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...)

Selected article - show another

A gigolo (/ˈdʒɪɡəloʊ, ˈʒɪɡ-/ JIG-ə-loh, ZHIG-) is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship.

The term gigolo usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rather than having other means of support.

The gigolo is expected to provide companionship, to serve as a consistent escort with good manners and social skills, and often to serve as a dancing partner as required by the woman in exchange for the support. Many gifts, such as expensive clothing and an automobile to drive, may be lavished upon him. The relationship may include sexual services as well, and he also can be referred to as a "kept man." (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

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

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Oikawa in 2022
Nao Oikawa (及川奈央, Oikawa Nao, born April 21, 1981 in Hiroshima) is a Japanese actress, TV personality and was also a former AV idol who was very popular in the early 2000s. (Full article...)
Image 2

Suzy Favor Hamilton (born August 8, 1968) is an American former middle-distance runner. She competed in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics. (Full article...)
Image 3

North at the Exxxotica Expo Adult Entertainment Expo, 2010

Alden Joseph Brown (born May 11, 1957), known professionally as Peter North, is a Canadian retired pornographic actor, director and producer. He has 2,155 credits as an actor and 77 as a director. (Full article...)
Image 4

Brandon at the 2011 CyberSocket Awards

Michael Brandon (born February 9, 1965) is an American pornographic actor and director (formerly exclusive to Raging Stallion Studios) who specializes in gay pornography. He has had his own subdivision at Raging Stallion called "Monster Bang"^{[better source needed]} and has previously participated in some charitable efforts.^{[better source needed]} (Full article...)
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Draghixa Laurent (born 3 June 1973), best known as Draghixa, is a French former pornographic actress and singer. (Full article...)
Image 6

Haze at the XRCO Awards in Hollywood, California in 2009

Jenna Haze (born 1982) is an American director, model, and former pornographic actress.

Haze has won numerous pornographic industry awards, including the 2003 AVN Award for Best New Starlet and the 2009 AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year, making her the second performer in history to ever win both awards in the course of her career, after Missy. In 2012, she was inducted into both the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 7

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.

Daniels became involved in a legal dispute with U.S. president Donald Trump in 2018. Trump's attorney Michael Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to silence her about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair and accused her of lying. Trump faces 34 State of New York felony charges of falsifying business records with the intent to commit or conceal other crimes relating to these payments. His trial on these charges began on April 15, 2024. (Full article...)
Image 8

Tayler at the 2011 AVN Awards

Lizz Tayler (born June 9, 1990) is an American former pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 9

Hara at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival
Saori Hara (Japanese: 原紗央莉, Hepburn: Hara Saori, born January 1, 1988) is a former Japanese AV idol, model and actress who has also used the name Mai Nanami (七海まい, Nanami Mai) and most recently Miyabi Matsunoi or Miyavi Matsunoi (松野井雅, Matsunoi Miyabi). (Full article...)
Image 10
Remy LaCroix is an American pornographic actress. She won the 2013 AVN Award for Best New Starlet and the 2014 AVN Award for Best Actress and the 2014 XRCO Award for Female Performer of the Year. (Full article...)
Image 11

Vitale on the right with his former girlfriend Briana Banks at the 2004 AVN Awards

Bobby Vitale, (June 30, 1965 - August 29, 2017) also known as "Jerry Forde", was an American pornographic actor of Mexican/ Irish descent. He entered the adult film industry in 1995 and had performed in over 418 titles. His filmography included films directed by John Leslie. Vitale has directed two adult films. (Full article...)
Image 12

Hart at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in 2008

Carmen Hart (born March 12, 1984) is an American former pornographic actress and exotic dancer from North Carolina. (Full article...)
Image 13

Piri on stage at Radio 1 Big Weekend

Sophie Leigh McBurnie (born 14 March 1999), known professionally as Piri, is an English musician. Born in Rochdale in Greater Manchester, she is half of the band Piri & Tommy and a member of the female and genderqueer collective Loud LDN. Piri is noted for her frog motif, for running an OnlyFans account alongside her music career, for her pole dancing, and for her openness.

