Situated within an arts-based research framework, photovoice method was utilized with women working in diverse aspects of the sex industry. The purpose of this project was to understand sex workers' lived experiences through their own artistic self-representation. This supports the acknowledgement of individual strengths, skills, visions, and voice. Another goal was to provide opportunities for group dialogue, engagement in community education, and activism through art. The findings from this study have implications for furthering our understanding of the lives of sex workers. Specifically, attention is given to the role of intersectionality as informing the lived experiences of sex workers. Findings from this study also highlight sex workers' shared experiences of stigma and the use of photography as an act of resistance to this stigma. This project confirms how empowerment comes about through the arts. Using photovoice method with sex workers affirms agency, self-representation, voice, and choice in sex work. KeywordsArts-based research, empowerment, photography, photovoice, sex work, visual methodsThe ways in which sex workers 1 are often studied and represented socio-politically and academically do not always take into account their voices, subjective experiences and participation in the process. This can contribute to the stereotyping and stigmatization of sex workers, while social science research is consistently being done on sex workers instead of with them. This research study moves beyond a traditional qualitative research approach by implementing the methodology of photovoice with women working in the sex industry. Through the use of photovoice, sex workers utilized visual representation (photography) to generate art, Qualitative Social Work

This article reviews the literature on sex work, highlighting ways in which women working in the sex industry are represented. The subjective experiences and voices of sex workers are seldom heard and their needs are consistently defined and represented by non-sex workers throughout history, in society and within academia. Historical representations have contributed to the stereotyping and stigmatization of sex workers. Academic research is consistently being done on sex workers instead of with them. However, arts-based methods allow for participatory, shared knowledge creation. Arts-based research also has the potential for empowerment, reaching the general public and changing negative stereotypes.

As a collaborative endeavor between teacher and student, we reflect on the process of creating and sharing social justice oriented zines in our classroom. Zines can be used as a pedagogical tool for awareness, education, empowerment and transformation. Created in the form of self-published work of original and/or appropriated texts and images, zines are usually presented in small booklet format in a variety of ways, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text. When shared, they represent a subversive form of media to deconstruct stereotypes and hegemonic representations perpetuated by mainstream media. Through our classroom project, we found that zines provided an opportunity for creative expression, connection and collaboration. As an experiential technique, they can serve to raise student self-awareness and allow for a broader understanding of power hierarchies. As a direct action tool they can be useful for promoting active class participation in the movement for social justice. We advocate for integrating arts-based projects in social work education in order to promote more embodied ways of learning and to facilitate personal and societal transformation.

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