Mainstreaming the Sex Industry: Economic Inclusion and Social Ambivalence
| Date | 01 March 2010 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00494.x |
| Author | Teela Sanders,Barbara G. Brents |
| Published date | 01 March 2010 |
JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY
VOLUME 37, NUMBER 1, MARCH 2010
ISSN: 0263-323X, pp. 40±60
Mainstreaming the Sex Industry:
Economic Inclusion and Social Ambivalence
Barbara G. Brents* andTeelaSanders**
This paper seeks to analyse the expansion of commercial sex through
processes of mainstreaming in economic and social institutions. We
argue that cultural changes and neo-liberal policies and attitudes have
enabled economic mainstreaming, whilst social ambivalence continues
to provide the backdrop to a prolific and profitable global industry. We
chart the advancement of sexual consumption and sexual service
provision in late capitalism before defining the concept of `main-
streaming' applied here. We use the case studies of Las Vegas and
Leeds to identify various social and economic dimensions to the
mainstreaming process and the ways these play out in law and
regulation. While social and economic processes have integrated
sexual services into night-time commerce, remaining social ambiva-
lence fuels transgression and marginalization of the industry which in
fact assists the mainstreaming process. Finally, we project some
implications for gender relations, work, and inequalities as a result of
the integration of sexual services into the economy.
INTRODUCTION
This paper seeks to analyse the expansion of commercial sex through
processes of mainstreaming in economic and, to a lesser extent, social
institutions. We argue that cultural changes and neo-liberal policies and
attitudes have enabled economic mainstreaming, whilst social ambivalence
continues to provide the backdrop to a prolific and profitable global industry.
We initially chart the advancement of sexual consumption and sexual service
40
ß2010 The Author. Journal Compilation ß2010 Cardiff University Law School. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
*Department of Sociology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV
89154-5033, United States of America
barb.brents@unlv.edu
** School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2
9JT, England
T.L.M.Sanders@leeds.ac.uk
provision in late capitalism before defining the concept of `mainstreaming'
applied in this paper. From our work, we use the case studies of Las Vegas,
United States of America, and Leeds, United Kingdom to identify various
social and economic dimensions to the mainstreaming process and the ways
these play out in law and regulation.
While social and economic processes have integrated sexual services into
night-time commerce, remaining social ambivalence fuels transgression and
marginalization of the industry which in fact assists the mainstreaming
process. Finally, we project some implications for gender relations, work,
and inequalities as a result of the integration of sexual services into the
economy.
ANALYSING THE RISE OF COMMERCIAL SEX
International travel, mobility, changes in consumption patterns, more leisure
time, and neo-liberal state policies, have increased the visibility of sexual
commerce in a global economy. The media has made much of the
mainstreaming of sexual commerce.
1
Globalization has encouraged a
dramatic growth in a worldwide sex industry that was worth `at least $20
billion a year and probably many times that', the Economist estimated in
1998.
2
Moffat and Peters used Internet data to calculate that the indoor
massage parlours business in the United Kingdom was worth approximately
£534 million per annum in 1999.
3
Jones et al. cautiously estimate the annual
turnover of lap-dancing bars in the United Kingdom to stand at £300 million
in 2002.
4
In the United States, an industry report estimated adult
entertainment to be worth more than $12 billion in 2005.
5
Two of the
largest lap-dancing club chains reported earnings of around $60 million each
in 2008.
6
Analysts say that these companies are proving to be fairly recession
resistant, holding profits well compared to many compa nies, despite
economic downturns. These economic `facts' suggest pr evalence and
durability, contributing to what commentators such as McNair and Attwood
41
1See S. Paasonen, K. Nikunen, and L. Saarenmaa, Pornification: Sex and Sexuality in
Media Culture (2007).
2 `Giving the Customer What He Wants' Economist,14February 1998.
3P.G. Moffatt and S.A. Peters, `Pricing Personal Services: An Empirical Study of
Earnings in the UK Prostitution Industry' (2004) 51 Scottish J. of Political Economy
675±90.
4P.Jones, P. Shears, and D. Hillier, `Retailing and the Regulatory State: A Case Study
of Lap Dancing Clubs in the UK' (2003) 31 International J. of Retail and
Distribution Management 214±19, at 215.
5M.L. Freridge, Adult Entertainment in America: A State of the Industry Report
(2006).
6 `More Women Working in Adult Entertainment' MSNBC,30March 2009, available
at com/id/29824663//>. The two companies are VCG
Holding, owning more than twenty nightclubs, and also Rick's Cabaret.
ß2010 The Author. Journal Compilation ß2010 Cardiff University Law School
To continue reading
Request your trial