Portal:Sex work

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Introduction

Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to voluntary sexual transactions; thus, the term does not refer to human trafficking and other coerced or nonconsensual sexual transactions such as child prostitution. The transaction must take place between consenting adults of the legal age and mental capacity to consent and must take place without any methods of coercion, other than payment. The term emphasizes the labor and economic implications of this type of work. Furthermore, some prefer the use of the term because it grants more agency to the sellers of these services. (Full article...)

Selected article - show another

A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particularly associated with female street prostitution, though in some cities, these areas may coincide with spaces of male prostitution and gay venues. Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

Image 1News report about three brothels operating in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were raided by police in 1922 (from Prostitution)
Image 2The red light district in Amsterdam (from Sex work)
Image 3Prostitute c. 1890. (from Prostitution)
Image 4Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City (from Sex work)
Image 5The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622) (from Prostitution)
Image 6An oiran preparing herself for a client, ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Haronubu (1765) (from Prostitution)
Image 7Tart cards in a British phone box advertising the services of call girls (from Prostitution)
Image 8World map of prostitution laws
  Decriminalization – No criminal penalties for prostitution
  Legalization (regulation) – Prostitution legal and regulated
  Abolitionism – Prostitution is legal, but organized activities such as brothels and pimping are illegal; prostitution is not regulated
  Neo-abolitionism (Nordic model) – Illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex
  Prohibitionism – Prostitution illegal in all aspects (selling and buying)
  Legality varies with local laws
(from Sex work)
Image 9World map of pornography (18+) laws
  Pornography legal
  Pornography legal under some restrictions
  Pornography illegal
  Data unavailable
(from Sex work)
Image 10Women in an early San Francisco bordello in 1870 (from Prostitution)
Image 11Kisaeng women from outcast or slave families. (from Prostitution)
Image 12Stickers affixed to a payphone in São Paulo, 2006 (from Prostitution)
Image 13A prostitute and her customer illustrated on an ancient Greek wine cup; the act of prostitution is indicated by the coin purse above the figures. (from Prostitution)
Image 14A prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district talks with a potential customer. (from Prostitution)
Image 15A liberated Chinese girl who had been forced in to sexual slavery by the Japanese military sits on a stretcher and speaks to a British military serviceman. (from Prostitution)
Image 16Statue to honor the sex workers of the world. Installed March 2007 in Amsterdam, Oudekerksplein, in front of the Oude Kerk, in Amsterdam's red-light district De Wallen. Titled Belle, the inscription to the piece says "Respect sex workers all over the world." (from Prostitution)
Image 17De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 18An Ancient Greek urn depicts a prostitute and her client. (from Sex work)
Image 19Fresco from the Pompeii brothel (from Prostitution)
Image 20A sex worker in Berlin in 2001 (from Sex work)
Image 21Brothel scene; Brunswick Monogrammist, 1537; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (from Prostitution)
Image 22A political cartoon from 1787 jesting about the notion of taxation affecting prostitutes (from Prostitution)
Image 23A street prostitute talking to a potential customer in Turin, Italy, 2005 (from Prostitution)
Image 24A detail from plate 1 of William Hogarth's (1697–1764) The Harlot's Progress, showing brothel-keeper Elizabeth Needham, on the right, procuring a young woman who has just arrived in London (from Prostitution)
Image 25Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Meiji Period, Japan (from Prostitution)
Image 26
  Legalization – prostitution legal and regulated
  Decriminalization – No criminal penalties for prostitution
  Abolitionism – prostitution is legal, but organized activities such as brothels and pimping are illegal; prostitution is not regulated
  Neo-abolitionism – illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex
  Prohibitionism – prostitution illegal
  Legality varies with local laws
(from Prostitution)
Image 27Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Taylor on MTV Real World Tour at Chicago Vision Nightclub

Brianna Taylor (born May 30, 1987) is a reality show personality, singer and songwriter, having appeared on both the fifth season of American Idol and The Real World: Hollywood, the twentieth season of MTV's long-running reality television series, The Real World. In 2008, she released her debut, self-titled EP, Brianna Taylor, on Chamberlain Records; according to that label's website, she was later signed to Universal Music. (Full article...)
Image 2

Chapman on her wedding day in 1869

Annie Chapman (born Eliza Ann Smith; 25 September 1840 – 8 September 1888) was the second canonical victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated a minimum of five women in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts of London from late August to early November 1888.

Although previous murders linked to Jack the Ripper (then known as the "Whitechapel murderer") had received considerable press and public attention, the murder of Annie Chapman generated a state of panic in the East End of London, with police under increasing pressure to apprehend the culprit. (Full article...)
Image 3

Calvert at the 2015 XRCO Awards in Hollywood

Casey Calvert is an American pornographic actress and film director. She has won several awards in the pornographic film industry, and has written about it in mainstream media publications. Calvert entered the adult media industry with early work as an art model and fetish model at age 21. She chose her stage name after one of her college professors, Clay Calvert.

