Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website
Understanding the structure of human sexual contact networks is vital in a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, biology, public health, and anthropology. However, sexual contact networks are yet to be understood because technical and privacy issues make it difficult to conduct accurate,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9632804/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1811333759074566144 |
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| author | Hiromu Ito Keiko Shigeta Taro Yamamoto Satoru Morita |
| author_facet | Hiromu Ito Keiko Shigeta Taro Yamamoto Satoru Morita |
| author_sort | Hiromu Ito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the structure of human sexual contact networks is vital in a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, biology, public health, and anthropology. However, sexual contact networks are yet to be understood because technical and privacy issues make it difficult to conduct accurate, large-scale surveys. In this study, we surveyed data openly available on one of the largest adult entertainment websites in Japan, where male clients (MCs) can write online customer reviews of female commercial sex workers (FCSWs). In particular, our investigation focused on a type of establishment called “soapland,” the only type of sex industry in Japan where sexual intercourse is publicly permitted. Soaplands are scattered throughout Japan, and the study website covers approximately 66% of them. Using such a vast amount of data on a nationwide scale, we clarified the network structure of commercial sex, characterized by small-world, scale-free, and disassortative mating properties. To study geographical characteristics, we compared the resulting network with three different artificially generated networks via the random rewiring of links. Moreover, we considered a simple epidemic model on the resulting network, and investigated whether it would be more effective to provide infection control measures to FCSWs or MCs. We determined that active FCSWs constitute an important pathway of infection propagation in commercial sex networks, but MCs also play an essential role as weak ties. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:57:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71357503b33f4650a0b4196dc8e0589e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:57:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-71357503b33f4650a0b4196dc8e0589e2022-12-22T02:38:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011711Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review websiteHiromu ItoKeiko ShigetaTaro YamamotoSatoru MoritaUnderstanding the structure of human sexual contact networks is vital in a broad range of disciplines, including sociology, biology, public health, and anthropology. However, sexual contact networks are yet to be understood because technical and privacy issues make it difficult to conduct accurate, large-scale surveys. In this study, we surveyed data openly available on one of the largest adult entertainment websites in Japan, where male clients (MCs) can write online customer reviews of female commercial sex workers (FCSWs). In particular, our investigation focused on a type of establishment called “soapland,” the only type of sex industry in Japan where sexual intercourse is publicly permitted. Soaplands are scattered throughout Japan, and the study website covers approximately 66% of them. Using such a vast amount of data on a nationwide scale, we clarified the network structure of commercial sex, characterized by small-world, scale-free, and disassortative mating properties. To study geographical characteristics, we compared the resulting network with three different artificially generated networks via the random rewiring of links. Moreover, we considered a simple epidemic model on the resulting network, and investigated whether it would be more effective to provide infection control measures to FCSWs or MCs. We determined that active FCSWs constitute an important pathway of infection propagation in commercial sex networks, but MCs also play an essential role as weak ties.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9632804/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Hiromu Ito Keiko Shigeta Taro Yamamoto Satoru Morita Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website PLoS ONE |
| title | Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website |
| title_full | Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website |
| title_fullStr | Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website |
| title_short | Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website |
| title_sort | exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial sex review website |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9632804/?tool=EBI |
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