What Factors Increase the Risk of Women Entering Sex Work?

There has been growing discussion in Hong Kong about some husbands secretly maintaining extramarital relationships across the border in mainland China, which has stirred public concern. Within that debate, old ideas about judging women by their appearance sometimes resurface. What do those views claim, and how should we understand them today?

In traditional physiognomy—an historical set of beliefs rather than science—there is a notion that "beauty conceals flaws." For example, it might claim that a person has an attractive face but an unpleasant voice; a graceful figure yet a heavy gait; a fair complexion yet poor hygiene; or soft hands alongside coarse body hair or rough skin. These were labeled as "flaws" within beauty. Such ideas were often used to moralize about women in ways that are unfair and stigmatizing, and they should not be used to judge anyone.

Some versions of physiognomy also focus on facial features such as the forehead, asserting that a low, narrow, uneven, or slanted forehead signals poor fortune between ages sixteen and twenty-eight and even purports to predict involvement in sex work. These notions conflate appearance with intelligence and destiny; they lack evidence and can lead to harmful, biased judgments. If one considers such traditions at all, they should be viewed critically and in context, and never used to assess a person's character or future.