Sex Work/Gig Work

Abstract

Sex work operates according to the logics of the gig economy, demanding multiple sources of income, independent contractor status, low wages, flexibility, and a premium on creativity. Ethnographic methods, including in-depth interviews, have proven especially productive for feminist scholars studying sex work. Miller-Young, for example, used ethnographic interviews and participant observation in conversation with textual analysis in her study of black women in pornography because, as a feminist, she wanted to understand the experiences of black women in mainstream pornography, an industry geared toward straight, white, male desire. Sex work shares many characteristics of the gig economy and, in doing so, highlights the exploitative nature of all labor under capitalism. Scholarship on the gig economy identifies misclassifying employees as independent contractors as one of the defining features of the gig economy. The lack of paid leave also poses problems, especially for those with chronic health conditions.