Third Parties’ Perspectives of the Nexus of Intimacy and Economy in a Harlem Sex Market

• In Event: Third-Party Sex Work and Pimps in the Age of Anti-Trafficking

Abstract

Third-party work arrangements often originate in private social spheres (see Marcus et al., 2012; May et al., 2000), in contradistinction to typical social arrangements in which family life, work, and leisure spheres are separate (Lefebvre, 1958). In sex markets, these overlapping spheres can foster a complex intimacy and economy nexus. We posit that the crux of understanding this nexus is the relationship between a third-party and his ‘bottom bitch,’ or his main sex worker. Zelizer (2000) explores purchases of intimacy and she specifies three different approaches to this nexus: ‘hostile worlds,’ ‘nothing but,’ and ‘connected lives.’ In the hostile worlds paradigm, if spheres collide, then they are contaminated and chaos begins. In the nothing but paradigm, economic activity and intimacy blend quite normally in the course of market activity, but there is a focus on power dynamics. ‘Connected lives’ is when there are negotiations, more genuine connections, and differentiated connections. We interviewed 85 third parties in situ in housing projects in Harlem about their labor. This study investigates how third parties’ perspectives about the economy and intimacy nexus match the types outlined by Zelizer. The analysis focuses on third party/bottom dyads, and also how third parties’ management strategy impact fair wages and overall economic gain.

Authors

• Julie Sriken, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Amber Horning Ruf, William Paterson University