karimorton33's review against another edition
5.0
I learned a lot from reading this book. So many shocking, but maybe not shocking, things that people have said or believed, or policies implemented regarding sex work. I still have a lot to learn about this topic, but this was a great start. The models looked at in different countries, and personal accounts from people in the industry, made things more accessible. (Read for Feminist Book Club)
mudandsludge's review against another edition
5.0
Anyone in a position to make policy choices which affect the lives of sex workers should be required to read this book. Generally in my top rankings for feminist books.
kilonshele's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Trafficking
jmercury's review against another edition
5.0
Well-researched and compelling argument for decriminalization. I admit I didn't know the difference between legalization and decriminalization before this. I appreciate that the authors emphasize harm reduction and material improvement over ideological posturing. Their argument feels authentic and is backed by sound data and observations.
faylanlana's review against another edition
5.0
A MUST read for everyone because sex worker rights are women’s right and human rights. VERY addicting non fiction book. Incredibly well researched with footnotes on nearly every page - I really appreciate. Interesting and insightful things said about the police intuition, swedish model of sex work, and the labor industry in general.
halschrieve's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful text that examines activism around modern sex work from the perspective of the workers themselves and which meticulously critiques both sex-positive and sex-negative reactions to the sex industry that fail to treat sex work as primarily a labor issue.
Breaking down the mysticism of “sex” in our culture, the authors emphasize that sex work is work—and just like in other industries of all kinds in late capitalism, that work is frequently bad work. They skewer sex positive feminist texts that conflate client and worker needs in order to advocate for decriminalization , because, as they point out, clients of sex workers have very different interests than workers. Violence happens in the sex industry—and people frequently work in it not because they love sex or are called to do erotic work etc but because they have to put food on the table. Just like retail jobs for faceless corporations, body-harming trucker or miner or warehouse jobs that have long term health effects, sex work is part of a global economy that harms the most marginalized bodies and extracts their labor. But unlike with many other industries where workers sometimes or all the time do work that hurts them and/or is part of unsustainable violent systems because of material needs they want met, people treat sex work as if its badness makes it endable (in a way other industries are somehow not). Carceral feminists , cops, the state, and “rescue” organizations claim that if sex work is bad work, it cannot be work, only exploitation, and therefore must be banned. The authors point out that there has never been an instance where making an economy illegal ends that economy, and argue effectively that illegal markets are ones in which worker protections are worst and vulnerable and marginalized people are hurt the most. The sex industry is not feminist, it is patriarchal and racist and violent —and women and others are hurt in it. But prison is also a system of violence, and funneling any percentage of sex workers into it harms the marginalized people anti sex work laws claim to protect. Even in partially legalized areas, anti sex work laws leave gaps in legality that cause the most marginalized workers to work most dangerously, take housing away from workers under “brothel” laws, keep migrant trafficked workers trapped by a fear of deportation, and often mainly result in the confiscation of sex worker property rather than punishment of abusers.
The best chapter for me is the one that examines the way borders result in all labor from people who wish to migrate being easier to exploit . The authors tie systems of state control to systems of labor exploitation extremely effectively.
Breaking down the mysticism of “sex” in our culture, the authors emphasize that sex work is work—and just like in other industries of all kinds in late capitalism, that work is frequently bad work. They skewer sex positive feminist texts that conflate client and worker needs in order to advocate for decriminalization , because, as they point out, clients of sex workers have very different interests than workers. Violence happens in the sex industry—and people frequently work in it not because they love sex or are called to do erotic work etc but because they have to put food on the table. Just like retail jobs for faceless corporations, body-harming trucker or miner or warehouse jobs that have long term health effects, sex work is part of a global economy that harms the most marginalized bodies and extracts their labor. But unlike with many other industries where workers sometimes or all the time do work that hurts them and/or is part of unsustainable violent systems because of material needs they want met, people treat sex work as if its badness makes it endable (in a way other industries are somehow not). Carceral feminists , cops, the state, and “rescue” organizations claim that if sex work is bad work, it cannot be work, only exploitation, and therefore must be banned. The authors point out that there has never been an instance where making an economy illegal ends that economy, and argue effectively that illegal markets are ones in which worker protections are worst and vulnerable and marginalized people are hurt the most. The sex industry is not feminist, it is patriarchal and racist and violent —and women and others are hurt in it. But prison is also a system of violence, and funneling any percentage of sex workers into it harms the marginalized people anti sex work laws claim to protect. Even in partially legalized areas, anti sex work laws leave gaps in legality that cause the most marginalized workers to work most dangerously, take housing away from workers under “brothel” laws, keep migrant trafficked workers trapped by a fear of deportation, and often mainly result in the confiscation of sex worker property rather than punishment of abusers.
The best chapter for me is the one that examines the way borders result in all labor from people who wish to migrate being easier to exploit . The authors tie systems of state control to systems of labor exploitation extremely effectively.
_meeg's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
thorough, empathetic, and grounded research into historical & modern sex work.