Reconstructing Self of Women Sex Workers: Fears and Wishes of Who They Will Become

• In Event: Women’s Perspectives on their Experiences of Prostitution

Abstract

The ways women experience their involvement in sex work vary across a broad spectrum from traumatic experiences to survival strategies. The meaning of these experiences influences the person’s sense of self. Possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986) are representations of self in future states. Shaped by previous experiences, these representations function as a motivation and engage the person in the process of becoming who she wishes to be (and avoiding the one she feared to become). These theoretical representations capture the meaning of these futures selves but also, the perception of having (or not) an active role on own future (Erickson, 2007). Using an innovative interview schedule, a rich corpus was collected on these women’s Possible selves. Analyses revealed how they make sense of the consequences of being a sex worker, their process of getting out and how these consequences impact their projections of themselves in the future. Our results allowed us to identify women’s needs and to better understand how these needs are anchored in their projections of themselves.

Authors

• Amélie Couvrette, Université du Québec en Outaouais

• Nadine Lanctot, Universite de Sherbrooke

• Sanika Audet, Universite de Sherbrooke