Sex worker advocacy groups define the term "sex work" as: any income-generating activity or form of employment in which an individual exchanges some form of sexual gratification for monetary compensation. As a concept sex work has the potential of focusing attention on the inequities and vulnerabilities of those working in the sex industry. The issue of sex work has been largely confined to some academics, researchers and advocates. More recently these entities have theorized it as a form of employment or "work." "Sex work as work" represents this emerging conceptualization.
Historically, public acceptance of sex work in both Canada and the U.S. has been erratic and inconsistent, often fluctuating from instances of indifference to opposition, ambivalence, and in some rare cases tolerance (Huff and Scott, 1975; Lewis, 2000; McCaghy and Cernkovich, 1991; Thompson, Chaffee and Oshagan, 1990). While public acceptance of the possibility of legalizing sex work has been thoroughly examined, tolerance of sex work itself has not. Tolerance is an important area of research for both academics and sex workers because public opinion can influence rights and experiences of sex workers. Greater tolerance may lead to changes in policies related to sex work, which in turn can decrease the level of stigmatization toward those in the sex industry and increase the rights afforded to them as workers and as human beings. In this study, acceptance of sex work as "work" and practical attitudes toward sex work are examined as indicators of tolerance of sex work. The purpose of the study is therefore to determine a model capable of explaining tolerance of sex work. The hypothesized model is tested to see if it holds true for nationality (Canada v. United States), gender (men v. women) and race (Whites v. Other) within each sample. Data was collected from 433 students enrolled in introductory Sociology classes at an urban university in Canada and 327 students enrolled in introductory Sociology classes at an urban mid-western university in the United States. Data collection occurred simultaneously at both universities from October 2007 to February 2008. Results from a series of structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses determined that while the specification of the model was not substantiated, the hypothesized model of tolerance of sex work did hold for both Canadian and American students, and also for Canadian and American female students, as well as for American White students and American students of Other races. Thus, with some caution, acceptance of sex work as work and practical attitudes toward sex work are found capable of explaining tolerance of sex work.
