Sex Industry Research Articles

Regulating the Undesirable: Statusless Women in Israel

This paper explores how laws and procedures in Israel concerning various forms of legal status deem women foreigners to be “statusless.” In particular, it examines the treatment of three groups: Palestinian women residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories who are married to Palestinian citizens of Israel; asylum-seeking women from Africa; and women from the former Soviet Union who have been trafficked by the sex industry, or who have lost their legal status after separating from an Israeli-citizen spouse. Drawing on various data sources—such as information and case studies published by aid organizations; legal proceedings; discussions held by parliamentary legislative committees; state officials’ commentaries in the media; and interviews with women and service providers—we map the policies that manage the entry and residence of foreigners, and explore their ideological tenets and specific impact on women. We argue that statuslessness is being justified by an ethnocratic discourse that demarcates foreigners as undesirable, and that it is maintained by hobbling existing infrastructures, such as the Convention on the Status of Refugees, family unification procedure, or the Protocol for the Prevention of Human Trafficking—and draining them of their meaning.

PERUSAHAAN TIDAK PATUH SYARIAH: ANALISIS FAKTOR PENYEBAB DIKELUARKANNYA PT BUKALAPAK.COM TBK DARI DAFTAR EFEK SYARIAH

The purpose of this research is to find out the causes of a company being excluded from the list of sharia securities. The research method in this research is descriptive qualitative research with the research object PT.Bukalapak.com Tbk, the data source in this research is a secondary data source with data collection in the form of documentation and literature studies and phenomenological analysis techniques. The results of the study show that the company's activities carried out by PT.Bukalapak.com Tbk conflict with sharia principles. In terms of financial ratio, PT. Bukalapak.com Tbk has usury-based debt which exceeds the total assets owned by the company. Corporate cooperation activities that violate sharia principles by supporting conventional banking activities by buying shares of ALLO Bank. PT Bukalapak.com Tbk is still trading alcoholic drinks and sex toys. PT.Bukalapak.com Tbk does not meet the criteria and the publication of the list of sharia securities is by PJOK No.35/POJK.04/2017.

Shan Male Migrants’ Engagement with Sex Work in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Pre- and Post-Pandemic

ABSTRACT Thailand’s sex industry for same-gender sexual services for men has seen a shift to a predominantly migrant workforce, particularly in northern Thailand. The majority of male sex workers in Chiang Mai are ethnic Shan nationals from neighboring Myanmar. This research explores the lives of Shan migrant male sex workers, their adaptations to and survival strategies in the pre- and post-pandemic periods. The paper employs an intersectionality approach to understand how the intersections of class, gender, ethnicity, legal status, and the larger context of transnational sexual commodification shape the ways Shan migrant men engage in sex work. Based on two sets of data collected before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the research explores how Shan male sex workers utilize their sexualities and other forms of capital while managing a plethora of risks.

“There is No One Way to Be Transgender and to Live Sex”: Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals’ Experiences with Pornography

ABSTRACT Transgender or non-binary (TGNB) people are often present as protagonists of pornographic material. This study is the first to consider TGNB people as critical consumers of sexually explicit material. The sample included 212 self-identified TGNB individuals: 47.2% trans man/transmasculine, 15.6% trans woman/transfeminine and 37.3% non-binary. The online questionnaire consisted of a sociodemographic data collection, multiple-choice questions about preferences and habits concerning pornography, and open-ended questions about the sensations experienced when watching pornography, opinions on the representation of TGNB people in pornography, and their experience in watching pornographic videos with cisgender or TGNB protagonists. The answers were analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. We identified four themes that appeared across the responses: 1) heteronormativity and cisnormativity in pornography: the need for deconstructing the current cis-het-patriarchial normative and binary system, which dominates pornography except for the ethical porn industry, 2) cisgender pornography compared to TGNB pornography, 3) pleasurable sensations (e.g., identification and empowerment) associated with TGNB pornography, and 4) negative sensations (e.g., objectification and dysphoria) associated with TGNB pornography. Results are discussed in light of the objectification framework and the minority stress model.

