Portal:Sex work

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...)

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A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particularly associated with female street prostitution, though in some cities, these areas may coincide with spaces of male prostitution and gay venues. Areas in many big cities around the world have acquired an international reputation as red-light districts. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

Image 1Prostitute c. 1890. (from Prostitution)
Image 2Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Meiji Period, Japan (from Prostitution)
Image 3The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622) (from Prostitution)
Image 4Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City (from Sex work)
Image 5A 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 6News report about three brothels operating in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were raided by police in 1922 (from Prostitution)
Image 7An oiran preparing herself for a client, ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Haronubu (1765) (from Prostitution)
Image 8Statue 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 9Brothel scene; Brunswick Monogrammist, 1537; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (from Prostitution)
Image 10Fresco from the Pompeii brothel (from Prostitution)
Image 11A 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 12Boat based window prostitute in Utrecht (from Prostitution)
Image 13Tart cards in a British phone box advertising call girls, 2005 (from Prostitution)
Image 14A sex worker in Berlin in 2001 (from Sex work)
Image 15A prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district talks with a potential customer. (from Prostitution)
Image 16Kisaeng women from outcast or slave families. (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 18Women in an early San Francisco bordello in 1870 (from Prostitution)
Image 19The red light district in Amsterdam (from Sex work)
Image 20A political cartoon from 1787 jesting about the notion of taxation affecting prostitutes (from Prostitution)
Image 21Femmes de Maison, painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 1893—1895 (from Prostitution)
Image 22Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 23A liberated Chinese girl who had been forced in to sexual slavery by the Japanese military sits on a stretcher and speaks to a Royal Air Force officer. (from Prostitution)
Image 24
  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 25Stickers affixed to a payphone in São Paulo, 2006 (from Prostitution)
Image 26An Ancient Greek urn depicts a prostitute and her client. (from Sex work)

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Mortuary photograph of Elizabeth Stride

Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride (née Gustafsdotter; 27 November 1843 – 30 September 1888) is believed to have been the third victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts of London from late August to early November 1888.

Unlike the other four canonical Ripper victims, Stride had not been mutilated following her murder, leading some historians to suspect Stride had not actually been murdered by Jack the Ripper. However, Stride's murder occurred less than one hour before the murder of the Ripper's fourth canonical victim, Catherine Eddowes, within walking distance, and her act of murder is suspected to have been disturbed by an individual entering the crime scene upon a two-wheeled cart. In addition, both women had been murdered by slash wounds to the throat, leading most authors and researchers to consider Stride to be the third of the Ripper's canonical five victims. (Full article...)
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Lilliane Catherine Diomi (born June 1, 2001), known professionally as ppcocaine (previously known as trapbunniebubbles), is an American social media personality and rapper. She is perhaps best known for her song "3 Musketeers" that gained popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok. (Full article...)
Image 3

Urach in 2016

Andressa de Faveri Urach (born 11 October 1987) is a Brazilian reality television personality, best known for being a contestant on the sixth season of A Fazenda, the Brazilian version of The Farm. (Full article...)
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Urach in 2016

Andressa de Faveri Urach (born 11 October 1987) is a Brazilian reality television personality, best known for being a contestant on the sixth season of A Fazenda, the Brazilian version of The Farm. (Full article...)
Image 5

Portrait by Simon Pietersz Verelst

Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage, she became best known for being a longtime mistress of King Charles II of England (c. April 1668 – 6 February 1685).

Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England, and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of Cinderella. Gwyn had two sons by King Charles: Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726) and James Beauclerk (1671–1680). Charles Beauclerk was created Earl of Burford and Duke of St Albans; Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans is her descendant, and the current holder of the title. (Full article...)
Image 6

Air Force Amy in 2007

Deanne Salinger, known professionally as Air Force Amy, is an American legal prostitute, glamour model, adult model, and reality TV performer. MSNBC has called her "a living legend in the world of sex." (Full article...)
Image 7

Mata Hari, c. 1910

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle, Dutch: [mɑrɣaːˈreːtaː ɣeːrˈtrœydaː ˈzɛlə]; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (/ˈmɑːtə ˈhɑːri/ MAH-tə HAR-ee, Dutch: [ˈmaːtaː ˈɦaːri]; Malay for 'sun', lit. 'eye of the day'), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by firing squad in France.

