Challenging the controlling images of vamps and victims

Abstract

Sex workers in India often have a clear view of how the state, society, and economy work together to oppress them. But a combination of fear of, and fascination with, sex workers’ intimate lives often means that their political visions and organizing are overlooked. This chapter discusses portrayals of sex workers as vamps and victims, and then documents sex workers’ organizing efforts as a way of countering these controlling images. Sex worker activists have challenged police violence on an individual and systemic level; worked strategically with public health efforts locally and globally; and built alliances with other social movements. Sex workers’ activism in India offers an example of how marginalized groups challenge their conditions and build solidarity under conditions of precariousness and violence.