Graduate Medical Education’s Role in the Battle for Evidence-Based Care

Graduate Medical Education’s Role in the Battle for Evidence-Based Care

Pornhub and Policy: Examining the Erasure of Pornography Workers in Canadian Platform Governance

Background: In 2021, the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) conducted an inquiry around Pornhub, following allegations that parent company MindGeek profits from non-consensual content. Analysis: This article offers a discourse analysis of the ETHI’s process, testimony, and report on Pornhub using Carol Bacchi’s policy analysis method, “What is the problem represented to be?” Conclusions and implications: This study reveals a policy process blatantly influenced by anti-porn sentiments, resulting in hearings that framed porn as sexual violence rather than sex industry labour. It exposes how ETHI’s approach failed to constructively engage existing regulations, precarious labour conditions, or platform operations. The result is ineffective policy recommendations that procedurally exclude relevant stakeholders and do not adequately protect platform users from harm.

Structures of abandonment: Gender, statuslessness, and bare life

Abstract This article asks the question: What does the term status mean with regard to women without legal status in Israel? Ostensibly, status represents a sovereign state’s formal classification system. In practice, however—according to the accounts of statusless women, civil society activists, and welfare and health officials, as analyzed in this article—status, or its lack thereof, is not a one-off, absolute condition, but an ephemeral and vulnerable position. This article examines two concurrent processes: the blurring of boundaries between status and statuslessness; and the process of differentiating groups of racialized, undesired, and unwelcomed women foreigners: Palestinian women residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories; asylum-seeking women from Africa; and women from the Former Soviet Union, who have either been trafficked by the sex industry, or separated from their Israeli-citizen spouse before completing their naturalization. Drawing on feminist and critical race renditions of bare life, we explore the ways in which statusless women are positioned in relation to violent power. Moving away from a polarized and emancipatory discussion of legality, we argue that in the absence of full access to legal status, the body may serve as a more fitting alternative in the analysis of abandonment and violence.

Barriers and Facilitators to Leaving a Trafficker: A Qualitative Analysis of the Accounts of People Who Have Experienced Sex Trafficking

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of literature on the barriers and facilitators to exiting the commercial sex industry, but little empirical research on how this process may be different for those who have experienced sex trafficking. In this study, we explored the barriers that people who have experienced sex trafficking encountered when they considered leaving their trafficker or leaving the commercial sex industry, as well as facilitators that helped them overcome those barriers. To address these questions, we used qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 158 people who had experienced sex trafficking. Among study participants, the circumstances of leaving a trafficking situation incredibly varied. Most participants faced complex barriers to exiting their trafficking situation and their exit pathways reflected these differences. Despite these barriers, most study participants had left their traffickers. We found that there were two broad ways that study participants left their trafficking situations: either actively or passively. We discuss implications for service providers, law enforcement, and policymakers to help support individual agency and decision-making to better facilitate trafficking exit.

Rival and Ally: An Analysis of the Feminist Movements Multiple Perspectives Influences on the Evolution of the Porn Industry

While recognizing the tremendous economic and cultural impact of today's porn industry and pornographic culture in the digital age, pornography has rarely been the subject of analysis by social movements and some progressives. This paper then reviews the sex debate, the attitudes and influence of different feminist schools of thought on the porn industry since its boom in the 1960s. It examines how anti-pornography feminism brought attention to the porn industry and what regulation and transformation it brought to this industry. It also illustrates how pro-sex feminism brought a new discourse and space for development in the porn industry. However, different schools of feminism did have some influence on the construction of the porn industry, while lacking substantial and prominent achievements. The polarized tension caused the absence of critical perspectives on the porn industry, thence the less effective strategy toward it.

