Sex for Sale, Pornography, and Beauty Sickness

Historical Perspectives

  • Prostitution has a long history involving the exchange of money or goods for sexual services.

Prostitution

  • Involves the sale of sexual services for money or other forms of compensation.

Types of Prostitution

  • Streetwalkers:

    • Sell services on the street.

    • Face the greatest dangers, including:

      • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

      • Arrest.

      • Violence.

  • Call Girls:

    • See fewer clients and charge more for their services.

    • Contacted when their services are desired.

    • Often operate under the guise of "Escort Services."

  • Brothel Workers:

    • Work in houses of prostitution.

    • Share fees with the house manager or madam.

    • Generally experience safer practices and are less likely to contract STIs compared to streetwalkers.

  • Male Prostitutes:

    • Sell their services primarily to other males.

      • 18% identify as gay

      • 36% identify as bisexual

      • 46% identify as straight

    • Male hustling is linked to drug abuse and health issues.

      • HIV infection rate: 28%

      • Syphilis infection rate: 37%

      • Herpes infection rate: 67%

      • Cocaine use: 76%

      • Injection drug use: 40-53%

      • Crack cocaine use: 61%

Male Prostitutes and Arrests

  • Male prostitutes, often referred to as hustlers, account for more than a third of all prostitution arrests in the United States.

Factors Influencing Prostitution

Backgrounds of Prostitutes

  • Poverty

  • Early sexual experiences and abuse

  • Drug addiction

  • An interactive model illustrates the factors that can lead a young person into prostitution.

Age of Drug Use and Prostitution Onset

  • The age at which young women begin intravenous drug use corresponds closely to entry into prostitution.

Age of Onset of Sexual Activity

  • Age of first sexual intercourse, first consensual sex, and the beginning of regular sexual activity was significantly earlier for girls who entered prostitution.

Prostitution: Choice vs. Force

  • Prostitution is usually not a profession of choice.

  • Forced prostitution and sex trafficking exist, involving:

    • Threats of bodily harm.

    • Coercion into streetwalking.

    • Significantly increased risk of rape and other sexual violence.

  • Prostitution and drug abuse are often interconnected.

Prostitution and Sex Work in the Internet Age

  • The Internet and social media are used to advertise sex work.

  • This eliminates the need for pimps and brothels.

  • It can lead to safer and less oppressive working conditions than those on the streets.

  • Entertainers and corporate sponsors sometimes popularize being a pimp.

Prostitution and STIs

  • Two highest-risk behaviors:

    • Unprotected sexual activities

    • Sharing drug paraphernalia

  • Unprotected sex, drugs, and STIs are far more common among streetwalker sex workers.

  • Male transvestite prostitutes who impersonate women and service men are also at high risk.

Sex Trafficking

  • Involves buying or kidnapping women and children from underdeveloped and unstable nations.

  • Victims are often promised legitimate employment or marriage in other countries.

  • A surge in sex trafficking occurs during major sporting and entertainment events.

  • Millions of young girls from impoverished countries are coerced, forced, and sold into sexual slavery in the United States and other Western countries.

Clients of Prostitutes

  • Clients are usually called johns or tricks.

  • Soliciting the services of a prostitute is a misdemeanor.

  • Characteristics of clients:

    • Employed.

    • Middle- to upper-class.

    • Educated.

    • Heterosexual.

    • Married males.

What Clients Want

  • The most commonly purchased activity is fellatio.

  • Clients seek a brief, uncomplicated sexual encounter.

  • They aim to avoid any emotional responsibilities or relationship.

Prostitution and the Law

  • Legalization of prostitution: Making prostitution legal and regulated.

  • Decriminalization of prostitution: Removing all criminal laws relating to prostitution.

  • The debate around these issues is often extremely contentious.

Pornography

  • Definition: Written, visual, or spoken material depicting sexual activity or genital exposure; intended to arouse.

Categories of Pornography

  • Hard-core

  • Soft-core

  • Degrading pornography

  • Violent pornography

  • Child pornography

  • Distinction between pornography and erotica.

Porn Statistics

  • At the time of the presentation, 197,806 people had looked at porn.

  • 30% of all web traffic is dedicated to porn.

  • 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites.

  • Two-thirds of men admit to watching porn, compared to one-third of women.

  • 85% of people who watch porn do so between the hours of 7 PM and 3 AM.

  • 70% of those men are between the ages of 18-24.

Is Pornography Harmful?

  • Leads to less satisfaction with physical appeal and sexual performance of partners.

  • Distorted portrayal of sexuality.

  • Stresses male penile performance.

  • Perpetuates gender role stereotypes.

  • Creates a false sense of what is “normal.”

Pornography and Discrimination

  • Basic themes:

    • All women at all times want sex from all men.

    • Women enjoy all the sexual acts that men perform or demand.

    • Women can be easily turned on with a little force.

Objectification of Women

  • Advertising's image of women. Promotes "Beauty Sickness"

Algorithms

  • My YouTube recommendations

  • Stuff that actually interests me

  • Stuff inspired by that one video I watched at 2am

Body Image and Comparison

Comparison

  • A 2008 study found that comparative thought accounted for 12% of all of our thoughts.

  • Sleeping 8 hours a day - spent comparing yourself to others.

Aspects of Comparison

  • Attractiveness

  • Wealth

  • Intelligence

  • Success

  • Social Comparison Theory: Individuals determine their worth based on how they stack up against others.

Screen Time

  • Top screen time activities:

    • TV/Streaming

    • Social Media

    • Gaming

  • The average screen time in the United States is 7 hours 4 minutes per day.

    • Age 8-10: 6 hours per day

    • Age 11-14: 9 hours per day

    • Age 15-18: 7.5 hours per day

    • Age 18+: 11 hours per day

Social - TikTok (Average minutes daily)

  • 2021

    • Global: 91

    • US: 99

    • UK: 102

    • Spain: 80

  • 2020

    • Global: 75

    • US: 87

    • UK: 70

    • Spain: 65

  • 2019

    • Global: 38

    • US: 44

    • UK: 37

    • Spain: 31

Beauty Sickness

  • STRONG IS THE NEW Pretty

  • Topics for Consideration:

    1. Summarize what is beauty sickness.

    2. In what ways might you struggle with this in your own life? Give examples.

    3. Describe the Objectification Theory in your own words.

    4. What examples have you seen of this in your own life?

    5. What are some specific examples she gave to stop beauty sickness?

    6. What are things you can do in your own life to prevent your own beauty sickness?

Pornography

  • Definition: Written, visual, or spoken material depicting sexual activity or genital exposure; intended to arouse.

Categories of Pornography

  • Hard-core

  • Soft-core

  • Degrading pornography

  • Violent pornography

  • Child pornography

  • Distinction between pornography and erotica.

Prostitution

  • Involves the sale of sexual services for money or other forms of compensation.

Prostitution and the Law

  • Legalization of prostitution: Making prostitution legal and regulated.

  • Decriminalization of prostitution: Removing all criminal laws relating to prostitution.

  • The debate around these issues is often extremely contentious.