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‘We all have one’: exit plans as a professional strategy in sex work

Author

Listed:
  • Julie Ham

    (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • Fairleigh Gilmour

    (University of Otago, New Zealand)

Abstract

The idea of ‘exiting’ the sex industry plays a powerful symbolic role in the feminist debates around the morality, legitimacy and regulation of sex work. Drawing on interviews with 39 women sex workers in Australia and Canada, we explore three key contrasts between dominant narratives and interventions that frame ‘exiting’ as escape from trauma or exploitation, and sex workers’ assessments of ‘exiting’ as a personal or professional strategy. First, we explore sex workers’ perceptions of sex work as temporary work. Second, we analyse the symbiosis between exit plans and current work practices . Third, we examine workers’ assessment of the value of ‘exiting’ sex work in the context of changing market forces within the sex industry, the ‘square’ labour market (or non-sex work sectors) and exiting interventions (i.e. programmes to assist workers in leaving sex work).

Suggested Citation

  • Julie Ham & Fairleigh Gilmour, 2017. "‘We all have one’: exit plans as a professional strategy in sex work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(5), pages 748-763, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:5:p:748-763
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017016666198
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vanessa Gash, 2008. "Preference or constraint? Part-time workers' transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(4), pages 655-674, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Junaid Ashraf & Daniela Pianezzi, 2024. "Gender, Money, and Sexuality: An Exploration into the Relational Work of Pakistani Khwajasiras," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(4), pages 1021-1040, August.
    2. Tuulia Law & Menaka Raguparan, 2020. "‘It’s a Puzzle You Have to Do Every Night’: Performing Creative Problem Solving at Work in the Indoor Canadian Sex Industry," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(3), pages 424-440, June.
    3. Treloar, Carla & Stardust, Zahra & Cama, Elena & Kim, Jules, 2021. "Rethinking the relationship between sex work, mental health and stigma: a qualitative study of sex workers in Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).

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