Sex Work

Sex work research is a growing area of scholarship, which has, especially over the last ten years, diversified from its previous focus on female street-based sex workers to explore a diversity of paid sexual encounters in a multiplicity of spaces, performed and purchased by individuals of varied genders and sexualities. This book offers a cutting edge and comprehensive textbook, designed to introduce students to sex work in theory and in practice.

An introductory chapter offers an overview of the historical context of sex work, before moving on to the first section of the book, which explores the theoretical and conceptual tools useful for defining and understanding sex work. The book considers competing feminist and queer theories and analyses, as well as key concepts in sex work discourse - body, intimacy, stigma, sex and heteronormativity. The second section uncovers the strategies used by sex workers when engaging in this specific type of intimate labour as well as exploring client perspectives and health, safety and violence. The third section focuses on the regulation of sex work both in the British context and in comparative perspective. It includes a chapter on the globalisation of the sex industry with a specific focus on migrant sex workers and trafficking.

This book is essential reading for students taking courses on sex work, gender and politics, sexuality and the body.