Lecture 15 - Sex work Flashcards
What percentage of Americans regularly visit porn sites?
40 million Americans
This statistic illustrates the prevalence of pornography consumption in the United States.
What is the gender ratio of Internet porn consumers?
3:2 (men to women)
This indicates that men are the majority consumers of online pornography.
What percentage of men admit to watching porn at work?
20%
This highlights the normalization of porn consumption in various settings.
Who is Riley Reynolds?
A porn recruiter featured in ‘Hot Girls Wanted’
* “Every day a new girl turns 18, and every day a new girl wants to do porn.”
* He rationalizes his job of being a pimp by it addressing supply and demand
He rationalizes his role in the industry by citing supply and demand.
What is the positivist view of pornography?
It is harmful for viewers and performers (and society)
This view suggests that pornography negatively impacts both those who create it and those who consume it.
Why is pornography harmful to the performers?
- Pornography as violent, degrading, and harmful to women
- On-screen male domination
- Women perform pleasure
- Pleasure is derived by control and aggression
- Abuse porn gets 60 million hits, physical and verbal aggression are present in most porn
What is the most popular ‘money shot’ in pornography?
Men ejaculate on a woman’s face
This reflects themes of male domination and control in pornographic content.
What percentage of scenes in top-rented porn movies contained physical aggression?
88%
This statistic indicates the prevalence of violence against women in pornographic media.
What did former performer Vanessa Belmond say about sex on camera?
99 percent of the time sex on camera was not fun. It is meant to look good, not feel good, its performance,
This emphasizes the performative nature of pornography, contrasting it with genuine sexual experience.
Examples of women that like the industry
“Everyone I’ve met is empowered, business- minded, and enjoys the work For those who continue working in porn, the money simply isn’t what it used to be, and people have to be very diversified to make a living. Many porn performers have day jobs in addition to working in the adult industry. “It costs money to do this work.”” - April Flores, 10 years in the industry
You havesome people that love it, some hate it, some do it for the money.
Abusive Labour Conditions
- “Shelf Life of a girl: six months to three years, tops”
- “If a female performer shoots a two-person, heterosexual, anal sex scene three times a month, she could make a $40,000 annual salary” (p.49)
- Ongoing choice that needs to be sustained
- How much is this really sustainable to make a living
Rachel, “AKA Ava Taylor,” worked in the porn industry for 6 months, during which time she filmed 85 videos and made $80,000. But only returned home to Illinois with $2,000. She ha since left the porn industry and currently works as a photographer. (Hot Girls Wanted)
-It just made enough for living…not more
What are some long-term effects of working in the porn industry?
Long-term emotional damage, long-term health damage
These effects highlight the potential risks associated with sex work.
What does Dr. Gail Dines describe mainstream porn as?
Violent, hardcore, cruel, misogynist
* It destroys are boys as well as our girls.
* Describes porn as a public health issue = medicalization
* We cannot have another generation of boys growing up on pornography. We are beginning to see some terrible statistics. For example: it used to be that when boys around 11 to 15 raped girls who on average were 8 to 12, they were raping the girls because they themselves had been raped.
* Rape is happening ealrlier and earlier
Dines argues that pornography is a public health issue affecting societal attitudes towards sex.
What did recent research find about popular pornographic videos (pornhub)?
- 87% are not violent
- lack of consent is rare
- affection and passion are much more common than violence
This challenges some common perceptions about the nature of pornography.
Is Porn beciming “harder and harder”
Seems to stay pretty constant
What do most viewers watch? Vs what do they like?
- most viewers watch woman display pleasure and climax. The most viewed videos dont tend to have that much aggression.
- However, they tend to like visible aggression and woman display of plesure and climax.
Is porn just violence of men against women?
- More aggression in non-heterosexual dyads
What is the ‘happy hooker myth’?
The idea that sex workers are liberated and enjoy their work
This myth oversimplifies the complexities of sex work and agency.
Why do people enter the sex trade?
- Less than 4% of sex workers in Canada are forced (railroaded) to become sex workers
- Do 96% of workers choose this profession?
What percentage of sex workers in Canada are forced into the profession?
Less than 4%
This statistic suggests that the majority of sex workers choose their profession.
What are some pathways to sex work identified in the text?
- Victimization from childhood abuse
- Sexual abuse as a child
- Drug addiction
- Psychological problems
- Low self-esteem
These factors can contribute to individuals entering the sex trade.
According to hot girls wanted, why do people engage in porn? and what does it neglect?
- Limited financial opportunities
- Media is saturated with hypersexualized images
Hot girls wanted neglects :
* Leaving small town for the search of glory is big part of a NORMATIVE American narrative
* Not asking , and for that matter most commentary on the topic—does not explore the reasons why men start working in porn industry
Why do women engage in stripping according to Nova and Tewksbury?
