Ch: 20 Sex Work
Socially responsible/ehtical/feminist porn
2016, 25% of pornhub's veiwers female ethical porn: performers paid fair wage, treated w/ dignity and respect, not expected to engage in acts against their will. Mindful use - where viwer considers what role porn play sin their real life. Ethical porn is form of sexual integraity Also starts to get into more LGBTQ porn, to feminist-focused porn and involving wide mix of body types Most ethical porn produced by women, who are also performers
Current Prostitution
"sex work", "sex trade" now terms used; destigmatization Marginalized in many socieites; non-humans and expendable in NA double standard for women's sexuality most sex workers female, significant portion transgender
Legal history of porn censorship
beginning w/ comstock act of 1873: criminlized the sake or possession of obscene materials James Joyce's Ulysses Difficult to define obscenity mIller vs California, 1973, decided states could censor porn work if 3 conditions satisfied: 1 - average person must find that work taken as whole appeals to prurient interest(sexual arousing) 2 - the work depicts or describes in offensive sexual conduct 3 - the rok taken as whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific merit
Male sex workers
men who offer services to female clients are called "gigolos" or "male escorts" For other males "rent boys", "hustlers" or "masseurs" "Gay for pay" - heterosexual males who offer services to males "Gogo boys" men who strip in gay bars advertise online, strip clubs, streets, or borthels experience less violence than females and less stigma "kept boy" and "sugar daddy" relationships Rentboy.com - helped LGBTQ community in many ways even though website broke law
Technological advances in Porn
more ways to deliver porn w/ more tech 1953: palyboy released; softporn Hustler later realeased hard core porn Streaming now avaliable webcamming(ex: chaturbate) - paying to watch others perform sexual acts, safe, sense of community created
Exotic dancers
most common face-to-face legal form of sex work most places offering it known as strip clubs some hired for partiers and outcalls fees charged for lap dances dancers make most of money from tips male dancers become more prominent over time
Prostitution
person who engage in sex work for money Been around for thousands of years Religious scriptures Condemned, especially by christianity Reached height at end of 18th century w/ people moving to ciities Development of "red light districts", disputed by feminists Went "underground" - gonorrhea and syphilis outbreaks during WW1
Pornorgraphy
portrayel of sexual subject matter for purpose of sexaul arousal 1970's: porn industry worth about 10 million USD
Brothels and Massage parlors
services vary, but generally include hand genital contact, lab dance or sex Female owners called "Madams", collect portion of earning people go in and chose who they want relatively safe work environments Massage parlors offer massages w/ "happy endings" enjoy higher pay and more protections Historically put red lanterns in doorways; red light Districts
effects of porn
October 2017, utah house of repsentatives declared health hazard affects how we think of gender, seuxality, relationships, sexual violence couples who watch more likely to get divorced adds spice to relationships and serves as outlet for fantasies that could be dangerous in real life men only more violent towards women if they watch lot of porn and have pre existing hostile attitudes towards women violent porn viewing linked to more vioelnt acts Study: after vewiing porn, men more likely to deliver electric shocks to women and express violence cross-cultural studies suggest that when porn consumption rises, sex crimes fall "porn addicts" no scientific evidence to suggest that pron causes "brin damage, erectile syfunction, or loss of sexual interest in mate" although porn does lead to neural changes in brain and feel addiction like those of gamblers
Shoudl prostitution be legal
Americans split Opposition stems from view that extramarital sex is wrong, feminist perspective that sex work misogynistic from occupational health and safety standpoint, legalization would reduce harm of sex work
Regulations of Prostitution
illegal everywhere in U.S, except for few counties in Nevada Certain forms are legal in Canada, mexico, and some European
Escort services
main form in US today advertise over internet and typically travel to location selected by client bridge te gap between brothel and street workers agencies provide some security and legitimize worker outcalls (clients home or hotel) vs. In calls (escort's residence or hotel) can be booked for long-term engagements for dates, events, trips Far safer than street work smaller risk of arrest allows formation of relationships w/ regular clients
Streetwalkers
those who work on the street face most danger, get paid the lowest People who pick them up called "Johns" Greatest risk for physical violence, STIs, and death usually forced into it some belong to a pimp, who offers protection lowest proportion today, but most stigmatized and most arrests made
Transwomen sex workers
trans discrmination surver - 11% of trans community had done sex work at some point in their life Trans people face signiicatn discrimination in workforce higher rates of HIV among transwomen in sex trade Significant proportion of men like transwomen - theory: attracted to men but keeps straight identity
Sex trafficking
transportation of person from one place to another for purpose of selling them for sex subset of human trafficking: modern day form of slavery in 2012, ILO estimated there were 20.9 million victims worldwide over 4000 cases are reported in US every year Children in sex work: police estimate that up to 500 teens working as sex slaves Some join willingly, others deceived or kidnapped Transnational sex trafficking: transporting people away from country into one there is demand for sex work (asia and latin america)
