Sex Work and Language

Benedict J.L. Rowlett, Rodrigo Borba

Research output: Book/ReportBook or reportpeer-review

Abstract

This collection brings together established and exciting new voices to shed light on the language of and about sex work, offering an empirically nuanced understanding of commercial sex through language.

While there is burgeoning literature on sex work in the social sciences, there has been little work to date centering it from a linguistic perspective. Chapters make the case for language as central to sex work practices and the transactions of intimacy in the negotiation of services, promotional strategies and the performance of desire. Featuring insights from diverse geographic contexts, the chapters critically reflect on different dimensions of language and sex work, including sex work, gender and desire; online sex work; sex work and race; sex worker advocacy; and the language of victimization and exploitation. The volume illuminates the ways in which commercial sex work is negotiated in embodied linguistic interaction and attendant issues of power, identity, gender, race and desire.

This book systematizes the body of growing knowledge around language and sex work from an interdisciplinary lens. It is key reading for scholars, policymakers and activists in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, as well as fields such as anthropology, sociology, criminology and health and social care.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherRoutledge
Number of pages372
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781003397250
ISBN (Print)9781032484006, 9781032501888
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Feb 2025

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sex Work and Language'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this