Dear Kathleen: An Immersed Reflexive Inquiry of Sex Work, Sexual Violence, and College Students

Abstract

Within scholarship and public discourse, the concepts sex work and sexual violence are often conflated. More specifically, sex work is specifically framed as sexual violence that relies on a prevalent oppression paradigm analytic with respect to erotic labor(ers). This necessarily impacts research and scholarship on sex workers, and it informs the experiences of college students engaged in sex work. Situated as an immersed reflexive inquiry, we analyze the bounds of sex work, sexual violence, and what, if any, nexus exists between them through our personal, professional, and academic experiences in tandem with an artifact (a reflexive letter) written by a college student sex work to her past self. We interrogate implications and offer a clear perspective on whether sex work is sexual violence and why it matters.