“Dear Higher Education, There are Sex Workers on Your Campus”: Rendering Visible the Realities of U.S. College Students Engaged in Sex Work

Abstract

Using a narrative inquiry methodology, grounded by the polymorphous paradigm and institutional betrayal as a conceptual framework, I highlight the experience of seven college student sex workers. I explore their perceptions of and engagement with their colleges/universities and the faculty, staff, and administrators that run them. Specifically, I sought to understand how they make meaning of their invisibility on campus and I inquire about what they think institutional support means and how it could manifest for them. Findings include the reality that these college student sex workers have little confidence in their institutional leaders to understand them, they view their campus as places where they are always already not welcome, and they had little vision for how their institutions could be supportive. I conclude with recommendations for educators and administrators and discussion of implications.