This short section contains a summarises the contributions to the book and provides a message to ... more This short section contains a summarises the contributions to the book and provides a message to Contributors.
This chapter shares critical reflections of duality in light of precarious work in sex industries... more This chapter shares critical reflections of duality in light of precarious work in sex industries and mainstream markets. Marxist concepts of alienation, estrangement and species-being along with contemporary labour arrangements such as zero-hours contracts, provide theoretical and practical contexts for feelings of disillusionment among Contributors who, after investing time and money in educational attainment, landed shitty, temporary, low paying square jobs. Contributors who hold roles in public trust, and those who have been on (sick) benefits, share how trapped they feel in gig economies across markets. As sex workers, they suffer the violence of being excluded from civil participation in policy discussions about the labour market and how sex industries ought to be regulated. Although duality provides flexicurity, many would rather have secure employment in the disciplines and fields that they trained in. The penalties associated with being out to the state as a known sex worker means that privileged lobbyists inform policy instead of the diverse populations of people active in UK sex industries, who can provide insights into who trades sex and how to reduce harm and exploitation relative to the changing design of sex industries for diverse on/off-street and online sex industry workers.
This chapter opens with the diverse perspectives of Contributors about Brexit and how they antici... more This chapter opens with the diverse perspectives of Contributors about Brexit and how they anticipated leaving the EU would affect their (sex) work and identities. Their insights were collected beginning just before the June 23rd 2016 EU referendum and Contributors were particularly concerned with the anticipated economic outcomes of leaving the single market but doubly so, as this geo-political decision had already begun to affect both their sex industry work and mainstream jobs. The sex industry is shaped by a range of sentiments heard in the public domain among Brexiteers and Remainers and this discourse ‘visibilised’ a UK Whorearchy, a hierarchy that ranks desirable race and gender qualities and other factors for example, and in this case, cultural origin to organise sex workers from most valuable and high priced to less so. This Brexit-inspired UK whorearchy highly valued ‘white Britishness’ such that white migrant Eastern Europeans were virtually constructed out of whiteness, slipping down the rungs of the UK Whorearchy. Literature on Balkanism and colourism help make the argument that the UK Whorearchy is reflective of mainstream societal values and must be viewed in relation to similar stratifications in the dual labour market.
Goffman’s works on strategies about concealing stigmatised identities that relate to double, doub... more Goffman’s works on strategies about concealing stigmatised identities that relate to double, double biographies, line and face and appearance management are brought to life through the experiences of Contributors. Some of these sex workers create psychological and geographical distance between work sites and personal lives, transition roles, personas and attire in the liminal spaces and manage audiences and information across employment settings in sex work and square work. The Dual-life Relational Paradigm Venn diagram illustrates seven relational fields in which information and relationships from sex work, square work and personal lives may collide. Contributors safeguard against accidental revelation and the intermingling of people who ‘know’ them differently or being caught in the wrong place with the wrong face. Contributors discuss their experiences of managing information communication technologies (ICTs), devices, and the risks and experiences of being ‘outed’ through technology and ends with their commentary on digital surveillance when living a dual life.
Contributors’ choices about identification with sex work and square work are related to post-stru... more Contributors’ choices about identification with sex work and square work are related to post-structural theories of identities and inform elements of macro and micro role transitioning necessary for duality. Insights from Stuart hall, as well as Goffmanian, Du Boisian approaches to understanding social identities, double consciousness, and the differing presentations of self, necessary for managing identity and information, aid in deepening understanding of role transition as it relates to stigmatised workers. Literature on macro and micro role transition and rites of passage supplement descriptions of Contributors’ rituals of movement and the mental shifts made between roles and how they construct their work environments and social life-worlds in ways that promote seamless role transitions and separation for those who work from home.
This chapter opens with literature around stigma and presents Contributors’ insights and challeng... more This chapter opens with literature around stigma and presents Contributors’ insights and challenges with concealing discrediting information, as well as their fears and lived experiences of being outed as sex workers. Unfortunately, we do not treat active or former sex workers with compassion for the contexts in which they (and the rest of us) make decisions about their livelihoods. They experience status loss and social death as a result of the deleterious effects of ‘whore’ stigma. Blending literature on deception and secret-keeping, Contributors express the costs associated with hiding in plain sight and concealing work to protect themselves and their loved ones from us.
