A sex worker is a person who is employed in the sex industry. Phone sex operators have sexually-oriented conversations with clients, and may do verbal sexual roleplay. Other sex workers are paid to engage in live sexual performance, such as webcam sex [4] [5] and performers in live sex shows. Some sex workers perform erotic dances and other acts for an audience. These include: striptease , go-go dancing , lap dancing , neo-burlesque , and peep shows. Sexual surrogates work with psychoanalysts to engage in sexual activity as part of therapy with their clients.
Sex worker can refer to individuals who do not directly engage in sexual activity such as pole dancers, sex toy testers, and strip club managers. There are also erotic photographers who shoot and edit for adult media and porn reviewers who watch and rate adult films. Some people use the term sex worker to avoid invoking the stigma associated with the word prostitute.
Using the term sex worker rather than prostitute also allows more members of the sex industry to be represented and helps ensure that individuals who are actually prostitutes are not singled out and associated with the negative connotations of prostitute. In addition, choosing to use the term sex worker rather than prostitute shows ownership over the individuals' career choice. Some argue that those who prefer the term sex worker wish to separate their occupation from their person.
Describing someone as a sex worker recognizes that the individual may have many different facets, and are not necessarily defined by their job. According to one view, sex work is different from sexual exploitation , or the forcing of a person to commit sexual acts, in that sex work is voluntary "and is seen as the commercial exchange of sex for money or goods". Exner, an American psychologist, worked with his colleagues to create five distinct classes for categorizing sex workers. One scholarly article details the classes as follows: "specifically, the authors articulated Class I, or the upper class of the profession, consisting of call girls; Class II was referred to as the middle class, consisting of 'in-house girls' who typically work in an establishment on a commission basis; Class III, the lower middle class, were 'streetwalkers' whose fees and place of work fluctuate considerably; Class IV sex workers have been known as 'commuter housewives', and they are typically involved in sex work to supplement family income; and Class V consists of 'streetwalker addicts', or 'drugs-for-sex streetwalkers' who are considered the lower class of the profession.
The term sex worker was coined in by sex worker activist Carol Leigh. The term is strongly opposed, however, by many who are morally opposed to the sex industry, such as social conservatives , anti-prostitution feminists , and other prohibitionists. Sex workers may be any gender and exchange sexual services or favors for money or other gifts. The motives of sex workers vary widely and can include debt, coercion, survival, or simply as a way to earn a living. One Canadian study found that a quarter of the sex workers interviewed started sex work because they found it "appealing".