LEGAL STUDY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING JURISPRUDENCE IN THE MILLENNIAL ERA

The Millennial Era Human Trafficking Law Study investigates the definition of human trafficking in Article 3 of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. It consists of three components: exploitative actions, means, and intent. By extending traffickers' connections and opportunities to recruit and exploit victims, globalization and technological progress facilitate the spread of human trafficking. There are 49.6 million people living in modern slavery, 27.6 million of whom are forced to work and 22 million of whom are compelled to marry. Human trafficking is a complex and multifaceted problem caused by poverty, injustice, conflict situations, gender discrimination, tolerance for violence against women and children, a lack of appropriate laws and political will, restrictive immigration policies, globalization of the sex industry, transnational engagement, and organized crime networks. Due to global threats, the study of human trafficking law in the twenty-first century is crucial. This is typically viewed as a supply-side development issue due to destitution and the dearth of alternative employment opportunities.

Patriarchal State Projects and the Exploitation of Women: A Case Study of Japan’s Sex Industry (1870s-1950s)

ABSTRACT This case study employs intersectional gender theory and adopts the critical perspective in human trafficking literature to explore how Japanese officials have exploited prostitution and sex industry-related legislation to further their political, economic, and military interests, both in peace and war time, over the 1870s-to-1950s time span. In particular, this paper investigates how sex work and sex trafficking have been understood, how and why these exploitative systems morphed over time, and who benefitted. It finds that sex-trade related legislation has largely been coopted by the state’s leading actors to bolster their power and influence, control women, and improve their international standing. Historical and cultural attitudes toward race, women, and sex continue to exercise a significant influence on Japanese officials, impeding efforts at effective prosecution of sex crimes and severely hindering the protection of individuals involved in the sex trade. Notably, the criminalization of prostitution undermines women’s human and labor rights, complicates anti-trafficking efforts, and renders victims more vulnerable by making them largely invisible and labeling them “criminals.” To craft effective solutions to sexual exploitation, it is crucial that policymakers explicitly address gendered and racial biases and acknowledge how masculinized control of femininities and women have affected and continue to influence exploitative systems.

Nutritional status and its associated factors among commercial female sex workers in Hawassa city, south Ethiopia.

Commercial female sex workers (CFSWs) regularly or occasionally trade sex for money. Sex work is widespread, mainly in urban areas of Ethiopia. The study on the nutritional status of CFSWs is unavailable in Ethiopia, and data are also scanty at the global level. This study aims to assess nutritional status and associated factors among CFSWs in Hawassa city, Ethiopia. This cross-sectional study used facility-based mixed data collection methods (qualitative and quantitative). The study was conducted in three key population clinics in Hawassa city. A total of 297 CFSWs were randomly selected for the 'quantitative survey,' and twelve (n=12) purposively selected participants were involved in the 'qualitative study.' Body mass index/BMI (Kg/m2) was used in assessing the nutritional status of CFSWs. Statistical software packages were used for analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data. Significant variables (P<0.05) in bivariate analysis (Chi-square test) were incorporated in the multivariable analyses. Multinomial logistic regression (MNLR) was employed where dependable variable like 'normal BMI' (18.5-24.9 kg/m2) was set as a reference category and simultaneously compared with 'underweight' (<18.5 BMI) and 'overweight/obesity' (≥ 25 BMI) categories. Thus, two models, namely the underweight model (model-1: Underweight versus normal BMI) and the overweight/obesity model (model-2: overweight/obesity versus normal), were generated. The prevalence of underweight and overweight/obesity among CFSWs in Hawassa city were respectively 14.1% and 16.8%. Living alone (Adjusted odds ratio/AOR = 0.18), chewed Khat regularly (AOR = 0.23), used drugs regularly (AOR = 10.57), used drugs in exchange of sex (AOR = 4.97), and HIV positive status (AOR = 21.64) were significantly (P<0.05) associated with underweight (model-1). In the overweight/obesity model-2, having jobs other than sex work (AOR = 0.11), higher daily mean income (AOR = 3.02), being hotel/home-based CFSWs (AOR = 12.35), and presence of any chronic illness (AOR = 5.15) were significant (P<0.05) predictors of overweight/obesity. From the 'qualitative part' of this study, it was also revealed that 'lack of food and money' was the main influencing factor among CFSWs to enter into the sex business. Commercial female sex workers in this study faced a double burden of malnutrition. Multiple factors influenced their nutritional status. Substance abuse and HIV-positivity are the most significant predictors of being underweight and having higher income, being hotel/home-based CFSWs, and suffering from any chronic illness are associated with overweight/obesity. Government and other partners should be essential in providing comprehensive programs focusing on sexual, reproductive health, and nutrition education. Steps should be taken to improve their socioeconomic status and strengthen those good initiatives at key population clinics and other health facilities.

