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 webcam model setting up her environment at a 2019 event

A webcam model (colloquially, camgirl, camboy, or cammodel) is a video performer who streams on the Internet with a live webcam broadcast. A webcam model often performs erotic acts online, such as stripping, masturbation, or sex acts in exchange for money, goods, or attention. They may also sell videos of their performances. Once viewed as a small niche in the world of adult entertainment, camming became "the engine of the porn industry," according to Alec Helmy, the publisher of XBIZ, a sex-trade industry journal.

As many webcam models operate in the comfort of their own homes, they are free to choose the amount of sexual content for their broadcasts. While most display nudity and sexually provocative behavior, some choose to remain mostly clothed and merely talk about various topics, while still soliciting payment as tips from their fans. Webcam models are predominantly women, and also include noted performers of all genders and sexualities. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

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

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Armstrong attending the XBIZ Awards Show in Santa Monica, California in 2012

Brad Armstrong (born Rod Hopkins; September 23, 1965) is a Canadian pornographic actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He is currently under contract with Wicked Pictures. He has been known as one of the most popular leading men in the sex industry, as well as "The King of Porn" and "The Spielberg of Skin Directors".

Among the films he has directed is Octomom Home Alone (2012). (Full article...)
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Juanita Dale Slusher (July 6, 1935 – December 30, 2005), better known by her stage name Candy Barr, was an American stripper, burlesque dancer, actress, and adult model in men's magazines of the mid-20th century.

During the 1950s, she received nationwide attention for her stripping career in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, her encounters with the law, shooting her second husband, and her sentence to a prison term for drug possession. Barr was also in relationships with Mickey Cohen and Jack Ruby. (Full article...)
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Mariko Kawana (Japanese: 川奈まり子, Hepburn: Kawana Mariko) (born November 9, 1967) began the most notable phase of her life as a Japanese model and actress who has appeared in softcore pink film and V-Cinema, and who has also been a hardcore adult video (AV) performer and director. She was one of the earliest AV actresses in the "mature woman" or "madame" (jukujo) category of performers. She is now retired as an actress and has returned to her pre-acting career as a writer. (Full article...)
Image 4

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 5

Manning at Aqua Lounge, Beverly Hills, California, February 2010

Nick Manning (born May 28, 1967) is an American pornographic actor and director. He has made several mainstream appearances, including Crank: High Voltage, Hogan Knows Best, and Sons of Anarchy. Manning portrayed a strip club owner in the 2011 independent film Cherry Bomb, his first non-pornographic lead role. In 2014, he was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 6

Metairie Cemetery tomb originally of Josie Arlington

Josie Arlington (1864 – February 14, 1914) was a brothel madam in the Storyville district of New Orleans, Louisiana. Arlington started her life as a prostitute at 17–18 years old as a means to support her family. Arlington used her experience to open a brothel in 1890, which she named "Chateau Lobrano d'Arlington". Shortly after Storyville was established as the red-light district for New Orleans, Arlington moved her business into this area. After her building was destroyed by fire in 1905 she moved her business into a saloon owned by Tom Anderson, which was known as 'The Arlington Annex'. Josie retired from the business in 1909 and sold her assets off to Tom Anderson. Arlington died in 1913 and was buried in Metairie Cemetery, where her grave had to be moved because it had become such a tourist attraction. (Full article...)
Image 7

Mynx in 2005

Tiffany Mynx is an American former pornographic actress and film director. She is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 8

Kelly at the 2003 Adult Entertainment Expo

Jill Kelly (born February 1, 1971) is an American pornographic actress, director and producer. Kelly is an AVN Hall of Fame inductee. (Full article...)
Image 9

Grey in 2010

Marina Ann Hantzis (born March 14, 1988), known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic film actress. She began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for her work between 2007 and 2010, including the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008. In 2023, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame.

