Sex work

Sex Work Today – Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century

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Featuring thirty-one original essays by sex workers, advocates, researchers, and activists, Sex Work Today is the first compilation of research on new forms of digital sex such as camming, sugar dating, and AI sex dolls. Providing a lens to understand contemporary labor dynamics and the nature of sex work itself, this collection captures formerly ignored aspects of the sex industry including: fatphobia and disability; transmasculine and nonbinary sex workers; racialized emotional labor in the digital sex industry; high job satisfaction among professional dominatrixes; and sex worker scholars.

The Emotional Labor of the Professional Dominatrix

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Through research on the emotional labor of the professional dominatrix, this case study highlights the importance of an inductive approach for exploring new topics and uncovering the complexities of lived experiences. This case study also demonstrates the value of using mixed qualitative methods, including conducting in-depth interviews and analyzing the content of written memoirs and … Read more

A Constellation of Stigmas: Stigma Management and the Professional Dominatrix

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In this article, we explore stigma management among dominatrices, a relatively understudied profession within the literature on sex work. Our analysis is based on in-depth interviews with current and former dominatrices and published memoirs and blogs written by women who have worked in the industry. We argue that the professional dominatrix occupies a unique position … Read more

‘The World Turned Upside Down’: Emotional Labour and the Professional Dominatrix

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The professional dominatrix, who has been underrepresented in the literature on sex work, complicates our understanding of the emotional labour of sex work. The professional dominatrix is paid by clients to perform the role of the dominant in scenarios involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadomasochism, and ‘fetishism.’ Unlike other sex workers, who must often feign … Read more