Sex counts: An examination of sexual service advertisements in a UK online directory

The changing meaning of "no" in Canadian sex work

With the migration of sex workers to online advertising in Canada, a substantial body of research has emerged on how they communicate with prospective clients. However, given the enormous quantity of archival material available, finding representative ways to identify what sex workers say is a difficult task. Numerical analysis of commonly used phrases allows for the analysis of large numbers of documents potentially identifying themes that may be missed using other techniques. This study considers how Canadian sex workers communicate by examining how the word "no" was used by online advertisers over a 15-year period. Source materials consisted of three collections of online classified advertising containing over 4.2 million ads collected between 2007 and 2022 representing 214456 advertisers. Advertisers and demographic variables were extracted from ad metadata. Common terms surrounding the word "no" were used to identify themes. The word "no" was used by 115127 advertisers. Five major themes were identified: client reassurance (54084 advertisers), communication (47130 advertisers), client race (32612 advertisers), client behavior (23863 advertisers), and service restrictions (8545 advertisers). The probability of there being an association between an advertiser and a major theme was found to vary in response to several variables, including: time period, region, advertiser gender, and advertiser ethnicity. Results are compared with previous work on race and risk messaging in sex work advertising and factors influencing client race restrictions are considered. Over time, the restriction related themes of client behavior, service restrictions, and client race became more prominent. Collectives, multi-regional, cis-female, and Black or Mixed ancestry advertisers were more likely to use restrictions.

Sex Clubs in the UK: Recreational Sex, Erotic Diversity and Geographies of Desire

Current research has suggested that sex, sexual practices and sexual identities are increasingly being folded into people’s leisure and recreational activities. One area that has witnessed growing popularity has been sex clubs that market themselves as places that enable heterosexual casual, anonymous sexual encounters. Traditionally called swingers’ clubs, these are not strip clubs, lap dancing clubs or brothels, we have very little information about sex clubs or the people who visit them. In response, this article defines what sex clubs are, their geographical locations, and their facilities. Alongside this, through the data scraping of 6837 profiles of people who have visited clubs and left online reviews of the clubs that they have visited, this research provides the most extensive dataset available on the gender, age, relationship status and sexual preferences of sex club patrons. The findings from the study suggest that sex clubs are an emerging space for leisure sex that prioritises erotic practices that stand outside heteronormative norms and values. Whilst clubs have been traditionally associated with swinger communities, the findings in this article also suggest that sex clubs appeal to people with diverse sexual preferences. Alongside this, it highlights the potential ways in which sex clubs may be part of a broader spatialization of leisure sex. The article concludes by suggesting that in a post-Covid context, sex clubs will have increasing importance as places of leisure sex.

Sexual Interaction in Digital Contexts and Its Implications for Sexual Health: A Conceptual Analysis

Based on its prevalence, there is an urgent need to better understand the mechanisms, opportunities and risks of sexual interaction in digital contexts (SIDC) that are related with sexual arousal. While there is a growing body of literature on SIDC, there is also a lack of conceptual clarity and classification. Therefore, based on a conceptual analysis, we propose to distinguish between sexual interaction (1) through, (2) via, and (3) with digital technologies. (1) Sexual interactions through digital technologies are face-to-face sexual interactions that (a) have been started digitally (e.g., people initiating face-to-face sexual encounters through adult dating apps) or (b) are accompanied by digital technology (e.g., couples augmenting their face-to-face sexual encounters through filming themselves during the act and publishing the amateur pornography online). (2) Sexual interactions via digital technology are technology-mediated interpersonal sexual interactions (e.g., via text chat: cybersex; via smartphone: sexting; via webcam: webcam sex/camming). (3) Sexual interactions with digital technology occur when the technology itself has the role of an interaction partner (e.g., sexual interaction with a sex robot or with a media persona in pornography). The three types of SIDC and their respective subtypes are explained and backed up with empirical studies that are grouped according to two major mediators: consent and commerce. Regarding the causes and consequences of the three types of SIDC we suggest a classification that entails biological, psychological, social, economic, and technological factors. Regarding implications of SIDC we suggest to focus on both opportunities and risks for sexual health. The proposed conceptual framework of SIDC is meant to inform future research.

“We Have Advised Sex Workers to Simply Choose Other Options”—The Response of Adult Service Websites to COVID-19

In-person sex work is one of the industries most directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to connect with clients, most independent sex workers use adult service websites (ASWs), whose services range from simple advertising websites to platforms with both direct and indirect governance of workers. Although ASWs do not employ sex workers, their response to the pandemic has a large impact on sex workers’ financial and physical wellbeing. This effect is even stronger among migrant workers, who are less likely to qualify for, or be aware they qualify for, government support. This study reviews the response to COVID-19 of 45 of the leading ASWs in Britain, and triangulates the data with seven sex worker-led organisations. It shows a large variation in the responses of ASWs: the majority had no public response to the pandemic at all, a minority took intentional steps to support workers or donated to hardship funds for sex workers, and at least one ASW reduced their safety features during the pandemic. These findings illustrate that while most ASWs do not acknowledge the influence they have over the working practices of their service users and the shift of economic risk to them, some recognised the potential that their platforms have to support sex workers during crises.