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...)

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A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. American-style strip clubs began to appear outside North America after World War II, arriving in Asia in the late 1980s and Europe in 1978, where they competed against the local English and French styles of striptease and erotic performances.

As of 2005,^[update] the size of the global strip club industry was estimated to be US$75 billion. In 2019, the size of the U.S. strip club industry was estimated to be US$8 billion, generating 19% of the total gross revenue in legal adult entertainment. SEC filings and state liquor control records available at that time indicated that there were at least 3,862 strip clubs in the United States, and since that time, the number of clubs in the U.S. has grown. Profitability of strip clubs, as with other service-oriented businesses, is largely driven by location and customer spending habits. The better appointed a club is, in terms of its quality of facilities, equipment, furniture, and other elements, the more likely customers are to encounter cover charges and fees for premium features such as VIP rooms.

The strip club as an outlet for salacious entertainment is a recurrent theme in popular culture. In some media, these clubs are portrayed primarily as gathering places of vice and ill repute. Clubs themselves and various aspects of the business are highlighted in these references. "Top Strip Club" lists in some media have demonstrated that U.S.-style striptease is a global phenomenon and that it has also become a culturally accepted form of entertainment, despite its scrutiny in legal circles and popular media. Popular Internet sites for strip club enthusiasts also have lists calculated from the inputs of site visitors. The legal status of strip clubs has evolved over the course of time, with national and local laws becoming progressively more liberal on the issue around the world, although some countries (such as Iceland) have implemented strict limits and bans. Strip clubs are frequent targets of litigation around the world, and the sex industry, which includes strip clubs, is a contentious issue in popular culture and politics. Some clubs have been linked to organized crime. (Full article...)

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Selected images

Image 1The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622) (from Prostitution)
Image 2Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 3A sex worker in Berlin in 2001 (from Sex work)
Image 4The red light district in Amsterdam (from Sex work)
Image 5Tart cards in a British phone box advertising call girls, 2005 (from Prostitution)
Image 6A 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 7Prostitute c. 1890. (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 9Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Meiji Period, Japan (from Prostitution)
Image 10Kisaeng women from outcast or slave families. (from Prostitution)
Image 11Brothel scene; Brunswick Monogrammist, 1537; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (from Prostitution)
Image 12An oiran preparing herself for a client, ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Haronubu (1765) (from Prostitution)
Image 13A political cartoon from 1787 jesting about the notion of taxation affecting prostitutes (from Prostitution)
Image 14News report about three brothels operating in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were raided by police in 1922 (from Prostitution)
Image 15Boat based window prostitute in Utrecht (from Prostitution)
Image 16An Ancient Greek urn depicts a prostitute and her client. (from Sex work)
Image 17Femmes de Maison, painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 1893—1895 (from Prostitution)
Image 18Women in an early San Francisco bordello in 1870 (from Prostitution)
Image 19Statue 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 20A prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district talks with a potential customer. (from Prostitution)
Image 21A liberated Chinese girl who had been forced in to sexual slavery by the Japanese military sits on a stretcher and speaks to a Royal Air Force officer. (from Prostitution)
Image 22Fresco from the Pompeii brothel (from Prostitution)
Image 23Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City (from Sex work)
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 25
  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 26Stickers affixed to a payphone in São Paulo, 2006 (from Prostitution)

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1
Toppsy Curvey is a former big-bust feature dancer and pornographic video actress in the United States. She was a feature dancer in the late 1980s and by 1994 she began a brief soft-core pornographic video career. She is also the younger sister of fellow big-bust feature dancer and one-time porn actress Lulu Devine. (Full article...)
Image 2
The Kaufmann Head in the Musée du Louvre, a Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos, which Phryne is said to have modelled for.

Phryne (Ancient Greek: Φρύνη, before 370 – after 316 BC) was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan). Born Mnesarete, she was from Thespiae in Boeotia, but seems to have lived most of her life in Athens. Though she apparently grew up poor, she became one of the wealthiest women in Greece.

Phryne is best known for her trial for impiety, in which she was defended by the orator Hypereides. According to legend, she was acquitted after baring her breasts to the jury, though the historical accuracy of this episode is doubtful. She also modeled for the artists Apelles and Praxiteles: the Aphrodite of Knidos was said to be based on her. Phryne was largely ignored during the Renaissance, but artistic interest in her began to grow from the end of the eighteenth century. Her trial was famously depicted by Jean-Léon Gérôme in the 1861 painting Phryne Before the Areopagus, which influenced many subsequent depictions of her, and according to Laura McClure made her an "international cultural icon". (Full article...)
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Raylene in 2011

Stacey Hirsch (née Bernstein), known professionally as Raylene, is an American pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 4
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 5

Ryder at the 2011 AVN Awards show

Dylan Ryder (born February 23, 1981) is a former American pornographic film actress. (Full article...)
Image 6
Jacques Émile Edmond Insermini (24 October 1927 – 6 June 2024) was a French stuntman, actor, and motorcyclist. In the 1970s, he primarily worked in erotic and pornographic cinema. (Full article...)
Image 7

Skye at the 2014 Exxxotica Expo

Lauren Kaye Scott (April 17, 1994 – June 9, 2021), known professionally as Dakota Skye, was an American pornographic film actor who appeared in more than 300 such videos from 2013 through 2019. (Full article...)
Image 8

Danni Ashe (and early in her career sometimes as Danielle Ashe; born January 16, 1968) is a retired American nude model, former erotic dancer and web developer who is the founder and former CEO of Danni's Hard Drive, a popular adult web site from the 90's. She started her adult Internet site in 1995. She has been an industry advocate and testified before a government panel. (Full article...)
Image 9

