Portal:Sex work

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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

Male prostitution is a form of sex work consisting of act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male prostitutes have been far less studied than female prostitutes by researchers. Even so, male prostitution has an extensive history including regulation through homosexuality, conceptual developments on sexuality, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic impact. In the last century, male sex work has seen various advancements such as popularizing new sexual acts, methods of exchange, and carving out a spot in cinema. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

Image 1World map of pornography (18+) laws
  Pornography legal
  Pornography legal under some restrictions
  Pornography illegal
  Data unavailable
(from Sex work)
Image 2Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 3The red light district in Amsterdam (from Sex work)
Image 4Prostitute c. 1890. (from Prostitution)
Image 5Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Meiji Period, Japan (from Prostitution)
Image 6World 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 7The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622) (from Prostitution)
Image 8A street prostitute talking to a potential customer in Turin, Italy, 2005 (from Prostitution)
Image 9A 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 10Tart cards in a British phone box advertising the services of call girls (from Prostitution)
Image 11Fresco from the Pompeii brothel (from Prostitution)
Image 12A sex worker in Berlin in 2001 (from Sex work)
Image 13Stickers affixed to a payphone in São Paulo, 2006 (from Prostitution)
Image 14Brothel scene; Brunswick Monogrammist, 1537; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (from Prostitution)
Image 15Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City (from Sex work)
Image 16A 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 17A prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district talks with a potential customer. (from Prostitution)
Image 18Statue 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 19An oiran preparing herself for a client, ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Haronubu (1765) (from Prostitution)
Image 20
  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 21De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 22A 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 23An Ancient Greek urn depicts a prostitute and her client. (from Sex work)
Image 24Women in an early San Francisco bordello in 1870 (from Prostitution)
Image 25Kisaeng women from outcast or slave families. (from Prostitution)
Image 26News report about three brothels operating in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were raided by police in 1922 (from Prostitution)
Image 27A political cartoon from 1787 jesting about the notion of taxation affecting prostitutes (from Prostitution)

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1
Antonella Alonso (born 9 June 1990), also known for her stage name LaSirena69, is a Venezuelan pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 2
Linda Wong (born Linda Carol Seki; September 13, 1951 – December 17, 1987) was an American pornographic actress, and one of the first Asian Americans to become a star in the American adult film industry. In 1999, she was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame. She was Japanese by ethnicity. (Full article...)
Image 3

Star from the Everything to do with Sex Show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, November 2012

Charmane Star (born May 5, 1979) is an American pornographic actress who has appeared in over 300 films since 1998. She has also performed as a feature dancer and an automobile model. (Full article...)
Image 4

Thaïs or Thais (Greek: Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek hetaira who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaïs was the lover of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander's close companions and generals. It has been suggested that she may also have been Alexander's lover, on the basis of Athenaeus's statement that Alexander liked to "keep Thaïs with him", but this may simply mean he enjoyed her company, as she is said to have been very witty and entertaining. Athenaeus also says that after Alexander's death Ptolemy married Thaïs, who bore three of his children, and may also have become a Queen of Egypt. (Full article...)
Image 5

Bentley in 2014

Samantha Bentley (born 8 October 1987) is an English former pornographic actress, musician and writer. (Full article...)
Image 6

Photograph of St. James by filmmaker George Csicsery

Margaret Jean "Margo" St. James (September 12, 1937 – January 11, 2021) was an American sex worker and sex-positive feminist. In San Francisco, she founded COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), an organization advocating decriminalization of prostitution, and co-founded the St. James Infirmary Clinic, a medical and social service organization serving sex workers in the Tenderloin. (Full article...)
Image 7
Ryan Idol (born August 10, 1966) is an American gay pornographic film actor who performed in the 1990s and later onstage in mainstream theater. He has French, Irish, and Native American ancestry. Idol describes himself as "the creation of Marc Anthony Donais". (Full article...)
Image 8
Teresa Orlowski (born 29 July 1953) is a former German-Polish performer in and a current producer of adult films in Germany. She was one of the biggest European porn stars of the 80s. (Full article...)
Image 9

Powers in September 2006

Mark Arnold Krinsky (born October 25, 1954), better known as Ed Powers, is an American pornographic film director, producer, actor, and radio host. He is the owner of the porn production company Ed Powers Productions. (Full article...)
Image 10
Miriam Rivera (1981 – 5 February 2019), known by the mononym Miriam, was a Mexican-born transgender model and TV personality, who became known for starring on the British reality television show There's Something About Miriam and guesting on Big Brother Australia 2004. She became recognized as the first openly transgender reality television star. Rivera also modelled and, using the name Victoria, performed in pornography.

