Transactional sex

Transactional sex refers to sexual relationships where the giving and/or receiving of gifts, money or other services is an important factor. The participants do not necessarily frame themselves in terms of prostitutes/clients, but often as girlfriends/boyfriends, or sugar babies/sugar daddies/mamas. ^{[1] [2]} Those offering 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. ^[3]

Currencies

Alcohol

Alcohol has been used as a currency for transactional sex in South Africa and Uganda. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

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. ^{[7] [8]}

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. ^{[9] [10]}

See also

• Casting couch
• Enjo kōsai
• Girlfriend experience
• Hypergamy
• Kept woman
• Prostitution among animals
• Sex for fish
• Sugar baby
• Treating (dating)

References

1. Hoefinger 2010.
2. Hoefinger 2013.
3. Hunter 2002.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Moore, Ann M.; Biddlecom, Ann E.; Zulu, Eliya M. (2007-12). "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. ISSN   1118-4841. PMC   2367111 . PMID   18458736.{{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. "Does the Risk Premium Differ Between Women Engaging in Commercial and Transactional Sex? Evidence From Urban Cameroon".{{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 52 (help)
9. 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.
10. "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 , POLICY Project, October 2004. (pdf)
• 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", 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.
• 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)