The Relative Quality of Sex Work

Cecilia Benoit, Michaela Smith, Mikael Jansson, Priscilla Healey and Douglas Magnuson
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Cecilia Benoit: University of Victoria, Canada
Michaela Smith: University of Victoria, Canada
Mikael Jansson: University of Victoria, Canada
Priscilla Healey: University of Victoria, Canada
Douglas Magnuson: University of Victoria, Canada

Work, Employment & Society, 2021, vol. 35, issue 2, 239-255

Abstract: This article presents descriptive findings on sex workers’ structural disadvantage and their evaluation of the quality of their work, relative to their other jobs. In-person interviews were conducted in 2013 with sex workers ( n = 218) from Canada. Participants reported they experience precarity (i.e. uncertainty and instability) in employment and other domains of their lives. Compared to the work quality of their other jobs, the majority said sex work was more satisfying and granted greater control and money. In a context of low income and instability in employment, participants make strategic choices to engage in sex work, even when contending with its low social status. The article concludes that sex work should be recognized as valuable work for Canadian sex workers, given the circumstances of their lives under contemporary capitalism. The findings indicate a need for macro-level changes to challenge precarity in the economy and other societal institutions.

Keywords: Canada; precarity; sex work; structural disadvantage; work quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:35:y:2021:i:2:p:239-255

DOI: 10.1177/0950017020936872

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