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sex industry

Sex industry is the of commercial enterprises which supply sex workers in various capacities. This definition rests upon the evolving forms of adult entertainment incorporating erotica considered unsuitable for children. The sex industry represents a significant portion of the world's economy in the late twentieth century and has been credited with driving technological advances in popular media, such as home video and DVD, pay-per-view, live streaming video and video on demand.

The economic meaning of the term preceded globalisation and referred to employment of honest whores, a class of unmarried women, after they had registered with the sex profession and given up courtesanship. Prior to colonialism there were six levels of prostitution in urban society (perhaps five in Southern Europe), as masculinity was limited by region and trade routes protected accordingly, but as The Renaissance progressed universal notions of female beauty came to be more appreciated by clients. Local artisans and foreign merchants in particular demanded prostitutes who had freedom of movement; eventually, the cost emphasis shifted from reputation to appearance.

Examples of the types of modern business operating in the sex industry include Hustler (a monthly men's magazine); (a digital cable television channel); SuicideGirls.com (a popular website); Artemis (a mega-brothel in Germany); and Ann Summers (a successful chain of British sex shops).

Adult films

The explosive popularity of the videocassette recorder in the 1970s and 1980s led to unprecedented growth for the adult film business. The portability of the technology vaulted the availability of so-called "dirty movies" beyond the realm of the simple loops and movie projectors of an earlier era to bigger profits and higher-quality production values. Every year, AVN Awards—including categories such as Best High-Definition Production and Best New Starlet are given to selected adult films.

Internet

The first home-PCs capable of network communication prompted the arrival of online services for adults in the late 80s and early 1990s. The wide-open early days of the World Wide Web quickly snowballed into the dot-com boom, in-part fueled by an incredible global increase in the demand for and consumption of porn and erotica.

Adult Service Provider

An Adult Service Provider (ASP), or Adult Sex Provider, provides sexual services for adults. This can include escorts, call girls, prostitutes, adult webmasters, erotic dancers, the independent contractors sometimes associated with brothels, and others who are generally referred to under the umbrella term sex worker. These providers have been known to offer pastoral care and training at levels typically associated with blue chip companies to their staff.

Sex tourism

The growth in sex tourism has led to a corresponding growth in the sex industry in some countries. Illegal sex tourism with under-age boys and girls has become a notorious problem in poorer Third World countries in places like the Caribbean and South East Asia. Legal (above the age of consent) and consensual sex industries make a significant contribution to the local economies of some urban centers. The Hamburg Reeperbahn is a licensed and taxed prostitution zone serving tourists from all over the world.

Military

Sex industries tend to thrive around military bases. The British naval port of Portsmouth had a flourishing local sex industry in the 19th century, and until the early 1990s there were large red light districts near American military bases in the Philippines. The Monto red-light district of Dublin, one of the largest in Europe, gained most of its custom from the British soldiers stationed in the city; indeed it collapsed after Irish independence was achieved and the soldiers left. The notorious Patpong entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, started as an R&R location for US troops serving in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.

External links

Adult Industry News (AINews.com), is the only non-pornographic news service to cover the Adult Entertainment Industry. This database contains over 10,000 searchable interviews, stories, articles and press releases.

Resourcing health & EDucation (RhED), a specialist service for the sex industry in Australia.

Principles for Model Sex Industry Legislation

Sex Industry - A Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand

"City’s sex industry worth £6.6m a year and growing", news article from The Herald, Scotland.

Andrea Dworkin's Attorney General's Commission Testimony on Pornography and Prostitution

"Prostitution and Trafficking in 9 Countries: Update on Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder" by Melissa Farley, Ann Cotton, Jacqueline Lynne, Sybile Zumbeck, Frida Spiwak, Maria E. Reyes, Dinorah Alvarez, Ufuk Sezgin. (2003) Journal of Trauma Practice 2 (3/4): 33–74.

DrippingSin.com, Adult Industry News and Resource is a 100% non-pornographic news service and is recognized by Google News as a valid news source. All articles posted on DrippingSin.com are indexed in Google News within hours.

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