Miriam was an activist and spokesmodel for the transgender community. (Full article...)
Image 11
Louise Fitzgerald Wightman (née Johnson), also known as Lucy Wightman (born June 18, 1959) is an American former exotic dancer who performed in Boston and Providence during the 1970s and 1980s, using the stage name Princess Cheyenne. The juxtaposition of her education and class background with her career attracted media attention. In the spring of 2007, she again attracted public interest, this time for being convicted of being a practicing psychologist without a license in two South Shore Massachusetts communities. Since then she has worked as a writer, photographer, and blogger. (Full article...)
Image 12

Sibylle Rauch in December 2005

Sibylle Rauch (born 14 June 1960) is a German former film actress, nude model and pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 13

Melissa Bulanhagui in 2019

Melissa Carmen Bulanhagui (born August 16, 1990) is an American former figure skater. She represented the United States internationally from 2005 through 2010. She became the 2006 U.S. junior national bronze medalist and won two ISU Junior Grand Prix medals (gold at 2008 JGP Italy, silver at 2006 JGP Romania). After moving up to the senior ranks, she won bronze at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy. In 2011, she decided to compete for the Philippines. She would win bronze at the 2013 Asian Open Trophy and two Philippine national titles (2012, 2013). She also competed at two Four Continents Championships.

In 2019, she became a pornographic actress under the stage name Jada Kai. (Full article...)
Image 14

Lynn in 2014

Ginger Lynn Allen (born December 14, 1962) is an American pornographic actress and model who was a premier adult-entertainment star of the 1980s. She also had minor roles in various B movies. Adult Video News ranked her at #7 of the 50 greatest porn stars of all time in 2002. After ending her pornography career, she began using her full name and found work in a variety of B-movies. She had a late-career return to the adult industry and made a brief series of movies. Allen is a member of AVN, NightMoves Adult Entertainment, and XRCO Halls of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 15

Powers in 2000

Bridget Powers (born October 11, 1980) is an American pornographic actress with dwarfism. She is often credited as "Bridget the Midget" or with the alternate spelling "Bridget Powerz". Besides her adult work, she has also appeared in many films in either comedic or dramatic roles, such as Big Money Rustlas, Tiptoes, and S.W.A.T. (Full article...)
Image 16

Urach in 2016

Andressa de Faveri Urach (born 11 October 1987) is a Brazilian reality television personality, best known for being a contestant on the sixth season of A Fazenda, the Brazilian version of The Farm. (Full article...)
Image 17
Laure Sainclair (French pronunciation: [lɔʁ sɛ̃klɛʁ]; born 24 April 1972) is a French former adult film actress.

Sainclair first worked as a model for nude photography. She eventually met pornographic actresses at an adult entertainment convention in Rennes, and decided to try her hand at the sex industry. She worked for a time as a stripper, then made her first adult film in 1995, a semi-amateur production titled Maud s'offre à toi. Her first experience was a negative one but she eventually met producer Marc Dorcel who made her his first contract performer. and "brand ambassador". Sainclair went on to be the most popular adult film actress in France during the second half of the 1990s. (Full article...)
Image 18

Shy Love in 2012

Sheelagh Blumberg (born November 27, 1978), known professionally as Shy Love and Shy Luv, is an American pornographic actress, of Italian and Puerto Rican descent. She has been active in the porn industry since 2003. (Full article...)
Image 19

Tequila in October 2008

Nguyễn Thị Thiên Thanh (born October 24, 1981), better known by her stage name Tila Tequila, is an American model, singer, television and social media personality. She has also used the names Tila Nguyen, Miss Tila and Tornado Thien. Born in Singapore and raised in Houston, Texas, Tequila moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to pursue her modeling career. She first gained recognition for her active presence on social networking websites. After being featured as a model in numerous men's magazines (including Playboy, Stuff and Maxim), she made her reality television debut on the VH1 show Surviving Nugent (2003). After becoming the most popular person on Myspace, Tequila was offered the opportunity to star in her own reality television series. Her bisexuality-themed dating show, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila (2007), aired for two seasons and became MTV's second-highest-rated series premiere of that year.

In addition to her career in modeling and television, Tequila also pursued her career as a recording artist. She was the lead singer of the bands Beyond Betty Jean and Jealousy, before launching a solo career. Her debut single "I Love U" was released in 2007 to mixed reviews. Despite having strong online sales, the song failed to enter any charts. Tequila followed with several independently released singles, including "Stripper Friends" and "Paralyze". In 2010, she released her second EP, Welcome to the Dark Side. Her book, Hooking Up With Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party, was published in 2008. (Full article...)
Image 20
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 21
Liara Roux is an American author, sex worker, pornography director, internet personality and sex worker human rights activist (Full article...)
Image 22

Golden in a scene from the film Exhibition 99 (1998)

Dolly Golden (born 28 August 1973) is a former pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 23

Albrite at the 2015 AVN Expo

Anikka Albrite is an American retired pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 24

Scott Schwartz

Scott Schwartz (born May 12, 1968) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films The Toy (1982), A Christmas Story (1983) and its 2022 sequel A Christmas Story Christmas, and Kidco (1984). (Full article...)
Image 25

Byron in 2012

Tom Byron (born Thomas Bryan Taliaferro Jr.; April 4, 1961) is an American former pornographic actor, director, and producer. A member of the XRCO and the AVN Halls of Fame, he was voted #20 in AVN's list of top 50 pornstars of all time. Byron is also co-founder of Xtreme Professional Wrestling, a wrestling promotion that began in Los Angeles in 1999 and was resurrected in 2019 in Rochester, New York. He continues to work as an editor for XPW TV. (Full article...)

Did you know...

... 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?