I’ve got to stop watching Dr. (and again I use that term loosely) Phil, every episode just pisses me off, I’ve already written the show one letter complaining about Dr. Phil’s opinion on sex workers and now I have to write another one cause he pissed me off again, I just got to stop watching his show before this turns into a damn letter writing campaign.

Today’s episode was about a woman named "Anne" (not her real name), who has a gambling problem and has turned to the internet providing live nude shows online to support her habit. Anne is married and admits that her 10 year marriage to "Rob" (not his real name either), has never had any passion, and that she had an affair with one of her "fans" taking a trip to New York to see him and having intimate relations. Her husband Rob who is also on the show tells Dr. Phil that he doesn’t like her doing these performances, he finds that she is demeaning him, but if she didn’t do this they wouldn’t be able to afford her gambling habit. He also mentions that the affair made him feel degraded, at which point Anne mentions that she feels shame in her work but needs the money so she doesn’t want to quit. So what does Dr. Phil advise? That they seek help for her gambling addiction? That they enter marriage counseling? No, Dr. Phil’s advice is, and I quote:

"You've [Anne and Rob] got to move out of your house and go move into a trailer, and sell both your cars, and ride the bus to work, you need to stop this right now. You need to just stop it." I don't care if you have to live in a tent or a shelter, you need to stop doing this and start rebuilding your life in some kind of way that is not predicated on pornography of your children's mother.

That’s his advice? Move into a shelter or trailer? It may sound simple enough, but living in a shelter or a trailer is going to bring on a whole new slew of problems. And talk about degrading! If they think undressing in front of your monitor for hundreds of unknown viewers is degrading, then how are they going to feel when they have to go to a food bank to beg for cans of creamed corn, or having child protection services investigating their family (as they do in shelters)? I really think Dr. Phil could have helped the family more then just telling the mom to stop sex work and endorsing her shame as Dr. Phil would say this advice should be "Put on the cover of the Duh Journal."

Dr. Phil is so not good for me, I promise not to watch it after tomorrow. Tomorrow’s episode is titled "Money Hungry" and one of the guests has been a dominatrix, topless dancer, fetish model and fire eater. She says her jobs are not demeaning, Dr. Phil plans on telling her otherwise I have GOT to watch that, I’m hoping that she’ll put him in his place. Then I promise not to watch it.

Here's the letter I wrote to Dr. Phil:

Dear Dr. Phil,

I am writing to you on behalf of an Canadian organization called Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC), regarding your views on sex work (prostitution). While watching your show we have noticed that your thoughts and opinions of sex work and the people who work in the sex industry are rather skewed and close minded. We have noticed that you often refer to sex work as devaluing, demeaning , "there is not a lower rung to go on" and have even said that t "at 37 and 45, it ain’t $150"(okay, that part is true – it ain’t $150 an hour, it’s actually more and we would really enjoy the opportunity to introduce ourselves on your show to present another side to the prostitution debate, one that is positive, respectful, and from the mouths of sex workers themselves.

You have once said, "It is clear to me that any woman who has a healthy self-esteem, who regards herself positively, who believes that she is a quality person who is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, would not do what you are doing [prostitution]."

Well, Dr. Phil if you’ll have us we’d really like to prove you wrong.