Major General James G. Blunt

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Introduction

Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to voluntary sexual transactions; thus, the term does not refer to human trafficking and other coerced or nonconsensual sexual transactions such as child prostitution. The transaction must take place between consenting adults of the legal age and mental capacity to consent and must take place without any methods of coercion, other than payment. The term emphasizes the labor and economic implications of this type of work. Furthermore, some prefer the use of the term because it grants more agency to the sellers of these services. (Full article...)

Selected article - show another

Prostitution, as defined under modern Japanese law, is the illegal practice of sexual intercourse with an 'unspecified' (unacquainted) person in exchange for monetary compensation, which was criminalised in 1956 by the introduction of article 3 of the Anti-Prostitution Law (売春防止法, Baishun bōshi hō). However, the definition of prostitution made illegal under this law is strictly limited to sexual intercourse with an 'unspecified person', and does not criminalise the sale of numerous other acts performed by sex workers in exchange for compensation, such as oral sex, anal sex, mammary intercourse, and other non-coital sex acts; the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Law of 1948 (風俗営業取締法, Fūzoku eigyō torishimari hō), also known as the "Law to Regulate Adult Entertainment Businesses", amended in 1985, 1999 and 2005, regulates these businesses, making only one definition of prostitution in Japan illegal.

Following the criminalisation of payment for sexual intercourse, the sex industry in Japan has developed into a number of varied businesses and offering services not prohibited under Japanese law. These fall into a number of categories known by various euphemistic names, such as soaplands, fashion health shops, and pink salons, with the term "health" commonly being a euphemism for sexual services. These businesses typically operate out of physical premises, either with their own employees or freelancers such as call girls, who may operate via Internet dating sites known as deai sites (Internet dating sites) or via delivery health services. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected images

Image 1World map of prostitution laws
  Decriminalization – No criminal penalties for prostitution
  Legalization (regulation) – Prostitution legal and regulated
  Abolitionism – Prostitution is legal, but organized activities such as brothels and pimping are illegal; prostitution is not regulated
  Neo-abolitionism (Nordic model) – Illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex
  Prohibitionism – Prostitution illegal in all aspects (selling and buying)
  Legality varies with local laws
(from Sex work)
Image 2Prostitute c. 1890. (from Prostitution)
Image 3World map of pornography (18+) laws
  Pornography legal
  Pornography legal under some restrictions
  Pornography illegal
  Data unavailable
(from Sex work)
Image 4A liberated Chinese girl who had been forced in to sexual slavery by the Japanese military sits on a stretcher and speaks to a British military serviceman. (from Prostitution)
Image 5Brothel scene; Brunswick Monogrammist, 1537; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (from Prostitution)
Image 6Prostitutes on display in Yoshiwara during the Meiji Period, Japan (from Prostitution)
Image 7A political cartoon from 1787 jesting about the notion of taxation affecting prostitutes (from Prostitution)
Image 8Stickers affixed to a payphone in São Paulo, 2006 (from Prostitution)
Image 9The red light district in Amsterdam (from Sex work)
Image 10Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 11Women in an early San Francisco bordello in 1870 (from Prostitution)
Image 12Sex workers demonstrating for better working conditions at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City (from Sex work)
Image 13An Ancient Greek urn depicts a prostitute and her client. (from Sex work)
Image 14The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (1622) (from Prostitution)
Image 15A sex worker in Berlin in 2001 (from Sex work)
Image 16
  Legalization – prostitution legal and regulated
  Decriminalization – No criminal penalties for prostitution
  Abolitionism – prostitution is legal, but organized activities such as brothels and pimping are illegal; prostitution is not regulated
  Neo-abolitionism – illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex
  Prohibitionism – prostitution illegal
  Legality varies with local laws
(from Prostitution)
Image 17De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam (from Prostitution)
Image 18Statue to honor the sex workers of the world. Installed March 2007 in Amsterdam, Oudekerksplein, in front of the Oude Kerk, in Amsterdam's red-light district De Wallen. Titled Belle, the inscription to the piece says "Respect sex workers all over the world." (from Prostitution)
Image 19An oiran preparing herself for a client, ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Haronubu (1765) (from Prostitution)
Image 20Fresco from the Pompeii brothel (from Prostitution)
Image 21News report about three brothels operating in Albuquerque, New Mexico that were raided by police in 1922 (from Prostitution)
Image 22A prostitute in Amsterdam's red-light district talks with a potential customer. (from Prostitution)
Image 23A street prostitute talking to a potential customer in Turin, Italy, 2005 (from Prostitution)
Image 24Kisaeng women from outcast or slave families. (from Prostitution)
Image 25Tart cards in a British phone box advertising the services of call girls (from Prostitution)
Image 26A prostitute and her customer illustrated on an ancient Greek wine cup; the act of prostitution is indicated by the coin purse above the figures. (from Prostitution)
Image 27A detail from plate 1 of William Hogarth's (1697–1764) The Harlot's Progress, showing brothel-keeper Elizabeth Needham, on the right, procuring a young woman who has just arrived in London (from Prostitution)

