A sex worker is a person who does erotic labor in exchange for an agreed upon exchange of money, goods or services.
Sound vague? It’s meant to be!
It’s often assumed that “sex worker” is a euphemism for “prostitute” – but actually it’s an umbrella term for many different kinds of jobs within the sex industry. A sex worker might be a prostitute, porn performer, phone sex operator, exotic dancer, sensual masseuse, dominatrix, hustler, or many other kinds of jobs. His or her “erotic labor” may or may not include physical contact with a client. Some forms of sex work include “sex,” or some kind of genital touching, but many kinds of sex work don’t include sex at all.
The phrase was coined by Scarlot Harlot, also known as Carol Leigh, more than 30 years ago when she got fed up with the fact that the only words available to describe this kind of work were slang.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Mika // Apr 2, 2008 at 12:32 am
Hi sw101. Congrats on starting up this site. While I love and appreciate the sentiment behind coining of the terms “sex work” and “sex worker,” I’d like to point out that they are not universally recognised among people we might call “sex workers.” In fact, it’s very class- and region-specific. That’s not an argument against sex workers using the term, but social service types should be aware that offering services to “sex workers” won’t mean anything to many people who might need the services the most.
2 No more bodies for sale « Akeela on the Block // Apr 6, 2009 at 2:27 pm
[...] No more bodies for sale I’ve worked as a phone sex operator, and I’ve written and published erotica. By some definitions, I was a sex worker. [...]
3 6/23 and 6/25 Sexual Dysfunction etc and the Sex Industry « Rutgers Human Sexuality, Summer 2009 // Jun 21, 2009 at 1:49 am
[...] What is a sex worker? [...]
4 Let’s Talk About Sex and Money | Lady Only! Blog. // Sep 8, 2009 at 7:47 pm
[...] linked me to Sex Worker 101, a comprehensive list of terms and aspects of sex work. In a post on the same blog, Ray lists [...]
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