ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author considers how place and time descriptions are used in categorising women as prostitutes, and draws on E. Schegloff's elaboration of H. Sacks' model of categorisation in the analysis. She includes place and time within one chapter because of their interconnectedness - the identity of a place can change over time, from day to night. The author concludes with a discussion, based upon the ethnomethodological work of Peter Blum and Peter McHugh, of the functions of the descriptions in the press stories. She suggests that their significance lies in the evidential work they perform; that the formulation 'prostitute' is inextricably bound to questions of intent and motive. The author also suggests that the descriptions of personal front, location of presence and time of that presence are used in the telling and reception of stories of prostitution to warrant the identity of the women categorised as prostitutes as unequivocally 'prostitutes'.
