The New Approach To Sex Work In Film

bre gallagher bgallagher@DailyegyPtian com

Sex work in movies is nothing new. It has been seen in every category: prostitute, strippers, burlesque dancers and pornstars. They have been portrayed in horror, comedy, romance, action, western, and even sci-fi.

One of the first ever films to focus on prostitution was 1962’s “Vivre Sa Vie,” where a young woman finds herself struck by poverty and a marriage that is falling apart. Hoping to become an actress and break into films, she is once again disappointed when nothing comes of her dreams, and soon she turns to a bleak life of prostitution. When she meets a man who truly cares for her, her hope returns but her pimp may have the final word.

This film does an incredible job of not only giving the viewer a sense of pity for the woman, but it also provides a sense that she is viewed more as an animal in a zoo than as a person, something for the viewer to feel sorry for and want to save.

There have also been times sex work was glamorized in film, such as in “Pretty Woman” where the main character gets “saved” from her lower-class lifestyle where she must rely on sexwork to make rent; only to be swept up by a sweet

World War II ended in 1945, and the men that survived came home to their wives and unapologetically took back their jobs, taking women out of the workforce and back into the home. Women’s dressing went from having masculine inspiration back into a hyper femme look in the 1950s. Although most mainstream designs were cutesy and frilly, they had a sense of sensuality to them.

Although things were still modest outside the home, standard garments like slips and dressing gowns of the time were sexy and decadent. Pin-up style became popular but really only within the bedroom. Actress Betty Paige was notorious for her rather scandalous for the time pin up photos of her wearing lingerie, tight clothing and even bondage ropes in some. Sexy styles of femme fatale-esque ensembles carried through the late 1950s and into the 1960s.

This height of homemaking created a height of sexual exploration through dress in the 1960s, and it was really starting to take effect on most people’s everyday wear. By this time, sex was starting to really become unstigmatized, and even spoken about in mixed company for some, but also on television. Media at the time was starting to loosen up compared to recent years, and sexual expression was not only being shown through dress, but also in art and photography.

A good example of sexuality through the media of the time is the infamous gentleman’s magazine, “Playboy.” Although the company originally started in 1953 and was famous throughout the handsome wealthy businessman. Such lighter fare doesn’t deal with the violence that comes along with the lifestyle being discussed, however, more recent works are more successful in attempting that approach. rest of the decade, in the 1960s, Playboy started a philosophy column where they covered many different hard hitting topics of the day, including LGBTQ+ rights.

In the film “Last Night in Soho,” our point of view is an outside perspective of a woman seeing visions of another woman attempting to follow her dreams, but her dreams turn out not quite as she expected, and she is coerced into prostitution.

Where “Last Night in Soho” differs from many films is when the one looking in on her story discovers there has been a murder. She stops at nothing to get justice for the woman only realizing things were not as they appeared, giving the viewer a bittersweet feeling leaving you questioning what is truly just.

This film has an immaculate approach to the topic of sex work by getting the viewer to look at the subject as a person not just as a pawn and not just as some sex object. By the end, you will be rooting for her, yet it’s still not overlooking the violence many of these women face on a day to day basis. It also doesn’t glamorize the work in which they are doing.

In fashion, like we saw only 40 years earlier, hemlines rose, but this time for the youth of the world and those who lived for fun; it kept rising past the knee and right to mid thigh or even higher. The miniskirt became popular, and it was fabulous and extremely sexy. Paired with a high leg boot really drawing out the limbs, the miniskirt started here and is now staple in most folks’ wardrobes.

Hair went from subtly feminine, and evolved to this divinely feminine look, as if there were mounds and curls of hair sprouting from the heads of women all around.

Bohemian designs and lifestyles were starting to take shape by the late 1960s, and ushered us into something a bit more groovy in the next decade.

In the 1970s, women’s dress became a bit more reserved in everyday wear and mens became a bit more casual, but tighter. Masculine sex appeal became noticeable in mainstream fashion again. Tight jeans and corduroy dress pants pulled up to high heavens, accentuating parts of the man graciously in the back but friskily in the front. Early in the decade, silk was a popular fabric for men’s shirts, left unbuttoned a bit to give a peek at whatever chest hair they had going on.

