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Conference Paper: Motherhood and sex work
| Title | Motherhood and sex work |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Issue Date | 2016 |
| Citation | The 2016 Conference of the Society for East Asian Anthropology (SEAA), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 19-22 June 2016. How to Cite? |
| Abstract | The relationship between motherhood and sex work is complex. The traditional Madonna/whore binary would appear to place sex workers in direct opposition to motherhood. However, sex workers’ narratives suggest a symbiotic relationship between these two gendered roles, where the latter functions as a prerequisite for the former. Research has explored how women in sex work balance work and mothering responsibilities (e.g. Maher, Pickering & Gerard, 2013). This presentation aims to build upon this research by examining how mothering identities are used or invoked in the workplace, based on interviews with 65 immigrant, migrant and racialized women sex workers in Vancouver, Canada and Melbourne, Australia. For the women with children in this study, motherhood was one of the strongest identities that guided their decision-making in the sex industry. In addition, othering identities were also invoked in the workplace to shape safer and more efficient work practices, as well as to shape interactions with clients and other sex workers. This presentation concludes with a discussion on the strategic negotiations and tensions between valorized and stigmatized gendered roles. |
| Description | Conference Theme: East Asia and Tomorrow's Anthropology |
| Persistent Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/228929 |
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor.author | Ham, J | - |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-08-23T14:07:55Z | - |
| dc.date.available | 2016-08-23T14:07:55Z | - |
| dc.date.issued | 2016 | - |
| dc.identifier.citation | The 2016 Conference of the Society for East Asian Anthropology (SEAA), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 19-22 June 2016. | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/228929 | - |
| dc.description | Conference Theme: East Asia and Tomorrow's Anthropology | - |
| dc.description.abstract | The relationship between motherhood and sex work is complex. The traditional Madonna/whore binary would appear to place sex workers in direct opposition to motherhood. However, sex workers’ narratives suggest a symbiotic relationship between these two gendered roles, where the latter functions as a prerequisite for the former. Research has explored how women in sex work balance work and mothering responsibilities (e.g. Maher, Pickering & Gerard, 2013). This presentation aims to build upon this research by examining how mothering identities are used or invoked in the workplace, based on interviews with 65 immigrant, migrant and racialized women sex workers in Vancouver, Canada and Melbourne, Australia. For the women with children in this study, motherhood was one of the strongest identities that guided their decision-making in the sex industry. In addition, othering identities were also invoked in the workplace to shape safer and more efficient work practices, as well as to shape interactions with clients and other sex workers. This presentation concludes with a discussion on the strategic negotiations and tensions between valorized and stigmatized gendered roles. | - |
| dc.language | eng | - |
| dc.relation.ispartof | Conference of the Society for East Asian Anthropology, SEAA 2016 | - |
| dc.title | Motherhood and sex work | - |
| dc.type | Conference_Paper | - |
| dc.identifier.email | Ham, J: jham@hku.hk | - |
| dc.identifier.authority | Ham, J=rp02065 | - |
| dc.identifier.hkuros | 261182 | - |