My Body of Work: Promotional Labor and the Strategic Use of Complementary Forms of Work

• In Event: 1184 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 02. Identity and Labor Process

Abstract

Why might a worker voluntarily take part in low-paid work? Using qualitative interview data on the careers of sex workers in California, this paper argues that workers attempt to increase overall earnings by taking part in promotional labor: a specific type of labor in which workers strategically bundle complementary forms of work with differing status and income levels to increase overall income. Due to a sharp decline in adult film production beginning in 2007, adult film performers relied on escorting to make up for lower wages and fewer filming opportunities. However, these sex workers still performed in adult films—despite filming being more time intensive and less financially lucrative—to keep their names prominent and to promote themselves as high-end escorts. This paper concludes that promotional labor is a mechanism by which workers in general mitigate employment uncertainty by utilizing the cross-promotional benefits of different types of complementary work.

Author

• David Schieber, University of California-Los Angeles