Later into the decade, clothing became more revealing yet relaxed. Strapless tops and Daisy Dukes were fashionable, and there is no denying that there is something about a pair of denim short shorts that is just plain be reached at bgallagher@dailyegyptian.com sexy. Sex icons of the time were going for natural beauty looks, like the incomparable Farrah Fawcett and her luxurious waves. You can’t help but think of that swimsuit when she gets brought up can you?

A quite daring and sexy style was to come during the 1980s. With extremely futuristic ideals and designs, garments of the 1980s were something of another time with its over excess. Leather became a popular textile in all areas of fashion, but now in a less utilitarian way and more of a high fashion sexy way. Punk culture made its way from the underground of the 1970s and into the homes and closets of many people around the world. Sex symbols of the time, like Madonna, wore things like bustier tops and chain-link belts.

This idea of hyper femininity is very prevalent through the fashions of the 1980s, as hair once again grew in size and strong makeup accentuated the cheeks and lips. Shoulder pads grew and added a bit of masculinity to the time, especially with such flamboyance that was seen in pattern and color. A resurgence of 1940s-esque silhouettes came about, but only this time with a great deal of over indulgence compared to rationing times.

The 1990s was a downright sex filled time of fashion. High fashion looks of the time were tight, low cut in any way they could and revealing. Sheer garments became popularized and worn on red carpets by celebrities. Pulling inspiration from 1950s slips and under-garments, many dresses were small, tight and a bit erotic. Some designers made dresses in this manner, such as the late Gianni Versace, but many people opted to thrift them from decades past.

We are now today seeing a resurrection of many of these designs being sold again and becoming popular on fast fashion sites like Shein or Fashion Nova. This style became relevant again through music artists wearing what could be considered as classic pop star looks from later in the decade and into the new century.

The early 2000s were jam packed full of sexualizing clothing. Sexy was wearing low rise jeans with the tan line of a playboy bunny, or a visible Victoria Secret bustier as a shirt. Sassy baby shirts with funny phrases written across the chest became popular, always saying something like “Born to shop, forced to work.” Bikinis were itty bitty, and that was the point; you could get away with not having to cover up, or had the luxury of wearing whatever you wanted basically.

Men’s fashion was sexual in a different way. There is nothing better scarred in my eight year old brain than staring at one of those huge Abercrombie and Fitch posters in the mall and counting the muscular abs as if I were sitting in my kindergarten classroom. The clothing being modeled of course was pretty standard men’s clothing, but the way that it was advertised was extremely sexual.

By the 2010s, sexy fashion was things like the Band-aid dress and tight garments with cutouts in the front, the back or the side; let’s just say that cutouts were popular. Lace garments became relevant again, and we were living the Lana Del Rey fantasy. Fashion into the teens of the decade as we all remember got pretty cheugy, and then started up this whole 1990s resurgence of tight everything, silks, strappy sandals and hair clips.

We are at a place in fashion now where sex and nuance of it is just a standard part of the design process. With barely any pressing social rules in what is fashionable and what is pornographic, we are far more likely to see movie stars and singers half naked on the red carpet. Micro trends come and go very quickly, setting the stage on what is up to date in today’s fashion. Something that has become extremely popular as of the past few years, and that I expect to keep inclining is the wearing of fetish gear. At what point do we say, “is this sexy, or just sex?

Down the runways recently, we have seen plenty of leather goods, some such as harnesses, chokers, collars and many more risque ensembles and accessories. This look and aesthetic is often associated with the punk community as they pulled much inspiration from military wear and fetish wear. Many of these designs are high end, but they really aren’t anything that you couldn’t get from your local sex shop.

So tell me, how did we go from skirts just at the knee being a sign of change in the past, to the dominatrix uniform being a sign of ours now? It took 100 years to get here, but in terms of what is acceptable in public, did we go too slow or too fast?