Simpson, Jessica and Smith, Jessica (2019) ‘I’m not a bloody slave, I get paid and if I don’t get paid then nothing happens’: Sarah’s experience of being a student sex worker. Work, Employment and Society, 33 (4). pp. 709-718. ISSN 0950-0170 (Print), 1469-8722 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018809888)

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Abstract

Sex work remains a contentious area of debate. Whether or not sex work is considered to be a form of labour is in itself contested. As discussion is often about rather than with sex workers, this article brings Sarah’s experiences of being both a student and a sex worker, in two different areas of the UK, to centre stage. This candid account highlights the precarious and competitive nature of being self-employed within the current neoliberal climate, as well as the similarities sex work shares with other ‘mainstream’ forms of labour particularly within the ‘gig economy’. Existing research has focused on how/why students enter the sex industry leaving a gap in the literature regarding what happens after university in this context. It appears from Sarah’s account that leaving sex work behind may not be as straightforward as she had originally anticipated, for reasons other than just making money.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article is part of the following special collection(s): On the Front Line
Uncontrolled Keywords:	gig economy, self-employment, sex work, students
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > Centre for Applied Sociology Research (CASR) Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS)
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	26 Oct 2021 08:08
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/34222

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