ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that sex work functions as a peculiar example of what Michel Foucault calls the perverse implantation. While Foucault's primary example of the perverse implantation in The History of Sexuality is homosexuality, he discusses the implantation of sexual desire for children, particularly as that desire occurs within the family. Homosexuality—like other sexualities—was not so much about what sexual actions an individual had performed as it was about the kind of being that they were, and this being was defined by their desires. Historically, women who sell sex have been seen as a deviant population, whereas men who buy sex have been seen as fulfilling a natural need. Sex workers who work indoors avoid the stigma and many of the dangers of "streetwalking," such as getting into vehicles with strangers, and harassment by pimps and police. The stigma associated with sex work is highly variable.
