Introduction

Regardless of the specific form of regulation, sex industries exist and even thrive around the world. Much of the related social policy debate centers on how to suppress or control the industries, operating from the perspective that commodified sex is minimally risky—potentially harmful to the individuals involved and to society—without considering that there may exist benefits that arise from sexual labor.

Methods

This article highlights data gathered from 78 qualitative interviews collected in O’Doherty’s (2015) and Bowen’s (2018) studies with sex workers. Each research project explored various aspects of providing sexualized labor in partially criminalized environments, including how sex workers perceive the role of sex work in society.

Results

Participants rejected representations of their work as primarily deviant, unworthy of legitimacy, or even something to abolish as a manifestation of gender-based violence. Instead, sex workers described various positive contributions of their work to their and their clients’ lives, as well as to larger society.

Conclusion

Unidimensional characterizations of the commercial sex industry fail to incorporate many facets of sexualized labor, resulting in harmful policies that sustain inequity for sex workers.

Policy Implications

Social policies regulating commodified sexual services may need to be reconsidered through a more nuanced lens—one that makes space for the opportunities, benefits, and value that sex workers identify, alongside findings related to challenges and risks associated with sex industry involvement. Implicated policies include criminalization, human and labor rights, sexual rights, and public health education.

中文翻译：

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商业性行为有价值吗？性工作者对其劳动贡献的看法的政策含义

介绍

无论监管的具体形式如何，性产业在世界各地都存在甚至蓬勃发展。许多相关的社会政策辩论都集中在如何压制或控制这些行业，从性商品化风险最小的角度进行操作——对相关个人和社会可能有害——而不考虑性劳动可能带来的好处。

方法

本文重点介绍了 O'Doherty (2015) 和 Bowen (2018) 对性工作者的研究中收集的 78 次定性访谈中收集的数据。每个研究项目都探讨了在部分犯罪环境中提供性劳动的各个方面，包括性工作者如何看待性工作在社会中的作用。

结果

参与者拒绝接受对他们的作品的描述，认为他们的作品主要是异常的、不值得合法性的，甚至是作为基于性别的暴力的表现而应该废除的东西。相反，性工作者描述了他们的工作对他们自己和客户的生活以及更大的社会的各种积极贡献。

结论

商业性产业的单一维度特征未能纳入性劳动的许多方面，从而导致了维持性工作者不平等的有害政策。

政策影响

规范商品性服务的社会政策可能需要通过更细致的视角重新考虑，即为性工作者所识别的机会、利益和价值以及与性行业参与相关的挑战和风险相关的调查结果腾出空间。涉及的政策包括刑事定罪、人权和劳工权利、性权利和公共卫生教育。