Across Europe, women sit behind glass windows on display. Thousands of miles away, a Nevada radio ad pitches “hot chocolate,” “vanilla,” and “everything in between,” women available for purchase. These jarring images are prevalent throughout The Right Track (2025), a searing new documentary that dissects our understanding of the “oldest profession in the world” and its ties to sex trafficking through the stories of its survivors.

The discourse around prostitution is complicated and often divisive. On the surface, it’s frequently reduced to a simple question: Should sex be treated as a transactional act? But a closer look reveals a complex issue, intricately interwoven with human trafficking, labor violations, questions of bodily autonomy, systemic exploitation, poverty, and the enduring influence of patriarchal control. 

The Right Track examines the nuances of this issue through the most crucial source: the women with lived experience.

Directed by Shareen Anderson, the film deliberately avoids narration, allowing the stories to speak for themselves. From legal brothels in Nevada to illicit massage parlors in the Northeast, Anderson follows a trail of exploitation that cuts across geography, legality, and class.

It is a lot to take in—legal arguments, ethical dilemmas, intersectionality—but the film never feels like a lecture. Anderson is more interested in connection than education. “I didn’t just want information,” she told The Rolling Tape. “I wanted the people we were interviewing to be able to connect with our audiences.”

That connection is strongest in the testimony of Audra Doody, a survivor and advocate. In one standout scene, she watches a clip of John Oliver promoting the decriminalization of sex work. Audra squirms. Then she says, “It’s not the oldest profession in the world. It’s the oldest oppression in the world.” Audra, like many of the survivors featured in the documentary, struggles to see how decriminalization would make the industry safer, just more profitable for those who exploit.

This point of contention is where The Right Track truly excels. Rather than dwell on the obvious horrors of sexual exploitation, the film trusts the audience’s intelligence to move beyond surface-level analysis. It dives into the far more complex philosophical and legal debates within the feminist community, a territory a less ambitious documentary might avoid altogether.

In one especially provocative sequence, a survivor says, “You don’t wake up one day and say, ‘I want to be a prostitute.’” The film then cuts directly to an active sex worker who declares, “I do want to do it, for sure.” The contrast is jarring—and intentional. 

This is the center of debate amongst feminists in this space. They, alongside the documentary, wrestle with a vital question: Is sex work true empowerment, or just a strategy for surviving in a patriarchal world? 

In a culture where OnlyFans is a viable income stream and a film like Anora (2024) wins Best Picture, The Right Track questions whether we’ve grown too comfortable with the commodification of women’s bodies—and whether this comfort is progress or delusion.

Anderson also confronts the uncomfortable reality that decriminalization can lead to greater exploitation, especially of women from marginalized backgrounds. More demand inevitably requires more supply. 

While this stance may challenge some pro-decriminalization viewers, the film makes clear that both sides share a common goal: safety and true empowerment for all women. It strongly advocates for the “survivor model,” which centers the needs and rights of survivors while criminalizing the buyers.

Audra Doody is one of many who lead this work now, providing support and exit planning for incarcerated survivors. In one of the film’s most powerful scenes, which plays as an unedited, extended monologue, she stands before a group of men arrested for buying sex and shares her story. Her voice wavers slightly, but her message is unwavering: “For far too long, my suffering has been laid bare in papers and media where I was labeled a prostitute. Times are changing.”

If The Right Track is any indication, she’s right. This gripping new documentary brings to the forefront the voices long silenced or sidelined in conversations about the sex trade and sex trafficking. Through deeply personal narratives, it delivers a comprehensive and compelling analysis, proving the transformative power of letting individuals tell their own stories.

In its final moments, the survivors and advocates gather at a decrepit Nevada brothel. Together, they destroy what remains, wrecking the building until none of it remains. Overhead, a helicopter lifts the statue of a scantily clad female mascot into the air. She rises above the rubble—free.

If you suspect you are a victim of sex trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text “help” to 233722.

Review Courtesy of Kam Ryan

Feature Image Courtesy of THE RIGHT TRACK