Sex industry
The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of
Etymology
The origins of the term sex industry are uncertain, but it appears to have arisen in the 1970s. A 1977 report by the Ontario Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry (LaMarsh Commission) quoted author Peter McCabe as writing in Argosy: "Ten years ago the sex industry did not exist. When people talked of commercial sex they meant Playboy."[3] A 1976 article in The New York Times by columnist Russell Baker claimed that "[M]ost of the problems created by New York City's booming sex industry result from the city's reluctance to treat it as an industry", arguing why sex shops constituted an "industry", and should be treated as such by concentrating them in a single neighborhood,[4] suggesting the "sex industry" was not yet commonly recognized as such.
Types
Prostitution
Prostitution is a main component of the sex industry and may take place in a
The legality of prostitution and associated activities (soliciting, brothels, procuring) varies by jurisdiction. Yet even where it is illegal, a thriving underground business usually exists because of high demand and the high income that can be made by pimps, brothel owners, escort agencies, and traffickers.[12]
A brothel is a commercial establishment where people may engage in sexual activity with a prostitute,[13] though for legal or cultural reasons they may describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs or by some other description. Sex work in a brothel is considered safer than street prostitution.[14]
Prostitution and the operation of brothels are legal in some countries, but illegal in others. For instance, there are legal brothels in Nevada, US, due to the legalization of prostitution in some areas of the state.[15] In countries where prostitution and brothels are legal, brothels may be subject to many and varied restrictions. Forced prostitution is usually illegal as is prostitution by or with minors, though the age may vary. Some countries prohibit particular sex acts. In some countries, brothels are subject to strict planning restrictions and in some cases are confined to designated red-light districts. Some countries prohibit or regulate how brothels advertise their services, or they may prohibit the sale or consumption of alcohol on the premises. In some countries where operating a brothel is legal, some brothel operators may choose to operate illegally.
Some men and women may travel away from their home to engage with local prostitutes, in a practice called sex tourism, and can have a variety of different socio-economic effects on the destinations.[16] Male sex tourism can create or augment demand for sex services in the host countries, while female sex tourism tends not to use facilities that are specifically devoted to that purpose.[16] Like tourism in general, sex tourism can make a significant contribution to local economies, especially in popular urban centers and places particularly known as sex tourism destinations. Sex tourism may arise as a result of stringent anti-prostitution laws in a tourist's home country, and although it may contribute to the destination economy, it can create social problems in the host country.
Prostitution is extremely prevalent in Asia, particularly in
Pornography
Pornography is the
The first home-PCs capable of network communication prompted the arrival of online services for adults in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The wide-open early days of the World Wide Web quickly snowballed into the dot-com boom, in-part fueled by an incredible global increase in the demand for and consumption of pornography and erotica. Around 2009, the U.S. porn industry's revenue of $10–15 billion a year was more than the combined revenue of professional sports and live music combined and roughly on par or above Hollywood's box office revenue.[21][22]
There is mixed evidence on the social impact of pornography. Some insights come from
Other types
Adult entertainment is
Other members of the sex industry include the hostesses that work in many bars in China. These hostesses are women who are hired by men to sit with them and provide them with company, which entails drinking and making conversation, while the men
In addition, like any other industry, there are people who work in or service the sex industry as managers, film crews, photographers, website developers and
Perspectives
The sex industry is controversial, and there are people, organizations and governments that have objections to it, and, as a result, pornography, prostitution, striptease and other similar occupations are illegal in many countries. This is typically the case in countries with strong religious traditions.
The term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that pornography has a variety of harmful effects on society, such as encouragement of human trafficking, desensitization, pedophilia, dehumanization, exploitation, sexual dysfunction, and inability to maintain healthy sexual relationships.
Feminist views
Feminism is divided on the issue of the sex industry. In her essay "What is wrong with prostitution",
Some
Socio-economic issues
Use of children
While the legality of adult sexual entertainment varies by country, the use of children in the sex industry is illegal nearly everywhere in the world.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is the "sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons. The child is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object".[39]
CSEC includes the
Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil and Mexico have been identified as the primary countries where the commercial sexual exploitation of children takes place.[40] Certain places around the world are recognized for child sex tourism.[8]
Low socio-economic status
Caste-based prostitution
Castes are largely hereditary social classes often emerging around certain professions. Lower castes are associated with professions considered "unclean", which has often included prostitution. In pre-modern Korea, the
Migrants
Some researchers have claimed that sex workers can benefit from their profession in terms of immigration status. In her essay "Selling Sex for Visas: Sex Tourism as a Stepping-Stone to International Migration" anthropologist Denise Brennan cited an example of prostitutes in the Dominican Republic resort town of Sosúa, where some female prostitutes marry their customers in order to immigrate to other countries and seek a better life.[47] The customers are, however, the ones that hold the power in this situation as they can withhold or revoke the sex worker's visa, either denying them the ability to immigrate or forcing them to return to their country of origin.[47] Sex workers are also at risk of judgement from family members and relatives for having been associated with the sex tourism industry. Migrant sex work happens due to globalization. Globalization has produced growth both in sex tourism and in the migration of women to places where the sex industry thrives.[48]
Effect on crime
Additionally, some researchers claim that pornography causes unequivocal harm to society by increasing rates of
Discrimination and exoticization
Some customers see sex workers from other countries as exotic commodities that can be fetishized or exploited.[47] Many producers and proponents of pornography featuring gay actors claim that this work is liberating and offers them a voice in popular media while critics view it as a degradation of the eroticization of inequality and that advocates for this new line of cinema are only creating a new barrier for homosexuals to contend with.[55]
Spread of diseases
The sex industry also raises concerns about the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
See also
- Adult Film Association of America
- AdultVest
- AVN
- Critics Adult Film Association
- Erotic massage
- List of adult industry awards
- List of pornographic film awards
- List of strip clubs
- Neo-Burlesque
- Portland TV
- Sexually oriented business
- Sex-positive feminism
- Sex-positive movement
- Sex Shouldn't Be a Crime
- Sex tourism
- Sex workers' rights
- Spintria
- Third-wave feminism
- Transgender sex worker
- XBIZ
- XRCO awards
- XRCO Hall of Fame
References
- ISBN 978-2-35017-156-2.
