They Work Hard for the Money!
by Jules Rivera
June 2nd is International Sex Workers Day! Sex work is a complex industry, and while each case is different from the next, we’d like to highlight sex worker’s personal experiences, plights, and triumphs. Sex work is a legitimate form of work, and sex workers deserve legislative rights and support.
In honor of the day, we’d like to spotlight the Urban Justice Center Sex Workers Project. UJC is determined to provide legal aid, educational resources, and immigration/asylum support for sex workers and survivors of human trafficking. They fight for policy change and reform in an effort to provide equity and advocacy for those in the industry. If you’d like to learn more about the work they do, or get involved, click here.
Below are some books by and about sex workers detailing their individual experiences and lives, both fiction and non-fiction. Enjoy!
Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex by Matilda Bickers, Peech Breshears, Janis Luna
This newer release is a collection of stories told directly by several industry workers. They all have sex work in common, but otherwise come from completely different walks of life. This book is not just a straight telling of their stories, it’s got essays, poetry, artwork, interviews, collages, and more all documenting the lives of these different people. Just recently released in April of this year, this is something that absolutely deserves your attention!
I’ve Got to Make My Livin’ by Cynthia M Blair
Cynthia Blair explores the vast and complex work of sex workers in Chicago during some of the most imperative and formative years. Blair’s ability to expand upon the complexities, and at time difficulties, of sex work for black women, but also black labor in general is vivid, raw, and honest. She really hones in on the history of sex the city and how while this occupation supported and provided a living, it also put a certain spotlight and strain on black women. A lesson in history, economics, politics, racism, and poverty, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.
Love by Maayan Eitan
This novel is about a young sex worker who begins to get so consumed by this new occupation and lifestyle, her reality and work begin to blur together. Libby, our protagonist, moves to a city in Israel and finds sex work to be a relatively substantial means to make a living. However, as her work progresses and things take a turn for the worst. Libby finds she must take her life back and pursue a life of routine and normalcy once again- but have things changed too much? This is a real and visceral telling of a story that is all too common.
Whorephobia: Strippers on Art, Work, and Life by Lizzie Borden
This body of work was a community effort! This anthology covers the stories of twenty-three erotic dancers who have worked all over the world for numerous years. Some stories are told by seasoned workers, from the moment they decided to quit to the detailed descriptions of the moment they decided to purse this career. Not only that, but a critical lens on the portrayal of sex work in movies, TV shows, music videos, and other mainstream media.
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Romy Hall, a single mother, once worked at The Mars Room, a local strip club in San Francisco, but is now serving a double life-sentence at a Women’s Correctional Facility. This novel follows her experience as a stripper attempting to provide for herself and her child. This book is a look into the sex industry, with a magnified lens. Kushner specifically covers the bias and prejudice at the hand of the justice system and how ill-equipped they are to protect sex workers.
We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival edt. Natalie West, with Tina Horn
Directly in response to the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers of all backgrounds came forward to discuss workplace harassment and violence, homelessness, single-motherhood, poverty, and so much more. We Too expands upon the foreboding presence of sexual harassment and how it exists regardless of profession- it can live and fester anywhere. These writers bring hope the notion that sex workers are in need of respect, not rescue.
Working girl by Sophia Giovannitti
The newest released on the list, Working Girl is a story about a young artist trying to make it in New York City. As she struggles to make a living on just an artist’s salary, she turns to sex work to make rent. In this book she compares her experience in both fields and how similar they actually are. Giovannitti calls into question the morality of both sex work and artistry, and if either are ethical if they are based in a transactional exchange for intimacy, creativity, and autonomy. A slam dunk, wouldn’t you say?
