ABSTRACT
Having examined the discursive positioning of prostitution in detail in chapters 7, 8 and 9, this chapter moves to consider the second and more concrete aspect of the double effect of placing on the sex industry. Here we emphasize the importance of spatially located materialities as giving shape to sex work, and conclude that this placing of the individual prostitute as regards legislative climate (more or less tolerant of prostitution as a means of earning a living), market segment (specialized forms of sex work as opposed to generalist services), labour market (such that those who work on the streets are worse off in many ways than those who operate in brothels, hotels or in their own or clients’ homes) and coworker support networks (varying from highly organized political campaigns to individualism in which workers compete as opposed to co-operating with each other) gives rise to a highly localized experience of sex work in any one area. Here then we suggest that theories and frameworks generated by research undertaken in particular locations, or focusing on individual sex workers, are localized in themselves; they inevitably reflect the local and intimate knowledges characteristic of specific sites within the industry, which are developed by workers as a way of making sense of and coping with the material exigencies of those locations. Our analysis also suggests that these aspects of place bear extended consideration in terms of their relationships with each other, and reiterates our theme that the sex industry is fragmented and complex. Further, we identify several aspects of sex work contexts which arguably transect our four key dimensions, including gender relations and race and ethnicity.