Of House and Home: The meanings of housing for women engaged in criminalised street-based sex work

Despite emerging as a core concern for street-based sex workers participating in prostitution diversion programmes (PDPs), housing has received limited empirical attention. In this article, we explore the meanings of housing in the context of court-affiliated PDPs in the US cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia based on interviews and focus groups with 31 PDP participants and 32 criminal legal system professionals. Three themes emerged: (a) housing precarity and crisis mode, (b) housing as a foundation, and (c) housing as an idea(l). PDPs prioritise therapeutic interventions targeting individual behaviours and attitudes over meeting basic needs, often placing programme participants in substandard housing and removing them from existing networks of support. Such prioritisation, which often conflicts with participants’ expressed preferences, does not always leave them better off in the short or long term. PDPs’ neglect of the quality, type, and meaning of housing reveals and reinforces a fundamental disregard for people in street-based sex trade as multifaceted, agentic human beings. We conclude that programmes must prioritise home as a ‘comfort zone’ that must be afforded to all people.

On the Streets: Deprivation, risk, and communities of care in pandemic times

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, public concerns about ‘vulnerable people in street situation’ have grown in South American countries. These concerns focus on the risk of sexual violence, exploitation, and human trafficking faced by migrants and women in the sex sector. This article examines these public concerns and the discourses of risk that structure them, taking Ecuador and the border province of El Oro as a case study. It analyses how irregularised migrants and women offering sexual and erotic services talk about ‘risk’ and ‘exploitation’, and how they respond to crisis, controls, and restrictions by becoming involved in risky activities and building communities of care. These communities are solidarity alliances that connect and offer mutual support to people confronting deprivation and violence. They are not restricted to the household or the domestic sphere; rather, they constitute different forms of ‘family’ and ‘home’ building. The article is based on a participatory research in El Oro, a place with a long history of human trafficking that has not been recognised or studied.

Sex Trading Among Adolescent Cisgender Boys.

Cisgender girls and boys report trading sex for something of value at roughly equal proportions; yet, boys are understudied and underserved. We compare boys who reported trading sex to those who never traded sex to address this gap in knowledge and practice. The study is a secondary analysis of the Minnesota Student Survey, a triannual, census-style survey. The sample included 32 311 cisgender boy students in ninth and 11th grades who answered a question about sex trading. Bivariate descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic models were used to identify associated factors and determine the odds of trading sex on the basis of specific experiences. We found that 1.2% of boys reported trading sex. In bivariate analyses, boys who reported trading sex were more likely than those who did not to: identify as Black or Indigenous; report a marginalized gender identity or sexual expression; have had sexual intercourse; have experienced sexual harassment and harassment on the basis of sexual identity and race, ethnicity, and national origin; and to have experienced homelessness, food insecurity, foster care, and substance treatment (P < .001). In multivariate models, we found increased odds of trading sex for some variables, including a marginalized sexual identity, identifying as Black, and experiences of unstable housing, foster care, substance treatment, sexual harassment, and harassment based on gender (P < .001). These findings contribute new knowledge about boys who trade sex using a large, population-based sample and counter false assumptions and stereotypes. These data suggest new avenues of research, intervention, and prevention.

