Stigma is ubiquitous in sex work and is well documented in studies of sex workers. But rarely have scholars examined the vital question of whether, and if so how, stigma can be reduced or eliminated from any type of sex work (commercial stripping, pornography, prostitution, etc.). After a brief review of the issues related to stigma, this Commentary proposes a set of preconditions for the reduction and, ultimately, elimination of stigma from sex work.
AbelGFitzgeraldL (2010) Decriminalization and stigma. In: AbelGFitzgeraldLHealyC (eds) Taking the Crime Out of Sex Work: New Zealand Sex Workers’ Fight for Decriminalization, Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 239–258.
2.
Amnesty International (2016) Policy on State Obligations to Respect, Protect, and Fulfill the Human Rights of Sex Workers. Policy 30/4026/2016.
3.
AnspachR (1979) From stigma to identity politics: Political activism among the physically disabled and former mental patients. Social Science and Medicine13(3): 765–773.
4.
Associated Press (2009) Academics oppose banning indoor prostitution in Rhode Island. Boston Herald, 3 August.
5.
AttwoodFSmithC (2010) Extreme concern: Regulating ‘dangerous pictures’ in the United Kingdom. Journal of Law and Society37(1): 171–188.
6.
BirchP (2015) Why Men Buy Sex, London: Routledge.
7.
Brooks M and Hughes D (2009) International sex radicals campaign to keep prostitution decriminalized in Rhode Island. Citizens Against Trafficking.
8.
BrownC (2013) Paying For It: A Comic Strip Memoir about Being a John, Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly Press.
9.
Burke J (2015) India blocks more than 800 sites in web porn crackdown. The Guardian, 3 August.
10.
CampbellR (2006) Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema, Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
11.
DeweySZhengT (2013) Ethical Research with Sex Workers: Anthropological Approaches, New York: Springer.
12.
De YoungM (1988) The indignant page: Techniques of neutralization in the publications of pedophile organizations. Child Abuse and Neglect12(4): 583–591.
13.
Economist (2014) The sex business. The Economist, 9–14 August.
14.
EricssonLO (1980) Charges against prostitution: An attempt at a philosophical assessment. Ethics90(3): 335–366.
15.
EstroffSPennDToporekJ (2004) From stigma to discrimination: An analysis of community efforts to reduce the negative consequences of having a psychiatric disorder and label. Schizophrenia Bulletin30(3): 493–509.
16.
FarvidPGlassL (2014) ‘It isn’t prostitution as you normally think of it. It’s survival sex’: Media representations of adult and child prostitution in New Zealand. Women’s Studies Journal28(1): 47–67.
17.
GallG (2010) Sex worker collective organization: Between advocacy group and labor union?Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion29(3): 289–304.
18.
Gallup (2015) Poll, 6–10 May, N = 1,024.
19.
GoffmanE (1963) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
20.
Goldberg M (2014) Should buying sex be illegal? The Nation, 18–25 August.
HallgrimsdottirHPhillipsRBenoitC (2006) Fallen women and rescued girls: Social stigma and media narratives of the sex industry in Victoria, BC from 1980–2005. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology43(3): 265–280.
23.
HammondN (2015) Men who pay for sex and the sex work movement: Client responses to stigma and increased regulation of commercial sex policy. Social Policy and Society14(1): 93–102.
24.
HammondNKingstonS (2014) Experiencing stigma as sex work researchers in professional and personal lives. Sexualities17(3): 329–347.
25.
HelgadóttirÁ (2014) The Icelandic initiative for pornography censorship. Porn Studies1(3): 285–298.
26.
JennessV (1990) From sex as sin to sex as work: COYOTE and the reorganization of prostitution as a social problem. Social Problems37(3): 403–420.
27.
KitsuseJ (1980) Coming out all over: Deviants and the politics of social problems. Social Problems28(1): 1–13.
28.
KokenJA (2012) Independent female escort’s strategies for coping with sex work related stigma. Sexuality and Culture16(3): 209–229.
29.
KokenJABimbiDSet al. (2004) The experience of stigma in the lives of male internet escorts. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality16(1): 13–32.
30.
LinkBGPhelanJC (2001) Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology27: 363–385.
31.
MajicS (2014) Sex Work Politics: From Protest to Service Provision, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
32.
MathieuL (2003) The emergence and uncertain outcomes of prostitutes’ social movements. European Journal of Women’s Studies10(1): 29–50.
33.
MorrisonTGWhiteheadBW (2005) Strategies of stigma resistance among Canadian gay-identified sex workers. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality17(1/2): 169–179.
34.
NOW (National Organization for Women) (1973) Resolution Calling for the Decriminalization of Prostitution. Resolution 141, passed at national NOW convention.
35.
OselinSSWeitzerR (2013) Organizations working on behalf of prostitutes: An analysis of goals, practices, and strategies. Sexualities16(3): 445–466.
36.
OverallC (1992) What’s wrong with prostitution? Evaluating sex work. Signs17(4): 705–724.
37.
PescosolidoBAMartinJK (2015) The stigma complex. Annual Review of Sociology41: 87–116.
38.
SallmannJ (2010) Living with stigma: Women’s experiences of prostitution and substance use. Affilia25(2): 146–159.
39.
SandersT (2005) Sex Work, Cullompton: Willan.
40.
ScamblerG (2007) Sex work stigma: Opportunist migrants in London. Sociology41(6): 1079–1096.
41.
SchreiberR (2015) ‘Someone you know is a sex worker’: A media campaign for the St. James Infirmary. In: LaingMPilcherKSmithN (eds) Queer Sex Work, London: Routledge, pp. 255–262.
42.
SchurE (1980) The Politics of Deviance, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
43.
Siegel D and de Wildt R (eds) (2015) Ethical Concerns in Research on Human Trafficking. New York: Springer.
44.
StuartHArboleda-FlorezJSartoriusN (2012) Paradigms Lost: Fighting Stigma and the Lessons Learned, New York: Oxford University Press.
45.
ThoitsP (2011) Resisting the stigma of mental illness. Social Psychology Quarterly74(1): 6–28.
46.
ThompsonWEHarredJL (1992) Topless dancers: Managing stigma in a deviant occupation. Deviant Behavior13(3): 291–311.
47.
Van BrunschotESydieRKrullC (2000) Images of prostitution: The prostitute and print media. Women & Criminal Justice10(4): 47–72.
48.
Van der PoelS (1992) Professional male prostitution. Crime, Law, and Social Change18(3): 259–275.
49.
VossG (2015) Trade associations, industry legitimacy, and corporate responsibility in pornography. In: ComellaLTarrantS (eds) New Views on Pornography: Sexuality, Politics, and the Law, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, pp. 191–216.
50.
WeitzerR (1991) Prostitutes’ rights in the United States: The failure of a movement. Sociological Quarterly32(1): 23–41.
51.
WeitzerR (2007) The social construction of sex trafficking: Ideology and institutionalization of a moral crusade. Politics & Society35(3): 447–475.
52.
WeitzerR (2012) Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business, New York: New York University Press.
53.
WeitzerR (2015) Researching prostitution and sex trafficking comparatively. Sexuality Research and Social Policy12(2): 81–91.
54.
WestJ (2000) Prostitution: Collectives and the politics of regulation. Gender, Work, and Organization7(2): 106–118.
