Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research & Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Cult Health Sex. 2020 Jan;22(1):81-95. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2019.1576226. Epub 2019 Feb 22.
Stigma attached to sex workers' occupation, sometimes disparagingly referred to as 'prostitution' or 'whore' stigma, is a fundamental challenge for people in sex work. Yet sex workers are not powerless when confronting occupational stigma. We employed thematic analysis with data from in-person interviews conducted in 2012-13 with a diverse sample of 218 adult sex workers in Canada. Our participants perceived a high degree of occupational stigma, which they responded to and managed using four main strategies. First, some participants internalised negative discourses about their sex work and accepted their discredited status. Second, many controlled access to information about themselves, consciously keeping knowledge of their occupation from most people while sharing it with trusted others. Third, some participants rejected society's negative view of their occupation. Finally, some attempted to reduce the personal impact of stigma by reframing sex work to emphasise its positive and empowering elements. Participants often strategically responded to stigma contingent on the situated contexts of their work and personal life. We discuss these findings in relation to the existing knowledge base about stigma attached to sex workers' occupation as well as how these findings may direct future research on stigma strategies.
性工作者职业污名，有时轻蔑地称为“卖淫”或“妓女”污名，是性工作者面临的一个基本挑战。然而，性工作者在面对职业污名时并非无能为力。我们采用主题分析方法，对 2012 年至 2013 年期间在加拿大对 218 名成年性工作者进行的多元化样本的面对面访谈进行了数据分析。我们的参与者认为存在高度的职业污名，他们通过以下四种主要策略来应对和管理这种污名。首先，一些参与者内化了关于他们性工作的负面言论，并接受了自己被诋毁的地位。其次，许多人控制了自己信息的获取，有意识地将职业信息保密，只与信任的人分享。第三，一些参与者拒绝社会对他们职业的负面看法。最后，一些人试图通过重新构建性工作来强调其积极和赋权的元素，从而减少污名对个人的影响。参与者通常根据工作和个人生活的具体情况来策略性地应对污名。我们将这些发现与现有的关于性工作者职业污名的知识基础进行了讨论，并探讨了这些发现如何指导未来关于污名策略的研究。