Related portals

Selected general sex worker

Image 1

Hart at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in 2008

Carmen Hart (born March 12, 1984) is an American former pornographic actress and exotic dancer from North Carolina. (Full article...)
Image 2

Powers in 2000

Bridget Powers (born October 11, 1980) is an American pornographic actress with dwarfism. She is often credited as "Bridget the Midget" or with the alternate spelling "Bridget Powerz". Besides her adult work, she has also appeared in many films in either comedic or dramatic roles, such as Big Money Rustlas, Tiptoes, and S.W.A.T. (Full article...)
Image 3

Mia Magma in September 2013

Mia Julia Brückner (born 9 December 1986), also known as Mia Magma, Mia Julia and Fellucia, is a German singer and pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 4

Klass in 2001

Alisha Klass (born January 3, 1972) is a former American pornographic actress. (Full article...)
Image 5
Constance Money (born Susan Jensen; November 30, 1956) is an American former adult film actress. She played the lead role of Misty Beethoven in the 1976 adult classic The Opening of Misty Beethoven. (Full article...)
Image 6

Yoshikawa in 2017
Aimi Yoshikawa (Japanese: 吉川あいみ, Hepburn: Yoshikawa Aimi) (born 20 March 1994) is a Japanese gravure idol, actress, and retired AV idol. Active between 2012 and 2018, she starred in over 200 adult films during her career and was known for her short height and large breasts. (Full article...)
Image 7
Mari Ayukawa (Japanese: 鮎川真理, Hepburn: Ayukawa Mari, Chinese: 鯰川真理, Cantonese Yale: Nim4 Chyun1 Jan1 Lei5) is a former Japanese AV idol and pink film actress. (Full article...)
Image 8

Kōji Wakamatsu in 1967
Kōji Wakamatsu (若松孝二, Wakamatsu Kōji, 1 April 1936 – 17 October 2012) was a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as Ecstasy of the Angels (天使の恍惚, Tenshi no Kōkotsu, 1972) and Go, Go, Second Time Virgin (ゆけゆけ二度目の処女, Yuke Yuke Nidome no Shojo, 1969). He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses (1976). He has been called "the most important director to emerge in the pink film genre," and one of "Japan's leading directors of the 1960s."

His 2010 film, Caterpillar, was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival. (Full article...)
Image 9
Max Konnor is an American gay pornographic film actor and webcam model. After starting his pornographic career under the name Isaiah Foxx in 2009, he left the industry in 2012 to pursue a career in stage and television acting. In 2017, he became a webcam model on CAM4 and started pornographic accounts on OnlyFans and Twitter. He soon started performing in studio-made pornographic films and later became the most-followed Black gay pornographic actor on Twitter and CAM4's first male ambassador.

As a pornographic film actor, he has won five Grabby Awards, five GayVN Awards—including for Performer of the Year in 2022—the XBIZ Award for Gay Performer of the Year, and two Fleshbot Awards. Outside of pornography, he was one of the subjects of the 2021 documentary Being Black in Porn, has appeared as a main cast member on the OutTV reality television series X-Rated: NYC since 2023, and starred in the off-Broadway musical Waiting in the Wings: The Musical in 2023. In 2019, he launched Haus of Konnor, a pornographic agency and studio geared toward gay pornographic actors of color. (Full article...)
Image 10

del Sierra at the 2012 AVN Awards

Liza del Sierra (also spelled Del Sierra, born 30 August 1985) is a French pornographic actress, film director and producer. (Full article...)
Image 11
Adriana Molinari (born 26 November 1967), known professionally as Alex Taylor, is a former beauty pageant winner, model, exotic dancer, and pornographic actress who mainly worked for Vivid Entertainment from around 1998 to 2000. (Full article...)
Image 12
Megan Leigh (March 2, 1964 – June 16, 1990) was an American stripteaser and star of adult videos. (Full article...)
Image 13

Kekilli at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival

Sibel Kekilli (born 16 June 1980) is a German actress. She gained public attention after starring in the 2004 film Head-On. She won two Lolas, the most prestigious German film award, for her performances in Head-On and When We Leave (2010). Beginning in 2011, she became more widely known for her role as Shae in the HBO series Game of Thrones. (Full article...)
Image 14

Wane in 2008

Taylor Wane is a British actress, model, and former pornographic film performer. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2005 and the XRCO Hall of Fame in 2014 as well as Legends Hall of Fame. (Full article...)
Image 15

Anri Okita (Japanese: 沖田杏梨, Born October 28, 1986) is an English-born Japanese actress, singer, songwriter, and former pornographic actress.

