# Are strippers sex workers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917 "2018-01-18T19:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/41 "2018-01-19T04:51:21Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What makes an “exotic dancer” a sex worker? S/he is selling sexual gratification. Here’s an ugly little rule of thumb for “sex worker” - would people, including police and prosecutors, give less credence to an allegation of sexual assault because of the nature of the work? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/42 "2018-01-19T04:59:07Z")
> [@j666](#): > > S/he is selling sexual gratification. > > Here’s an ugly little rule of thumb for “sex worker” - would people, including police and prosecutors, give less credence to an allegation of sexual assault because of the nature of the work? Given the manifest lack of consensus on the meaning of the expression in this thread, I think your certainty in your opinion about what it means is misplaced. It’s not like it’s a technical term. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/43 "2018-01-19T06:07:06Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What makes an “exotic dancer” a sex worker? What they do to make money the 23 1/2 hours when not on stage. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/44 "2018-01-19T06:28:41Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Come on man! It’s clearly Sextion 69! Sure, but then the dad joke doesn’t work. > **[Section 179 depreciation deduction](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_179_depreciation_deduction)** > > Section 179 of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 179), allows a taxpayer to elect to deduct the cost of certain types of property on their income taxes as an expense, rather than requiring the cost of the property to be capitalized and depreciated. This property is generally limited to tangible, depreciable, personal property which is acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business. Buildings were not eligible for section 179 deductions prior to th De... ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/45 "2018-01-19T07:39:32Z")
OK, my two cents as someone with a close academic/professional/personal connection to the sex industry (albeit not a sex worker myself): they are and they aren’t. As j666 says, it is an umbrella term that covers a large swathe of people who profit from marketing their own sexuality. But it’s also recognised that in some contexts (eg, WHO/UNAIDS definitions), the term refers specifically to people who have sex with their clients for money. Within the sex work world it’s common to hear “full service sex work” used to distinguish what is commonly known as prostitution from other things like porn, stripping, pro-domming, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/46 "2018-01-19T07:58:42Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > …“full service sex work” used to distinguish what is commonly known as prostitution from other things like porn, stripping, pro-domming, etc. So it’s basically like a car wash. If a lot of manual rubbing and suction is involved, it’s full service. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/47 "2018-01-19T08:54:29Z")
Actually, in Germany there is a new law into effect where prostitutes need to register and get a registration card. As far as I know this is only for prostitutes and not for strippers. Verstuurd vanaf mijn Moto G (4) met Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/48 "2018-01-19T09:22:12Z")
Part of the sex industry, but not a sex worker. More a semantics distinction, though. There is an assumption with the term “sex work” that a regular stripper, and especially a burlesque dancer, would very much argue against. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/49 "2018-01-19T12:54:59Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Part of the sex industry, but not a sex worker. To me, that distinction perpetuates the attitude that the term is used to resist, that sex workers are a lesser class of person. The term is used to avoid value laden terms such as stripper, whore, “porn star”, etc. but not as a euphemism. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/50 "2018-01-19T14:07:49Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What they do to make money the 23 1/2 hours when not on stage. Then that would move them from “Exotic Dancer” to “Prostitute” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/51 "2018-01-19T14:10:50Z")
My opinion is that you’re not a sex worker unless you sell some sort of sex for money. Stripping is not sex on its own, but some of what strippers can do can cross the line, from stimulating themselves or each other, to a full contact lap dance. And, of course, some strippers do sex work on the side. Lumping in strippers doesn’t make the connotation of “sex worker” better. It results in strippers having a worse connotation. That’s why the euphemism for stripper is erotic dancer, lumping them in with belly dancers and other clothed traditions. Saying that Cardi B was a sex worker makes it sound worse than saying she was an erotic dance or even stripper. Absent any other qualifier, sex worker means “prostitute.” Otherwise you are generally more specific. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/52 "2018-01-19T16:03:53Z")
> [@j666](#): > > S/he is selling sexual gratification. So are film-makers who make R rated films with lots of nudity then. Or the National Geographic. Or even a shoe catalog with models wearing them. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/53 "2018-01-19T16:07:10Z")
I know several strippers, they all consider themselves sex workers. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/54 "2018-01-19T16:35:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Or even a shoe catalog with models wearing them. Do you have a link for this? It’s for a friend. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/55 "2018-01-19T17:12:19Z")
> [@Smudge777](#): > > That’s perhaps a difference between ‘sex’ and ‘sexual’. > > A ‘sexual harasser’ doesn’t typically engage in sex during harassment, but I would argue that a ‘sex harasser’ does. > Similarly, I would argue that a ‘sexual worker’ might include strippers, but a ‘sex worker’ would not. > > Of course, as these terms are all ill-defined, this is mere opinion. Okay, then a better example for you would be “sex offender.” > **[7 Surprising Things That Could Make You A Sex Offender](https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-things-that-could-make-you-a-sex-offender-2013-10)** > > People who end up on sex offender registries are not necessarily sexual predators. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/56 "2018-01-19T20:47:31Z")
A stripper who does lap dances is basically a prostitute who doesn’t go all the way. One who doesn’t wouldn’t be a sex worker. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/57 "2018-01-19T23:05:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So are film-makers who make R rated films with lots of nudity then. Or the National Geographic. Or even a shoe catalog with models wearing them. Most advertisements, to one degree or another. My point is that the phrase was coined as a non-value-laden (i.e. non-judgmental) term for people working in a group of jobs which render them vulnerable, because the work is not “respectable”. Many people have taken to using it as a polite term for “prostitute”. Me, I think “prostitute” is fine and polite, so I don’t understand why some people are determined to force a broad general term to refer to a narrower subset. I suspect those who are more judgmental about sex work are convinced that only prostitutes are sex workers. > [@Quimby](#): > > A stripper who does lap dances is basically a prostitute who doesn’t go all the way. One who doesn’t wouldn’t be a sex worker. But I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/58 "2018-01-19T23:51:41Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Do you have a link for this? It’s for a friend. > **[Sexy Shoes, Sexy Lingerie, Stripper Heels, Dancewear, & More](https://www.sexyshoes.com/)** > > When shopping online for Sexy Shoes, Sexy Lingerie, Sexy Dress, Costumes, Fetish Clothing & more, you can rest assured that our online store will offer the latest styles and trends from around the globe. Discreet, Secure, and our friendly staff... 😛 Not 100% work safe. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/59 "2018-01-20T02:06:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And of course strippers vary a lot. Would this lovely avant garde burlesque show be called “sex work”? > _TEASE, If You Please! Burlesque Show_ > > But a girl masturbating with a dildo as her customers masturbate- that could be a sex worker. I could go for that sort of distinction. Sure it’s like the definition of porn/obscenity, the threshold will always be tested, but it’s not unreasonable. As to the matter of the overbroad application of the term that also engulfs porn support personnel and “clean” strippers, I was under the impression that the broad segment was quite adequately named as the _“adult entertainment”_ industry. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917/60 "2018-01-20T03:15:46Z")
So sex work is a subset of the adult entertainment industry? I don’t know … Where do we fit in masseuses? Do prostitutes fit into adult entertainment? Those that have skills that are employable only in the sex industry are sex workers? That excludes sound engineers, but I think it also excludes masseuses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-strippers-sex-workers/806917.md?page=4)