The sex industry is a big, amorphous, largely unregulated (though in some instances, strangely and/or over-regulated) industry. It includes both legal and illegal jobs and in the United States is often identified as a multi-billion dollar a year business. Exact figures vary widely and are hard to confirm, as most businesses within the industry are not publicly traded, while some other businesses may be largely cash based (strip clubs, escort agencies, independent workers). It’s often reported that the sex industry in the US brings in more money than Hollywood – but again, this is unconfirmed.
The phrase “sex worker” is generally used to refer to workers who may be self-employed but are not management level workers. So: sex workers work in the sex industry, but not all people who work in the sex industry (like madams, porn producers, strip club bouncers) are sex workers.
This, of course, is up for debate and further refinement.
Do you think there’s a distinction between sex workers and people who work in the sex industry?
4 responses so far ↓
1 chaps // Apr 1, 2008 at 1:23 pm
My opinion on this topic is that people are men or women that work in this industry they are very respected by its work…. I think that it is a form in that they express its sexuality and they reflect us a form in which many of normal people scare us to say it or to make it fearing that point out us for our sexual likes and for that reason these people reflect us our desires… since when watching a movie for adults and to see scenes he/she is not fancied.. when you see two women make it to a man or until the same women when seeing as the actor man carries out certain positions to give pleasure.. to the artist… for that reason I say that it is since a very respectable work they express what we have repressed in our interior….
Greetings
2 MarcelloNYC // Apr 1, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I don’t think there is a distinction because at the management level even though they are just financiers or business executives, they are selling or promoting a sexual based product or service – they are still making a living from the money they earn from sex – sex worker.
An executive chef may not cook in his kitchen because he has sou chefs doing all the work, but he is still considered a chef and part of an industry called food service and management.
I don’t know if that made sense – this is a really complicated question to answer!
3 Elaine the Intern // Apr 2, 2008 at 2:08 am
I think there is a distinction between sex workers and people who work from a purely a management level. And I’m basing my opinion from a labor standpoint, since I think the term “worker” in general denotes someone who engages in the physical (and maybe mental depending on the cases, like a journalist) labour aspect in the whole exchange process. I wouldn’t call someone who owns a coal mine factory a miner or a dean of a university a professor, just as I wouldn’t call a porn producer a sex worker.
I feel like sex workers are much more vulnerable to economic and labor exploitation more so then other folks who work in the sex industry (not through physical labour) due in large part to their positions as laborer in the capitalistic system (along with many other things like lack of regulation, lack of visibility, stigma of sexuality etc.). And because we still live and continue to live in this system, the difference still exists for the most part and recognizing the difference is important to address material issues that sex workers materially face as workers.
Of course that whole thing sounds kind of Marxist and I realize that issues that sex workers face can’t just be boiled down to labor since sex work is obviously not the same as any other industry. I also realize that not every sex worker works for someone and so that whole top down thing I just spouted is not entirely applicable to everyone, but yea its kind of a complicated question
4 naran // Mar 7, 2010 at 4:50 am
i need sex work job i am a male age43 india pls conetect
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