Sex Work Awareness » Sex Work 101

Sex Work 101

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:53:08 +0000

Sex Work 101 was inspired by conversations that happened during the Women, Action and the Media 2008 conference held in Cambridge, MA from March 28-30, 2008.

Former $pread magazine editor and board member of Sex Work Awareness Audacia Ray gave a talk at WAM 2008 called Sex Workers and Media Representation (click link to see notes for the workshop), and questions during and after the talk made her realize that many people are curious about the sex industry and want to support sex workers in their struggle for rights, but they have no idea where to start. This site is an attempt to fill that gap in public education in an approachable, easy to understand, and engaging way.

Sex Work 101 is meant to add to public knowledge about sex work and to encourage discussion about the issues sex workers face.

Do you have questions you’ve always wanted to ask about sex work? Have you always been curious about people who work in the sex industry? Are you a current or former or sex worker who is interested in sharing some experiences or answering questions about your work?

Drop us an email.

What is a sex worker?

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:48:03 +0000

A sex worker is a person who does erotic labor in exchange for an agreed upon exchange of money, goods or services.

Sound vague? It’s meant to be!

It’s often assumed that “sex worker” is a euphemism for “prostitute” – but actually it’s an umbrella term for many different kinds of jobs within the sex industry. A sex worker might be a prostitute, porn performer, phone sex operator, exotic dancer, sensual masseuse, dominatrix, hustler, or many other kinds of jobs. His or her “erotic labor” may or may not include physical contact with a client. Some forms of sex work include “sex,” or some kind of genital touching, but many kinds of sex work don’t include sex at all.

The phrase was coined by Scarlot Harlot, also known as Carol Leigh, more than 30 years ago when she got fed up with the fact that the only words available to describe this kind of work were slang.

What is the sex industry?

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:49:01 +0000

The sex industry is a big, amorphous, largely unregulated (though in some instances, strangely and/or over-regulated) industry. It includes both legal and illegal jobs and in the United States is often identified as a multi-billion dollar a year business. Exact figures vary widely and are hard to confirm, as most businesses within the industry are not publicly traded, while some other businesses may be largely cash based (strip clubs, escort agencies, independent workers). It’s often reported that the sex industry in the US brings in more money than Hollywood – but again, this is unconfirmed.

The phrase “sex worker” is generally used to refer to workers who may be self-employed but are not management level workers. So: sex workers work in the sex industry, but not all people who work in the sex industry (like madams, porn producers, strip club bouncers) are sex workers.

This, of course, is up for debate and further refinement.

Do you think there’s a distinction between sex workers and people who work in the sex industry?