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Feminism & Psychology
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A Feminist Discourse Analysis of Sex `Work'

Ann Weatherall

Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Ann.Weatherall{at}vuw.ac.nz

Anna Priestley

School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand, priestleyanna{at}hotmail.com

The present research investigates how explanations for sex `work', and constructions of it as a market exchange just like any other, function to reinforce and perpetuate the current shape of the sex industry in New Zealand. It also examines how key themes in feminist theories of sex work are used by participants to account for their experiences in the job. The data were from semi-structured interviews with 19 people who were working, or who had worked, in the sex industry. The sample was diverse in terms of gender and sexuality identifications. There was also diversity in the areas of sex work that had been experienced. The analysis takes a feminist discursive psychology approach that investigates the contradictions and dilemmas raised by different constructions of social objects. Insights that emerged from the analysis include that the construction of sex work as a service industry relies, in part, on the notion of an uncontrollable male sex drive; that the idea of sex work as an ordinary market exchange both highlights and hides important features of the sex industry; and that participants could account for both the violent and liberatory aspects of sex work that feature in feminist explanations.

Key Words: discursive psychology • gender • ideology • metaphor • prostitution • sexuality

Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 11, No. 3, 323-340 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/0959353501011003005
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