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**Home | Law + Policy | Trafficking + Exploitation | Myths + Misinformation | Listening to Workers | History | Sources**
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“Sex workers are the original feminists. Often seen as merely subject to others’ whims, in fact, sex workers have shaped and contributed to social movements across the world.”
Juno Mac & Molly Smith, Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights
Sex work is an umbrella term for any consensual exchange of sexual labour for money or valuable goods. This includes (but is not exclusive to), escorting, porn, stripping, webcam, sensual massage, intimate item sales (worn panties/socks etc), phone sex, dominatrix, fetish provider, etc. Sex work does not have to involve the exchange of sex itself, but rather sensual gratification.
The term ‘sex work’ was coined by American sex working activist Carol Leigh (aka The Scarlet Harlot) at an anti-pornography conference in 1977. The conference was hosted by ‘Women Against Violence In Pornography and Media’, which used the phrasing ‘Sex Use Industry’ in the name of their panel and in discussions around the work. The phrasing bothered her, because it objectified sex workers and trivialised the agency they had in the transaction. She suggested the panel be renamed ‘Sex Work Industry’, later writing “because that described what the women actually did”.
It is important for all people, but specifically non-sex workers, to be more thoughtful about the language they use when discussing sex work, so as not to further encourage destructive discourses that promote the criminalisation and marginalisation of sex workers. We particularly encourage those who are given a platform, either through the media, when participating in research, in policy-making fora, or in civil society spaces where laws, policies and practices that affect the lives of sex workers are being discussed, to take care with the langauge they use, and use the terminology preferred by sex workers when speaking about sex work.
Sex Work Protest Poster Reading ‘I AM A SEX WORKER’ from 2022.
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Carol Leigh (aka The Scarlet Harlot), credited with coining the term ‘Sex Work’ in 1977.
“One of the reasons we change our language is because we understand its power not only to uplift but also to dehumanise. in recent decades, we have seen progressive changes to language in relation to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, and mental health. In these areas, we have moved away from language that is pejorative, pathologising, stigmatising, and dehumanising towards language that values people first, promotes equality and inclusion, acknowledges diversity, and is strengths-based.” - INPUD, 2020
Trafficking is forced or heavily exploited labour, traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to manipulate vulnerable people, trapping them in situations they cannot escape.
Because minors legally cannot consent to sex, anyone under 18 selling sex is automatically considered a trafficking victim by law.
More detail can be found about trafficking, exploitation and youth survival sex here.
about
this resource is made by ethicalhoes, a current sex worker of 6 years, and is constantly being updated with new information to be as accurate as possible!
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