- ^ "Sex Worker Myths vs Reality" (PDF). Sex Workers Project. Urban Justice Center. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-28. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Report of the Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry, Volumes 4-5. Ontario Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry. 1977. p. 210. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ Russell Baker (14 December 1976). "No Biz Like Sex Biz". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-31. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ "Prostitution Reform Act 2003 No 28 (as at 26 November 2018), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
- S2CID 150273170. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
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- ^ Horning, A.; et al. (2019). "Harlem Pimps' Accounts of their Economic Pathways and Feelings of Insiderness and Outsiderness". Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology. 7 (3): 69–94.
- ^ "Prostitution Reform Act 2003 No 28 (as at 26 November 2018), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
- ISBN 978-0-495-09108-0.
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- ^ a b c d "Sex industry assuming massive proportions in Southeast Asia". ILO News. 19 August 1998.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8166-5902-9.
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- ^ FRANCE 24 English (17 June 2010). "Asia's sex industry" – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Geisler, Erin (2009-02-11). "Pornography: A Mirror of American Culture?". University of Texas. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
While statistics vary, watchdog organizations estimate the pornography industry generates between $10 and $15 billion a year in the United States. By comparison, the Hollywood box office generates about $10 billion a year.
- ^ Porndemic — Sex in the Digital Age (at 6.35), a 2009 documentary by Christopher Sumpton and Robin Benger in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-8047-8535-8.
- ISBN 978-0-8166-5902-9.
- ^ Bell, Kelly J. (4 April 2018). "A Feminist's Argument On How Sex Work Can Benefit Women". Inquiries Journal. 1 (11).
- ^ "What is the Nordic Model?". Nordic Model Now!. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ Joan Smith (26 March 2013). "Why the Game's Up for Sweden's Sex Trade". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Mudde, Cas (8 April 2016). "The Paternalistic Fallacy of the "Nordic Model" of Prostitution". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ Oppenheim, Maya (9 December 2020). "Labour MP fiercely criticised for proposing legislation which would criminalise buying sex". The Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Parsons, Vic (9 December 2020). "Labour MP tables controversial bill to criminalise buying sex. Sex workers say it would put their lives in danger". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ McIntyre, Niamh (18 March 2017). "SNP back prostitution law changes condemned by sex workers". The Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Marsh, Sarah (28 February 2019). "Decriminalise sex work to protect us from crime, prostitutes say". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Boseley, Sarah (11 December 2018). "Criminalisation of sex work normalises violence, review finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "The Harm of Porn: Just Another Excuse to Censor". Fiawol.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
- ISBN 978-1-85567-636-7.
- ^ Emilio Godoy (2007-08-13). "Rights-Mexico: 16,000 Victims of Child Sexual Exploitation" (Press release). Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
- ISBN 978-0816652754.
- ^ Rana, U., Sharma, D. & Ghosh, D. Prostitution in northern Central India: an ethnographical study of Bedia community. Int. j. anthropol. ethnol. 4, 2 (2020). [1]
- ^ "This Road Leads to Sex Work". Pacific Standard. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "The Indian village where child sexual exploitation is the norm". The Guardian. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Nepal's Badi community finds itself in a bottomless pit of despair". Kathmandu Post. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Caste System Binds Nepalese Prostitutes". The New York Times. 11 April 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0805075090. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ISBN 978-0073512297.
- ^ "Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health: Background Papers: 'Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography' (August 4, 1986)". 1986-08-04. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ Malamuth, Neil M. "Do Sexually Violent Media Indirectly Contribute to Antisocial Behavior?". p. 10.
- ^ "The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective". Archived from the original on 2008-01-15.
- ^ "Pornography, rape and the internet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-11-02. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
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External links
- Principles for Model Sex Industry Legislation
- Sex Industry – A Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand (archived 22 December 2008)
- "City's sex industry worth £6.6m a year and growing", news article from The Herald, Scotland (archived 18 June 2006)