Sex Work From Feminist and Queer Perspectives

The journal Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research announces a call for papers for the special issue "Sex Work From Feminist and Queer Perspectives". Issue editors are Barbora Doležalová (FSV UK), anna řičář libánská (FF UK) and Isotta Rossoni (Leiden University).

This issue aims to critically engage with the complexities of sex work through diverse perspectives, examining the intersections of gender; sexuality; class; disability; ethnicity; economical, cultural, and social capital; exploitation and agency within contemporary societies around the world. Sex work has been a subject of growing scholarly interest, but it remains a highly contested and under-researched area. This aspect is particularly relevant to Central and Eastern Europe, where publications examining sex work under state socialism have only recently begun to appear (Dobeš 2022; Dolinsek, Saryusz-Wolska 2023; Dušková 2023), but only some attempt a feminist interpretation (Havelková, Bellak-Hančilová 2014; Dudová 2015; Dobrowolska 2020). Analysis of post-1989 developments in CEE is notably absent and that is why we would like to dedicate this special issue also to texts dealing with the transformation of political regimes and contemporary history.

Sex work has long been the subject of feminist debates, particulary in the United States, while in Central Europe, it has so far been the merit of criminological, medical or legal texts that centralize its socially pathological potential (Novotný, Zapletal 2001; Sochůrek 2001; Chmelík 2003; Kraus, Hroncová 2010). Since the 1990s, i.e. since the fall of state socialism and the abolition of the law on social parasitism, which sanctioned sex work, there has been a constant wait for newer legislation that would positively define sex work in the Czech and Slovak legal systems, but would also give it a working status. Here, however, feminist ideologies diverge – they do not recognize sex work as work. It is not because of anti-social effects of sex work, as framed, for example, in criminological literature (Novotný, Zapletal 2001), but on the contrary because of the violence perpetrated against sex workers, especially women in vulnerable positions. Proposals for legislation then also differ according to these feminist ideologies (Beran 2012; Havelková, Bellak-Hančilová 2014), as could be observed during the debates in the European Parliament on the report on the regulation of prostitution presented by Maria Noichl in 2023.

The discourse on sex work and sex workers themselves have been affected by issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the platformization of labour, migration, gentrification, but also, for example, by the Paris Olympics, where preparations for the event included attempts of 'social cleansing' (Finkelstein 2024) involving ostracization of homeless people as well as sex workers. However, entities such as legislation, state borders, police and prisons can also be identified as long-standing and systematic factors on the sex work environment – these apparatuses are subversively explored, particularly in abolitionist texts (i.e. Vitale 2018; Cooke 2020; Weeks 2011), but have also received attention within radical and carceral feminism (Dworkin 1981; Lauri et al. 2023).

This special issue aims to create a space for articles that explore the stereotypes around sex work and challenge the its sociopathological aspect while being critical of white feminism and the saviour complex. The intention of this issue is also to make visible the voices of sex workers, which are completely absent in the Central and Eastern European debate on sex work. We would like to invite researchers or non-profit organizations to prioritize research methods that are participatory, such as participatory action research (PAR), in-depth interviews, (auto)ethnography, photovoice, etc. We also welcome reviews, reports, and commentaries.

We want to discuss together, for example, but not be strictly limited to, the following themes:

• Sex work, conceptualization, and feminist imaginaries

• Sex work and queerness

• Sex work in Central and Eastern Europe

• Sex work, body work, and labour of love

• Sex work and race

• Sex work and ageing

• Sex work and technologies

• Sex work and abolition of prisons, police, and borders

• Sex work, post-work, and anti-work

• Sex work, migration, and colonialism

• Sex work, tourism, and gentrification

• Sex work, advocacy, law, and activism

• Sex work and unionism

• Media and cultural representations of sex work(ers)

• Doing research on sex work, positionality, and ethics

The target length for an article is 6,000—10,000 words, including footnotes and a reference list. Reviews should not exceed 3,000 words and reports and commentaries 1,500 words.

Deadline for abstract submission:

October 13, 2024. Abstract should be maximum 500 words excluding references, title and keywords.

Abstracts selection/confirmation sent to the authors: beginning of November 2024

Articles submission: March 16, 2025

Issue publication: December 2025

Submit your abstract to the issue guest editors:

barbora.dolezalovafsv.cunicz, Anna.RicarLibanskaff.cunicz and rossoniivuw.leidenunivnl. Put journal editors genderteamsoc.cascz in the copy.