Prostitution & Pornography

Prostitute

Person who engages in sex for money

Hustler

Term often used to describe male prostitutes

Sex trader

Refers to anyone who engages in sex for money, drugs, etc. (some kind of payment)

Sex worker

Broader term including sex traders as well as phone sex operators, erotic dancers, etc. - generally means associated with the sex industry

Street prostitution

• Lowest rank in hierarchy of prostitution, pays the least

• Associated with a lifetime of social degradation

• Higher risk of being beaten or raped

• Most come from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds

• Minorities are over-represented

• Majority of street prostitutes are mothers

• Female and trans women streetwalkers tend to be in their late 20s, males tend to be younger

Massage parlors & strip joints

• Higher than streetwalkers in the hierarchy, but still lower

• Working at or out of a fixed commercial location

• Often most readily available location for prostitutes in suburbs

• Frequent target for police raids

• Hand-genital contact is most common service

• Old-fashioned brothels are rare in US (except for Nevada)

• Clientele are typically married wealthy businessmen

Escort services

• Most prevalent form of prostitution in the US

• Form of off-street prostitution that is not tied to a specific service location

• Escorts advertise their services in a variety of media (newspapers, internet, bars, etc.)

• Generally expected to be better-looking and more educated/presentable than street prostitutes

• Charge more for services because they serve the world’s wealthiest people (very little regulation)

Outcall

Escort goes to the client for service (may spend a weekend with them, etc.)

Incall

Client goes to escort’s location

Hustlers

• Male escorts - only kind of prostitute that women typically use

• Gigolos - male escorts paid by women (more common in Europe and parts of Africa/Caribbean through sex tourism)

Economic stance

• There are economic benefits for prostitutes in developing countries

  • 2-14% of economics of South East Asian countries

  • Conditions are also worse though

Nordic model

Achieving worldwide criminalization of everyone connected with prostitution, including clients, pimps, procurers, traffickers, except prostitutes

Pornography

Depictions of people or behaviors in any medium that are intended to be sexually arousing. The industry costs $13 billion/year in the US.

Miller v California

Supreme court decision in 1973 that governs censorship of pornography in the US. Dictates that:

• No 1st Amendment protection for porn

• Allows states to restrict pornography in significant ways but only under certain conditions

• Law is deliberately difficult to interpret and apply

  • General abandonment of efforts to restrict print and internet porn except for materials involving minors

Liberal perspectives

Pornography encourages sexual exploration, free expression, and is a harmless outlet for fantasies. There are fewer sex crimes when porn consumption increases.

Religious conservatives

Pornography promotes general moral decay and undermines traditional social institutions.

Radical feminists

Porn promotes physical/sexual violence or other forms of harm against women. Study found that male students are more likely to be okay with sexual violence after consuming porn.