She began working in adult film in 2012. She received an XRCO Award for her film work in 2015. This was followed by an AVN Award in 2017, and another XRCO Award in 2018. In 2015, Calvert began writing for publications including GameLink and The Huffington Post. She was a contributor to the 2015 book Coming Out Like a Porn Star, edited by Jiz Lee. (Full article...)
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María Calvo Nodarse (1892 in Guanajay – 15 June 1977, in Havana), better known as La Macorina, was a Cuban prostitute who was a friend of ex-president José Miguel Gómez, whom she supported during the Chambelona War. She was the first woman to hold a driving license in the Americas. (Full article...)
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Phyllis Dixey (10 February 1914 – 2 June 1964) was an English singer, actress, dancer and impresario. Her earlier career was as a singer in variety shows in Britain. During World War II, she joined ENSA and entertained the British forces. She sang, recited and posed in naked tableaux which were very popular. (Full article...)
Image 6

Sakurai in 2023
Ayu Sakurai (桜井あゆ, Sakurai Ayu, born 15 April 1991) is a former pornographic (AV) actress. She was born in Miyazaki Prefecture, she was formerly represented by T-Powers. (Full article...)
Image 7
Tamaki Katori (香取環, 21 October 1938 – 12 October 2015) was a Japanese actress best known for her appearances in "pink film" during the 1960s and early 1970s. Katori was the star of Flesh Market (1962), the first of these softcore pornographic films made in Japan. With over 600 film credits between 1962 and 1972, she was one of the most prolific Japanese adult film actresses of the 1960s, and became known as the "Pink Princess" of the first wave of pink films. (Full article...)
Image 8

David Aaron Clark and friends

David Aaron Clark (September 5, 1960 – November 28, 2009) was an author, musician, pornographic actor, and pornographic video director. (Full article...)
Image 9
Jasmin St. Claire (born October 23, 1972) is an American former pornographic actress. She is also known for her work as a professional wrestling personality, most notably for ECW. She has made appearances in the world of professional wrestling and such films as Communication Breakdown and National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2. (Full article...)
Image 10

Klarskov in 2009

Denice Klarskov (born 18 April 1986) is a Danish pornographic actress and entrepreneur. (Full article...)
Image 11

Aella in 2023

Aella (born February 22, 1992) is an American writer, blogger and sex worker who, as described by David Auerbach, "has written extensively about the psychology and economics of online sex work, conducting extensive surveys and research in order to lay out the ecosystem of online sex workers."

Aella grew up in Idaho as the oldest of three daughters of conservative parents who were part of a community of fundamentalist Christians; their family name has been withheld in media coverage for privacy reasons. She moved out at age 17 after a fallout with her parents, and in 2012, after quitting a job as an assembly line worker in a factory, began working as a camgirl. She eventually became one of the highest-earning creators on OnlyFans, making over $100,000 in some months. By 2021, she was described as having set herself apart partly by conducting extensive market research, e.g. surveying almost 400 fellow female OnlyFans performers about their incomes and identifying factors that were correlated with higher earnings. She has also been involved in several startups. (Full article...)
Image 12

Saint wins the 2006 Best Newcomer Germany eLine Award.

Leonie Saint (born 23 April 1986), also known with the stage names Leonie Luder or simply Leonie is a German actress, TV presenter and former pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 13
Bunko Kanazawa (Japanese: 金沢文子, Hepburn: Kanazawa Bunko) is a Japanese adult film actress, who was mostly active in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She has been called "one of the biggest AV idols in Japan". (Full article...)
Image 14

McKenzie at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in 2011

Linsey Dawn McKenzie (born 7 August 1978) is an English glamour model, pornographic performer, and television personality who made her topless modelling debut in the Sunday Sport tabloid newspaper on her 16th birthday in 1994. Known for her naturally large breasts, she went on to feature in a wide range of adult magazines, websites, broadcast media, and videos, including hardcore pornography productions after 2000.

