Description
Despite being dubbed "the world's oldest
profession," prostitution has rarely been viewed as a legitimate
form of labour. Instead, it has been criminalized, sensationalized, and
polemicized across the socio-political spectrum by everyone from
politicians to journalists to women's groups. Interest in and
concern over sex work is not grounded in the lived realities of those
who work in the industry, but rather in inflammatory ideas about who is
participating, how they wound up in this line of work, and what form it
takes.
In Selling Sex, Emily van der Meulen, Elya M. Durisin, and
Victoria Love present a more nuanced, balanced, and realistic view of
the sex industry. They bring together a vast collection of voices
- including researchers, feminists, academics, and advocates, as
well as sex workers of differing ages, genders, and sectors - to
engage in a dialogue that challenges the dominant narratives
surrounding the sex industry and advances the idea that sex work is in
fact work. Presenting a variety of opinions and perspectives on such
diverse topics as the social stigma of sex work, police violence,
labour organizing, anti-prostitution feminism, human trafficking, and
harm reduction, Selling Sex is an eye-opening, challenging,
and necessary book.
Emily van der Meulen is an assistant professor in
the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Ryerson
University. Elya M. Durisin is a doctoral candidate in
the Department of Political Science at York University.
Victoria Love is a sex worker, activist, and member of
Maggie's: The Toronto Sex Workers Action Project.
Contributors: Joyce Arthur, Cheryl Auger, Steven
Bittle, Chris Bruckert, Jenn Clamen, Deborah Clipperton, Anna-Louise
Crago, Susan Davis, Jane Doe, Tor Fletcher, Kara Gillies, Michael
Goodyear, Stacey Hannem, Sarah Hunt, JJ, Leslie Ann Jeffrey, Tuulia
Law, Annalee Lepp, Jacqueline Lewis, John Lowman, Gayle MacDonald,
Karolyn Martin, Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, River Redwood, Rene Ross,
Trish Salah, Esther Shannon, Frances M. Shaver, Mariana Valverde, and
Alan Young