Between 2011 and 2016 Okita was active as a popular AV idol before retiring in May 2016 to focus on a career in mainstream media. From 2016 to 2017, Okita was a member of the idol group Ebisu Muscats. In 2017, Okita debuted as a solo music artist and released the album GORILLA. Okita has also acted in numerous mainstream Japanese language films, such as Naked Ambition 2 (2014), Assassination Classroom (2015), Scoop! (2016), and Diamond Dogs (2017). (Full article...)
Image 16
Aylar Dianati Lie (Persian: آیلار دیانتی لی; born 12 February 1984) is an Iranian-Norwegian actress, model, singer and former pornographic actress. She has worked as a music video actress and singer, appearing in several of Swedish musician Basshunter's music videos. She became famous after participating in the Norwegian Big Brother. (Full article...)
Image 17

Patrick attending the AVN Expo in Las Vegas, 2010

Tera Patrick (born Linda Ann Hopkins; July 25, 1976) is an American former pornographic actress who was the Penthouse Pet of the Month for February 2000 and is an inductee of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. She is a recipient of the Hot d'Or Award, NightMoves Award, AVN Award, XRCO Award, Venus Award, Adam Film World Guide Award, Eroticline Award, FOXE Award, FAME Award, Fanny Award, XBIZ Award, and ASACP Service Recognition Award. (Full article...)
Image 18

Ronald Boyer (born September 18, 1952), commonly known by the stage name Rod Fontana, is a pornographic actor and director. In 2005, he was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame. He was reported to have retired from the adult film industry in 2007 to pursue religious interests, but his career continued the next year. (Full article...)
Image 19

Banderas attending the XBIZ Awards at Avalon, Hollywood, California, February 2010

Edgard Fabián Etchenique Picardo (born 13 October 1967), known professionally as Marco Banderas, is a Spanish pornographic actor of Uruguayan origin. (Full article...)
Image 20

Schaffrath in 2016

Michaela Schaffrath (née Jänke; born 6 December 1970) is a German television actress and former pornographic actress.

A former nurse, she got started in the adult film industry after she posed nude for Coupé, a German adult magazine. She gained international notoriety during her career as a pornographic actress under the stage name Gina Wild. She won two Venus Awards, for Best New Starlet in 1999 and Best German Actress in 2000. (Full article...)
Image 21

Brandon at the 2011 CyberSocket Awards

Michael Brandon (born February 9, 1965) is an American pornographic actor and director (formerly exclusive to Raging Stallion Studios) who specializes in gay pornography. He has had his own subdivision at Raging Stallion called "Monster Bang"^{[better source needed]} and has previously participated in some charitable efforts.^{[better source needed]} (Full article...)
Image 22

Broome at the 29th AVN Awards

Joshua Luke Broome, formerly known as Rocco Reed, is an American pastor and former porn star. (Full article...)
Image 23
Carter Stevens (October 17, 1944 – December 30, 2020) was a pornographic film actor, director, grip, gaffer, and film processing lab technician.

Stevens earned a degree in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology, worked at Eastman Kodak Company and was a shift supervisor at Movielab, the largest independent motion picture processing facility in New York, before going into film-making. He made 8 mm loops, appeared in over 50 adult films between around 1973 and 1993, and directed about 40 films between 1972 and 1996, including a series of films for the Avon Theater chain.^{[citation needed]} (Full article...)
Image 24

Stefano at the 2005 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

Michael Stefano (born Michael Vito Menta; August 29, 1969) is an American pornographic actor and director. He appeared in over 1,000 films and, by his own estimate, performed in over 3,000 scenes.

An injury forced Stefano to take a break from performing and in the interim he learned how to edit. He began his directing career with Extreme Associates in the mid-1990s under the name Luciano. In 2001, he started directing for Red Light District Video. In 2003, Platinum X Pictures was launched by Stefano and Jewel De'Nyle (whom he would later marry), bankrolled by Red Light. Platinum X featured directors Manuel Ferrara, Brandon Iron, and Steve Holmes, and produced very similar content to Red Light. Around the same time, Red Light began distributing the films of Amateur District and Candy Shop, a studio headed by Stefano specializing in interracial content. (Full article...)
Image 25
Lisa De Leeuw (born July 3, 1958) is an American former pornographic actress. (Full article...)

Did you know...

... that a Harvey's franchise known for being a hub for sex work was described by one artist as a "legendary Toronto icon"?
... that Lea Ackermann, a German nun of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, fought against forced prostitution and sex tourism in East Africa?