This chapter reflects on Contributors’ experiences and major themes discussed in the book. It hig... more This chapter reflects on Contributors’ experiences and major themes discussed in the book. It highlights the need for sex worker control over sex industries and the hypocrisy in how we treat people who trade sex. No other contemporary population of marginalised, poor (mostly women) in the UK context are prevented from defining harm and speaking their situations in order to influence policies. Blocking sex workers from the chance to educate the community, politicians, police and the policymakers about what it will take to expand choice and increase safety and security for their populations is unethical. This chapter presents the argument that active sex workers must be meaningfully involved in interventions that are meant to improve their lives and that in fact, we do not treat sex workers as we do other victims. Many choose to cleave to notions of sex workers as sinners and deviant fallen women without explicitly admitting to this. As a consequence, sex workers receive conditional social and legal protections if they declare sex work as inherently violent and accept rescue. The chapter appeals to the better angels of our nature, in a call to transcend polarising ideologies and exclusionary practices, to respect the self-definitions, analyses, priorities of adults in sex industries, and work together with them to end exploitation and violence against sex workers
In this chapter, extent literature on ‘exiting’ sex work is presented and then problematise due t... more In this chapter, extent literature on ‘exiting’ sex work is presented and then problematise due the limitations of role transition theories that underpin this scholarship, the overreliance on the experiences of the most visible sex workers, who are street-based, and ideological standpoints that view sex work as wholly exploitation, all contributes to simplistic dichotomy conceptualisations of as something people are either trapped in or have survived. Drawing on the lived experiences and practices of Contributors who operate at the intersection of sex work and square work, and research that offers a nuanced understanding of the factors that influence decisions about involvement in sex work. The Continuum of Sex Industry Work and Square Work (SIWSQ) is introduced as an alternative framework to understand this complex issue. The chapter ends with a detailed accounting by participants of their diversified earnings derived from duality compared to the general population, time investments in work in both industries, and how participating in concurrent sex work and square work provides ‘flexicurity’. Contributors discuss how duality staves off poverty, provides money for emergencies, seed money and funding for interim projects such as tuition, and facilitates social mobility if engaged in as a longer-term financial strategy to pay for life.
This book provides readers a rare opportunity to hear from some of the most hidden off-street sex... more This book provides readers a rare opportunity to hear from some of the most hidden off-street sex workers in the population, those living dual lives, trading sex alongside ‘square’ mainstream employment. Stereotypes about who trades sex, of ‘exiting’ and transitioning to and from sex work as being chaotic, as well as simplistic, binary framings of sex work as something one is either in or out of, trapped or survived, are challenged by these sex workers whose practices uncover a fluid Continuum of Sex Industry Work and Square Work (SIWSQ) Involvement. Sex workers (Contributors) share lived experiences of combating labour precarity and insecure work, concerns about Brexit, and the UK Whorearchy that stratifies the sex industry and influences pricing and value, along with the stress of keeping secrets while living under the constant threat of being outed. Contributors engage in skilful stigma-avoidance, selective disclosure, on-and offline audience/information segregation, and manage people and devices to conceal stigmatised work in the digital age. The phenomenon of duality is thoroughly examined and in doing so we learn about the impacts of constructing a precarious labour markets while legislating poverty, and the lies we propagate about who trades sex and how we treat them. Ultimately, those living dual lives do so in response to economic conditions that we co-create. Our focus must be on reshaping the structures, systems and social forms that circumscribe our social realities and not in the vilification of these innovators.
As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary ... more As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary jobs, for some duality offers much-needed flexibility and staves off poverty. Based on extensive empirical work, this book illustrates contemporary accounts of individuals taking extraordinary risks to hold jobs in both sex industries and non-sex work employment. It also opens a dialogue about how sex industries are stratified in the UK in terms of race and culture against the backdrop of Brexit. Debunking stereotypes of sex workers and challenging our stigmatisation of them, this book makes an invaluable contribution to discourses about work, society and future policy.
This short section contains a summarises the contributions to the book and provides a message to ... more This short section contains a summarises the contributions to the book and provides a message to Contributors.
