What
do we mean when we speak of sex work? Sex work is essentially any
form of labor in which persons receive money in return for using
their bodies in some way to titillate or arouse their customers.
Broadly, then, sex workers include pornographic models, phone sex
operators, high-priced escorts, street hookers, and even sexual
surrogates. Some sex workers are self-employed, and some work for
bosses (sometimes called madams or pimps) or companies. Sex workers
include people of all genders, races, classes, and nationalities,
although people who start out with more marginalized identities are
likely to find themselves operating under more stringent working
conditions.
Sex
work is not monolithic. Within every country, every city, and every
branch of the profession, there is a diverse range of experiences.
Nevertheless, sex work is often discussed as if it were one
single issue, a “topic” that can be defended or opposed. In this
essay, since I am focused on analyzing these modern feminist
responses to sex work (I will only be considering responses since
second-wave feminism), I will be omitting discussion of many of the
(especially gendered and raced) complexities of sex-worker
experience; however, it is important to keep in mind this present
absence.
