2025/08/11 by Michael A. Hansen, Isabelle Johansson, John C. Navarro · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Sex work and related issues #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/00111287251359200
openalex publication_date 2025/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This study explores how sex workers’ gender, ethnicity, and immigration status influence public attitudes toward sex work in the United States. Using a randomized experiment, 1,193 respondents evaluated a hypothetical news story featuring a sex worker as either a “Caucasian woman,” “Caucasian man,” or “undocumented Mexican woman.” Respondents rated the acceptability of sex work, worker agency, venue liability, and preferences for supportive or punitive interventions. Sex work by a Caucasian man was viewed least favorably, and the undocumented Mexican woman was perceived as having the lowest agency. Supportive interventions were endorsed more for women, while punitive measures, particularly fines, were favored for the man. Results highlight how the intersecting factors shape perceptions of agency, culpability, deservingness, and intervention preferences.