sex work

[ seks wurk ]

noun

1. the sex industry or work in this industry, including prostitution, pornography, stripping, or pornographic modeling intended to sexually arouse clients.

Other Words From

• sex work·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sex work¹

First recorded in 1930–35 in the sense “the academic study of sexual behavior,” and in 1980–85 for the current sense

Example Sentences

She identified five areas on which she will work after she met with trade unionists, sex workers and the LGBTQ community, among other groups.

From Washington Blade

A lot of advocates for sex workers are saying that ultimately what’s happened is it’s made life much less safe for sex workers.

From ProPublica

This has nothing to do with sex workers and everything to do with her interest in having your penis in her anus.

From Ozy

I talked to a sex worker who very quickly had to figure out how to make his business Covid-19-safe.

From Vox

I rewatched Housebound directly after refreshing myself on a true-crime case in which police repeatedly refused to take a sex worker’s claims seriously because her profession diminished her credibility.

From Vox

Thus begins a recently leaked document calling for an end to prohibitions on sex work.

From The Daily Beast

People are waking up to the fact that laws against sex work actually help human traffickers.

From The Daily Beast

Another huge impetus behind the movement to legalize sex work is the current focus on ending the scourge of sex trafficking.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, the data are pretty clearly in favor of legalizing sex work to improve public health.

From The Daily Beast

The World Health Organization recommends that countries decriminalize sex work.

From The Daily Beast