Autonomy and oppression across the sex work continuum, from 'Hooter's' to hookers.

摘要

In this dissertation, I argue that "sex workers"---along the Sex Work Continuum---are linked to the economic sphere and the world of work. I show that commercial sex workers strategize and negotiate the conditions under which they ply their sexual labor, and engage in emotional labor as a condition of their work. In this regard, they act like other low wage, female service workers under late industrial western capitalism.;The study uses three methods. In-depth, open ended interviews were conducted with fifty (50) women in various parts of the sex industry. I conducted participant observation at Hooter's Restaurant over a period of four months, and data from my field notes are included. Finally, I observed the streets, alleys and parks where street-level sex work takes place.;The findings are organized into three main categories. First, there is as much variation within groups of sex workers as there is between one group as opposed to another. Women's relative degrees of autonomy or oppression do not depend exclusively on where they engage in sex work. I show that experiences in sex work vary significantly, although not randomly, due to variables such as race, socio-economic class, obtaining a regular clientele, and drug use.;Secondly, my research investigated the ways in which women engage in impression management. Most women utilized oppositional identities, likening themselves to a "diva", a "real worker", or a "party girl" to maintain a coherent identity while trading sex for pay. Most workers also distanced themselves from their work. Finally, race and class, as well as where women conducted sex work, were significantly related to impression management.;Third, while I emphasize the economic sphere as the primary analytical frame for this dissertation, I also argue that economy cannot be used to analyze all aspects of the sex work experience. Workers across the Sex Work Continuum appropriated language and symbols around sexuality and gender in engaging in identity management. I argue that, while sex work is best characterized as "work", liberal arguments that equate exchanging sex for pay with any and all other types of women's labor are unjustified.