ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the scene for the rest of the book. It presents the authors’ motivations behind conducting research with men who pay for sex in South Africa, as well as an explanation of the author’s intensions for developing the critical reflexive approach that is outlined in this book. It introduces the reader to the South African context which forms the backdrop of this study. It traces the history of sex work in South Africa, from the colonial era to contemporary society, showing how racism, colonialism, inequality, and anxieties about dirt, contagion, and moral corruption have always complicated the meanings of sex work in South Africa.
