We all saw the film Anora win five out of its six nominations at the 2025 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director. However, the film’s victory sparked a controversy that hadn’t been a taboo in a long time: sex.
Despite the negative comments, many people on social media defended the movie’s plot, cast, and director, spreading the story even more and promoting it with the message that it’s a necessary film for today’s world, addressing important themes in contemporary society. For many, selling their own body becomes their last resort, which, despite costing their dignity, helps them survive and achieve their goals.
The topic has also reached other areas, such as music, impacting singer Sabrina Carpenter. However, we know that in order to break this taboo, it needs to be portrayed across various fields. Here, we put together a compilation of films that depict sex in a different way—something that will make you reflect and think about the reality of many who work in this field.
1. The Full MontyÂ
The Oscar-winning film of 1997 tells the story of a group of unemployed men in northern England who decide to create a male striptease act as their last resort in search of a livelihood. However, there are a few problems: none of them have the “ideal” body or know how to dance.
Gaz, the protagonist, is desperate to maintain shared custody of his son, but for that, he needs money. One ordinary night, Gaz sees a crowd of women lining up to watch a striptease show at a local club, and that’s when he decides to form his own group using local men. His unique twist is that Gaz promises to strip everything off!
The Full Monty tackles issues such as male low self-esteem, mental health, financial crisis, the anxiety of unemployment, and other real-life dilemmas in an ironic and humorous way, yet at the same time, it’s deeply moving.
The film also received a spin-off series on Disney+ in 2023, which tells the story of the characters’ lives 25 years later.
2. Striptease
Starring Demi Moore, nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in 2025, the 1996 plot of the film was the target of numerous criticisms at the time.
Striptease tells the story of Erin, an FBI secretary who loses her job and custody of her seven-year-old daughter. Desperate to get her back, Erin decides to become a stripper at a club in Miami in order to earn the money needed to regain custody of her daughter.
When it was released, despite receiving many negative reviews, it was a box office success, grossing 12 million dollars.
3. Tangerine
Directed by Sean Baker, the same director of Anora, the independent film premiered in 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival. In Tangerine, we follow a trans sex worker, Sin-Dee, who has just completed her 28-day prison sentence. She meets up with her friend at a donut shop in Los Angeles. And, while catching up, Sin-Dee discovers that her boyfriend and pimp is cheating on her with a cisgender woman.
The film addresses transphobia in various aspects, but primarily focuses on how it intersects with sex work.
These are just a few films that address the theme of sex in a different way, often being the last hope for many people involved in the day-to-day of sex work. Have you seen any of these?
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This article above was edited by Brisa Kunichiro.
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