This chapter shares critical reflections of duality in light of precarious work in sex industries... more This chapter shares critical reflections of duality in light of precarious work in sex industries and mainstream markets. Marxist concepts of alienation, estrangement and species-being along with contemporary labour arrangements such as zero-hours contracts, provide theoretical and practical contexts for feelings of disillusionment among Contributors who, after investing time and money in educational attainment, landed shitty, temporary, low paying square jobs. Contributors who hold roles in public trust, and those who have been on (sick) benefits, share how trapped they feel in gig economies across markets. As sex workers, they suffer the violence of being excluded from civil participation in policy discussions about the labour market and how sex industries ought to be regulated. Although duality provides flexicurity, many would rather have secure employment in the disciplines and fields that they trained in. The penalties associated with being out to the state as a known sex worker means that privileged lobbyists inform policy instead of the diverse populations of people active in UK sex industries, who can provide insights into who trades sex and how to reduce harm and exploitation relative to the changing design of sex industries for diverse on/off-street and online sex industry workers.
This chapter opens with the diverse perspectives of Contributors about Brexit and how they antici... more This chapter opens with the diverse perspectives of Contributors about Brexit and how they anticipated leaving the EU would affect their (sex) work and identities. Their insights were collected beginning just before the June 23rd 2016 EU referendum and Contributors were particularly concerned with the anticipated economic outcomes of leaving the single market but doubly so, as this geo-political decision had already begun to affect both their sex industry work and mainstream jobs. The sex industry is shaped by a range of sentiments heard in the public domain among Brexiteers and Remainers and this discourse ‘visibilised’ a UK Whorearchy, a hierarchy that ranks desirable race and gender qualities and other factors for example, and in this case, cultural origin to organise sex workers from most valuable and high priced to less so. This Brexit-inspired UK whorearchy highly valued ‘white Britishness’ such that white migrant Eastern Europeans were virtually constructed out of whiteness, slipping down the rungs of the UK Whorearchy. Literature on Balkanism and colourism help make the argument that the UK Whorearchy is reflective of mainstream societal values and must be viewed in relation to similar stratifications in the dual labour market.
Goffman’s works on strategies about concealing stigmatised identities that relate to double, doub... more Goffman’s works on strategies about concealing stigmatised identities that relate to double, double biographies, line and face and appearance management are brought to life through the experiences of Contributors. Some of these sex workers create psychological and geographical distance between work sites and personal lives, transition roles, personas and attire in the liminal spaces and manage audiences and information across employment settings in sex work and square work. The Dual-life Relational Paradigm Venn diagram illustrates seven relational fields in which information and relationships from sex work, square work and personal lives may collide. Contributors safeguard against accidental revelation and the intermingling of people who ‘know’ them differently or being caught in the wrong place with the wrong face. Contributors discuss their experiences of managing information communication technologies (ICTs), devices, and the risks and experiences of being ‘outed’ through technology and ends with their commentary on digital surveillance when living a dual life.
Contributors’ choices about identification with sex work and square work are related to post-stru... more Contributors’ choices about identification with sex work and square work are related to post-structural theories of identities and inform elements of macro and micro role transitioning necessary for duality. Insights from Stuart hall, as well as Goffmanian, Du Boisian approaches to understanding social identities, double consciousness, and the differing presentations of self, necessary for managing identity and information, aid in deepening understanding of role transition as it relates to stigmatised workers. Literature on macro and micro role transition and rites of passage supplement descriptions of Contributors’ rituals of movement and the mental shifts made between roles and how they construct their work environments and social life-worlds in ways that promote seamless role transitions and separation for those who work from home.
This chapter opens with literature around stigma and presents Contributors’ insights and challeng... more This chapter opens with literature around stigma and presents Contributors’ insights and challenges with concealing discrediting information, as well as their fears and lived experiences of being outed as sex workers. Unfortunately, we do not treat active or former sex workers with compassion for the contexts in which they (and the rest of us) make decisions about their livelihoods. They experience status loss and social death as a result of the deleterious effects of ‘whore’ stigma. Blending literature on deception and secret-keeping, Contributors express the costs associated with hiding in plain sight and concealing work to protect themselves and their loved ones from us.
