings than any psychology class she had taken.

“I became a sex worker for economic reasons, but I realized about six months into stripping that I was learning more about human beings than I’d ever learned in anything — any psychology class — and I was like, ‘Wow, there’s really a whole lot here. This feels like healing, this feels like helping, this feels like giving therapy.’ So I know that my work is healing to people because they tell me, and I see it,” the mom said.

Elle believes that her work as a sex worker is healing to people. She’s learned a lot about human behavior and psychology through her job, and she feels like she’s giving therapy to her clients. And despite what critics may say, she’s also a loving and dedicated mother who wants the best for her child.

Watch the video below for more details:

Sources: AWM, Inkedmag, Littlethings