Hypercategorization and hypersexualization: How webcam platforms organize performers and performances

Webcam sex platforms simultaneously host thousands of live performances. To allow users to explore these, platforms categorize. On porn sites, this has led to extremely detailed, hypercategorized classification systems. Developing the concept of “categorization regime,” which refers to all categorization options on a platform, we examine hypercategorization on 50 webcam sex platforms. In the heavily stigmatized, yet immensely popular, webcam sex industry hypercategorization shapes working environments and conceptions of desirability. Through critical content analysis, we find that the examined platforms, employing over 1700 unique categories, categorize in detailed, messy, and elaborate ways. Analyzing examples from categorization systems for gender, ethnicity and body type, the article demonstrates that these categories both celebrate diversity and offer earning opportunities, yet also reinforce regressive discriminatory and fetishizing narratives about marginalized groups of webcam performers.

Sexual Labor in the Athenian Courts

Sexual Labor in the Athenian Courts

Sex worker or victim? Exploring the sex industry in Spain

This article examines entry into paid sex work in Spain, comparing those people who entered sex work by choice and those who were coerced. There is a dearth of research that focusses on documenting the circumstances and conditions in which women engage in commercial sex work in Spain and on examining their opinions about current or planned legislation to regulate sex work. The article is based on a cross-sectional study using a sociological survey of people who work in indoor commercial sex, which is the least visible form of sex work in the Spanish context and about which we have the least information due to stigmatisation, both of the activity and of the people involved. This article considers the circumstances and working conditions of sex workers, and their views and position with regard to the legal framework for this activity. This focus is important at a political juncture in which a policy of criminalisation of sex work is being considered in Spain.

The Lived Experiences of Male Sex Workers: A Global Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

The sex industry literature predominantly focuses on the lived experiences of cisgender female sex workers, their customers, and work dynamics. Recently, there has been a shift in the discourse regarding sex work as the sex industry has been openly represented within art, fashion, and film. As such, there has been a growing number of qualitative studies dedicated to investigating cisgender men’s experiences of the sex industry. This article seeks to identify and synthesize these emergent findings to identify possible gaps in the literature, aid in defining new research opportunities, and guide public health policy development. Using qualitative meta-synthesis, 66 original studies were identified and analyzed. Nine meta-themes emerged. Findings demonstrated that male sex workers (MSWs) encounter many of the same experiences that have been previously documented by female sex workers, such as work-related discrimination and the influence of economics on their interest and involvement in the industry. However, MSWs also experience areas of privilege and discrimination unique to their lived experiences. This was particularly salient for men who sold sex in countries where sexual minorities are criminalized or decriminalized but not legalized. These findings highlight the need for responsive sex worker resources tailored to address the unique issues faced by MSWs.

Inconsistent condom use for prevention of HIV/STIs among street-based transgender sex workers in Lahore, Pakistan: socio-ecological analysis based on a qualitative study

BackgroundA large amount of new HIV infections worldwide is observed amongst key populations which include e.g., commercial sex workers or transgender people and their respective sexual partners. Therefore, this study examined the multi-level context of inconsistent condom use (ICU) in sexual interactions of transgender street-based workers (KSWs) with commercial and non-commercial sexual partners in Lahore.MethodsWe conducted 20 in-depth interviews with street-based KSWs to investigate challenges to consistent condom utilization with sexual partners. The qualitative data was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to produce an initial set of codes and identify broader themes through a recursive exploration of the text.ResultsWithin a socio-ecological analysis we identified factors influencing ICU among KSWs at three levels. At the individual level, we identified knowledge and awareness, age, pleasure and pain, and mental health issues impacting on ICU. perceived characteristics of sexual partners, dynamics of cruising spots and places of sexual interactions, competition in sex trade, violence and lack of safety nets in street-based sex work, and condom use with lovers were factors associated with ICU. Risk factors at community level were changing urban geography of sex work, discrimination, harassment and regular evictions, networks with non-governmental organizations and the influence of gurus and Dera culture.ConclusionsUntil now, HIV prevention efforts in Pakistan have primarily focused on HIV risk factors at the level of individual behaviors within specific networks of target populations. However, our study points towards both the effectiveness and the urgency of interventions that address macro-level risk factors specific to key populations in Pakistan, in addition to behavioral interventions.