Race, Hypersexualization and Erotic Capital in Sex Work

• In Event: Critical Studies in Race and Ethnicity: Exploring Racial/Ethnic Dynamics of Group Identity, Experience, and Behavior

Abstract

The murder of six Asian women in the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings compelled public discussion on the hyper-sexualization and fetishization of Asian women in North America and the risks faced by Asian women in intimate labour. Many of these conversations were sympathetic to the victims and their communities, and fostered support for workers in intimate labour and sex work. However, discussions about hyper-sexualization and sex work appeared occur in parallel, rather than in interaction with each other. There appeared at times to be a polite hesitation or uncertainty to discuss how hyper-sexualisation interacts with sex work. This presentation aims to bring these conversations together and to provide a tool on how diverse publics and stakeholders can engage constructively in conversations about the hyper-sexualization of racialized women within a sex worker rights framework. This is all the more relevant given that the experiences of racialized women in the sex industry, including indigenous women and Black women, speak to and are shaped by ideas about racialized femininities borne out of colonial histories. The presentation aims to foster discussion on the distinctions and interactions between hyper-sexualization and sexual labour and what this means for stakeholders working for racial justice and sex worker rights.

Author

• Julie Ham, Brock University