Portal:Sex work

Introduction

The Red Light district in Amsterdam

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 -

Walking Street, a red-light district in Pattaya.

Prostitution in Thailand is illegal. However, due to police corruption and an economic reliance on prostitution dating back to the Vietnam War, it remains a significant presence in the country. It results from poverty, low levels of education and a lack of employment in rural areas. Prostitutes mostly come from the northeastern (Isan) region of Thailand, from ethnic minorities or from neighbouring countries, especially Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. UNAIDS in 2019 estimated the total population of sex workers in Thailand to be 43,000. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

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

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Jeff Stryker in 2007

Jeff Stryker (born Charles Casper Peyton, August 21, 1962) is an American porn star who has starred in bisexual, gay, and straight adult films. He lives in California. (Full article...)
Image 2

Mortuary photograph of Martha Tabram

Martha Tabram (née White; 10 May 1849 – 7 August 1888) was an English woman killed in a spate of violent murders in and around the Whitechapel district of East London between 1888 and 1891. She may have been the first victim of the unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper.

Although not one of the canonical five Ripper victims whom historians have broadly acknowledged, she is considered the next most likely candidate. (Full article...)
Image 3

in Nihon Kyokakuden Series 8
Fumio Watanabe (渡辺文雄, Watanabe Fumio) (October 31, 1929 – August 4, 2004) was a Japanese actor most known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima. He was born in Tokyo and graduated from the University of Tokyo before joining the Shōchiku studio in 1956. (Full article...)
Image 4

Buster in 2014

Nora Baumberger (née Dvořáková; born 23 October 1969), known by the stage name Dolly Buster, is a Czech-German former pornographic actress, filmmaker, and author. (Full article...)
Image 5
Koh Masaki (真崎航, Masaki Kō, July 20, 1983 – May 18, 2013) was a Japanese gay pornographic film actor. Among the most prolific and well-known figures in Japanese gay pornography, Masaki was the first Japanese pornographic film actor to openly identify as gay both in his films and in his personal life. He appeared in approximately 200 films in a career that spanned from 2009 to 2013. (Full article...)
Image 6

Bara in 1998

Céline Bara, née Céline Szumigay, (9 September 1978) is a French retired pornographic film actress. (Full article...)
Image 7
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 8

Silk in 2014

Tamar Janine Reilly (born September 19, 1963), known professionally as Alexandra Silk, is an American pornographic actress, pornographic director and adult model. (Full article...)
Image 9

Brooke Magnanti on 7 June 2010

Brooke Magnanti (born 5 November 1975) is an American-born naturalised British former research scientist, blogger, and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour. While completing her doctoral studies, between 2003 and 2004, Magnanti supplemented her income by working as a London call girl known by the working name Taro.

Her diary, published as the anonymous blog Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl, became increasingly popular as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Remaining anonymous, Magnanti went on to have her experiences published as The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2005 and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2006. Her first two books were UK top 10 best-sellers in the nonfiction hardback and nonfiction paperback lists. (Full article...)
Image 10

Quinn in Las Vegas, January 2000

Alexandra Quinn (born Diane Purdie Stewart on March 25, 1973) is a Canadian former pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 11

Centauro in a scene from the 2002 film French Beauty

Greg Centauro (January 10, 1977 – March 26, 2011) was a French pornographic actor and director. (Full article...)
Image 12
Kyōko Aizome (Japanese: 愛染恭子, Hepburn: Aizome Kyōko, born February 9, 1958) is a Japanese erotic actress, singer, writer, and AV and film director. She has been called "the first hard-core porn actress in Japan". (Full article...)
Image 13
Phoenix at "Porn Star Karaoke", 2007

Satine Phoenix is an American comic book illustrator, cosplayer, model, and former pornographic film actress. She is the co-creator, with writer R.K. Syrus, of the graphic novel New Praetorians and the founder of CelebrityChariD20 (formerly CelebrityCharityDnD). (Full article...)
Image 14

Julie Meadows (born Lydia Lee; February 3, 1974) is an American writer, web designer and former pornographic actress, who became a documentarian after retiring from the adult film industry. She was active in the industry from 1998 to 2004 and is sometimes said to resemble the actress Julia Stiles. (Full article...)
Image 15

Hitotsunagi project (making her farewell photobook) started on March 15, 2022. Photo taken by Jumpei Tainaka.
Iori Kogawa (古川いおり, Kogawa Iori, born 25 September 1992) is a Japanese for pornographic (AV) actress, pink film actress and idol.

