Sex in the city : an ethnography of the lives of sex workers in two clubs in Johannesburg.
Date
2014-07-21
Authors
Makan, Samir
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Abstract
This is an ethnography of the lives of sex workers in two clubs in Johannesburg. It
aimed to explore the intimate lives of sex workers, focusing on how sex workers
maintain boundaries between their work and their private lives. Difficulties and issues
of time and access meant the research increasingly became one of illuminating the
rich texture and social worlds of the two clubs. As it turns out, these women’s private
lives are intricately linked to their work. The ethnographic research method uncovered
the complex and otherwise hidden processes in the clubs, from the regimes of work,
to the surveillance, drugs and money. The research revealed the exploitative nature of
sex work at the clubs, but also the agency and choice that these women exercised in
their work and private lives, challenging the notion of sex workers as mere victims.