At first glance this has got to be every red-blooded males dream job. The advertised position, at the Leeds University School of Sociology and Social Policy, is for: “Research Officer – The rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy”.

The advertisement further stipulates that “prior experience of conducting research in the female sex industry” is essential.

Having got the post, the successful applicant would work with the school’s team on a research project to examine the “rise, tolerance and integration of sexual consumption and sexual labour displayed through the erotic dance industry”, and the commercialisation of female sexuality and the female body. It hopes to determine where dancers are recruited from and what their working conditions are like, as well as examining how erotic dancing has become a “mainstream” entertainment, available on the high street of most British cities.

The researchers will interview 300 erotic dancers in two northern English towns, as well as other industry figures including managers and regulators.

The mind boggles.

Via the Telegraph