Portal:Prostitution
Introduction
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, manual sex, oral sex, etc.) with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in the field is usually called a prostitute or sex worker, but other words, such as hooker and whore, are sometimes used pejoratively to refer to those who work in prostitution. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients.
Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms, and its legal status varies from country to country (sometimes from region to region within a given country). In most cases, it can be either an enforced crime, an unenforced crime, a decriminalized activity, a legal but unregulated activity, or a regulated profession. It is one branch of the sex industry, along with pornography, stripping, and erotic dancing. Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution. In escort prostitution, the act may take place at the client's residence or hotel room (referred to as out-call), or at the escort's residence or a hotel room rented for the occasion by the escort (in-call). Another form is street prostitution.
According to a 2011 report by Fondation Scelles there are about 42 million prostitutes in the world, living all over the world (though most of Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa lack data, studied countries in that large region rank as top sex tourism destinations). Estimates place the annual revenue generated by prostitution worldwide to be over $100 billion. (Full article...)
Selected article
Shortly after taking power in 1949, the Communist Party of China embarked upon a series of campaigns that purportedly eradicated prostitution from mainland China by the early 1960s. Since the loosening of government controls over society in the early 1980s, prostitution in mainland China not only has become more visible, but can now be found throughout both urban and rural areas. In spite of government efforts, prostitution has now developed to the extent that it comprises an industry, one that involves a great number of people and produces a considerable economic output. Prostitution has also become associated with a number of problems, including organized crime, government corruption and sexually transmitted diseases. For example, a Communist Party official who was a top provincial campaigner against corruption was removed from his post after he was caught in a hotel room with a prostitute. (read more...)
Selected biography
Sarah A. Bowman (c. 1813 – December 22, 1866) was an American innkeeper, restaurateur, and madam. Nicknamed "The Great Western", she gained fame, and the title "Heroine of Fort Brown", as a camp follower of Zachary Taylor's army during the Mexican–American War. Following the war she operated an inn in Franklin, Texas (now El Paso) before settling near Arizona City (now Yuma, Arizona). Over the course of her life she was married multiple times, often without legal record or the blessing of a priest, and was known at various times by the names Boginnis, Bourdette, Bourget, Bourjette, Borginnis, Davis, Bowman, and possibly Foyle.
Bowman is believed to have been born Sarah Knight sometime between 1812 and 1813 (the 1860 census indicates her birth may have occurred as late as 1818 in either Tennessee or Clay County, Missouri. (read more...)
Did you know?
- ...that the Chatham Garden Theatre in New York City (pictured) went from haven for prostitution to Presbyterian chapel in the span of one year?
- ... that Chains of Love was described as "televised prostitution"?
- ... that in March 1998, the Ontario Court of Justice ruled that being topless while one engages in a commercial purpose such as prostitution is illegal?
- ... that the first mass protests against prostitution of children were led by ECPAT in the 1990s?
Quotes
| “ | A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that. | ” |
Anniversaries - November
- 2nd
- 1940: Death of Big Nose Kate (Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings), Hungarian-born prostitute and common-law wife of Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday.
- 3rd
- 2009: Prostitution in Rhode Island was made illegal. Rhode Island was the last state in the US to ban prostitution.
- 5th
- 1975: Birth of Brooke Magnanti (pen-name Belle de Jour), an American born research scientist, blogger and writer, known for her book The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl.
- 9th
- 1888: Murder of Mary Jane Kelly, an Irish born London prostitute, widely believed to be the final victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper.
- 24th
- 1998: Death of Gerda Munsinger, an East German prostitute and alleged Soviet spy who was the central protagonist of the Munsinger Affair.
- 28th
- 1942: Execution of Toni Jo Henry (née Annie Beatrice McQuiston), an American prostitute, murderer and the only woman ever to be executed in Louisiana's electric chair.
Selected image
Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City.
Legality Map
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Get involved
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Portal:Prostitution-related articles, see WikiProject Sexology and sexuality/Sex work task force.
Here are some tasks you can do:
- Start a new article. Prostitution is a broad topic, so there will always be plenty of missing articles.
- Clean up existing articles. A lists of articles needing cleanup is available here.
- Expand an existing article. Existing articles are often incomplete and missing information on key aspects of the topic. Stubs can be found in Category:Stub-Class Sex work articles.
- Discuss. Get involved in discussions on prostitution related articles, a current listing is available here
- Improve main article prostitution to featured status.
- Suggest improvements to this portal here
Recognised content
Featured (13)
Good (18)
- Mah Laqa Bai
- Butters' Bottom Bitch
- Child prostitution
- Elizabeth Cresswell
- Casey Donovan
- Dumas Brothel
- Andrea Dworkin
- Natasha Falle
- Kanhopatra
- Caroline Lacroix
- Ipswich serial murders
- National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking
- Neaira (hetaera)
- Salon Kitty
- She Has a Name
- Soho
- Valerie Solanas
- Three Sisters Tavern
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