from www.examiner.com – Earlier this month, CNBC aired Porn: Business of Pleasure, a look at the pornography industry and how the Internet is changing it, much like it did the music industry. The show also talks about the integration of pornography into the mainstream, while mildly hitting on issues such as sex addiction and feminism (from both points of view).

America’s private love and public hate relationship with pornography and sex have created an environment in which what is considered taboo can thrive behind closed doors, sometimes causing more damage, because of a lack of education.

Logically following that program, was Dirty Money: The Business of High-End Prostitution, also a pretty good look at one of America’s sexual underworlds.

One may wonder, what place does the sex industry really have in a recessing economy, but the socially savvy may be asking what other industry would thrive in such conditions?

When physical intimacy is commonly used as a source of comfort in stressful times, is it any surprise that the sex toy industry is still successful? In January, the New York Times reported that sex boutique owners’ sales were higher than pre-recession times.

According to a UN report earlier this month, voluntary sex work has soared, as a result of lay-offs and a need for making money without spending too much to get there (thanks to craigslist.com and it’s adult section). Aside from morality and social stigmas, how much is really wrong with this change in sex as work?

For one thing, it certainly calls for the legalization of sex work. Sex work is dangerous because it is still unregulated. There are no rules. Late in 2008, during a slew of prostitution ring raids, dominatrixes started to fear for their businesses. Although much of what a dominatrix does has little to do with sexual acts and more to do with arousal through domination, popular view tends to lump their work with prostitution. They have since been pushing for unionization, in hopes of protecting their work.

There are still misunderstandings about rape and prostitution; violence toward sex workers and their rights; and the differences between escorts and prostitutes. Imagine if sex workers could unionize and receive medical benefits, be required to be tested for STIs on a regular basis, and didn’t have to worry about waiting in dark alleys for customers where they are more likely to get robbed, raped or murdered. Although not everyone may agree that sex should be a means of income (then again, should making cigarettes, which kills millions every year be an acceptable source of income), protecting our American citizens, despite their choices in career or recreation, should be a priority.