Sex Work

Abstract

This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the cultural practices and prevailing global regulatory frameworks that surround the exchange of sex or sexualized intimacy for money or something of value. Following a discussion regarding the origins of, and controversies surrounding, this descriptive term, it elucidates and reviews seven major forms of sexual labor discussed in the interdisciplinary cross-cultural literature: live stage shows, pornography, massage and sauna, escorting, establishment-based, tourism-related, and street-based. Subsequent analysis situates these major forms within the three predominant approaches of criminalization, legalization, and decriminalization, and discusses arguments for and against each approach as well as examples of their implementation throughout the world. The chapter then reviews methodologies commonly employed in studies of sex work and highlights potentially fruitful areas for future research.