A lot of people see those they interact with sexually as lesser for it, especially if they’re ashamed of being attracted to such people. Sex workers in particular get it really bad because a lot of people are ashamed of using porn or paying for sex. But you see the same in people who fetishize fat folks and trans folks for example and it’s a huge thing with racial fetishes too.

This is at its extreme with people engaging in violence towards such people, but a lot of folks are really uncomfortable with the idea that they may be waiting in line at a grocery store behind a prostitute or the idea that a porn star may want to get involved in the pta because they care about their child’s education. Sex workers’ entire existence is reframed through the lens of their job, and their job is given the moral weight of these people’s discomfort with sex that they don’t approve of.