Sex And Money

How much does the sex industry contribute to each of the economies of the world?

There are a number of difficult questions that have to be answered before that question can be given a sensible answer.

The problem primarily is what constitutes part of the sex industry. You could say prostitution, but what constitutes a sexual service? Many people get off on being submissive and are prepared to pay for the services of a dominatrix. Does that make mistresses who offer services that don’t involve sexual acts prostitutes. I think it makes them part of the sex industry but not in the same way as what everyone would traditionally regard as a prostitute.

What about escorts? Another grey area and one where the answer may be yes or no depending on the relationship between the client and provider of the escort service.

Then there are sex toys and other adult products. They surely are part of the sex industry.

But what about magazines. The boundaries between mainstream magazines and pornographic literature are blurred. The once obvious distinction between the top shelf and other magazines is no longer there. As the Internet erodes the traditional market for the old skin mags from the hardcore side and the more adventurous periodicals that live on the naughtier side of Cosmopolitan attack them from the other the market for pornographic magazines is actually growing. Just in unexpected ways. They must form part of the total contribution that the “Sex Industry” gives to the economy.

I wonder if there are any accurate government figures? It would certainly make accountancy more interesting.