Three of her works as half of Piri & Tommy have entered the UK charts: their 2021 single "Soft Spot" reached No. 20 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart, their 2022 single "On & On" went to No. 99 on the UK Singles Chart, and their 2022 mixtape Froge.mp3 made No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart. "Soft Spot" was ranked No. 59 on Rolling Stone's "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in July 2022, while their 2022 works "Words", "On & On", and Froge.mp3, and their cover of Charli XCX and Kim Petras's "Unlock It" all appeared on year-end best-of lists. In addition, she co-wrote the Illit song "Magnetic", which charted at No. 80 on the UK Singles Chart, and has been named as an influence by Caity Baser. (Full article...)
Image 14

Chelsea Charms in May 2011

Chelsea Charms (born March 7, 1976) is a former American big-bust model, internet model, and stripper who is famous for having extremely large breasts.
She had a reduction in 2020 due to health reasons. (Full article...)
Image 15
Sylvia Bourdon (born 1949 in Cologne, West Germany) is a French activist who speaks four languages and is an expert in French art and design. (Full article...)
Image 16

Hollander in 2008

Xaviera Hollander (born 15 June 1943) is a Dutch former call girl, madam and author. She is best known for her best-selling memoir The Happy Hooker: My Own Story. (Full article...)
Image 17

Yahshua at the 2019 XRCO Awards

Prince Yahshua (born March 21, 1970) is an American pornographic film actor and director. (Full article...)
Image 18

Vittoria Risi at the 2011 Venice Biennale

Tiziana Zennaro, best known as Vittoria Risi (born 3 November 1978) is an Italian pornographic actress and television personality. (Full article...)
Image 19
Mari Ayukawa (Japanese: 鮎川真理, Hepburn: Ayukawa Mari, Chinese: 鯰川真理, Cantonese Yale: Nim4 Chyun1 Jan1 Lei5) is a former Japanese AV idol and pink film actress. (Full article...)
Image 20

Marica Hase at the AVN Awards 2016
Marica Hase (Japanese: まりか, Hepburn: Hase Marica), also known as Marika (まりか, 茉莉香, Marika), is a Japanese porn actress, and Penthouse Pet. Starting her career as an erotic model in 2007, Hase began performing in adult videos in 2009 before moving to the United States in 2012. She appeared in more than 500 adult films and is one of the very few Japanese AV stars that have switched over to the American AV industry. (Full article...)
Image 21

Linares at 2009 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

Rebeca Linares (born 13 June 1983) is a Spanish pornographic film actress and Penthouse Pet. (Full article...)
Image 22

Tyler in 2001

Nikki Tyler (born December 4, 1972, in Berkeley, California) is a former pornographic actress best known for her work in the 1990s and for her selection as the December 1995 Penthouse Pet of the Month. (Full article...)
Image 23
Honoka (Japanese: 穂花, Hepburn: Honoka) is a Japanese TV personality, actress, writer and former adult video (AV) performer who retired from the AV industry in 2008. (Full article...)
Image 24

with Flower Tucci at Adult Entertainment Expo 2007

Patrick Collins is an American heterosexual pornographic film producer–director, former owner of Elegant Angel Productions, and a member of the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 25

Cox at Erotica Los Angeles on July 15, 2001

Calli Cox (born February 26, 1977) is an American former pornographic actress, who worked as a teacher during the day and as a stripper at night before becoming an adult film performer. Cox was appointed as director of marketing and publicity for the punk rock label Redwood Records in 2003, the same year she retired from performing in adult films. (Full article...)

Did you know...

... 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 a Harvey's franchise known for being a hub for sex work was described by one artist as a "legendary Toronto icon"?
... that the posthumously released documentary Clean centered on the life of Sandra Pankhurst, a former sex worker, drag queen, and crime scene cleaner?