Introduction

A brothel worker is a person who works at a place or establishment where people come to engage in sexual activity in exchange for a fee. Due to the legal disparities of sex work and prostitution between different locations, not all brothel workers refer to themselves or self-identify as prostitutes. Technically, brothel workers can work at strip clubs, hotels, massage parlors etc. and still sell sexual services. This exhibit primarily focuses on the experiences of brothel sex workers who work under legalized systems of prostitution. Services, labor, wages, and working conditions for brothel women vary depending on respective establishment rule, location, and laws. However, brothel sex work is typically considered safer than street sex work, though state regulations in legal brothels tend to restrict their workers in ways that those who work illegally in clandestine prostitution never experience.