Sex worker

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A Sex worker is a person who is employed in the Sex industry. This can include but is not limited to actors and actresses in pornograpic films, erotic massage therapists, live sex show performers, phone sex operators, prostitutes, strippers and webcam show performers[1].

Image:Sex worker statue Oudekerksplein Amsterdam.jpg
Bronze statue Belle in Amsterdam's red-light district De Wallen, in front of the Oude Kerk. It was unveiled in March 2007 with the inscription "Respect sex workers all over the world."

[edit] Evolution of the term

The term "sex worker" was introduced by the American Sex worker's rights Activist Carol Leigh, in the 1970s as a political term.[citation needed]

Despite increasing acceptance, the term remains controversial among organizations or individuals who oppose all forms of Sex work on religious or cultural grounds or simply view all Sex work as inherently abusive. In these case the phrase is often rejected on the grounds that it use might be seen to imply an equality with other types of work.[citation needed]

The term is also sometimes used as a synonym or euphemism for prostitution. According to Theodore Dalrymple, "medical journals fear to print the word 'prostitute' and use the euphemism 'sex worker' instead.", a practice that Dalrympl considers an example of the euphemism treadmill.[citation needed]


[edit] Employment related issues

[edit] Legality

Depending on regional law, sex workers' activities may be regulated, controlled, tolerated, or prohibited.

For example, prostitution is illegal in many countries, but is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Germany, United Kingdom some states in Australia and in some counties the state of Nevada in the United States.

[edit] Discrimination/Stigmatization

In most countries, even those where sex work is legal, sex workers are stigmatized and marginalized, which can prevent them from seeking legal redress for discrimination (e.g., racial discrimination by a strip club owner), non-payment by a client, assault or rape.


[edit] Advocacy

Sex worker's rights advocates argue that sex workers should have the same basic human and labour rights as other working people[2].

Organized Labour Portal

For example, the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour calls for the legalization of sex work, the elimination of state regulations that are more repressive than those imposed on other workers and businesses, the right to recognition and protection under labour and employment laws, the right to form and join professional associations or unions, and the right to legally cross borders to work.

Also, the legalization of sex work would allow it to be carried out in better organized circumstances (e.g., legal brothels), where regulations (e.g., requiring condom use and regular health checkups for sex workers) could reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.


Image:0405.Annabell 002.jpg
A sex worker in Germany

[edit] Sex Tourism

The growth in sex tourism has led to a corresponding growth in the sex industry in some countries. Illegal sex tourism with under-age boys and girls has become a notorious problem in Costa Rica and Thailand. Legal (above the age of consent) and consensual sex industries make a significant contribution to the local economies of some urban centers. The Hamburg Reeperbahn is a licensed and taxed prostitution zone serving tourists from all over the world.

[edit] Performance Evaluations

Performance evaluations of the different local sex workers can be found at various escort review boards worldwide. Escort review boards are online-forums, which are used primarily to trade information between potential clients and sex workers. In addition, escort review boards are used to advertise the various services of sex workers.

[edit] Military

Sex industries tend to thrive around military bases. The British naval port of Portsmouth had a flourishing local sex industry in the 19th century, and until the early 1990s there were large red light districts near American military bases in the Philippines. The notorious Patpong entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, started as an R&R location for US troops serving in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.


[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Weitzer, Ronald. 1991. "Prostitutes' Rights in the United States," Sociological Quarterly, v. 32, no.1, pages 23-41.
  • Weitzer, Ronald. 2000. Sex For Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry (New York: Routledge Press).
  • "Decriminalize sex trade: Vancouver report", CBC.ca, June 13th, 2006
  • Sex at the Margins Palgrave Macmillan (2007)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Weitzer, Ronald. 2000. Sex For Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry (New York: Routledge Press)
  2. ^ [Weitzer, Ronald. 1991. "Prostitutes' Rights in the United States," Sociological Quarterly, v. 32, no.1, pages 23-41]

[edit] External links

[edit] Advocacy

[edit] International

[edit] Regional

[edit] Africa

[edit] Australia
[edit] Europe
[edit] North America

[edit] Opposition

es:Trabajador sexual fr:Travailleur du sexe hu:Szexmunkás sr:Сексуални радник sv:Sexarbetare vi:Gái mại dâm tr:Seks işçisi zh:性工作者

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