SEX INDUSTRY
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Definition
The sex industry is a vast conglomerate of many factions, some very separate, that hardly interact with each other; others are fully integrated and linked.
Perceptions of prostitution are based on culturally determined values that differ between societies. In some societies, prostitutes have been viewed as members of a recognised profession; in others they have been shunned, reviled, and punished with stoning, imprisonment, and death. Few societies have exercised the same severity toward clients. Indeed in many societies clients suffer few, if any, legal repercussions. In some cultures, prostitution has been required of young girls as a rite of puberty or as a means of acquiring a dowry, and some religions have required prostitution of a certain class of priestesses. The ancient Greeks and Romans mandated that prostitutes wear distinctive dress and pay severe taxes. Hebrew law did not forbid prostitution but confined the practice to foreign women. Among the ordinances laid down by Moses to regulate public health were several dealing with sexually transmitted diseases.
Since the 1980s, attitudes toward prostitution have changed radically through two major developments. One is the worldwide spread of HIV/AIDS, which has increased concern about public health problems created by prostitution. In Africa especially, one factor in the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS has been the prostitution industry serving migrant labourers. A second influential development was a renewal of feminist interest and the perspective that prostitution is both a consequence and a symptom of gender-based exploitation.
Reflecting these shifting attitudes, during the 1980s the more neutral term sex worker was increasingly employed to describe those who are involved in commercial sex activities.
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