Transactional sex
Transactional sex refers to sexual relationships where the giving or receiving of gifts, money, services, or material items is an important factor. The participants do not necessarily frame themselves in terms of prostitutes or clients, but often as partners, or as sugar babies, daddies or mommies. Those offering sexual services (which can include sex) may or may not feel affection for their partners.
Transactional sex is a superset of sex work, in that the exchange of monetary reward for sex includes a broader set of (usually non-marital) obligations that do not necessarily involve a predetermined payment or gift, but where there is a definite motivation to benefit materially from the sexual exchange.
Currencies
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Alcohol
Alcohol has been used as a currency for transactional sex in South Africa and Uganda.
Basic Needs
This form of transactional sex is most commonly referred to as survival sex.
Cash
Cash remains to be the most common currency in transactional sex worldwide.
Cryptocurrency
Since the 2018 passage of FOSTA-SESTA, up to a third of sex workers in the United States have turned into cryptocurrencies due to its anonymity, ability to avoid chargebacks, and being able to bypass banking platforms.
See also
References
- ↑ Hoefinger 2010.
- ↑ Hoefinger 2013.
- ↑ Hunter 2002.
- ↑ Mihretie, GN; Kassa, BG; Ayele, AD; Liyeh, TM; Belay, HG; Miskr, AD; Minuye, B; Azanaw, MM; Worke, MD (2023). "Transactional sex among women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis". PLOS ONE. 18 (6) e0286850. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1886850M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286850. PMC 10249834. PMID 37289839.
- ↑ Miller, A. P.; Pitpitan, E. V.; Nabukalu, D.; Nalugoda, F.; Nakigozi, G.; Kigozi, G.; Grabowski, M. K.; Kennedy, C. E.; Wagman, J. A. (2021). "Transactional Sex, Alcohol Use and Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the Rakai Region of Uganda". AIDS and Behavior. 25 (4): 1144–1158. doi:10.1007/s10461-020-03069-9. PMC 8807528. PMID 33128109.
- ↑ Norris, AH; Kitali, AJ; Worby, E (October 2009). "Alcohol and transactional sex: how risky is the mix?". Social Science & Medicine. 69 (8): 1167–76. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.015. PMID 19713023.
- ↑ Moore, Ann M.; Biddlecom, Ann E.; Zulu, Eliya M. (December 2007). "Prevalence and meanings of exchange of money or gifts for sex in unmarried adolescent sexual relationships in sub-Saharan Africa". African Journal of Reproductive Health. 11 (3): 44–61. doi:10.2307/25549731. ISSN 1118-4841. JSTOR 25549731. PMC 2367111. PMID 18458736.
- ↑ "Does the Risk Premium Differ Between Women Engaging in Commercial and Transactional Sex? Evidence From Urban Cameroon".
- ↑ Sigalos, MacKenzie (2022-02-05). "Bitcoin has become a lifeline for sex workers, like this former nurse who made $1.3 million last year". CNBC. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
- ↑ "Sex workers should be turning to fintechs, but cash is still queen". Sifted. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
Further reading
- Chatterji, Minki; Murray, Nancy; London, David and Anglewicz. Philip. The Factors Influencing Transactional Sex Among Young Men and Women in 12 Sub-Saharan African Countries at the Wayback Machine (archived May 28, 2005), POLICY Project, October 2004.
- Cole, Jennifer (2010). Sex and Salvation: Imagining the Future in Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-11331-9.
- Epstein, Helen. The Fidelity Fix at the Wayback Machine (archived August 3, 2004), first published in the New York Times, June 13, 2004
- Groes-Green, Christian (6 February 2013). "To Put Men in a Bottle: Eroticism, Kinship, Female Power, and Transactional Sex in Maputo, Mozambique". American Ethnologist. 40 (1): 102–117. doi:10.1111/amet.12008.
- Groes-Green, Christian (30 April 2014). "Journeys of Patronage: Moral Economies of Transactional Sex, Kinship and Female Migration from Mozambique to Europe". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 20 (2): 237–255. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12102.
- Hoefinger, Heidi (July 2010). Negotiating Intimacy: Transactional Sex and Relationships Among Cambodian Professional Girlfriends (PhD dissertation thesis). Goldsmiths, University of London.
- Hoefinger, Heidi (2013). Sex, Love and Money in Cambodia: Professional Girlfriends and Transactional Relationships. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-93123-2.
- Hunter, Mark (2002). "The Materiality of Everyday Sex: Thinking Beyond 'Prostitution". African Studies. 61 (1): 99–120. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.581.2594. doi:10.1080/00020180220140091. S2CID 146274779.
{{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|citeseerx=(help) - Leclerc-Madlala, Suzanne (2003). "Transactional Sex and the Pursuit of Modernity". Social Dynamics: A Journal of African Studies. 29 (2): 213–233. doi:10.1080/02533950308628681. hdl:11427/19269. S2CID 143986646.
- Luke, N.; Kurz, K. Cross-generational and transactional sexual relations in Sub-Saharan Africa: prevalence of behavior and implications for negotiating safer sexual practices. International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), USA, 2002. (pdf)