09/03/2026
There is an ongoing question of what Massage Therapy is and what a Licensed Massage Therapist is.
Our local Louisville Metro Council, passed a city ordinance aimed at the industry of Massage Therapy with the stated goal of “stopping s*x trafficking”. So in our local governments eyes Licensed Massage Therapists are at least suspicious, at worst we are a part of a criminal underground that abuses women.
So let me, Abigail Bonam, A good standing, state Licensed Massage Therapist. An owner of a small business, a professional body educator, with two other good standing state licensed Massage Therapists in clinic, more than a decade experience in this field, and a woman.
We are the stop gap of the current medical system. We are literally the ones who hold your pain in our hands. We are trained to see you as a whole person. Not an insurance case, not a prescription. We are mental health advocates, we are a chronic pain relief option, we calm the nervous system, we provide humanity and comfort, we touch where it hurts and help soothe the pain. We are educated, trained, experienced professionals. We are bound by strong ethic standards, and overseen by the state board.
Our work depends on creating strong environment of safety and comfort. Words like masseuse, masseur, basically anything beyond the title - Licensed Massage Therapists- is incorrect and mislabels us.
A large majority of this profession is lead by women. We have been forced to continually find new ways to communicate our professionalism and protect ourselves from those searching for s*xually explicit services. We have little legal recourse or protections from people who fetishize our industry.