Born in Osaka Prefecture in September 25, 1992, and represented by T-Powers, Kogawa made her AV debut at Soft on Demand and remained an exclusive performer at the company throughout most of her career, starring in over 200 adult films. While being an AV actress, she also appeared in several pink movies and was a member of the idol group Ebisu Muscats. In 31 December 2022, she completely retired as an AV actress, and left the office. (Full article...)
Image 16

Carrera in 2016

Melinda Smith, known professionally as Mercedes Carrera, is an American pornographic actress. She was a frequent commentator in support of the antifeminist Gamergate campaign and collaborated with the pro-Gamergate group The Fine Young Capitalists in 2015 on a fundraiser for students in STEM fields. In 2019, Carrera and her husband Jason Whitney were arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse. (Full article...)
Image 17

Pozzi c. 1990s

Maria Tamiko Pozzi (born 1 June 1963), best known by the stage name Baby Pozzi, is an Italian former pornographic film actress.

Born in Genoa, Liguria, she is the younger sister of the pornographic actress and television personality Moana Pozzi. She started her career with some shows in clubs, while attending school to become a chemical analyst. After entering Riccardo Schicchi's agency, "Diva Futura", as a secretary, she debuted in the adult industry in 1987 and retired in 1991. She then moved to France, where she volunteered in an orphanage. In 1995, after the death of her sister, she briefly rejoined the industry but only for some live shows. Outside of her adult career, she had a leading role in the erotic film Abat-Jour, which was directed by Lorenzo Onorati. (Full article...)
Image 18
Morganna Roberts (born July 4, 1947) is an entertainer who became known as Morganna or Morganna, the Kissing Bandit in baseball and other sports from 1969 through 1999. She was also billed as "Morganna the Wild One" when appearing as a dancer in the 1980s.

Morganna rushed the field on many occasions and kissed Major League Baseball players including Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Brett (twice), Steve Garvey, Len Barker and Cal Ripken Jr. She has been described as "baseball's unofficial mascot" and "the grand dame of baseball". She also crashed National Basketball Association games, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one of her most notable victims. (Full article...)
Image 19

Daniels in January 2015

Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford (born Stephanie A. Gregory; March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress, director and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves Hall of Fame, AVN Hall of Fame and XRCO Hall of Fame. In 2009 a recruitment effort led her to consider challenging incumbent David Vitter in the 2010 Senate election in her native Louisiana.

In 2018, Daniels became involved in a legal dispute with U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump's attorney Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to silence her about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair and accused her of lying. (Full article...)
Image 20

Anri Okita (Japanese: 沖田杏梨) is an English-born Japanese actress, singer, songwriter, and former pornographic actress.

Between 2011 and 2016 Okita was active as a popular AV idol before retiring in May 2016 to focus on a career in mainstream media. From 2016 to 2017, Okita was a member of the idol group Ebisu Muscats. In 2017, Okita debuted as a solo music artist and released the album GORILLA. Okita has also acted in numerous mainstream Japanese language films, such as Naked Ambition 2 (2014), Assassination Classroom (2015), Scoop! (2016), and Diamond Dogs (2017). (Full article...)
Image 21

Kane at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in 2010

Kimberly Kane (born August 28, 1983) is an American pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 22

Ingley at the 1988 International Winter Consumer Electronics Show

Milton Owen Ingley (May 23, 1946 – December 22, 2006), also known as Michael Morrison, was an American pornographic actor, producer, and director.
He was a member the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 23
William M. "Sonny" Landham III (February 11, 1941 – August 17, 2017) was an American actor and stunt performer. He portrayed Billy Bear in 48 Hrs. and tracker Billy Sole in Predator. (Full article...)
Image 24
Justin Slayer (born Eugene Bell on September 10, 1972) is an American pornographic film actor and director. He is from Los Angeles, Ca.

He won the 2007 Adult Video News Awards "Best Ethnic Series - Latin" for the Mami Culo Grande series and "Best Ethnic Series - Black" for the Phatty Girls series. (Full article...)
Image 25
Alban Ceray (born 3 January 1945) is a Monegasque pornographic actor. His career spans over 30 years, from the Golden Age of French porn in the 1970s to the Internet era in the early 2000s. (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 Sadhana Mahila Sangha protected Bangalore sex workers from the police and from HIV, but they now help feed them during the pandemic?
... 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?

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