- Childhood abuse victimization -> subsequent sex industry employment-> career in stripping
- 1/3 of the sample; sexual abuse or molestation as a child
- 1/3 of the sample; mental and/or physical abuse and rape
- Same victimization approach as we saw with feminist approach
What is the relationship between childhood abuse and women engaging in stripping?
1/3 of women had sexual abuse or molestation as a child
This indicates a correlation between past victimization and current involvement in sex work.
What is the difference between sex work and other professions like plumbing?
Stigma of exchanging sex for money
This highlights the societal attitudes that differentiate sex work from other labor.
How does stripping have to do with self-esteem?
“I had no self-esteem when I was growing up. My stepfather sexually molested me, and I had
a lot of bad issues with my mom, and her entire family. I just didn’t like myself, I didn’t think very highly of myself ; I didn’t think I was an okay person. I didn’t have any self-esteem until dancing. You take your clothes of for money, and men look at you like you’re a goddess, they tell you how beautiful you are, and it’s like a temporary fix for your own inferior issues”.
* Link to low-self esteem - this is what pushes the into this pathway.
* Validation!!
Why do women engage in stripping? (nova)
- Early physical maturity and early sexual experiences
- Absecnce of a father in the home
- Early independence from or in home
- Average educational levels
- A relationship between exhibitionistic behavioirs and previous
- Job experience
- Athletic or entertainment backgrounds (all about looks as well..shows how deviant behaviours come from normative behaviours)
- Childhood abuse
- The ugly duckling syndrome
Statistics about porn
- Comparison of porn performers and non-porn performers found no difference in the rate or incidence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA).
- 36 % of porn actresses reported being victims of childhood sexual assault;
- 30 % of the matched sample said they were victims of childhood sexual abuse (Griffith et al., 2012)
- Female porn actors were more likely to identify as bisexual, experienced their first sexual encounter at a relatively early age, and had more sexual partners (Griffith et al., 2012).
- Not necessarily a problematic behaviour in itself
- Female performers were between three and nine times more likely than the matched group to have used ten different types of drugs (Griffith et al., 2012).
- No measurements of addiction , only trying
What does the labeling theory suggest about sex workers?
They are labeled as deviant, reinforcing negative connotations
This theory addresses how societal labels affect the perception and treatment of sex workers.
What are some common legal models for prostitution?
- Prostitution is legal (e.g. Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, most of South America)
- Prostitution is legal, but pimping is not (e.g. UK, Spain, Italy, India)
- Prostitution is illegal e.g. China, Russia, the Middle East, most of Africa and Asia, the US (except Nevada))
- Providing sexual services is legal, but purchasing them is illegal (e.g. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, France) - neoabolishionist model (nordic model, also UK)
These models reflect varying societal approaches to regulating sex work.
What is the impact of criminalization on sex work?
Creates dangerous conditions for workers
Criminalization does not eliminate sex work but rather increases risks for those involved.
What does New Zealand’s approach to sex work involve?
Decriminalized sex work
This model is noted for being better for workers and less abusive.
What is the relationship between self-esteem and engagement in stripping?
Low self-esteem can push individuals into stripping
Validation received from performing can temporarily address self-esteem issues.
What is the relativist view to porn?
- Because of the stigma attached to sex work
What is definition of sex work?
Sex workers are adults who earn at least part of their income through the sale of direct sexual contact (Benoit & Shumka 2015)
* Pornography
* Erotic dancers
* Call/camera services
Many other forms of jobs are dangerous and have downsides - but they dont have the same treatment as sex work
Labelling reinforces these negative connotations
Variety of sex work
- Outdoor street-level sex work,
- Homes,
- Clients homes,
- Commercial venues: “brotherls”, erotic spas, erotic dance clubs
- Online reservations
- Escort agencies - private agencies
- Only fans
Label - Sex workers (Benoit reading)
- Same rights and responsibility as all other workers
- Sex work is just one aspect of their self-identity
- The definition and label is important because it influences how the public and policy workers sees them. The legal and social institutions define them and this influences peoples view on them.
- Aligns with Becker. Deviant because they are labelled as deviant by policy workers.
- Ignores the agency and the capacity of others to make their own choices
- Criminilize women (this is a choice) - it has always been present.
The criminal codes treat it as a criminal act. Labelling it as criminal is not helpful for peiple in the field
- Should have label rights to create a safer work environment.
Labeling theory and stigma
- Occupational stigma
- Symbolically dirty
- Pathetic
- Intersects with racist, homophobic and transphobic stigmas
Responses to stigma
- Internalization - stigmatized individual internalizes negative discourses and normalizes or accepts thor discredited status
- Information is actively controlled - selective disclosure, depending on context
- Rejection – Sex workers reject the notion that sex work is fundamentally different from other types of work or that the work is inherently harmful
- Re-framing - describe their work in positive terms sex work is empowering for individuals and useful for society at large
New Zeland model
- decriminalized sex work
- Homogenous system
- Better for the workers and less abusive relationships