After her 2009 feature film debut as the lead in Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience, Grey starred in independent films including Open Windows, the Canadian black comedy horror film Smash Cut and the horror film Would You Rather. In 2011, she played a fictionalized version of herself in the HBO comedy-drama series Entourage. (Full article...)
Image 10

Anksa Kara (born March 24, 1985) is a Franch-Cameroon pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 11
Stephen Clancy Hill (May 8, 1976 – June 5, 2010) was an American pornographic actor who performed under the screen name Steve Driver. On June 1, 2010, Hill attacked several coworkers with a sword, wounding two and killing fellow actor Herbert Hin Wong (A.K.A. Tom Dong). Four days later, Hill died while being apprehended by police. (Full article...)
Image 12
Shigeo Tokuda (徳田重男, Tokuda Shigeo, born August 18, 1934) is the stage name of a Japanese adult video actor. Described as "the undisputed king of Japanese mature porn", Tokuda has inspired many adult industry actors to extend their retirement to a later age. Tokuda has gained international recognition after being profiled by CNN, The Guardian, Vice, and Yahoo. (Full article...)
Image 13

García in October 2019

Ángel Muñoz García (Spanish: [ˈaŋxel muˈɲoθ ɣaɾˈθia]; born 11 September 1994), better known as by his stage name Jordi "El Niño Polla" (The Dick Boy), often shortened to Jordi ENP, is a Spanish pornographic actor, producer and YouTuber who rose to prominence after working with the production company Brazzers.

In 2018 and 2019, García received the Pornhub Award for Most Popular Male Performer two consecutive years in a row. As of 20 June 2021, his YouTube channel has amassed over 4 million subscribers and 396 million views. (Full article...)
Image 14
Raphael's Galatea

Imperia Cognati (also called Imperia La Divina, meaning Imperia The Divine, or The Queen of Courtesans, 3 August 1486 – 15 August 1512), was a Roman courtesan. She has been considered the first celebrity of the class of courtesans, which was created in Rome in the late 15th century. (Full article...)
Image 15

Sibylle Rauch in December 2005

Sibylle Rauch (born 14 June 1960) is a German former film actress, nude model and pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 16

Matthew Camp in 2012

Matthew Camp (born March 15, 1984) is an American gay pornographic film actor and social media personality. Camp came to prominence in 2013 with Getting Go: The Go Doc Project. In 2020, Camp was co-host of the reality television competition series Slag Wars. (Full article...)
Image 17

Sydnee Steele (born September 23, 1968) is an American sex therapist, author, free speech activist, and former pornographic actress. She appeared in over 300 pornographic films before her retirement in 2005. (Full article...)
Image 18

Chippendales dancers in Las Vegas with fans

Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive upper body costume of a bow tie, collar, and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso.

Established in 1979, Chippendales was the first all-male stripping troupe to make a business performing for mostly female audiences. The company produces Broadway-style burlesque shows worldwide and licenses its intellectual property for select consumer products ranging from apparel and accessories to slot machines. The Chippendales perform at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. (Full article...)
Image 19

Hardy in 2011

Amanda Hardy, known professionally as Shyla Stylez (September 23, 1982 — November 9, 2017) was a Canadian-born American pornographic actress from Armstrong, British Columbia. (Full article...)
Image 20
Leo Ford (born Leo John Hilgeford; July 5, 1957 – July 17, 1991) was an American pornographic actor who appeared in gay pornographic films and bisexual pornographic movies and magazines in the 1980s. He was born in Dayton, Ohio. (Full article...)
Image 21
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 22

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 23
Colleen Brennan (born December 1, 1949) is an American former pornographic actress. She has also gone by the name Sharon Kelly. (Full article...)
Image 24

Vouyer at a Wicked Pictures party, September 2007

Vince Vouyer (born John Albert LaForme on June 1, 1966) is a pornographic actor and director. He is sometimes credited as Vince, Vince Voyeur, Vince Voyer, or Vince Voyuer.

Breakin' 'Em In #9 won the AVN Award for Best Pro-Am Release at the 24th Annual AVN Awards Show, hosted by Jessica Drake at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The movie also earned Best Anal Sex Scene, Video for Vouyer and Amy Ried. (Full article...)
Image 25

Estelle Desanges in 2002

Estelle Desanges (born 8 March 1977) is a French former pornographic actress. During the 2000s, she was one of France's most popular porn actresses. (Full article...)

Did you know...

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