"Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world."

With that line, written in his 1888 short story "On the City Wall," English author Rudyard Kipling helped popularize one of the most enduring euphemisms for sex work — a phrase often repeated since, despite its historical ambiguity. Rather than naming the work directly, the expression reflected the moral climate of the time, when indirect language made the subject easier to acknowledge — and to keep at bay.

A new exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, "Sex Work: A Cultural History," looks at how sex work has been represented, regulated and experienced across societies and historical periods.

The curators describe the subject as "terrain permeated by moralizing and highly political discourses." Bringing together art, archival material, legal documents and contemporary voices, the exhibition shows how sex work has been framed — and at times distorted — in public debate.

Without arguing for a particular policy approach, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how their own views have been shaped — by media coverage, social expectations or the language they grew up hearing.

From 'parasite' to 'sex worker'

One strand of the exhibition examines language: A glossary traces the words that have been used to describe sex workers over time, and explores what these terms made visible or invisible, and how they shaped ideas about gender, morality and labor.

"Sex work history is challenging to research because what we're called is different in each era, and historical documents often rely on vague euphemisms," says co‑curator and sex worker activist Ernestine Pastorello.

"Historical terminology is often imprecise," she adds. "In the 19th century, 'prostitute' could be used to describe any woman who was 'too visible' in the public sphere, whether or not she actually sold sex."

The label, she explains, was applied broadly — to women living in poverty, dealing with addiction or otherwise seen as socially deviant — making it unreliable for historical research and burdened with layers of negative connotations that continue to shape how sex work is discussed today.

Similar distortions appear in other historical contexts.

In the former Soviet Union and other Communist Bloc countries, sex workers were prosecuted under laws targeting so‑called "social parasites." The term referred to able‑bodied adults who were deemed not to be engaged in "socially useful work," while living off income outside the official labor system — a category that included sex work.

The language reveals how authorities used words to police behavior and define who counted as a legitimate worker.

Placed alongside one another, the glossary's terms show how naming has long carried assumptions about class, gender and social worth. Some labels make marginalization explicit: "Stricher" is a derogatory German colloquial term used mainly for men selling sex, derived from the phrase "auf den Strich gehen," or "walking the beat."

During the 1990s and early 2000s it became closely associated with street‑based male sex work around Berlin's Bahnhof Zoo, linking the term to a particular form of urban marginalization and social stigma.

In the digital era, terms such as "porn performer" reflect changes in how sexual labor is organized. From early subscription websites to today's creator‑driven platforms such as OnlyFans, performers may produce and distribute their own content directly. Some identify as sex workers; others do not. 

Reclaiming — and contesting — the name

The exhibition also shows how sex workers have shaped the language used to describe them.

The term "sex work" was coined in the late 1970s by US activist Carol Leigh, who wanted a phrase that described an activity rather than a moral label. That change made space for organizing, visibility and advocacy.

The term "sex work" is preferred because it infers "nothing more and nothing less than what is actually being discussed," says co‑curator Ernestine Pastorello — the exchange of sexual services for money or other goods as a means of financial support. In her view, this provides a clearer basis for discussion than terminology shaped by outdated moral assumptions.

That shift in framing has also played out in practice. Across different countries, sex worker movements have reclaimed slurs, adopted labels such as "escort" or "stripper," and challenged terminology imposed from the outside. These choices are ways of asserting control over how their work and lives are described.

At the same time, critics argue that the term "sex work" can blur important differences. Researchers and advocates focusing on trafficking and exploitation — including organizations such as the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and scholars like Swedish policy expert Gunilla Ekberg — say it can make it harder to recognize situations in which people sell sex not out of genuine choice, but because of poverty, pressure or a lack of real alternatives.

The disagreement highlights how language can clarify some experiences while making others harder to see.

Language and labor rights

For Pastorello, recognizing sex work as work remains essential for any discussion of rights. While acknowledging that not all people enter the industry under the own volition, she argues that naming it as labor makes it possible to talk about safety, protections and collective organization.

"Characterizing it as work allows us to attack it from a trade‑union perspective," she says. "It's just a matter of common respect to acknowledge that we are workers and therefore deserve the same protection and the same rights."

She adds that empowerment should not be a condition for recognition: "Our right to do sex work should depend on our labor rights and not on whether it's empowering or not."

Taken together, by approaching sex work through culture, language and lived experience, the exhibition suggests that understanding the subject begins with acknowledging its complexity — and by paying attention to the words societies have used to describe it, and the people those words have often left out.

The exhibition "Sex Work - A Cultural History" runs at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn through to October 25, 2026. 

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier