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Sex industry

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The sex industry is the term given to the industry formed of commercial enterprises which employ men and women in various capacities, generally relating to what is described as adult entertainment or erotica, as it comprises a number of forms of entertainment not considered suitable for children.

The sex industry represents a significant portion of the world's economy, and has been credited with driving technological advances in popular media, such as home video and DVD, pay-per-view, live streaming video and video-on-demand.

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Google Trends search volume analysis on 'Sex industry'

Examples of the types of modern business operating in the sex industry include ROCKSTAR(a monthly men's magazine); SexTV: The Channel (a digital cable television channel); SuicideGirls.com(a popular website); Artemis (a mega-brothel in Germany); and Ann Summers (a successful chain of British sex shops).

"The business"

Adult films

The explosive popularity of the videocassette recorder in the 1970s and 1980s led to unprecedented growth for the adult film business. The portability of the technology vaulted the availability of so-called "dirty movies" beyond the realm of the simple loops and movie projectors of an earlier era to bigger profits and higher-quality production values. Today, the stars of adult movies regularly appear in mainstream media, produce their own websites and maintain large fan followings. Every year, AVN Awards are presented to the best of the best - including categories such as Best High-Definition Production and Best New Starlet.

The Internet era

The first home-PCs capable of network communication prompted the arrival of online services for adults in the late 80s 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 porn and erotica.

Criticism

Advocates of the sex industry argue that it educates both men and women about sexuality and sexual health and that it sells a product in high demand. They argue that driving the industry underground creates or worsens problems with the industry. Opponents of some elements of the industry argue that it is exploitative (particularly of young women), that it is morally damaging to society, and that it cheapens sex and encourages sexual objectification of women.

See Also

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