The idea of a beautiful exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. Mata Hari's story has inspired books, films, and other works. It has been said that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat, and that the files used to secure her conviction contained falsifications. Some have even stated that she could not have been a spy and was innocent. (Full article...)
Image 8
Phyllis Dixey (10 February 1914 – 2 June 1964) was an English singer, actress, dancer and impresario. Her earlier career was as a singer in variety shows in Britain. During World War II, she joined ENSA and entertained the British forces. She sang, recited and posed in naked tableaux which were very popular. (Full article...)
Image 9
Bernie Barker (July 31, 1940 – March 21, 2007) was recognized in July 2003 by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest male stripper. The former nuclear power plant worker and insurance salesman had taken up erotic dancing in 2000 at the age of 60 to keep in shape after surgery for the prostate cancer that would eventually cause his death. Over his stripping career, Barker titled in 42 stripper contests. He appeared on the first season of America's Got Talent in 2006.

Barker's quest to place in Guinness began in 1978 with an unsuccessful bid to claim a record in swimming.
He died after finally losing his battle with prostate cancer on March 21, 2007. (Full article...)
Image 10

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...)
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Fleiss in 2006

Heidi Lynne Fleiss (born December 30, 1965) is an American former madam. She ran an upscale prostitution ring based in Los Angeles and is often referred to as the "Hollywood Madam". Fleiss also formerly worked as a columnist and was a television personality regularly featured in the 1990s American media. (Full article...)
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Danni Ashe (and early in her career sometimes as Danielle Ashe; born January 16, 1968) is a retired American nude model, former erotic dancer and web developer who is the founder and former CEO of Danni's Hard Drive, a popular adult web site from the 90's. She started her adult Internet site in 1995. She has been an industry advocate and testified before a government panel. (Full article...)
Image 13

Cody at SXSW 2024

Brook Maurio (previously Busey-Hunt; née Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper (2005). Cody received critical acclaim for her screenwriting debut film, Juno (2007), winning both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay.

She wrote, produced, and made her directorial debut with the comedy drama film Paradise (2013). Cody has also written and produced the films Jennifer's Body (2009), Young Adult (2011), Ricki and the Flash (2015), Tully (2018), and Lisa Frankenstein (2024). (Full article...)
Image 14

Taylor on MTV Real World Tour at Chicago Vision Nightclub

Brianna Taylor (born May 30, 1987) is a reality show personality, singer and songwriter, having appeared on both the fifth season of American Idol and The Real World: Hollywood, the twentieth season of MTV's long-running reality television series, The Real World. In 2008, she released her debut, self-titled EP, Brianna Taylor, on Chamberlain Records; according to that label's website, she was later signed to Universal Music. (Full article...)
Image 15

Mata Hari, c. 1910

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle, Dutch: [mɑrɣaːˈreːtaː ɣeːrˈtrœydaː ˈzɛlə]; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (/ˈmɑːtə ˈhɑːri/ MAH-tə HAR-ee, Dutch: [ˈmaːtaː ˈɦaːri]; Malay for 'sun', lit. 'eye of the day'), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by firing squad in France.

The idea of a beautiful exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. Mata Hari's story has inspired books, films, and other works. It has been said that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat, and that the files used to secure her conviction contained falsifications. Some have even stated that she could not have been a spy and was innocent. (Full article...)
Image 16

Cardi B in 2021

Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (née Almánzar; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she gained recognition on Vine and Instagram, as a cast member on VH1's Love & Hip Hop: New York, and by releasing two mixtapes.

Her first studio album, Invasion of Privacy (2018), debuted atop the Billboard 200 with the largest female rap album streaming week of all time, and was later ranked the top female rap album of the 2010s by Billboard. Critically acclaimed, it made Cardi B the first solo female artist in history to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and Rolling Stone ranked it the best debut album of all time by a female rapper. Its singles "Bodak Yellow" and "I Like It" both topped the Billboard Hot 100 and were certified diamond by the RIAA; the former made Cardi B the first female rapper to top the Hot 100 with a solo song in the 21st century and the first to achieve a diamond-certified song, while the latter made her the first with multiple number-one songs. Her third US number-one, the collaboration "Girls Like You" (2018) with Maroon 5, made her the first female rapper to earn multiple RIAA diamond-certified songs. Cardi's upcoming second studio album Am I the Drama? (2025), was preceded by the US number-one singles "WAP" (with Megan Thee Stallion) and "Up"; the former is the only female rap collaboration to debut atop the Hot 100, made Cardi B the first lead artist to top the Billboard Global 200, and had a large cultural impact. (Full article...)
Image 17

