sexwork

=Sex Work= 

About
Sex work is a catch all phrase for all work related to sex. Some forms of sex work include “sex,” or some kind of genital touching, but many kinds of sex work  don’t include sex at all. It is argued that [|sex work]only involves those who are paid to sexually gratify or arouse a customer and others will argue that it encompasses all people that work in the sex industry.

The [|industrial revolution] and [|sexual revolution] had a significant impact on the growth of sex works. The sexual revolution, society shifted to open discussion on sexual behavior and enjoyed a new culture of free love. Sex was openly talked about. People were experimenting with open sex inside and outside of marriage, public nudity, gay liberation, masturbation, erotic fantasies and pornography. As a result, these freedoms were exploited by big businesses and mass manufacturing of many things began including condoms, birth control, medicines, sex toys and even pornographic material. (7)

In addition, the creation of the internet has also had a profound effect on sex works. E-Commerce increased sales, decrease costs and provided access to markets that previously would not have been accessible. Benefits also flow to the consumer as they were afforded greater choices, increased bargaining power, privacy, confidentiality and speed.

If you were asked to define the term “sex work” a century ago you would have thought of jobs that were directly related to sex such as prostitution, exotic dancer, sensual masseuse, dominatrix and hustlers. However, if you were asked to define sex work in the 21st century, you may now think of jobs both directly and indirectly related to sex as a result of more liberal views of sexuality and advances in technology. Not only would you consider all of the above jobs but you would now also look at jobs or companies that indirectly provide sex related goods or services such as sexual dysfunction drug manufacturers, adult entertainment producers and internet providers and sexual surrogates.

Porn performer, phone sex operator, exotic dancer, sensual masseuse, dominatrix and hustlers were all common types of sex works in the 20th century however;  [|Prostituion] was probably the most popular example of sex works. It has been argued that Prostitution is one of the oldest trades and the only thing about it that has changed over the last few centuries is the ease of availability. Prostitution has been and still is viewed as immoral deviant behavior. Women have been and still are usually forced into prostitution. Debates over making it legal continue and no one has been able to stop it.
 * Examples of Sex Works **
 * Prostitutes **

Research on prostitution began in the early twentieth century as fascination and anxiety surrounding this topic increased. William Sanger, a leading researcher during this time, examined why girls chose this lifestyle. What he found was that most prostitutes were in their late teens or early twenties, illiterate, poor and from broken families. Lack of education, social disgrace and poverty were all reasons that girls turned to prostitution. Similar to today, The Victorian era forced many women into prostitution to survive as they had a limited career options available to them. Immigrant women were also found in prostitution in the US during the 20th century. Women were brought to the US in hopes of making more money than in their own country. (1) Some were brought into the US under false pretenses and others were prostitutes in their homeland and came to the US in hopes of making more money. (2) Prostitutes are both male and female but they are more commonly female. Female prostitutes are commonly just called prostitutes where as a male prostitute is commonly called a “male prostitute” or a male escort or gigolo. Male prostitutes that offer services to female customers are commonly known as gigolos and those offering services to male customers are hustlers or rent boys. (3) The term Gay was once used as a euphemism for both prostitutes ("gay women") and brothels ("gay house").

Between the 19th and 21st centuries prostitution was illegal on an off and enforcement varied depending on the local climate. In the 19th century prostitution was not illegal and it was only enforced when open solicitation occurred and people were arrested for being vagrants. In the late 19th century and early 20th century people began to favor the suppression of prostitution as the spread of venereal diseases began and a “white slave” panic hit the US. Millions of Americans felt innocent young women were being forced into sexual slavery. Thus, many states began to make prostitution illegal. Again, enforcement of these laws varied as demanded by their communities. The sexual revolution in 1960 gave rise to new phenomena. Professional businesses were established such as message parlors, private lingerie modeling and health clubs were professional women would provide sexual services to male customers for escalating fees. All of these businesses were legal however, most were brothels in disguise. The post 1960’s women’s movement kicked up efforts to help sex workers but with little success. At the end of the20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, prostitution still remains. Perhaps because there is still demand and supply or perhaps it is because it is lucrative industry and no one wants it to end. (5)  “The [|sex industry] represents a significant portion of the world's [|economy], earning as much as $13 [|billion] a year in the [|United States] and has been credited with driving [|technological advances] in popular [|media] such as [|home video] and [|DVD] , [|pay-per-view] , [|live streaming video] and [|video on demand] .” Examples of the types of modern business operating in the sex industry include [|Hustler] (a monthly men's magazine); [|SexTV: The Channel] (a [|digital cable]  [|television channel] ); [|YouPorn] (a [|website] that allows amateurs to upload porn)” (8)  Link to the other tab in this history wiki project. One of the largest sexual dysfunction issues is Erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is the condition of being unable to develop or maintain an erection of the penis and is estimated to affect 10 to 20 million Americans. The [|pharmaceutical industry] has found the market to be lucrative, with the top 3 companies posting sales of $3.1B in 2006. [|Pfizer] 's Viagra was the first drug to effectively treat the condition. Since its introduction in 1998, [|Bayer] and [|Eli Lilly] have also entered the ED market with the drugs Levitra and Cialis in 2003. (6) [|Sexual surrogates] are a recent addition to the sex work category. Sex surrogates help their patients over come sexual dysfunction. They may work alone or as part of a team to help reach a therapeutic goal. Treatment includes counseling and intimate or even sexual relations with patients. Many believe this work is another form of prostitution but surrogates claim that they are not. There are no licenses needed to practice in this industry as there are no laws regulating this profession. Sex Surrogates can be trained through the International Professional Surrogates Association, [|IPSA] and agree to follow the [|IPSA code of ethics]. but again there is no regulations that require they do this. The article titled ""[|Healing Hands]" in New York Magazine provides a great overview on the insight of a sexual surrogate. Sex surrogates would never have existed during the 19th century as people would not have been willing to even discuss sex issues, especially in public. Could you image their reaction if someone tried to discuss these issues with them? In retrospect, they probably did not even consider sexual dysfunction an issue as it was better for them not have sex.
 * Adult Entertainment/Erotica **
 * Sexual Dysfunction Drugs **
 * Sexual Surrogates **


 * Resources**

1. Women’s History Then & Now – Prostitution. [|http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/sex_work.shtml] .Accessed July 4, 2009. 2. U.S. Immigration Commission, Report “ Bradford, William. " A Government Agent Explains the White Slave Traffic, 1911” __ Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality __ . ed. Kathy Peiss. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. pg 276. 3. Wikipedia. ‘Prostituion’. []. Accessed July 5, 2009. 4. Sohn, Amy. “Healing Hands” Published Mar 31, 2003. [] . Accessed July 5, 2009. 5 Boyer, Paul S. " [|Prostitution and Antiprostitution] ." __The Oxford Companion to United States History__. Oxford University Press. 2001. //Encyclopedia.com.// 6 Jul. 2009 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com]>. 6. “Dysfunction_drug_market”. [|http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/Erectile.]Accessed July 5, 2009. 7. ‘Sexual Revolution’. Wikipedia. []. Accessed July 5, 2009. 8. ‘Sex Industry’. Wikipedia. []  Accessed July 5, 2009.

Created by Jeannie Celiberti July 6, 2009