ABSTRACT
Chapkis describes the historical dimensions of prostitution and sex work and discusses its cultural symbolism within the political debates, legislation, and policy surrounding it. Chapkis asserts that “when erotic labor is viewed as work, it is transformed from a simple act of affirmation of man’s command over woman, and instead is revealed to be an arena of struggle, where the meaning and terms of the sexual exchange are vulnerable to cultural and political contestation”. Where much feminist and sociological research employs deconstructive practices to examine how the structures of inequality and institutions of power are represented at the macro level, it is always refreshing to hear the voices of the persons who “act in” or “live within” the drama of the theoretical domain. In examining the myriad styles and occupational subtleties that exist in the world of erotic labor and sex work, Chapkis’s study affirms that it is a place where many women freely choose to pursue their economic livelihood.