This chapter reflects on Contributors’ experiences and major themes discussed in the book. It hig... more This chapter reflects on Contributors’ experiences and major themes discussed in the book. It highlights the need for sex worker control over sex industries and the hypocrisy in how we treat people who trade sex. No other contemporary population of marginalised, poor (mostly women) in the UK context are prevented from defining harm and speaking their situations in order to influence policies. Blocking sex workers from the chance to educate the community, politicians, police and the policymakers about what it will take to expand choice and increase safety and security for their populations is unethical. This chapter presents the argument that active sex workers must be meaningfully involved in interventions that are meant to improve their lives and that in fact, we do not treat sex workers as we do other victims. Many choose to cleave to notions of sex workers as sinners and deviant fallen women without explicitly admitting to this. As a consequence, sex workers receive conditional social and legal protections if they declare sex work as inherently violent and accept rescue. The chapter appeals to the better angels of our nature, in a call to transcend polarising ideologies and exclusionary practices, to respect the self-definitions, analyses, priorities of adults in sex industries, and work together with them to end exploitation and violence against sex workers
In this chapter, extent literature on ‘exiting’ sex work is presented and then problematise due t... more In this chapter, extent literature on ‘exiting’ sex work is presented and then problematise due the limitations of role transition theories that underpin this scholarship, the overreliance on the experiences of the most visible sex workers, who are street-based, and ideological standpoints that view sex work as wholly exploitation, all contributes to simplistic dichotomy conceptualisations of as something people are either trapped in or have survived. Drawing on the lived experiences and practices of Contributors who operate at the intersection of sex work and square work, and research that offers a nuanced understanding of the factors that influence decisions about involvement in sex work. The Continuum of Sex Industry Work and Square Work (SIWSQ) is introduced as an alternative framework to understand this complex issue. The chapter ends with a detailed accounting by participants of their diversified earnings derived from duality compared to the general population, time investments in work in both industries, and how participating in concurrent sex work and square work provides ‘flexicurity’. Contributors discuss how duality staves off poverty, provides money for emergencies, seed money and funding for interim projects such as tuition, and facilitates social mobility if engaged in as a longer-term financial strategy to pay for life.
This book provides readers a rare opportunity to hear from some of the most hidden off-street sex... more This book provides readers a rare opportunity to hear from some of the most hidden off-street sex workers in the population, those living dual lives, trading sex alongside ‘square’ mainstream employment. Stereotypes about who trades sex, of ‘exiting’ and transitioning to and from sex work as being chaotic, as well as simplistic, binary framings of sex work as something one is either in or out of, trapped or survived, are challenged by these sex workers whose practices uncover a fluid Continuum of Sex Industry Work and Square Work (SIWSQ) Involvement. Sex workers (Contributors) share lived experiences of combating labour precarity and insecure work, concerns about Brexit, and the UK Whorearchy that stratifies the sex industry and influences pricing and value, along with the stress of keeping secrets while living under the constant threat of being outed. Contributors engage in skilful stigma-avoidance, selective disclosure, on-and offline audience/information segregation, and manage people and devices to conceal stigmatised work in the digital age. The phenomenon of duality is thoroughly examined and in doing so we learn about the impacts of constructing a precarious labour markets while legislating poverty, and the lies we propagate about who trades sex and how we treat them. Ultimately, those living dual lives do so in response to economic conditions that we co-create. Our focus must be on reshaping the structures, systems and social forms that circumscribe our social realities and not in the vilification of these innovators.
As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary ... more As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary jobs, for some duality offers much-needed flexibility and staves off poverty. Based on extensive empirical work, this book illustrates contemporary accounts of individuals taking extraordinary risks to hold jobs in both sex industries and non-sex work employment. It also opens a dialogue about how sex industries are stratified in the UK in terms of race and culture against the backdrop of Brexit. Debunking stereotypes of sex workers and challenging our stigmatisation of them, this book makes an invaluable contribution to discourses about work, society and future policy.
As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary ... more As the labour market continues to exploit workers by offering precarious, low-paid and temporary jobs, for some duality offers much-needed flexibility and staves off poverty.
Based on extensive empirical work, this book illustrates contemporary accounts of individuals taking extraordinary risks to hold jobs in both sex industries and non-sex work employment. It also opens a dialogue about how sex industries are stratified in the UK in terms of race and culture against the backdrop of Brexit.
Debunking stereotypes of sex workers and challenging our stigmatisation of them, this book makes an invaluable contribution to discourses about work, society and future policy.
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Based on extensive empirical work, this book illustrates contemporary accounts of individuals taking extraordinary risks to hold jobs in both sex industries and non-sex work employment. It also opens a dialogue about how sex industries are stratified in the UK in terms of race and culture against the backdrop of Brexit.
Debunking stereotypes of sex workers and challenging our stigmatisation of them, this book makes an invaluable contribution to discourses about work, society and future policy.