“It's the Money, Honey”: The Economy of Sex Work in the Maritimes

Abstract

Cet article se fonde sur une série d'interviews menés auprès de 60 travailleurs du sexe dans trois villes des Provinces maritimes. Nous avons trouvé que ces travailleurs prenaient souvent des décisions prudentes entre les choix économiques, notamment le travail a salaire minimal ou le bien‐être social, ou entre le travail sexuel de maison ou de rue. Les interviews révélaient des modèles de résistance à l'endroit des structures économiques dominantes comparables aux modèles d'autres travailleurs des Maritimes. Comprendre les travailleurs du sexe comme travailleurs resistants nous permet de voir que beaucoup de leurs soucis tournent autour du maintien et/ou de l'augmentation de leur indépendance comme travailleurs, de leur capacité de maîtriser le rythme et le prix de leur travail, et de leurs conditions de travail. This paper is based on interviews with 60 sex workers in three Maritime cities. We found that sex workers often made careful decisions between the economic choices–including minimum‐wage work or welfare–and between indoor or street‐based sex work. Patterns of resistance to dominant economic structures that are comparable to other workers in the Maritimes emerged from the interviews. Understanding sex workers as resistant workers allows us to see that many of their concerns revolve around maintaining and/or increasing their independence as workers, their control over the pace and price of their labour, and the conditions of their work.

Sex Work: A Comparative Study

“…Weitzer (2010) places these accounts on a continuum, with the "oppression" paradigm at one end and the "empowerment" paradigm at the other. The oppression paradigm is characterized by a focus on abuse and victimization (e.g., Farley, 2004) whereas the empowerment paradigm highlights people's agency and their decision to work in the industry (e.g., Jeffrey & MacDonald, 2006;Murphy & Venkatesh, 2006). The list of factors highlighted by these two perspectives is both broad and deep; it includes conditions highlighted by different disciplines (e.g., psychology, gender studies, epidemiology, social work, and sociology) and factors that reflect research on various types of sex work and minority groups (e.g., escort and massage workers and sexual and racial minorities).…”

“So It’s Not Always the Sappy Story”: Women of Colour and Indigenous Women in the Indoor Sectors of the Canadian Sex Industry Speak Out

“…In Canada, too, several scholars have discredited the dominant narrative that sex work is necessarily a form of violence (Brock, 1998;Bruckert, 2002;Durisin, Meulen, & Bruckert, 2018;Jeffrey & Macdonald, 2006;Lewis, Maticka-Tyndale, Shaver, & Schramm, 2005;van der Meulen, 2012;van der Meulen, Durisin, & Love, 2013). Empirical counterarguments are drawn directly from the heterogeneity of sex workers' experiences.…”

Squaring Up: Experiences of Transition from Off‐Street Sex Work to Square Work and Duality—Concurrent Involvement in Both—in Vancouver, BC

“…; Brown et al. ; Hedin and Månsson ; Jeffrey ; Månsson and Hedin ; Mayhew and Mossman ; McIntyre ; Sanders ). Brown et al.…”

“…Past studies among street-based workers describe them as being challenged by an inability to gain employment due to a lack of education and skills, noting that many entry-level jobs paid very little (Baker et al 2010;Brown et al 2006;Hedin and Månsson 2004;Jeffrey 2009;Månsson and Hedin 1999;Mayhew and Mossman 2007;McIntyre 2002;Sanders 2007). Brown et al (2006) discuss sex workers supplementing sex work with welfare payments to transition more smoothly.…”

“…Exit supports include help from friends, family, lovers, sex worker organizations, and third-party bridges (Oselin 2010) such as the state and its agents. Past research has identified forces that influence reentry, highlighting challenges adjusting to low wages, finding and keeping jobs, and accessing resources (Benoit and Millar 2001;Brown et al 2006;Dalla 2006;Jeffrey 2009;Koostra 2010;Månsson and Hedin 1999;Mayhew and Mossman 2007;McIntyre 2002;Millar 2002;Sanders 2007;UKNSWP 2008). Unfortunately, reentry is sometimes framed as being trapped in sex work or a sex workers' failure to break away in order to thrive in conventional work (Hedin and Månsson 2004;Månsson and Hedin 1999;McIntyre 2002;Sanders 2007).…”