A sex show is a form of live performance that features one or more performers engaging in some form of sexual activity on stage for the entertainment or sexual gratification of spectators. Performers are paid either by the spectators or by the organisers of the show.[1][2] A performance would involve an actual or simulated autoerotic performance or sexual activity with another performer. The performance can be on a theater style,[3] or it can be in a peep show style. An increasingly popular form of sex show is a webcam performance in which the viewer is able to view and interact with webcam performers in real time.
Sex shows are distinguished from striptease, pole dancing or lap dance which are usually limited to undressing and dancing nude or semi-nude. Sex shows are also distinguished from prostitution in that the performers do not engage in sexual activity with the customer directly. Sex shows can overlap with other sectors of the sex industry. For example, some strip clubs also offer live sex performances, and some prostitutes offer a sexual performance with another prostitute among their services.
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Sex shows are subject to licensing requirements and locations are subject to local zoning regulations.[4] Some jurisdictions regard a sex show as prostitution.[5] The content of a sex show is also often restricted by national and local laws, including obscenity laws. Some areas allow striptease, but no sexual activity, others may allow only simulated sexual activity or autoerotic activity, while others allow anything that is legal in recorded pornography to be performed live.
Generally speaking, as of 2010 autoerotic activity is the most common legally-available kind of live sexual activity, followed by lesbian performances. Male-female and male-male performances, on the other hand, are currently allowed in only a few cities and countries throughout the world, notably Amsterdam, Barcelona, and the State of Israel[6] Webcam performances are presently largely unregulated.
Yukio Mishima wrote a short story published in 1966 called Three Million Yen where a sex show is a surprising part of the story. A young couple roams a department store, bickering about finances and trying to kill time until they meet with an unknown woman. They talk of children and saving enough to begin their adult lives. When the reader finally encounters the unknown woman, it transpires that the couple are being paid to have sex in front of upper-class clientele. The story provides a shocking contrast between the conservatism of the young couple and the disreputable way in which they make their living.
In the movie Requiem for a Dream, the character Marion is coerced into performing in a private sex show in exchange for heroin.