Satan's Angel at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in 2009

Angel Cecelia Helene Walker (September 18, 1944 – April 11, 2019) was an American exotic dancer specializing in stripping and burlesque under her stage name Satan's Angel. (Full article...)
Image 18

Lee in 1956

Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper, actress, author, playwright and vedette, famous for her striptease act. Her 1957 memoir, Gypsy: A Memoir, was adapted into the 1959 stage musical Gypsy. (Full article...)
Image 19

Thaïs of Athens with Torch (1781)
by Joshua Reynolds

Thaïs (/ˈθaɪs/; Greek: Θαΐς; fl. 4th century BCE) was a Greek hetaira who accompanied Alexander the Great on his military campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for having instigated the burning of Persepolis, the capital city of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, after it was conquered by Alexander's army in 330 BCE. At the time, Thaïs was the lover of Ptolemy I Soter, who was one of Alexander's close companions and generals. It has been suggested that she may also have been Alexander's lover on the basis of a statement by the Greek rhetorician Athenaeus, who writes that Alexander liked to "keep Thaïs about him" without directly classifying the nature of their relationship as intimate; this may simply have meant that he enjoyed her company, as she is said to have been very witty and entertaining. Athenaeus also states that after Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Thaïs married Ptolemy and bore three of his children. (Full article...)
Image 20

An English postcard from c. 1905, featuring a German chromolithograph of Clara Ward

Clara Ward (17 June 1873 – 9 December 1916) was a wealthy American socialite who married Joseph, Prince de Caraman-Chimay of Belgium. (Full article...)
Image 21

Kimberly Daniels (born June 12, 1961) is an American minister, religious author, politician, wife and mother of four from Jacksonville, Florida. She is a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing House District 14 (part of Duval County). She began her political career as an at-large member of the Jacksonville City Council. She served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing House District 14 (part of Duval County) as a member of the Democratic Party from 2016–2020. Though she lost her re-election campaign in 2020, she has won every election since, taking House District 14 back. On the last day of qualifying for the 2022 election, Daniels entered the race for the House District 14 seat in 2022. On August 23, 2022, she easily took the Democratic Primary for House District 14, winning all of the district's 41 precincts. Shortly thereafter, the write-in candidate withdrew from the race, securing Daniels' return to the Florida House of Representatives, this time without ever having to win a general election campaign. (Full article...)
Image 22
Portrait of Lizzie, taken in Shelby, Ohio, circa 1903, Burt Mossholder Studio

Lizzie Lape (August 15, 1853 – sometime after Thanksgiving 1917) was an American madam who owned and operated multiple bordellos in Ohio at the end of the 19th century and early into the 20th. (Full article...)
Image 23
Jeanne Brécourt, sometimes written Bricourt, (born 8 April 1837), was one of France's most notorious courtesans. Using dishonesty and blackmail, she ruined some of her lovers. She was sentenced 15 years' penal servitude for having one of her lovers blinded. (Full article...)
Image 24
Marble portrait herm identified by an inscription as Aspasia, possibly copied from her grave.

Aspasia (/æˈspeɪʒ(i)ə, -ziə, -ʃə/; Ancient Greek: Ἀσπασία Greek: [aspasíaː]; c. 470 – after 428 BC) was a metic woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles, with whom she had a son named Pericles the Younger. According to the traditional historical narrative, she worked as a courtesan and was tried for asebeia (impiety), though modern scholars have questioned the factual basis for either of these claims, which both derive from ancient comedy. Though Aspasia is one of the best-attested women from the Greco-Roman world, and the most important woman in the history of fifth-century Athens, almost nothing is certain about her life.

Aspasia was portrayed in Old Comedy as a prostitute and madam, and in ancient philosophy as a teacher and rhetorician. She has continued to be a subject of both visual and literary artists until the present. From the twentieth century, she has been portrayed as both a sexualised and sexually liberated woman, and as a feminist role model fighting for women's rights in ancient Athens. (Full article...)

Did you know...

... that An Amorous History of the Silver Screen has been read as a biographic metafilm, paralleling its lead's rise from prostitution into film stardom?
... 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?
... 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 Indonesian politician Sanusi's parents discouraged him from becoming a government employee, because his salary would be paid partly from taxes on alcohol and prostitution?