Episode 251: What It’s Like To Be A Sex Worker

Dec 19, 2023

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What is it like to be a sex worker? It depends who you ask, with different studies pointing to drastically different conclusions. The truth is that you can’t paint sex workers in overly broad strokes. “Sex work” can mean a lot of different things, and working conditions and local laws vary, which means that different workers are bound to have different experiences. In today’s episode, we’re going to take an inside look into the world of sex work.

I am joined by Kurt Fowler, an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Penn State Abington and the author of The Rise of Digital Sex Work. Drawing on in-depth interviews with dozens of sex workers from around the world, this book explores how technology has changed the nature of modern sex work.

Some of the topics we explore include:

What all is included under the term “sex work?”
Two major paradigms dominate research on sex work: the oppression paradigm and the empowerment paradigm. What’s the difference between these views?
What are some of the common motivations for entering sex work?
How do digital sex workers mitigate some of the unique risks that come along with working in online spaces?
How is the experience of sex work different for people of different racial backgrounds?

You can learn more about Kurt’s book here.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology

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Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.