Ovidie in 2014

Ovidie is a French director, actress, producer, journalist, former porn actress and a writer. First known as a porn actress from 1999 to 2003, she has since directed pornographic films as well as documentaries and has written several books. (Full article...)
Image 10
Darby Lloyd Rains (born in 1948) is a former adult film actress who was prolific during the golden age of pornography. She is a member of the XRCO Hall of Fame as a "film pioneer". (Full article...)
Image 11
Wilde Oscar (born 8 April 1967 in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English retired pornographic film actor. He is noted for being married to, and frequently performing with, the English pornographic film actress, Nici Sterling. (Full article...)
Image 12
Lukas Ridgeston (born 5 April 1974) is a Slovak actor and director in gay erotic movies and model in Bel Ami gay erotic magazines and books. He was born in Bratislava, then part of the former Czechoslovakia, now capital of Slovakia. Lukas Ridgeston is best known as "The King of Gay Porn" or just "The King". (Full article...)
Image 13

Dillon at the 2013 Adult Entertainment Expo

Ashley Stamm-Northup (née Levis), professionally known as Danica Dillon is an American pornographic actress who debuted in 2009 and then went on to appear in mainstream (non-adult) roles in cable television movies. Dillon is also a featured dancer at men's clubs and is a featured guest on radio and podcast shows. (Full article...)
Image 14
Jon Vincent (also known as Dave Phillips and John St. Vincent) (17 December 1962 – 3 May 2000) was an American pornographic actor who appeared in gay and bisexual pornography. (Full article...)
Image 15

Klarskov in 2009

Denice Klarskov (born 18 April 1986) is a Danish pornographic actress and entrepreneur. (Full article...)
Image 16
Bobby Hollander (April 20, 1929 – March 7, 2002) was an American adult film director, performer, and magazine publisher. He directed 59 pornographic movies between 1979 and 1995. He was one of the pioneers of the shot-on-video porn movie. Hollander was most famous for discovering and managing porn superstar Shauna Grant. He is a member of the XRCO Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 17

Depiction from a contemporary portrait mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna

Theodora (/ˌθiːəˈdɔːrə/; Greek: Θεοδώρα; c. 490/500 – 28 June 548) was a Byzantine empress and wife of emperor Justinian I. She was from humble origins and became empress when her husband became emperor in 527. She was one of his chief advisers. Theodora is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church, and commemorated on 14 November. (Full article...)
Image 18
Hitomi Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林ひとみ, Hepburn: Kobayashi Hitomi) is an important early Japanese AV idol. One of the founding figures of the Japanese adult video, she has been called indispensable to any discussion of the AV. Mainichi Shimbun calls her "one of the icons of Japanese adult cinema history." Her unprecedented popularity in the mid-1980s, the early days of the Japanese AV, earned her the title "Queen of AV." According to an adult entertainment reporter for Shukan Shincho, "She laid the foundations for the golden age of adult video."

After making her debut as a non-pornographic photobook and "image video" model, Kobayashi entered the AV field in 1986. Because of her rapid popularity, Nikkatsu, Japan's leading producer of softcore pornography at the time, hired her to appear in theatrical films in 1987. After marriage and a semi-retirement beginning in 1989, Kobayashi fully returned to the AV industry in 1998. She announced her retirement in 2003 with a big-budget, though controversial, two-volume farewell adult video. (Full article...)
Image 19

Royalle at the 2013 CineKink awards

Candida Royalle (born Candice Marion Vadala; October 15, 1950 – September 7, 2015) was an American producer and director of couples-oriented pornography, pornographic actress, sex educator, and sex-positive feminist. She was a member of the XRCO and the AVN Halls of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 20

Mia Magma in September 2013

Mia Julia Brückner (born 9 December 1986), also known as Mia Magma, Mia Julia and Fellucia, is a German singer and pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 21

Roberta Gemma in 2012

Floriana Panella (born 15 December 1980), best known by the stage name Roberta Gemma or Roberta Missoni, is an Italian actress related to porn and horror movies. (Full article...)
Image 22

Nance on the poster for Eraserhead (1977)

Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996), known professionally as Jack Nance, was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial debut Eraserhead (1977). He continued to work with Lynch throughout his career, which included a recurring role as Pete Martell on Twin Peaks (1990–1991). (Full article...)
Image 23

Chechik in October 2019

Adriana Chechik (born November 4, 1991) is an American pornographic actress, media personality and Twitch streamer. By 2022, she had mostly retired from pornography in favor of video game livestreaming on Twitch. In October 2022, she broke her back when she jumped into a deceptively shallow foam pit at Twitch's annual convention TwitchCon, and thereafter documented her recovery. (Full article...)
Image 24

Pierce in Hollywood, California on December 5, 2014

Derrick Pierce (born March 1, 1973) is an American pornographic actor, director, radio personality, and personal trainer. Pierce has received several adult industry awards, including the 2009 NightMoves Award for Best Male Performer and the 2016 XRCO Award for Best Actor. (Full article...)
Image 25

Tommasi at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

Sara Tommasi (born 9 June 1981) is an Italian actress, television personality, and former pornographic actress. She made her film debut in the 2008 comedy Ultimi della classe, playing a teacher who had appeared in a "sexy" calendar shoot. Tommasi herself had appeared topless in a Max Calendar shoot in 2007. In 2010, she appeared nude in an episode of the television series Crimini. (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 Indonesian politician Sanusi's parents discouraged him from becoming a government employee, because his salary would be paid partly from taxes on alcohol and prostitution?
... 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?
... that the posthumously released documentary Clean centered on the life of Sandra Pankhurst, a former sex worker, drag queen, and crime scene cleaner?