Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry [Paperback]

Annie Oakley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2007

Being a sex worker isn’t something to write home about for most women (and men) in the $12 billion-a-year sex industry.

Prostitutes, strippers, and adult film stars put themselves, and what they do for a living, out on the street, stage, and TV screen every day, but they often keep their working lives hidden from friends, family, and other employers. They do this because sex work is widely considered illegal, unhealthy, and immoral.

Edited by Annie Oakley, Working Sex, New Voices from a Changing Industry features stories and contributions from sex workers—strippers, prostitutes, domes, film stars, phone sex operators, and internet models—who are speaking out. This provocative anthology showcases voices from a vibrant community intent on unmasking the jobs they do with dignity and pride.

Contributors tackling issues of class, gender, race, labor, and sexuality with blazing insight and critical observations include Michelle Tea, Stephen Elliot, Nomy Lamm, Ana Voog, Vaginal Davis, and Mirha-Soleil Ross.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sex work is commonly understood to be an occupation of last resort, taken up by people who live on society's margins. The Sex Workers' Art Show sets out to dispel those perceptions and to showcase the ways in which sex workers are in control of their bodies, their careers, and their self-respect."

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (December 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580052258
• ISBN-13: 978-1580052252
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's Talk about Sex, August 2, 2011

By 

Dr. Wilson Trivino (Atlanta, georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry (Kindle Edition)

In our sophisticated society there is still a dirty secret and it is the hidden sex world.

Annie Oakley in Working Sex: Sex Workers Write about a Changing Industry attempts to capture the voices of those working in the sex industry. Demands for taboos, fetishes, and straight sex are found in the sex trade from strip clubs, massage parlors and prostitutes.

This book is a fascinating peek with their world in with their own words of what is too often ignored. This quick read composed of a long list of contributors take some of the glamour away from the sex trade and shed light to the business aspects. Money makes the world go `round and that is exactly what you will find between the sheets.

Check out Working Sex: Sex Workers Write about a Changing Industry by Annie Oakley and voyeur into the changing sex industry.

3.0 out of 5 stars A Look Into Individual Sex Workers, December 21, 2010

By 

Miss Kay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry (Paperback)

Working Sex: Sex Workers Write about a Changing Industry is a collection of 30 stories written by sex workers. The book is 301 pages long which means each story is about ten pages long. The stories included are written by males and females as well as prostitutes who work on street corners and those who work through the telephone. There's also some mention of web sex workers as well.

The collection of stories really varies. For the most part, the stories are written in prose, but there are also stories included that are written as poetry as well as even a short play. I felt like the stories included in this collection were pretty emotional. I was really looking forward to reading about real experiences in the sex worker industry, but while I feel like I learned a lot about each individual experience, I don't feel like I really got a good grip on the sex worker industry in general. I was really hoping to get realistic information on the sex worker industry. Instead, I feel like I had a diary-like look into the sex worker's personal life.

It was definitely entertaining though. I found myself always wanting to read the next story. The stories are so widely varied that each story really shows you a different side to the sex worker. It made me realize that the sex industry isn't always as horrible as the media makes it out to be. I'm still glad that I read the book, and it was entertaining, but I really wish I had a better understanding of the sex trade, and this book didn't provide that.'

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Working Sex, January 10, 2010

By 

Luxx Mishley "Luxx" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Working Sex: Sex Workers Write About a Changing Industry (Paperback)

The body of work that comprises Annie Oakley's Working Sex is really a mixed bag - and not necessarily what the subtitle and back cover promise. Within the volume Oakley has included a wide range of literary genres that moves beyond the expected personal accounts to short stories, rants, poetry, a short play, and even an interview with a political advocate of women in the sex industry. When I purchased the volume I expected to find a collection of nonfiction work focused on different experiences and viewpoints of individuals working in the sex industry, and instead found that many of the authors included seem to be using their experience as sex professionals as an excuse to write material that would otherwise find little audience. As such, most of the material is greatly lacking in merit, and does not have the strength of reality and first-person narration to support the lack of effort. In general, most of the collection is simply bad writing: bad poetry, pointless ranting, and armature stories.

However, not all of the material is mediocre. There are several strong essays and stories included within the work, including Annie Oakley's own introduction and Siobhan Brooks' "An Interview with Gloria Lockett ", that make a reading of the volume worthwhile. As a complete collection I find Working Sex to be wanting, and a reader's enjoyment will really come down to each individual work.