This paper explores the intersections of sex work, mobility, and gendered sexualities through a q... more This paper explores the intersections of sex work, mobility, and gendered sexualities through a queer lens. It is based on a study that made use of digital storytelling and WhatsApp to engage 17 migrant and mobile sex workers in South Africa. Through a queering of sex work and migration/mobility analysis, it demonstrates that because sex work is essentially about using one’s body to perform varying sexual acts with different types of people for financial gain, migrant and mobile sex workers are exposed to different ways of experiencing sexual (dis)pleasure. According to the research participants, this can then broaden the body’s erotic vocabulary and expand one’s range of sexual desires, along with their expressions, to the point where it can also have an influence on one’s gendered sexuality and choice of intimate partner. However, the respondents also stressed the integral role movement plays in this evolution of one’s gendered sexuality. Hence, this paper argues for the recogniti...
In South Africa, the conflation of sex work with human trafficking means that migrant/mobile sex ... more In South Africa, the conflation of sex work with human trafficking means that migrant/mobile sex workers are often framed as victims of trafficking while arguments for the decriminalisation of sex work are discounted due to claims about the risks of increased trafficking. This is despite the lack of clear evidence that trafficking, including in the sex industry, is a widespread problem. Sex worker organisations have called for an evidence-based approach whereby migration, sex work, and trafficking are distinguished and the debate moves beyond the polarised divisions over sex work. This paper takes up this argument by drawing on research with sex workers and a sex worker organisation in South Africa, as well as reflections shared at two Sex Workers’ Anti-trafficking Research Symposiums. In so doing, the authors propose the further development of a Sex Work, Exploitation, and Migration/Mobility Model that takes into consideration the complexities of the quotidian experiences of migrat...
This paper explores the intersections of sex work, mobility, and gendered sexualities through a q... more This paper explores the intersections of sex work, mobility, and gendered sexualities through a queer lens. It is based on a study that made use of digital storytelling and WhatsApp to engage 17 migrant and mobile sex workers in South Africa. Through a queering of sex work and migration/mobility analysis, it demonstrates that because sex work is essentially about using one’s body to perform varying sexual acts with different types of people for financial gain, migrant and mobile sex workers are exposed to different ways of experiencing sexual (dis)pleasure. According to the research participants, this can then broaden the body’s erotic vocabulary and expand one’s range of sexual desires, along with their expressions, to the point where it can also have an influence on one’s gendered sexuality and choice of intimate partner. However, the respondents also stressed the integral role movement plays in this evolution of one’s gendered sexuality. Hence, this paper argues for the recogniti...
In South Africa, the conflation of sex work with human trafficking means that migrant/mobile sex ... more In South Africa, the conflation of sex work with human trafficking means that migrant/mobile sex workers are often framed as victims of trafficking while arguments for the decriminalisation of sex work are discounted due to claims about the risks of increased trafficking. This is despite the lack of clear evidence that trafficking, including in the sex industry, is a widespread problem. Sex worker organisations have called for an evidence-based approach whereby migration, sex work, and trafficking are distinguished and the debate moves beyond the polarised divisions over sex work. This paper takes up this argument by drawing on research with sex workers and a sex worker organisation in South Africa, as well as reflections shared at two Sex Workers’ Anti-trafficking Research Symposiums. In so doing, the authors propose the further development of a Sex Work, Exploitation, and Migration/Mobility Model that takes into consideration the complexities of the quotidian experiences of migrat...
Uploads
Papers by Ntokozo Yingwana