It’s my Body, my Life : Prejudices around Sex Work in the Netherlands

Abstract: This is an queer theoretical intersectional feminist study about sex workers experiences and the prejudices they face in the Netherlands. Dutch sex workers do no get the same chances and opportunities as other workers in society. So, the overarching research problem of this study is the consequences of certain discourses that confine Dutch sex workers in their lives. The thesis aims that people will critically reflect upon this study and that they will take into account the different discourses and the non-uniformity of sex workers and sex work, in other words, to create awareness and a better understanding of the complex, diverse and various groups of sex workers and the sex industry. This study consists of two research methods: literature review and interview study. The literature review consists of the previous research and the theoretical framework. The theoretical framework presents discourse and stigma as part of respectability. Discourse as systems of thinking, which effects and affects. Also this study presents respectability, in relation to the so-called non-respectable bodies of sex workers and the missing respect and dignity towards sex workers, as well as stigma as part of respectability, as the experience deviant from the normative discourse. The interview study consists of four semi-structured interviews, conducted both online and face-to-face with four Dutch participants. The method thematic content analysis was applied to code the interview transcripts and divide the content into themes and sub-themes. The three main themes are: the discourses around sex work, the consequences of the discourses around sex work and sex work as a form of labour. Under these main themes I present related sub-themes. In the analysis the participants share their stories about the negative attitude from people towards their profession, this negative attitude manifested itself in different ways. According to the participants, this negative attitude, or so-called stigma, confines sex workers in their personal and professional lives.