She has attained minor celebrity status in the United Kingdom, where she has appeared on a number of mainstream television programmes, such as They Think It's All Over, I'm Famous and Frightened!, The Weakest Link, and Celebrity Four Weddings. She has also appeared in documentaries about the lives of glamour models and was featured in Martin Gooch's 2002 film Arthur's Amazing Things. (Full article...)
Image 15
Evelyn West (January 30, 1921 – November 14, 2004), a.k.a. Evelyn "$50,000 Treasure Chest" West, and "The Hubba-Hubba Girl", was a vedette and burlesque legend of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. (Full article...)
Image 16
Mara Gaye (September 16, 1920 – July 22, 2005), born Marjorie Helen Ginsberg in The Bronx, New York, was a professional showgirl, dancer with the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes (1938–1943), and exotic burlesque striptease dancer of the 1940s through the 1960s. She also performed under the name Marjorie Gaye. (Full article...)
Image 17

Holmes in 2019

Steve Holmes (born 23 March 1961) is a Romanian pornographic actor, producer and director. He has received several adult industry awards, including the AVN Award for Male Foreign Performer of the Year in 2005 and 2006. In 2017, Holmes was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 18
Anastasiya Pavlivna Gryshai, professionally known as Wiska, is a Ukrainian model and retired pornographic actress of Belarusian origin. A married mother of three, Anastasiya is the first pornographer to take refuge in the EU (namely the Czech Republic) and apply for a political asylum due to their professional activities. (Full article...)
Image 19
Hotaru Akane (Japanese: 紅音ほたる, Hepburn: Akane Hotaru, 25 October 1983 – 15 August 2016) also known as Anna Akizuki (秋月杏奈, Akizuki Anna) and Hotaru (ほたる) was a Japanese actress, HIV/AIDS activist, and AV idol. She was active in many media formats in Japan including mainstream theatrical film, and was a popular blogger. Her adeptness at female ejaculation in adult videos (AV) earned Akane the title, "Shiofuki Queen". She retired from AV work in 2008. (Full article...)
Image 20

Beltran in 2013

Yurizan Beltrán (November 2, 1986 – December 13, 2017) was an American pornographic actress, model, and mainstream actress. In addition to her successful pornographic and modeling career, Beltran also starred in the 2006 horror film Werewolf in a Women's Prison and the 2017 romantic comedy Rice on White.

During her pornographic career, Beltran received positive attention from her critics and peers. Over the course of her career, Beltran received multiple high industry award nominations from AVN, NMA, XBIZ, and the XRCO. (Full article...)
Image 21

Famous nude painting of Emma Dupont by Jean-Léon Gérôme on his original canvas with scratches

Emma Dupont (fl. 1876–1890) was a French model, known for posing for paintings and sculptures for various 19th-century artists, mainly Jean-Léon Gérôme. She is known for modeling for several of Gérôme's famous works depicting scenes from antiquity, including Pool in a Harem, Omphale, Tanagra, and Pygmalion and Galatea. Dupont began modeling out of necessity after being abandoned in Paris as a teenager but went on to have a successful career posing for celebrated artists of the era. Her regular income allowed her to maintain a modest apartment that displayed artworks gifted to her by the painters and sculptors she modeled for. (Full article...)
Image 22
Chloe Jones (née Melinda Dee Jones; June 17, 1975 – June 4, 2005) was an American pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 23

Rotten in 2014

Alaina Antoinette Hicks (born May 9, 1993), known by her stage name Bonnie Rotten, is an American former pornographic actress, feature dancer, fetish model, and director. In 2014, she became the first alt-porn star to win the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year. (Full article...)
Image 24

Olson in 2010

Bree Olson (born October 7, 1986), is an American actress, model, and former pornographic actress. She performed in over 460 pornographic films from 2006 to 2011. Since leaving the adult film industry, she has become critical of the industry for its business practices, and the stigma attached to being a former porn actress. (Full article...)
Image 25

Love in 2014

Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989. Love has drawn public attention for her uninhibited live performances and confrontational lyrics, as well as her highly publicized personal life following her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. In 2020, NME named her one of the most influential singers in alternative culture of the last 30 years.

Love had an itinerant childhood, but was primarily raised in Portland, Oregon, where she played in a series of short-lived bands and was active in the local punk scene. After briefly being in a juvenile hall, she spent a year living in Dublin and Liverpool before returning to the United States and pursuing an acting career. She appeared in supporting roles in the Alex Cox films Sid and Nancy (1986) and Straight to Hell (1987) before forming the band Hole in Los Angeles with guitarist Eric Erlandson. The group received critical acclaim from underground rock press for their 1991 debut album Pretty on the Inside, produced by Kim Gordon, while their second release, Live Through This (1994), was met with critical accolades and multi-platinum sales. In 1995, Love returned to acting, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Althea Leasure in Miloš Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), which established her as a mainstream actress. The following year, Hole's third album, Celebrity Skin (1998), was nominated for three Grammy Awards. (Full article...)

Did you know...

... that the posthumously released documentary Clean centered on the life of Sandra Pankhurst, a former sex worker, drag queen, and crime scene cleaner?
... that a Harvey's franchise known for being a hub for sex work was described by one artist as a "legendary Toronto icon"?
... that Lea Ackermann, a German nun of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, fought against forced prostitution and sex tourism in East Africa?