fireincarnation commented: "I never understood why an actor could be paid to have sex on film for a movie, but it was illegal for a woman to have sex for money directly. Only thing I know of that becomes legal when cameras get involved."
If a Bikini Bar Dancer is a Sex Worker, so is a Model.
If a Stripper is a Sex Worker, so is the Actress that simulates sex, kisses someone she is not in love with and performs in the nude. In fact, she is more a Sex Worker than most strippers, certainly more so than any table dancer, most lap dancers too.
So, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, just to name a few, are all sex workers. That is, IF dancers are. Certainly what we saw in Monsters Ball far exceeds what a stripper performs in the average strip joint.
So I thought I would bring the question here.
Who is a sex worker?
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One could probably argue that the purpose of the performance makes a difference, whether it is to tell a story, or communicate something as part of a work of art, or whether it is simply for the sexual gratification of another. Of course people do get off on sex scenes from movies, and some studio films (ie not porno) deliberately use sex in that way. One could also argue that a stripper is objectified to a greater extent than Halle Berry, and that sex workers are more vulnerable to exploitation.
I think the more pertinent question is what separates a sex worker from a housekeeper, or a therapist? Providing sex, domestic labour, and emotional/psychological support are all jobs that a traditional housewife is supposed to perform, things which she is supposedly supposed to do out of love, rather than for economic reasons. Why should sex work be treated differently from other kinds of work?
What story is a model telling?
It depends on what's being modeled. But typically, in fashion and in advertising, sex is sold by implication, as a potential, associated with the product, which is what is really being sold. And, again, people can use images of models for their own sexual gratification. But the primary purpose of modeling is to sell the product, not the model's body.
The problem with the line of thought from the first paragraph is that you seem to have to assume the stripper is not a feminist in order to classify her as a sex worker, rather than just admit that Halle Berry is a sex worker who uses her sexuality to make more money and reach a wider audience.
Dancers tell stories.
Dancers are sex workers, if they strip.
Actors tell stories, actors are sex workers if they take their clothes off.
If sex worker is another word for prostitution, then it means does something for money, one wouldn't do otherwise...well,
that accounts for most jobs doesn't it?
I don't think many dream of being a factory worker, waitress, production coordinator, plumber, maid, stripper, ticket taker, salesperson, and the list goes on...
On the second paragraph- you could add waitressing.
I recall the day I realized I was a surrogate mother when a restaurant patron asked me for water. The pitcher was right there. I felt like I was serving a toddler and realized what I was representing in that moment.
Therapists replace friends or religious leaders.
There are many jobs that have taken the place of what people could get without having to include financial payment generations ago.
Great question.
This also goes the other way. We had a posting here about a cocktail waitress who felt uncomfortable because her employer's dress code led some male customers to believe that she was a sex worker.
Some commenters in the thread felt that the rights of her employer to run a business outweighed this woman's right to do her job without being sexually propositioned.
So then, out there in the world, how much does consumerism and entitlement have a say in shaping the idea of what constitutes sex work, rather than the person's actual job?
Perhaps most people don't see models and actors who perform in nude/sex scenes, etc, as sex workers because they are much farther removed from the actual consumer. (Porn actors are far removed too, but I think the job requirements (STI testing) and how their movies are marketed, makes it clear that the job is specifically sexual in nature.)
I don't know though... This is food for thought. Thanks.
aha! the distance factor-
good point.
WIth actors and even models, the point is not usually the sexual act itself. (Unless we're talking about pornography, and actors in pornography are often classified as sex workers by vice squads anyway.)
What troubles me about arguing that an actor doing a sex scene is a sex worker is that it implies that depicting sex never serves any purpose other than the sex itself. A good sex scene in a film can tell us more about the characters than any dialogue scene, if it's done right. Monster's Ball is a perfect example. That sex scene is not about sex. It's about two people in immense amounts of pain trying to overcome it. It's intended to be a reflection of reality, not masturbation material.
The act of selling sex is not what Monster's Ball or even a Victoria's Secret ad is holding as a first priority. There is a difference between sex selling and selling sex. That's not to say selling sex outright is wrong, but the concepts are different, and I actually think it hurts the real sex workers to lump performers in with them because performers aren't dealing with the physical and emotional health risks of being in the same room with the customer.
It may not shine a light on how much more dangerous working in person with a customer is rather than thru a screen, but, it does say something to the stigma attached to women who are labeled sex workers.
By your definition, a pole dancer is not a sex worker.
You take the line further back whereas I draw the line further forward.
There are many actresses who have a non nudity, no sex clause in their contracts and are still portraying sensuality. ie, Sarah Jesica Parker in Sex in the City.
Talk to men about the Victoria's Secret Catalogue andyou'll find that is just cross marketing. Boys and Men jerk off to it and women buy the product.
Because it kills 2 birds with one stone does not, in my mind, make the distinction that Tyra Banks makes when she clearly separates herself from strippers.
If the stripper is selling her costume, does that make her less of a sex worker?
It's just food for thought that came up while reading an interview of an actress who played a stripper in a movie.
"I'm a storyteller..." Blaze Star
Well, the last sex workers rights conference I was at, we defined sex work as any exchange of an erotic experience for money or considerations of value.
I think that bringing up sex scenes in movies is a good point. Many actresses look down on sex workers (Tina Fey, Jessica Alba) but are more than happy to play them in films.